OK, I just reviewed the drive in question on NFL rewind (I will undoubtedly forget to cancel my free subscription and get charged $40 next month!).
We no longer have to worry about whether this maneuver violated the spirit of the rules. In fact, it violated the rules, 100% and without question. It's not even close. It wasn't the specific formation, it was 1) Shane Vereen's participation (concrete, no question) and 2) the late reporting by Vereen on the third and final play. Details below….
To be honest, this league is a CF right now with rushing to proclaim anything BB does as legal or good…those league officials should be ashamed of themselves.
I am repasting the rules on substitutions and reporting below. The bottom line is that a player who is not an ineligible number may not report as ineligible then revert back to an eligible player on that same series (or as a continuous player, in their language).
Shane Vereen violated this rule on plays 9 and 10 of the drive. There were 10 plays, 3 utilized the formation in question.
Plays 1 & 2 were normal.
Play 3 was the formation…Manatee in, Vereen reports and is out on the end, etc. They get like 12 yards to wide-open Manatee.
Play 4 is normal, what's important here is Vereen and Manatee are OUT of the game, Bolden comes in at RB.
Play 5 is the penalty for too many men, no play (QB sneak)
Play 6 is normal, completion to Edelmann
Play 7 is the formation again, Vereen and Manatee in, 11 yard completion to Edelmann, defense was confused
Play 8 is the formation again, Vereen reports late, on the way to the line, does NOT join the huddle after reporting, the ball is snapped right away. This play goes for like 15 to Manatee who is wide open.
Play 9 is normal, except Vereen is out wide and then comes and joins Brady in the Backfield…this is a clear violation of the rules as stated below
Play 10 is normal, Touchdown, although Vereen is again in the backfield, a clear violation of the rules.
I can't tell if this is just a 5-yard procedure penalty or a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty, they are both discussed in other sections of the rulebook for this infraction…for some reason there seems to be some leeway on behalf of the officials to judge the intent to deceive.
In this case, the shifting of eligible players to ineligible and back, to me, would indicate gross negligence in terms of intent to deceive, and they should have had 1st and Goal from the 25 instead of the 5, Harbaugh should not have been penalized.
But in reality, they should have been penalized for procedure on Play 8 for the late report (definitely not immediate
There you have it, this was illegal, no ifs ands or buts, and I would like the league to acknowledge once again that the Patriots were breaking the rules (in addition to all the "luck" that seems to materialize for them.
Section 3 Changes in Position
REPORTING CHANGE OF POSITION
Article 1An offensive player wearing the number of an ineligible pass receiver (50-79 and 90-99) is permitted
to line up in the position of an eligible pass receiver (1-49 and 80-89), and an offensive player wearing the
number of an eligible pass receiver is permitted to line up in the position of an ineligible pass receiver,
provided that he immediately reports the change in his eligibility status to the Referee, who will inform the
defensive team.
He must participate in such eligible or ineligible position as long as he is continuously in the game, but prior to
each play he must again report his status to the Referee, who will inform the defensive team. The game
clock shall not be stopped, and the ball shall not be put in play until the Referee takes his normal position.
RETURNING TO ORIGINAL POSITION
Article 2A player who has reported a change in his eligibility status to the Referee is permitted to return to a
position indicated by the eligibility status of his number after:
(a) a team timeout;
(b) the end of a quarter;
(c) the two-minute warning;
(d) a foul;
(e) a replay challenge;
() a touchdown;
(g) a completed kick from scrimmage;
(h) a change of possession; or
(i) if the player has been withdrawn for one legal snap. A player withdrawn for one legal snap may reenter
at a position indicated by the eligibility status of his number, unless he again reports to the
Referee that he is assuming a position other than that designated by the eligibility status of his
number.