Ravens rookie defensive end Pernell McPhee bragged after his team’s win over the Bengals that the defense had Andy Dalton’s number. Specifically, McPhee says they knew when Andy Dalton was going to call for the ball to be snapped.
McPhee said he noticed by studying game tape that Dalton had a tendency to let the play clock wind down to five seconds before tapping center Kyle Cook’s hip. Then, Dalton would look to his left and take the snap.
“I got a good get-off,” McPhee said. “I just knew they would snap it every time after he tapped the center’s hip. I was paying attention to that. I timed it up pretty good, 100 miles per hour.”
Sounds great, right? The truth is McPhee sacked Dalton on a 4th and goal play where Dalton was lined up in shotgun, not under center. And if the Ravens really had the rookie quarterback’s number, then why did they only have two sacks the entire game? Maybe they did get good jumps off the snap, but McPhee’s explanation doesn’t match what happened on his sack. Additionally, if McPhee really noticed something key, why would he give away the inside information when the teams are schedule to play again in week 17?
Clearly the guy isn’t as smart as he thinks.
Helmet knock to AFC North Blog
