The New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens will meet in the AFC Championship Game for the second season in a row, and Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo just made things more interesting.
The special teams master was critical of the Patriots’ offense while watching them against the Houston Texans in the playoffs Sunday. He called the Pats out for what he felt was shady play.
New England does some suspect stuff on offense. Can’t really respect it. Comparable to a cheap shot b4 a fight
— Brendon Ayanbadejo (@brendon310) January 13, 2013
Are you watching the game pats vs texans? If so you see the hurry snap offense catch em b4 they set up. It’s a gimmick.
— Brendon Ayanbadejo (@brendon310) January 13, 2013
Their offense is good enough to be successful with out that
— Brendon Ayanbadejo (@brendon310) January 13, 2013
In addition to calling the quick-snapping methods of the Patriots a “gimmick,” Ayanbadejo indicated the shady tactics fit into a larger pattern of questionable sportsmanship from New England in recent years:
You know the same organization that did spygate and cut a guy the day b4 the Super Bowl
— Brendon Ayanbadejo (@brendon310) January 13, 2013
He also couldn’t resist taking a jab at the Patriots, whose 2007 perfect season was ruined by the New York Giants in the Super Bowl:
18-1
— Brendon Ayanbadejo (@brendon310) January 13, 2013
In addition to the jab, Ayanbadejo called the quick snaps sneaky. “After physical smartness is key. It’s a pride sport. NE is good enough to play straight up against any one. Sneakiness no bueno,” he wrote in response to someone over Twitter.
The Patriots quick-snapped the Texans during Sunday’s game and even scored their first touchdown by doing so. Here’s one of the plays in question:
Is it sneaky to snap a ball before a defense is ready? The whole reason teams go to the hurry-up offense is to gain an advantage like that. The defense is supposed to be ready for all plays when the ball is set by the referee. However, there is a fine line between being shady and running a fast-paced offense. I think it’s poor form for an offense to snap a ball before a defense has had a reasonable chance to get set. If the defense is scrambling around several seconds after a ball has been set, it’s on them. But if it’s a quick snap like the Pats did, I think that is somewhat sneaky.
My guess is the Ravens will be prepared next week in case the Pats try to do it to them.
UPDATE: Ayanbadejo apologized for ripping the Pats with this tweet on Monday morning.
Helmet smack to Black Sports Online
