Ravens coach John Harbaugh on Tuesday gave his first expanded thoughts on the New England Patriots' four offensive linemen formations in Saturday's game.
Harbaugh clarified that his issues were not with the plays or formations themselves, but the timing of the officials declaring ineligible receivers in relation to the snap.
After Saturday's 35-31 loss to New England, Harbaugh said the situation was "clearly deception," and took a penalty during the game to get the officials' attention and explain his issues.
"My thoughts are the same as they were during the game and after the game," Harbaugh said Tuesday. "It was about the mechanics of the officiating. I never had an issue with the formation, never even brought that up. It wasn't about the formation at all. I had a chance to talk to [referee] Bill Vinovich during the game, and he addressed it. He said that was right. There's a certain timing that goes with that, in terms of the referee getting back in position to referee the game.
"The ball was being snapped so quickly that he didn't have a chance to do that. Plus, another interesting thing is the signal for an eligible receiver and an ineligible receiver is the same, so it's a little difficult to determine what the official is actually signaling in the heat of battle when it's done that quickly. Bill was great about it, he said he would slow it down. I think he went over and told their sideline the same thing, and we didn't see it after that."
On the third-quarter series, New England reported tight end Michael Hoomanawanui and running back Shane Vereen as ineligible while lining up with four offensive linemen, creating confusion as to which players to cover. Harbaugh took the penalty to get the officiating crew's attention, and he said they responded well.
"I thought it was well handled, and talking to the league afterward, since then, [NFL vice president of officiating] Dean [Blandino] has told me it's being looked at, and the mechanics are being looked at, and some changes will have to be made," Harbaugh said. "In no way did I think it determined the outcome of the game. I was asked about it, and I answered."