Kevin Youkulele said:Besides giving the defense more time or allowing for substitutions, the other conceivable rule change I could see would be to mandate the standard 5-man offensive line be used in every formation. This would be more drastic, but under it the game of football could still be played and be recognizable as such. It would make me sad though. I like "trick" plays where a team does something legal but unusual.
To clarify, the refs already are supposed to delay the snap after substitutions until the other team has an opportunity to sub by having the umpire stand over the ball.
Rule 5, Section 2, Article 10
If a substitution is made by the offense, the offense shall not be permitted to snap the ball until the
defense has been permitted to respond with its substitutions. While in the process of a substitution (or
simulated substitution), the offense is prohibited from rushing quickly to the line of scrimmage and
snapping the ball in an obvious attempt to cause a defensive foul (i.e., too many men on the field). If, in the
judgment of the officials, this occurs, the following procedure will apply:
(a) The Umpire will stand over the ball until the Referee deems that the defense has had a reasonable
time to complete its substitutions.
Here's the kicker though:
Note: The quick-snap rule does not apply after the two-minute warning of either half, or if there is not a substitution by the offense.
One the first time, Pats didn't snap until 5 seconds on the play clock, so it's a non-issue. They subbed before the 2nd time when they snapped with 25 on the play clock, though there was a penalty on the play before that and I'm not sure when the ineligible receiver was announced so I dunno if the Ravens were given enough time. On the 3rd time, they snapped with 16 to go and people say that there was about 8-10 seconds between that and the announcement. Is that enough time? I dunno--but if the Ravens didn't decide to sub in response to the announcement, then the umpire would have no reason to delay the play.
The key here is that maybe Harbaugh should have subbed, but didn't know to. Sounds like he wanted more time to figure out, but there's nothing for that in the rules.
So for subs, there is already a rule in place that is adequate. If the problem is having time for a HC to figure out if he wants to sub, that gets more complicated. I suppose they could allow for a certain amount of time for a coach to decide after delcared eligibility shifts. Because the rule book needs to be longer.