Falcons accuse Patriots of simulating snap count on crucial play: ‘They were clapping’
After suffering a crushing 24-23 loss on the road to the New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and coach Raheem Morris expressed frustration with what they thought was an apparent simulation of the team’s snap count by the Patriots’ defense on a crucial late-game play.
Penix looked sharp in his return from injury, and Atlanta had the ball in New England territory trailing by one with 2:09 remaining. On a second-down play, center Ryan Neuzil snapped the ball early, to the surprise of Penix and the rest of the offensive line. Penix was immediately under siege by the Patriots’ pass rush and threw in the direction of tight end Kyle Pitts but drew an intentional grounding penalty. The Falcons were later forced to punt, and that was their final drive of the game.
“They were clapping, simulating our snap,” Morris said. “That’s why the ball got snapped early and Mike wasn’t ready for the snap.”
The simulation of a snap count would have resulted in a 15-yard penalty if spotted by the officiating crew. Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams denied that his squad used any sort of clapping to deceive the opposition.
“I ain’t hear no clap,” Williams said. “I’m looking at the ball. The ball moves, I’m gone.”
Penix was quick to point out that Neuzil thought he heard a clap from his quarterback, indicating that he wanted the ball to be snapped.
“Supposedly they were clapping, and when I’m clapping that means I want the ball,” Penix said. “(Neuzil) said he heard them clap, and he thought it was my clap and I wanted the ball.”
Neuzil said, “My head was down, thought I heard it, it was just unfortunate.”
Now 3-5, the Falcons face the 7-2 Indianapolis Colts in Berlin on Sunday.
Penix unable to avoid intentional grounding
The television replay didn’t appear to show any members of the Patriots’ defensive front seven clapping, but the sound could have come from a person off screen. Penix said he thought he could avoid an intentional grounding penalty throwing the ball toward where Pitts was aligned, but Pitts had already released on his route.
“I thought I was going to be OK on the grounding part but obviously that wasn’t the case,” Penix said.
It’s the second time this season he has been flagged for a costly intentional grounding. He also was flagged on the final play of the first half against San Francisco. That resulted in a 10-second clock runoff that prevented the Falcons from attempting a field goal. —
Celtics Urged to Trade for Ja Morant As Grizzies Rumors Surface
The Boston Celtics have been urged to trade for Ja Morant amid reports of teams monitoring the
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, teams around the league are intrigued about the idea of trading for Morant after he was slapped with a one-game suspension for publicly criticizing the Grizzlies’ coaching staff, led by Tuomas Iisalo.
“The teams across the league, though, are monitoring this, keeping an eye on where this relationship stands between Ja Morant and the Grizzlies,” Charania told ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on Sunday.
A popular Celtics
“Get Ja Morant in a Celtics uniform somehow,” wrote the fan.
Get Ja Morant in a Celtics uniform somehow
Ja Morant, Grizzlies On the Outs?
Meanwhile, Bracco, a social sportsbook, floated a hypothetical trade scenario that would see Boston part with three rotational pieces for the two-time All-Star guard.
Celtics would receive:
Grizzlies would receive: Anfernee Simons, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser
Such a trade would give the Celtics a new Big 4 of Morant, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, once Tatum returns from his Achilles injury.
Morant and Celtics star Jayson Tatum reportedly share a friendship off the court, based on mutual respect and admiration. The athletic guard infamously stated in 2022 that he doesn’t fear any teams in the West and his only goal was to take down the Celtics, who had lost to the
“Nah, I’m fine in the West,” Morant had said.
Joining @SportsCenter AM to discuss details on Ja Morant’s one-game suspension with the Memphis Grizzlies and what’s next:
With the Celtics enduring a gap year, they may have the luxury of experimenting with a player as volatile as Morant, who has two more full seasons left on his contract.
Has Ja Morant Peaked?
While the idea of Morant on the Celtics sounds intriguing, some analysts have cautioned teams against the idea of trading for the former No. 2 overall pick.
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn highlighted on Monday that Morant has never shot better than 34.4% from three-point range in his seven-year career, a red flag for a modern-day point guard. Furthermore, Morant is having his most inefficient season overall, shooting just 40.6% from the field through the first six games of the new season.
“This is not quite the unstoppable driver we expected to dominate the league a few years ago,” Quinn wrote of Morant’s statistical regression.
“This is a player who has struggled to stay healthy, has stagnated developmentally and fills perhaps the NBA’s most crowded archetype. Small, defensively deficient point guards aren’t exactly in vogue.”
Retired NBA star DeMarcus Cousins, though, feels Morant just needs to find the right situation, urging the 26-year-old to exit Memphis.
“It’s time to move on. This ship has sailed,” Cousins advised Morant on
“The Grizzlies have made their decision on who they’re siding with when they suspended Ja. … Militant coaching combined with modern basketball is a recipe for disaster.”
