Seattle coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn have been working on identifying New England’s tackle eligible formations, which have been an issue during the playoffs.
The officials will make a new signal to identify the Patriots’ unusual formations in Super Bowl XLIX, Carroll said on Thursday.
The Patriots used the odd formations against Baltimore and Indianapolis.
Carroll said that he’s been told that the officials will do a more thorough job of making it clear to the defense which receivers are eligible, and which players are lined up in ineligible positions.
The NFL rules state that players with ineligible jersey numbers must report to the referee if they’re going to line up as eligible receivers, and players with eligible jersey numbers must report to the referee if they’re going to line up in ineligible positions.
The referee then must announced the declarations.
Now, the officials will change their signals to make it clearer if player is eligible or ineligible.
“You have to go through all the process whether they want to play empty, whether they want to play ineligible positions at receiver spots,” Quinn said. “All those are ones that we practice, so it’s a great challenge, but one that we’re definitely looking forward to.”
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