"For us, whenever I'm clapping, that means I want the ball."
""I knew [Falcons center Ryan Neuzil] said he heard them clapping," Penix Jr. continued, "and he thought it was my clap, and he snapped the ball. I threw the ball in [Kyle Pitts'] direction. He had just released on a route. I thought I was going to be okay with the grounding part. Obviously that wasn't the case.""
""The ball came early, was snapped early. Within that snap, that was when we got the intentional grounding. Nice job by those guys. Great situational football. Great play. Got to snap the ball. That's why the ball was snapped early on Mike. He wasn't ready for the snap.""
The Patriots defense allegedly mimicked the Falcons quarterback's clapping, an act that falls under the NFL's "disconcerting signals" rule and carries a 15-yard penalty. The sequence occurred late in the fourth quarter while the Falcons attempted to reach field-goal range. The early snap caught the Falcons off guard and led to a 10-yard intentional grounding penalty that set Atlanta back and contributed to New England's 24-23 victory. Falcons center Ryan Neuzil believed he heard the clap and snapped the ball. Falcons coach Raheem Morris characterized the move as simulated, and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel joked "Clapgate."
Read at Boston.com
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