We just finished a Major League Baseball postseason filled with the Houston Astros identifying pitchers who were tipping what they were throwing, or hurlers who figured out that’s what they were doing.
Now, it’s bled into the NFL.
On Sunday Night Football, Cris Collinsworth made a shrewd observation: late in the game, he noticed that Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson would wipe his hands on a towel before he was getting ready to pass. No wipe, and it was a run play. That’s the kind of thing a team like the New England Patriots would be sure to pick up on:
But as Larry Brown Sports recounted, Collinsworth might have tipped off the Ravens:
After that play, there was a timeout.
Then Jackson grabbed his towel two plays in a row and handed it off two plays in a row, leading Collinsworth to state that the tip was “busted.” Collinsworth further speculated that someone heard the tip on the broadcast and passed it along to the Ravens to share with Jackson so he would break the pattern.
Hmmmm. Let’s take a second to acknowledge that even if Jackson was tipping plays, he and the Ravens were still unstoppable. That tells you all you need to know about how dominant Jackson has been this season.
