Mike Vrabel responds to Raheem Morris' allegations against Patriots

Did the New England Patriots illegally simulate the Atlanta Falcons on a critical play in Week 9's win? While Falcons coach Raheem Morris says they did, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel says otherwise. 

Trailing 24-23, Atlanta faced a second down from the New England 48-yard line. The play was quickly busted, as Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was not expecting the snap. Facing a heavy Patriots pass rush, Penix quickly threw the ball away, which was called intentional grounding. Following the game, Morris alleged that New England was clapping pre-snap to simulate Atlanta's snap count, which is a penalty. 

Vrabel responded to those allegations on Monday, denying that the Patriots did that. 

"Certainly that wasn’t anybody’s intent," Vrabel said, per Michael David Smith of NBC Sports. "We’ve never coached that or talked about that. I can’t spend that much time focused on it. Did look at it briefly, certainly didn’t think that was anything that we did. It was pretty loud, guys are trying to get lined up, and I’m glad we took off when they snapped the ball."

A closer look at the play shows that none of the eight Patriots closest to the line of scrimmage were clapping. New England safety Jaylinn Hawkins, who was standing roughly 13 yards away from the center, did appear to clap just before the snap.

The intentional grounding penalty created a third-and-20 for the Falcons. Following an incomplete pass, Atlanta opted to punt but never got the ball back, as the Patriots picked up a first down on their ensuing possession and ran out the clock.