"You're right. I don't want to get into all that," Harbaugh told CSN New England ahead of their matchup on Monday. "That's all been hashed out. I believe what I believe and I think it's all been proven to be right.
"The point about (the punt hold) is, it's been talked about, it's been looked at, it's been something that's been used for 20 years so it's nothing new," he explained. "It's nothing that hadn't been addressed before by officials or the competition committee."
Harbaugh was speaking specifically about the blatant holding tactic on punts he used in a win over the Bengals this year and back in Super Bowl XLVII.
The Patriots, lest we forget, drew Harbaugh's ire back in January of 2015 by alternating the use of eligible and ineligible wide receivers in a playoff game New England won at Gillette Stadium.
"Everybody knew about that (punt hold) so it didn't create an unfair advantage for anybody," said Harbaugh, who added that the utilization of the hold/safety was physically brought to the competition committee after the Super Bowl.
While it's water under the bridge now, it is funny to hear Harbaugh defend himself. Perhaps one is slightly less shady than the other, but the point is that both coaches were smart enough to find the loophole in the first place. Coaching represents the fine line between winning and losing, and both teams have someone who is able to go the extra mile.
It will be interesting to see exactly what, if any, fireworks will be on display this Monday night in Foxborough. The game closes out one of the better football weekends of the year thus far and the Ravens desperately need a win to keep pace in the tightly contested AFC North -- exactly the kind of game where a good coach will be looking for some kind of edge.
