Mike Vrabel responds to accusations made by the Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons accused the New England Patriots of engaging in some shady antics toward the end of Sunday’s Week 9 game between the two teams, but Mike Vrabel insists he has no idea what all the fuss was about.

The Falcons were trailing 24-23 and had possession at around midfield with just over 2 minutes remaining at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Center Ryan Neuzil snapped the ball to Michael Penix Jr. on 2nd-and-10 before the quarterback was ready, which led to some confusion. Penix appeared to think there was a penalty or a dead ball, so he threw the ball into the turf.

That led to an intentional grounding penalty, which backed the Falcons up 10 yards and resulted in a loss of down. Penix then threw an incomplete pass on 3rd-and-20. Atlanta punted and the Patriots picked up a crucial first down to seal the win.

After the game, Neuzil and Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said the center snapped the ball prematurely because one or more Patriots players had clapped to simulate Atlanta’s snap. Vrabel was asked about that during his Monday morning appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” and the Patriots coach seemed puzzled. He also sarcastically referred to the situation as “ClapGate.”

“I didn’t see anything. Like, is that fake? I don’t know. … I didn’t see that. Maybe that’s a testament to our fans. They got loud and I could hear the energy, and I thank them for that,” Vrabel said.