To Big Ben's chagrin, Bill Belichick defends Pats' line shift

 
On a critical play in Thursday night's loss to New England, Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger thought the Patriots' defense took some liberties with the NFL's rules.
Trailing 21-11 but with the ball on New England's 1-yard-line, Big Ben was in the middle of middle of his cadence when the entire Patriots' defensive line shifted, causing left tackle Alejandro Villanueva and left guard Kelvin Beachum to jump offsides. Irate after the play was whistled dead before the snap, Roethlisberger petitioned that New England should be flagged, although it was the Steelers' that were assessed with the penalty. The penalty helped diffuse Pittsburgh's momentum, and the Steelers had to settle for a field goal in its eventual 28-14 loss.
“I thought that there was a rule against that,” Roethlisberger said after the game. “Maybe there’s not. Maybe it’s just an unwritten rule. .. We saw it on film, that the Patriots do that. They shift and slide and do stuff on the goal line, knowing that it’s an itchy trigger finger-type down there.”
Much to Pittsburgh's chagrin, the Patriots appeared to have found a loophole in the NFL's rulebook, that rule that could be altered the season if teams continue to shift their defensive lines during the opposing quarterback's cadence. While there is no rule against the shift, this is a rule stating that the defense can't attempt to coax a false-start penalty by verbally simulating the snap count.
On Sunday, Patriots' coach Bill Belichick defended his line shift while reiterating that his team played within the rules.
"We're not trying to simulate anything," Belichick said. "We're allowed to move on the defensive side of the ball, and we're allowed to move together. We don't have to move one at a time. If we move, then we make a call and we move. We're not trying to simulate anything. We're just trying to move the defense. That's perfectly legal. Defenses have done that for, I don't know, probably 75 years."
Regardless of whether or not the Patriots' broke an "unwritten rule" as Big Ben insinuated, one Steelers linemen that was involved with the play took ownership for his team falling for the Patriots' tactic in the first place.
"Kudos for them for thinking of that and making it happen in that situation," linemen Ramon Foster said. "I can’t be mad. That’s on us. We can’t false start."