Moderators: MickeyDavis, paulpressey25, humanrefutation
chuckleslove wrote:I only understand about 5% of the words and this is still amazing.
http://www.packers.com/media-center/videos/ESPN-Brasil-announcers-call-Packers-Hail-Mary/f2b8ea4f-70c8-40a7-a658-2da4422d6e50?campaign=sf16559725
2. How many QBs could throw the Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary?
Aaron Rodgers' amazing throw to beat the Lions remains one of the most talked-about plays this season. It will be one of the most talked-about plays in the history of the sport.
I've marveled at it, and in response, the usual haters have emerged to say the throw wasn't a big deal. In fact, I had many on Twitter telling me any quarterback in football could make it. So I decided to put that stupid notion to the test.
What makes the throw amazing is that it happens on four different planes. First, Rodgers escapes. Second, the distance. Third, the accuracy. Fourth, and most important, is the arc of the football.
So let's play this game. And I must say, first, this is not an exact science. It's likely I will miss a name or two, or a get a few wrong. But I think this is pretty good. I tried to stick with starters.
In terms of the first category, escapability, I'm eliminating the following quarterbacks: Carson Palmer, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Peyton and Eli Manning, Andy Dalton, Matt Stafford, Kirk Cousins, Jay Cutler, Matt Hasselbeck, Brock Osweiler, Matt Cassel, Matt Schaub, Blaine Gabbert, Josh McCown, Sam Bradford and Nick Foles.
Right there, 18 quarterbacks are eliminated. You can quibble with some, sure, but I think all of those players would have been sacked. Brady is so slow, he would have been sacked twice.
(Note: I'm going to include Tony Romo for giggles, despite his being out for the year. He makes that first cut.)
The next category is distance. How many could throw the football over 60 yards in the air? This one is trickier, but my experience is that not many quarterbacks can launch it as far as people think.
I'm eliminating: Drew Brees, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Alex Smith, Marcus Mariota, Teddy Bridgewater, Brian Hoyer, Tyrod Taylor and Nick Foles.
So that's 26 gone. We are down to, approximately: Romo, Ben Roethlisberger, Ryan Tannehill, Russell Wilson, Derek Carr, Jameis Winston, Cam Newton and Andrew Luck (including him since he'll likely start again this season).
On to the third category, which is accuracy. Gone are Tannehill (who has trouble hitting targets 20 yards away), Luck (who has been an interception machine lately), Newton, Romo, Carr and Winston.
We are down to just Wilson and Roethlisberger. The hardest part of Rodgers' throw was the arc. His football nearly hit the rafters in the building. There is great video of this circulating on Twitter:
[tweet]https://twitter.com/AmazingSprtsPic/status/672901862496976896[/tweet]
That high toss is purposeful. It allows the football to drop out of the sky instead of traveling on a flatter course that would make it easier to knock down.
This one is close, but I don't think Wilson can throw it that high and that far.
That leaves Roethlisberger as the only guy playing now who I think, in addition to Rodgers, could make that throw.
(I did forget Blake Bortles and Joe Flacco. I think both have the mobility and arm strength—but not the accuracy.)
