Quote:
Originally Posted by FAX
Absolutely, totally correct there, Mr. Hoover.
A 30-yard pass from Mahomes arrives in just about the same amount of time that it takes a normal human to throw 15-yards (or maybe 10). He shortens the field dramatically. How many of his TDs (other than the semi-jets in LA) were thrown in the red zone?
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I did the math on this back when idiots were saying that arm strength doesn't matter and Deshaun Watson is a winner so we should take him:
Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
The difference between Watson's velocity and Mahomes velocity on a 20 yard throw (or about a 15 yard out by the time you factor in the lateral range) is 4 feet. When Mahomes throws that ball, by the time it gets to his WR, Watson's pass is still 4 ft behind it.
In temporal terms, it takes Mahomes about .15 seconds less time to get from hand to target than Watson. If that's a WR, a .15 second 40 difference gets him killed but what good is that extra speed if the QB gives it all back?
That 4 ft makes all the difference between a first down and a pick 6. Think of how many windows close just as the DB gets there and how many times that ball gets batted/taken away if the ball is 4 feet further back at that same point in time.
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That was based on the difference in their peak recorded velocities.
It's not as extreme as you're saying it is, but it doesn't have to be. Inside the red zone, most of those throws are going to be in the 20 yard range when you consider lateral movement as well.
When Mahomes flicks his wrist for that piss-rocket to Kelce from about 15 yards out, that's exactly the kind of throw that he can make and few else can. Smith shouldn't have even been attempting that throw. Watson shouldn't either.
Because over those 20 yards, that 4 feet will close the window and it gets tipped into the air where god knows what will happen next.
I never understood the 'arm strength doesn't matter' crowd. Of course it does, and Mahomes demonstrates why every week. It isn't the ability to throw it far that makes it deadly, it's the ability to throw it fast into rapidly closing windows.