Giants quarterback Eli Manning (#10) was under center, about to receive the snap. I've circled Wayne Gallman Jr. (#22) as the lone running back. A couple of former LSU Tigers were lined up on the left side of the line, wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. (#13) and Russell Shepard (#81).
This play about trickery! Manning tossed the ball to Beckham Jr. (click on image for a larger view).
To really appreciate how effective this play was, look at the toss from a reply angle (click on image for a larger view).
Wayne Gallman Jr. did a great job acting as if the toss were headed his way. Look how he had his hands up to catch the ball while running in the opposite direction Beckham Jr. was running. As the bass was tossed, you can see Shepard already behind the Bears defensive line, heading downfield.
After Beckham Jr. got the toss, he had to use a little of his immense athleticism to find space to throw the ball. It took 5.2 seconds from the snap to Beckham Jr.'s pass for the play to develop. Check out Beckham Jr.'s pass (click on image for a larger view).
Beckham Jr. threw the pass from the Giants 45-yard line. Notice that he threw the ball with his right foot forward, meaning he threw off the wrong foot! Right-handed quarterbacks throw with their right foot behind them and their left foot in front. Note, too, that Beckham Jr. had a Bears defender right in front of him. His pass had to be lofted. Check out another view from replay (click on image for a larger view).
It goes to show just how incredible an athlete Beckham Jr. is. The same powerful core he utilizes to make circus catches is the same core he utilized to throw off-balance with his right foot forward. His pass traveled 48 yards! Check out where Shepard caught the ball (click on image for a larger view).
Shepard caught the ball on the Bears 7-yard line. Look how open he is! I grabbed a screen capture of the replay, just before Shepard caught the pass (click on image for a larger view).
Shepard could have moon walked into the end zone! Instead he turned around and loped in for six points (click on image for a larger view).
I could hardly believe how Beckham Jr. threw that pass. I just had to analyze it. The ball was in the air for 2.6 seconds, which was half the time it took the play to develop before Beckham Jr. threw the ball. He lofted the ball a bit more than Manning would have had Manning thrown from the pocket. Beckham Jr. had to loft the pass because of the defensive pressure he faced. He in fact threw the ball 50.3 mph at an angle of 35.7 degrees above the horizontal. The ball hit Shepard at 44.6 mph, having lost speed because of air resistance. I solved Newton's second law equation numerically and found the trajectory shown below (click on image for a larger view).
Odell Beckham Jr. is usually the one making the TD catch, but today he again showed that he has quarterback skills, too. I analyzed the play for TuneIn's 1st & Goal on their Check Down segment. Gary O'Reilly of Playing with Science joined me on the show. Click here for the audio link.
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