Tipped Passes for Interceptions

[longhorn]

I've been watching football for decades and I have watched a ton of college and NFL games this year Is it just me or has there been a B-I-G increase in the number of passes where a receiver tips the ball and it it intercepted by the opposing team? In many cases these are well-thrown balls too. It just sems like there have been so many more than normal. Do you guys see the same or am I dreaming? If so, any ideas what may be causing it? Yeah there is more passing overall I guess but I wonder if something else may be going on. What? I dunno. I even checked to see if the design of the ball may have changed but haven't found anything.

[ClevelandBigDawg]

Tip-Drill. IDK I feel like all teams are doing that more, and it came on more prolly within the past 15 years.

Another thing I would say is the athleticism of the DBs is always increasing. I would say quite a few DBs could play WR, which was untrue in the past. In the past if you were a WR and could not catch you were a DB. Now you could go either way really.

[ClevelandFanForLife]

the reason that there are more tipped passes being caught is because there are more passes being tipped. simple science.

[Nw220]

Yeah basically the CBs could also play both ways now adays as previously stated and also look for it in smaller QBs Colt McCoy and Drew Brees, Troy Smith etc...

[tshirtfan]

@nw220 said:

Yeah basically the CBs could also play both ways now adays as previously stated and also look for it in smaller QBs Colt McCoy and Drew Brees, Troy Smith etc...

You're talking about passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.

Some facts to clear it up:

1.Really tall QBs like Mallett will have possibly the biggest problem with tipped balls, because they have to throw the ball with a "downward" trajectory with a big wind up to hit the underneath routes. This is thanks to their really high release point and long arms.

2. I've heard that offensive lineman have the responsibility to keep defensive lineman from being able to get a hand up on the ball.

3. QBs with quick releases are less prone to it since defenders don't have the same reaction time.

Really, how many of Colt's throws were batted at the LOS? Not a lot, actually.

[The Gipper]

@longhorn said:

I've been watching football for decades and I have watched a ton of college and NFL games this year Is it just me or has there been a B-I-G increase in the number of passes where a receiver tips the ball and it it intercepted by the opposing team? In many cases these are well-thrown balls too. It just sems like there have been so many more than normal. Do you guys see the same or am I dreaming? If so, any ideas what may be causing it? Yeah there is more passing overall I guess but I wonder if something else may be going on. What? I dunno. I even checked to see if the design of the ball may have changed but haven't found anything.

I think we have to distinguish between the two different types of "Tipped passes". There is the tipped pass that got tipped by the receiver because he either flubbed the catch or couldn't quite get his hands on it. Then there is the tipped pass that is knocked down....or up by Defensive lineman/LBs getting their hands up in the way of the flight of the ball.

Which kind of tipped pass is it you say there seem to be a lot more of?

[longhorn]

@the-gipper said:

I think we have to distinguish between the two different types of "Tipped passes". There is the tipped pass that got tipped by the receiver because he either flubbed the catch or couldn't quite get his hands on it. Then there is the tipped pass that is knocked down....or up by Defensive lineman/LBs getting their hands up in the way of the flight of the ball.

Which kind of tipped pass is it you say there seem to be a lot more of?

The ones that are well thrown and bounce off the receivers hands and end up as interceptions.

[rocknrollbrowns]

I think its because teams are so caught up in the speed of the receiver and not how well they catch. So we are getting really fast guys that can't catch and this is leading to more tipped balls.

[Kosar_For_President]

It's global warming.

[The Gipper]

@rocknrollbrowns said:

I think its because teams are so caught up in the speed of the receiver and not how well they catch. So we are getting really fast guys that can't catch and this is leading to more tipped balls.

Did anyone notice that Hands of Stone Braylon Edwards has actually made at least 3-4 big catches during the playoffs without dropping the ball? And that he made a beast of a run after the catch to score that TD vs. the Pats.

That is the kind of guy the Browns envisioned when they drafted him.

Perhaps he is actually starting to mature.

[Unsympathetic]

"So we are getting really fast guys that can't catch"

As opposed to Bob Hayes in the early 70's, the only man to win an Olympic gold medal (3 in 1964) and a Super Bowl ring (1972)? He was the reason zone defenses and the bump-and-run were invented. The point is that the NFL has ALWAYS had a good percentage of folk lining up at WR who are more speed than hands.

I'm not sure how to quantify "can't" .. because it could be argued that TJ Housh can't catch.. yet there he was against the Squealers just last week catching a few curl routes even though his chief asset is raw straight-line speed.

[calfoxwc]

Did anyone notice that Hands of Stone Braylon Edwards has actually made at least 3-4 big catches during the playoffs without dropping the ball? And that he made a beast of a run after the catch to score that TD vs. the Pats.

That is the kind of guy the Browns envisioned when they drafted him.

Perhaps he is actually starting to mature. Gip

****************************************

I don't thinks it's maturity, because his dropped passes with the Browns, certainly seemed like he was dropping them on purpose.

He had given up on the Browns, never really cared, had a poor work ethic, and ended up blaming the fans for not liking him because

he was from Michigan. I wish the Browns had traded him to Carolina. @@