Not Just A Hail Mary Pass

Football has been good to me lately, with the Sooners making the playoffs, slated to play #1 Clemson in the Orange Bowl. But, as a Packers fan, I still feel exhilarated by the way Green Bay beat Detroit. Down 20 to nothing, they scratched their way back at the very end to within striking distance, but then kept getting thwarted. I gave up numerous times during that game. Time ran out. But, wait, Detroit drew a (questionable) facemask penalty. The Packers were given one more play. Back on their own 39-yardline, quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a ball 61 yards with about that same height. (Some are saying it was 71 yards high!) And in the melee of both teams crowded in the endzone, receiver Richard Rodgers somehow caught it! Packers win!

This would seem to be a classic “Hail Mary” pass. The name comes, I believe, from Notre Dame football. The last play of the game, just throw the ball as far as you can and say a “Hail Mary,” praying in the Catholic way that the Mother of our Lord (football fan that she is) would cause someone to catch it. But, it turns out, this was an actual play that the Packers regularly practice and that was executed to perfection. After the jump, see a video of the pass and read the analysis.

The play was Scat Two Rebound Pass. They call it a “rebound pass” because the ball comes in from above, so that the receivers catch it like rebounding a basketball. (The high arc means that the ball can’t easily be knocked down by a defender.)

Aaron Rodgers scrambled so as to give the players time to get into position. This also gave him a running momentum to give him greater distance on the ball. The superhigh arc also gave the receivers time they needed. Notice how they ended up in front of most of the defenders. Richard Rodgers (no relation) jumped up to catch it, but other receivers were around him in case the ball was deflected.

Of course, though the play was scripted, that took nothing away from the spectacular nature of the throw. Few quarterbacks could have thrown the ball that far, much less that high and that far. The result was one of the wildest endings I have ever seen.

See “‘Down the Chimney’: How the Packers Pulled Off Their Hail Mary Pass. ESPN.

See Mike McCarthy on Aaron Rodgers’ Hail Mary: ‘Probably the best throw I’ve seen’ – Green Bay Packers Blog- ESPN.