The Catch

Another by Matt Pendleton of the Gainesville Sun:

 

Awesome grab!

 

RP is money.
Wilson, Jackson, Douglas making plays. Chiaokhiao-Bowman returning, tight ends catching balls...

Give Mertz more protection and he'll be carving people up.

 

Bout the best I ever seen.

 

Reminds me of an Anthony Richardson high school catch.

 

Reminds me of... exactly nothing else I've ever seen live.

 

I hope there's like a play of the year espy award or something.

That catch should win an award.

 

If he develops the discipline to run better routes...sky's the limit.

Mind you, this is NOT a slam. I'm no expert but some smart experts have pointed this out on film. Discipline he has, for sure, and talent.

 

Catching the ball in the reverse direction is what separates this catch from anything I’ve seen before. There was no easy way to cradle this one, especially when getting sandwiched. Best catch I’ve ever seen hands down!

 

RP must have big hands to make a catch like that.

 

I don’t think discipline is the issue. He’s great at route running and in his ability to get open. I think what he lacks is top end speed to take the top off the defense.

 

Yeah exactly. Even with the amazing OBJ catch, the ball was coming into his hand. With this Pearsall grab, it’s like gravity was momentarily suspended or something, as he snatched from the backside.

 

he needs to get whacked by the SEC with a huge fine

 

Unbelievable catch.

But if I may be a naysayer, there were 4 white jerseys around Pearsall. What were the other receivers doing with that lack of defenders?

Whoever this is was in single coverage and beat his man, with the deep safety having to decide whether to get him or Pearsall.

 

To be fair, this image appears to have been taken while the ball was in the air, so I think some defenders may have vacated their prior zone to run to the pass target. Eg that high safety might have been a problem in completing the other pass. It’s a possibility anyway.

 

Yes but only one defender. This deep safety had dual responsibilities between Pearsall and whoever I first circled.

 

Agreed. I’m just saying that safety may have been more of a factor with the throw to the other side. Maybe Mertz even looked him off.

BTW, I agree that your hypothesis looks reasonable. I just want to suggest that without one of those field cams, it’s hard to know what the field looked like as the play developed.

 

Spider-Man

 

Yes, Pearsall’s catch is the best catch physically I’ve ever seen. OBJ’s catch was more impactful since it was a TD in the Super Bowl with a lot of people watching.