Originally posted by Memphis9er:
Originally posted by 5_Golden_Rings:
Originally posted by 49erKing:
Originally posted by 5_Golden_Rings:
Originally posted by Giedi:Having a lower trajectory on deep balls all the time means your arm isn't as strong, because you have to cut out the wasted motion. You think Russell Wilson has a weak arm? His deep balls are more tear drop than anyone's I've ever seen.
Originally posted by brodiebluebanaszak:
Originally posted by Giedi:
Originally posted by tankle104:
#49ers QB Brock Purdy has (so far) simultaneously improved in time before throw, air yards per attempt and yards per attempt.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) October 2, 2023
2022: 2.93 seconds, 7.0 air yds/att., 8.4 yds/att.
2023: 2.56 seconds, 7.2 air yds/att., 9.1 yds/att.
Ball out quicker but still gaining more yards.
Arm is definitely stronger than Montana's.
No not really. They both throw extremely catchable balls on all their different types of throws though. Both elite there.
Disagree, I remember Montana's long balls had more arch to them. Early in Montana's career (Before Rice) he had long ball issues. Which are not a big deal during the early years as he had Wendell Tyler. That Aiyuk 40+ yard throw was a flatter trajectory than Montana's usual deep throws, as I recall it.
The second the ball leaves your hand, the only forces working on it are gravity and friction. A high arching ball travels a further net distance than a flattened one. It takes more arm to throw more distance. QBs who depend on a flat arc for deep balls probably do not have as strong an arm as those who don't.
HOWEVER, it could also merely be a preference. The QB maybe doesn't anticipate as much as the tear drop guy and has to sling it to get it there in time, or perhaps they're paranoid about the ball taking a long time to get there.
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EDIT: before I get tarred and feathered, I'm not talking about Brock. His arm is plenty strong enough to hit every throw you need to wear a gold jacket. I'm just talking theoretically. If you HAVE to have a low trajectory to throw deep, your arm isn't as strong as someone who can easily do either.
Any science behind this? I think if someone wants to throw deep, if they have the time, and it makes sense, they "naturally" conform to throwing with a higher arc/higher trajectory. I mean that's how I feel when I play catch with the guys. If you're trying to laser it while going deep I think that actually means you have a stronger arm than most.
Yeah. Pythagoras (Extended to curves; the same principle applies, you just add up the infinitesimal distances via a line integral, but it's essentially the same thing. In Euclidean geometry, a straight line is the shortest path between two points.). A high arcing ball travels more distance. As the ball is not getting any additional force as it leaves (basic physics), what you put into it upon release is all it has. So throwing with a high arc doesn't give you some boost. That's not how physics work. Draw a free body diagram. Only gravity and friction are of any consequence once it's released.
So, the high arcing ball is thrown further in actual distance traveled than the low arcing one.
Which means, if you MUST throw with a low arc to get it there, your arm is weaker. (By arm strength I mean how far you can throw the ball, but I see no reason why velocity and distance would be different as a measure of arm strength unless the QB has mechanical problems which make one of either his distance or velocity throws more inefficient.)
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EDIT: Just to be clear, however, I do believe that the most likely reason most of the time for why some QBs throw with a low arc and some don't is that the low arc guys either have poorer deep anticipation or don't trust their accuracy and timing as much, or fear that a super fast safety might catch up and make a play. In other words, I think a lot of low-arc deep ball guys COULD throw tear drops but choose not to.
Kaepernick used to throw frozen ropes, I don't think he could put air under it. It takes more strength to throw those low angle passes because you have to put more mustard on it to get the ball to go where you want it. The downside is those balls are much harder to catch. Putting air under it means you don't have to throw it as hard to get it to the target, and the balls are much easier to catch. Josh Allen is probably the best pure arm talent that can do either as needed.
If you follow the conversation, it depends on if you're throwing with an angle greater than or less than 45. Which one takes more arm strength swaps at that critical point.