Probably a dumb question../

[Row80]

I continually read and hear announcers talk about "making a play on the football at its highest point" in referring to a pass play.

If you take that literally, on many passes the "highest point" of the arc of the ball between the QB and receiver is way too high in the air for someone to touch it. So I assume that what they really mean is that the player is making his play on "his" highest point of his jump.

But they don't say "his" highest point, the consistently say "it's" highest point.

Am I missing something or is this just a inaccurately worded phrase?

 

[Lincoln100]

You are missing something.

 

[Row80]

You are missing something.

OK. would someone explain what that means? Thanks.

 

[N-sane]

I think it's just a way of saying "he timed his jump well"... So I guess technically he's catching the ball at "its" or "his" highest point possible... Or the highest point at which the ball can be caught.

 

[Husker.Wed._rivals]

Not a dumb question since I was hoping someone would answer it so I could learn what it means. I think it is like the king's new clothes. They keep saying it and no one ever questions it lest we look uninformed.

 

[TwinsRRUs_rivals79748]

Here are a couple of good explanations by those who think it's a stupid comment

http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2010/01/08/idiotic-football-physics-the-h/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chadorz...nobody-catches-the-ball-at-its-highest-point/

"What Papa really meant was that Hankerson out-jumped Giants cornerback Trumaine McBride, who mis-timed his jump. McBride went up into the air and came back down before the ball arrived, while Hankerson leaped and caught the ball near the highest point of his brief time in the air."

"The issue here is pronoun trouble. Larry Fitzgereald doesn’t get the ball at its highest point, he catches it at his highest point. That is, he times his jump for the ball very well, so that he gets it in his hands at the very highest point his hands reach. Since he’s a pretty tall guy, that means that an opposing defensive back doesn’t have much chance of getting the ball before he does, which makes him a great wide receiver."

 

[Row80]

Thanks to those who replied with more than the idiotic "You are missing something".

I thought it funny, that like many threads here, that the comments on the scienceblogs article eventually turned into bickering.

 

[Hoosker Du]

Man, there has to be some Sunday drivers that I can run off the road or something. Now where the hell are my keys..