Atlanta Dan
01-20-2011, 04:38 PM
The New York Times sends more love Ben's way, discussing in depth how Ben's pump fakes set up the deep throws - excerpts and link below
The Art of the Pump Fake
There are times when Hines Ward, the Pittsburgh Steelers receiver, finds himself unexpectedly uncovered while running his route. He looks around and sees nothing unusual amid the traffic of a football game, except a safety heading the other way. After 13 seasons in the N.F.L., Ward is still bewildered when it happens.
I’m like, ‘Why is the safety going that way?’ ” Ward said. “Whatever he did, I’m open. Then I look on tape. ‘Oh, Ben pump-faked.’ ” ...
In his seven seasons, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has elevated it to an art form, winding up, pretending to throw, pulling his arm back and reloading so often that it looks as if someone is hitting the fast forward and rewind buttons while watching game tape. Roethlisberger uses the pump fake more than any other current quarterback except perhaps Peyton Manning.
There is a soft fake in which Roethlisberger barely raises his arm, a hard fake in which he goes so far into his throwing motion that it is hard to imagine how the ball does not fall out of his hand, and even a fake spike, in which, during a regular-season game against the Jets, he pretended to spike the ball so hard it looked as if it nearly touched the ground, before unleashing a pass.
All of them frustrate defenses, which struggle to figure out which way to run and how fast to get there. And all of them aid Roethlisberger’s propensity for the deep pass, buying a few extra moments for receivers to sprint downfield, and a few extra inches of space in which to catch the ball....
Roethlisberger throws the deep pass more than any of the other quarterbacks the Jets have faced this postseason, with 25 percent of his attempts going for 20 or more yards, according to figures compiled by Football Outsiders. That compares with 19 percent of passes for 20 or more yards for Manning, 15 percent for Drew Brees and 13 percent for Brady. A whopping 38 percent of Roethlisberger’s pass attempts are for at least 10 yards, with the next closest among the four, Brees, at 28 percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/sports/football/21fake.html?pagewanted=1&ref=sports
The Art of the Pump Fake
There are times when Hines Ward, the Pittsburgh Steelers receiver, finds himself unexpectedly uncovered while running his route. He looks around and sees nothing unusual amid the traffic of a football game, except a safety heading the other way. After 13 seasons in the N.F.L., Ward is still bewildered when it happens.
I’m like, ‘Why is the safety going that way?’ ” Ward said. “Whatever he did, I’m open. Then I look on tape. ‘Oh, Ben pump-faked.’ ” ...
In his seven seasons, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has elevated it to an art form, winding up, pretending to throw, pulling his arm back and reloading so often that it looks as if someone is hitting the fast forward and rewind buttons while watching game tape. Roethlisberger uses the pump fake more than any other current quarterback except perhaps Peyton Manning.
There is a soft fake in which Roethlisberger barely raises his arm, a hard fake in which he goes so far into his throwing motion that it is hard to imagine how the ball does not fall out of his hand, and even a fake spike, in which, during a regular-season game against the Jets, he pretended to spike the ball so hard it looked as if it nearly touched the ground, before unleashing a pass.
All of them frustrate defenses, which struggle to figure out which way to run and how fast to get there. And all of them aid Roethlisberger’s propensity for the deep pass, buying a few extra moments for receivers to sprint downfield, and a few extra inches of space in which to catch the ball....
Roethlisberger throws the deep pass more than any of the other quarterbacks the Jets have faced this postseason, with 25 percent of his attempts going for 20 or more yards, according to figures compiled by Football Outsiders. That compares with 19 percent of passes for 20 or more yards for Manning, 15 percent for Drew Brees and 13 percent for Brady. A whopping 38 percent of Roethlisberger’s pass attempts are for at least 10 yards, with the next closest among the four, Brees, at 28 percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/sports/football/21fake.html?pagewanted=1&ref=sports