Listen up, quarterbacks. Professor Tom Brady’s class is now in session.
While on the call for FOX’s broadcast of Sunday’s San Francisco 49ers-Philadelphia Eagles game, Brady offered savvy advice to QBs on how to control the football in windy conditions. His point of emphasis was that the plane of the ball has to be pointing straight ahead, so the wind doesn’t take it off course.
“When you’re throwing into the wind, [the plane of the ball] has to be neutral,” Brady said. “If the point of the ball is up, any wind friction is going to point that ball up over the top. So, as a quarterback, you don’t really like that ‘U’ throw [with your hand] underneath because, naturally, that’s going to tip the point of the ball up. You’d like [to make] more of a ‘C’ or a reverse ‘C’ [with your throwing hand.]
“That’s how you kind of control the point of the ball. Then, you can kind of just snap it off as you throw it. But, in these windy conditions, you can’t be underneath the ball. There’s too much wind surface on the ball to knock it off its path.”
Essentially, Brady advises quarterbacks not to point the ball upward when throwing in windy conditions. But the visual of him explaining it would also help, as he showed how to properly grip a football while throwing into the wind.
The wind gusts for Sunday’s 49ers-Eagles were at least 20 mph, per FOX Weather. There was an issue with unfurling the American flag during the pregame festivities and then, early in the game, one of the blue medical tents got flipped over due to a strong gust. Not coincidentally, each kicker missed an extra-point attempt during Sunday’s game.
Neither quarterback had a strong day throwing the ball, either. Of course, in Brock Purdy’s case, he was going against a pretty strong Eagles defense. Still, he completed 18 of 31 passes for 262 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, with a catch-and-run by 49ers receiver Demarcus Robinson on a busted play accounting for 61 yards of that total.
Hurts, meanwhile, had some struggles throwing the ball on Sunday after a rocky passing season. He completed 20 of 35 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. Neither quarterback completed a pass of at least 20 air yards in Sunday’s game, going a combined 0-for-5 on such attempts, per Pro Football Focus. Hurts completed just 3 of 7 passes where the ball traveled 10-to-19 yards down the field, while Purdy completed 8 of 12 such passes with a touchdown and two interceptions, according to PFF.
Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game: 49ers WR Demarcus Robinson 🏆
One player who didn’t have a problem throwing in the wind on Sunday was 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings. He completed a 29-yard touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey on a deep ball on the first play of the fourth quarter to help San Francisco get out of its offensive malaise.
“At this point, you’ve worked on all these trick plays and gadget plays over the course of the last six, eight weeks,” Brady said of the play on the broadcast. “Every week, you’re practicing them. You don’t want to just end this game and things that you feel confident in and not use them.”
As for how Brady played in windy conditions during his 23-year career, those stats aren’t readily available. But Brady proved he could handle the worst of conditions throughout his playing career, posting a 35-8 record in his career when the temperature was 32 degrees or colder at kickoff.
So, if the seven Super Bowl rings weren’t enough, quarterbacks should certainly be listening to Brady. FOX Sports lead NFL play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt also appreciated Brady’s insight.
“I’m going to tell you, that was a science lesson that I didn’t know I needed,” Burkhardt said. “Well done.”
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