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rainmaker · #32 (**permalink**) Wed Apr 13, 2005, 04:45pm

Quote:

Originally posted by M&M Guy

Quote:

Originally posted by Back In The Saddle

Quote:

Originally posted by tomegun
Camron, I don't see the defender's torso moving forward in the first video.

It is really splitting hairs on both of these plays but I think I would have had PC on both.

Cameron is seeing the same thing I'm seeing. You're right, it's close.

But try this: Expand the video to 2x or bigger. Play the video until just before the defender gets his feet on the ground. Pause it. Put a piece of paper or some other marker on the screen to mark the position of the back of the defender. Hold the marker there and step the video forward frame by frame. You'll see that with each frame, his torso is still moving forward. It's still moving forward when the contact occurs.

If you look closely at how the defender sets his feet, so far ahead of the rest of his body, simple physics/physiology says that either he has to be moving forward, or he'll fall on his can.

This is a great breakdown, but the part that worries me is how do we translate this to real-time? When we see the play for the first time (and only time), and react based on the info and angle that we have, we make the decision. We don't have the luxury of being able to pull out a piece of paper and watch the players do it again. ("Oh, wait, #23 can you do that move one more time, but do it slower for me?") I try to react on visual "clues", such as the position of the defender's feet, was the contact in the torso, etc.

As for the feet being ahead of the torso, and the torso of the defender moving forward at the time of contact - isn't the key the position of the feet? If the feet got to the spot on the floor, and contact was made in that "cone of verticality" (oh, oh..) above the feet, I don't think it matters if the body is moving forward and "catching up" to the feet.

If you guys are doing this, you've got way, way too much time on your hands!