Anatomy of a Hail Mary: ESPN halftime report

[wncapp78]

Just when you think ESPN couldn’t show more enthusiasm for App State, they air “Anatomy of a Hail Mary” during the halftime update of the Virginia Tech-West Virginia game.
Who saw it???
Someone please please find it and post it here. I

[AppUSMC]

I saw it in a bar in NYC. I’m sitting drinking a Manhattan and low and behold I see above the bar a beautiful gold and black A. Volume was down so I’d like to see the link.

[wncapp78]

It was really a fantastic segment!

[T-Dog]

Was it this?

[appstate77]

Excellent!!

[AppStFan1]

Was it this that aired on ESPN on September 20th that they showed or something else?

[wncapp78]

None of those.
The announcers of the halftime update on ESPN during the Virginia Tech football game had a special segment on the App State Hail Mary play. It was amazing. I was so excited I don’t remember who the halftime studio announcers were.

[Mjohn1988]

They did basically the same thing on the Thursday night pre game show. That play does require an element of luck but our guy did everything right. It was a very well executed play.

[bigdaddyg]

I know it was mentioned on another thread but I find it really interesting that had we completed the 3rd down pass and been able to try a FG wasn't it at or just over 50 yards? I wonder if Coach tries that distance or still throws the HM?

[AppStFan1]

I know it was mentioned on another thread but I find it really interesting that had we completed the 3rd down pass and been able to try a FG wasn't it at or just over 50 yards? I wonder if Coach tries that distance or still throws the HM?

With the inconsistency at field goals that was the exact risk that Troy was willing to take. That would be a good question though. I figured we go for FG if inside 45 but would we if over 50? I’m just glad it worked out the way it did.

[biggie]

I know it was mentioned on another thread but I find it really interesting that had we completed the 3rd down pass and been able to try a FG wasn't it at or just over 50 yards? I wonder if Coach tries that distance or still throws the HM?

With the inconsistency at field goals that was the exact risk that Troy was willing to take. That would be a good question though. I figured we go for FG if inside 45 but would we if over 50? I’m just glad it worked out the way it did.

I think from one of Brice interviews the plan was to get close to 50-55 yd FG and try it.

[AppStFan1]

I know it was mentioned on another thread but I find it really interesting that had we completed the 3rd down pass and been able to try a FG wasn't it at or just over 50 yards? I wonder if Coach tries that distance or still throws the HM?

With the inconsistency at field goals that was the exact risk that Troy was willing to take. That would be a good question though. I figured we go for FG if inside 45 but would we if over 50? I’m just glad it worked out the way it did.

I think from one of Brice interviews the plan was to get close to 50-55 yd FG and try it.

I believe I heard him say that as well. I'm glad it worked out the way it did because I just don't think Hughes is ready for a long field goal like that yet. Maybe in a year or two he will be. Hopefully we don't end up in that situation again because now that we did that I'm sure teams will have a real plan to guard against that exact type of Hail Mary pass next time.

[huskie3]

I agree with the former db, put pressure on the qb - don’t allow time for receivers to get downfield!

[biggie]

I know it was mentioned on another thread but I find it really interesting that had we completed the 3rd down pass and been able to try a FG wasn't it at or just over 50 yards? I wonder if Coach tries that distance or still throws the HM?

With the inconsistency at field goals that was the exact risk that Troy was willing to take. That would be a good question though. I figured we go for FG if inside 45 but would we if over 50? I’m just glad it worked out the way it did.

I think from one of Brice interviews the plan was to get close to 50-55 yd FG and try it.

I believe I heard him say that as well. I'm glad it worked out the way it did because I just don't think Hughes is ready for a long field goal like that yet. Maybe in a year or two he will be. Hopefully we don't end up in that situation again because now that we did that I'm sure teams will have a real plan to guard against that exact type of Hail Mary pass next time.

Yeah I think he has the leg, just need practice on the accuracy. I really wouldn't want him much over 40 yds right now unless absolutely necessary.

[AppStFan1]

I know it was mentioned on another thread but I find it really interesting that had we completed the 3rd down pass and been able to try a FG wasn't it at or just over 50 yards? I wonder if Coach tries that distance or still throws the HM?

With the inconsistency at field goals that was the exact risk that Troy was willing to take. That would be a good question though. I figured we go for FG if inside 45 but would we if over 50? I’m just glad it worked out the way it did.

I think from one of Brice interviews the plan was to get close to 50-55 yd FG and try it.

I believe I heard him say that as well. I'm glad it worked out the way it did because I just don't think Hughes is ready for a long field goal like that yet. Maybe in a year or two he will be. Hopefully we don't end up in that situation again because now that we did that I'm sure teams will have a real plan to guard against that exact type of Hail Mary pass next time.

Yeah I think he has the leg, just need practice on the accuracy. I really wouldn't want him much over 40 yds right now unless absolutely necessary.

I agree with you that he should be able to eventually but controlling a ball from that distance and maintaining the power can take some time. He can certainly kick it deep on kickoffs but a kickoff or field goal in practice is just different than a game situation.

[bigdaddyg]

I know it was mentioned on another thread but I find it really interesting that had we completed the 3rd down pass and been able to try a FG wasn't it at or just over 50 yards? I wonder if Coach tries that distance or still throws the HM?

With the inconsistency at field goals that was the exact risk that Troy was willing to take. That would be a good question though. I figured we go for FG if inside 45 but would we if over 50? I’m just glad it worked out the way it did.

I think from one of Brice interviews the plan was to get close to 50-55 yd FG and try it.

I believe I heard him say that as well. I'm glad it worked out the way it did because I just don't think Hughes is ready for a long field goal like that yet. Maybe in a year or two he will be. Hopefully we don't end up in that situation again because now that we did that I'm sure teams will have a real plan to guard against that exact type of Hail Mary pass next time.

Like 100% of App fans also glad the way it worked out. Just imagine if we had tried and missed even a relatively short FG? Most rational fans (we might have some) would not have lost their collective minds had we missed from 55+ because it was gonna take a miracle to begin with but inside of 50 seems realistic given what we hear is a strong leg. Considering the pressure involved it's just even better the final play.

I've asked before but maybe someone has seen it (I haven't) called- any form of pass interference on a Hail Mary play. In my lifetime I've seen lots of these passes, some successes but most misses. I have never seen any PI called. That's really unbelievable considering that there are usually 5 or more defenders and at least 4 or so receivers all in one bunch. I'm willing to bet that someone gets shoved from behind on every single play. Talk about swallowing the whistle.

[AppStFan1]

I know it was mentioned on another thread but I find it really interesting that had we completed the 3rd down pass and been able to try a FG wasn't it at or just over 50 yards? I wonder if Coach tries that distance or still throws the HM?

With the inconsistency at field goals that was the exact risk that Troy was willing to take. That would be a good question though. I figured we go for FG if inside 45 but would we if over 50? I’m just glad it worked out the way it did.

I think from one of Brice interviews the plan was to get close to 50-55 yd FG and try it.

I believe I heard him say that as well. I'm glad it worked out the way it did because I just don't think Hughes is ready for a long field goal like that yet. Maybe in a year or two he will be. Hopefully we don't end up in that situation again because now that we did that I'm sure teams will have a real plan to guard against that exact type of Hail Mary pass next time.

Like 100% of App fans also glad the way it worked out. Just imagine if we had tried and missed even a relatively short FG? Most rational fans (we might have some) would not have lost their collective minds had we missed from 55+ because it was gonna take a miracle to begin with but inside of 50 seems realistic given what we hear is a strong leg. Considering the pressure involved it's just even better the final play.

I've asked before but maybe someone has seen it (I haven't) called- any form of pass interference on a Hail Mary play. In my lifetime I've seen lots of these passes, some successes but most misses. I have never seen any PI called. That's really unbelievable considering that there are usually 5 or more defenders and at least 4 or so receivers all in one bunch. I'm willing to bet that someone gets shoved from behind on every single play. Talk about swallowing the whistle.

I fully expect to hit a short field goal but hard to get mad if you miss from 55+. You know it is a low odds kick for most anyway and a lot can go wrong. If you just miss by an inch on contact of the ball it can make the difference in the kick even going wide.

I wonder if DBs are told not to get a PI no matter what in those situations or refs never call it? With where we were would Troy have been in a better spot to hold the player who tipped or caught it and risk getting the call knowing that it still would have been a long throw again? I would think perhaps because it still would have been what a 55-yard field goal attempt? That would have been an interesting decision for Shawn had that happened. They would have seen our ideal play in that scenario so you better have a second one or kick a very long field goal.

[AtlAppMan]

I would not have trusted our FG kicker for game winner for anything over 45 FOR SURE. I would be thinking hard about 40-45 yds given his track record so far this year. That is just reality. So basically I would trust my QB and receivers more than FG for anything outside 40 yds. That means we would have had to be on 33 yrd line or better. If we had made two completions to get to 30 yrd line I would have probably trotted Hughes out.

Regarding ESPN running and rerunning all these plays, it is just good for App State national publicity. ESPN just wants content that a draws attention and right now we are that content. I noticed numerous times on the ESPN App that ESPN has been rerunning the App-UNC and App-A&M games numerous times on the prime channels (ESPN2, ESPNU, etc). All of our games have been showing up in the "Top Picks" line on the ESPN App for the last couple weeks. You can't buy that publicity.

[AtlAppMan]

Also notice that ESPN included the video of the announcers in the booth to further bring something new to the clip. Everybody loves to see the improbable play/event, people can't keep their eyes off of it. They already heard about App State the previous week taking down A&M, yet here we are again. It is contagious. It makes for great discussions for ESPN and other media and we benefit.