Dropped Passes

[JuggernautJ]

The thread title is "Dropped Passes" not "Drops by Receivers" so how about one by a defensive back?

The dropped (easy) interception by Lewis Billups in Super Bowl XXIII was a game-changer and perhaps a team-of-the-decade-changer, too. The 49ers scored on the next play and went on to win their third title under Bill Walsh. And, as they say, "the rest is history."

But had Billups held on to that "gimme" interception things might have been very different...

[JeffreyMiller]

One big trouble with tabulating dropped passes is that it's quite subjective. What one observer calls a drop might be called a poorly thrown pass by another observer.

For example, I don't consider consider Wes Welker's Super Bowl "drop" to be a drop at all. The ball was thrown high and to the wrong side and Welker had to make a twisting leap in his attempt to catch it.

Yes, while he got both hands on it it seems a little cruel to label it a drop as the ball could have been thrown better. Drops should be relatively easy catches flubbed with little or no interference from defenders.

Sort of like an "unforced error" in tennis

[conace21]

It didn't hit him in both hands, but Tom Mitchell let a Morrall pass bounce off his shoulder pads in the Jets end zone in Super Bowl III. The ball caromed up in the air and Randy Beverly intercepted it. The Jets proceeded to drive 80 yards for a TD and a 7-0 lead.

[JeffreyMiller]

Week 12, 2010 season, Bills-Steelers. Stevie Johnson drops a sure TD pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick ... in overtime!

[Bryan]

Week 12, 2010 season, Bills-Steelers. Stevie Johnson drops a sure TD pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick ... in overtime!

If memory serves me right, I think that was the most repulsive-looking drop I had ever seen. The pass was an easy floater, and the ball seemed like it wanted to be caught, but Johnson somehow managed to not hold on.

Kim Bokamper's near-INT in SB XVII wasn't really a drop, but I always wondered how strange it would have been had he scored on that play and Miami ended up winning the game with one defensive TD, a kick return TD, and one good offensive play in 4 quarters. That would have been the weirdest Super Bowl and weirdest 'champion' team in NFL history.

[JohnR]

It didn't hit him in both hands, but Tom Mitchell let a Morrall pass bounce off his shoulder pads in the Jets end zone in Super Bowl III. The ball caromed up in the air and Randy Beverly intercepted it. The Jets proceeded to drive 80 yards for a TD and a 7-0 lead.

That ball was tipped by a Jet LB, so interfering with a ball in flight negates a "drop". Same would apply to Warfield's inability to pull in a long pass near the end of the half in SB VI.