N/S calling all smart people (1 Viewer)

[Kurgan]

Nothing to do with it but i read "after consuming a few bears", don't know why

 

[jayd265]

Saints Malcolm Jenkins Runs Down Bucs Vincent Jackson Saving a TD - YouTube

 

[Watertaco]

Everyone here is wrong.

Geometry does enter into it. The key is that the defenders only take these angles when they are farther up the field than then runner. This is why it's not the pythagorean theorem.When the defender then turns downfield to run at the ballcarrier at an angle, he is not on the hypotenuse. The runner and the defender are both running at the same point downfield. In otherwords. they're both running on the "b" sides of this triangle: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/images/eps-gif/IsoscelesTriangle_800.gif



So, you have to take the "a" dashed line in that and turn it in your head so that it isn't pointing downfield. It's pointing slightly to the sideline.

So, they're now running the same distance before their paths meet.

Furthermore, if the defender is even farther up field, he can take a larger angle, and make it so that the runner is on the hypotenuse.

If the defender was on the same yardline as the runner, and then took an angle, then he is on the hypotenuse. Sometimes they have to do this - a safety should never be in this position - but it only works if the defender is faster than the runner. So, for instance, this will never work on AP. But sometimes they have no choice - it's still a better option than running straight at the defender.

What are you talking about? We use Geometry in almost every aspect in our lives, including this scenario.

 

[duhonmark551]

Saints Malcolm Jenkins Runs Down Bucs Vincent Jackson Saving a TD - YouTube

Since I'm a self acclaimed smart guy, I ran the numbers on this play to make some sense of it.

1) Jackson is 5 yards ahead of Jenkins and running straight to the end zone. He ran 61 yards before he was hit by Jenkins. He never let up and ran his top speed.

2) Jenkins is 5 yards behind and 17 yards offset. He ran a calculated 68.2 yards before he hits Jackson at the 9 yard line.

Conclusion: Jenkins covered 12% more ground, and ran 12% faster than Jackson based on youtube video evidence and the Pythagorean theorem.

Contradictory Facts
Malcolm Jenkins recorded combine time in the 40 was 4.53 seconds. That was slower than Jackson by 2%. He is now 25 years old.

Vincent Jackson recorded combine time in the 40 was 4.46 seconds. That was faster than Jenkins by 2%. He is now 30 years old.

Hypothesis: Vincent Jackson is getting old, has lost a step or two and was caught by a younger player.

 

[Bundok Saint]

Hypothesis: Vincent Jackson is getting old, has lost a step or two and was caught by a younger player.

...Or, Jenkins taped a cheetah to his back.

 

[VPCajun]

Ok so I had a question creep into my head the other day after consuming a few beers. Everyone knows that a potential tackler has a better shot at tackling a runner by taking an angle at the runner. But according to the Pythagorean Theorem that we all learned in fifth grade, the angle, C,(that the tackler is taking) is a longer distance than what the runner, B, would be taking. My question is how does it give the tackler a better chance at catching up if the distance he has to travel is greater than what the runner's is? I can't come up with an answer.

Well, if you finagle that right triangle displaying the line between the runner and the tackler as the hypotenuse, then have the runner running along the longer side and the tackler running along the shorter line, then the tackler will get to the "base" quicker!

But, of course, the answer really has nothing to do with Right Triangles, but more of projecting where a runner will be in time X and whether the tackler's time y will be shorter to getting to the same projected point!

Keep in mind that the tackler typically has the advantage of being UPFIELD and thus has a "headstart" to getting to that projected point FIRST!

But, of course, a good tackler also keeps in mind that the runner won't just blindly be running to that projected point but may very well CUT BACK!

.

[Ain't it AMAZING how our brains can CALCULATE all of this on the fly when we're running and trying to catch someone -- or something (like a ball in flight)!!!]

.

 

[duhonmark551]

...Or, Jenkins taped a cheetah to his back.

Maybe so, because 12% faster is like a CB running down a fat lineman. I think Jenkins was doing something illegal to catch up. It is truly a head scratcher.

 

[boutte]

Jenkins doesn't have to catch the ball or carry it. As soon as the ball is thrown he has a good idea of where he's going to have to go to catch Jackson if he catches the ball. Jackson wasn't moving very fast to begin with and got slower as the play progressed. Jenkins accelerated.