Jaylin Lane has proven to have reliable hands during his career. (Jon Fleming)
One of the questions I thought I’d get for this week’s Friday Q&A is, “What’s one thing you’ll be looking for in the Virginia Tech-Old Dominion game that nobody is talking about?” Instead, I thought I’d nip it in the bud as part of my first Inside The Numbers article of the 2023 football season.
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A drop is indeed deflating for the Offense. Compare this to a drive stopping Holding call. A QB's stats should be adjusted for drops, where the Incompletion is not his fault. Probably there is a metric out there, but if so I am unaware of it. Kind of like in Baseball, where the judgement has to be made as to whether or not you got a Hit, or did an Error allow you to get On Base.
74hokie
Disagree. I think 120 receptions with 24 drops is enough to get you benched if there is a receiver worth his weight on the team. You’re expected to catch the ball if your hands are on it. There certainly are exceptions such as getting popped by the defender about time the ball hits your hands but no, if the QB put it there, you just do not drop it.
hokieneallaw
As a long ago Hokie wideout, I can tell you the expected drop rate is 0%, all the time. Nothing more is acceptable. If you can reasonably touch it, you should catch it. Drops are not only bad for the receiver, they are a bit demoralizing for the offense as they are right out there in plain view. Many receivers have done boatloads of pushups for drops through the years (in practice).
pfishe
My dad was a TE decades ago, and he still loses his mind whenever he sees a drop on TV. He doesn’t recall dropping a pass in a game — though I like to remind him they didn’t throw it much in the 50s. Regardless, it’s probably healthy to view drops as a terrible play that will happen, but they really are an extremely frustrating event for the team.
HokieBrian
Could not disagree more, what if the fumble rate was a quarter of that would that not matter? Our offense has to be efficient and has little room for error.
mcannaday
This Analytic is overrated and miss represented.
At 17%. If a receiver got 12 balls thrown his way in a game. That would be ALOT. If he dropped 2, that means he caught 10 which would be a great game!
120 receptions with 24 drops on the season. Still not too shabby.
We don’t want our play makers to be AFRAID of dropping the ball. That’s backward thinking. We want them to make place. They work on catching every day and they will get better!
Seikoh_04
Disagree. A drop is a zero yard play, and if in a traditional passing situation, more often than not ends drives.
Long-Lost Hokie
Agreed. Lofton had one drop in particular, against Miami, that really could've meant the difference between a win and a loss. Incompletions are unavoidable, but drops are almost always unforced errors that a team with no margin for error cannot afford.
HokieBrian
Could not disagree more, what if the fumble rate was a quarter of that would that not matter? Our offense has to be efficient and has little room for error.
74hokie
Disagree. I think 120 receptions with 24 drops is enough to get you benched if there is a receiver worth his weight on the team. You’re expected to catch the ball if your hands are on it. There certainly are exceptions such as getting popped by the defender about time the ball hits your hands but no, if the QB put it there, you just do not drop it.
icelus
120 receptions with 24 drops is only good in fantasy football, but pretty bad in real games, because they only count catchable passes as drops. 24 drops alone probably killed 15 drives. How many drives do you have per game? The positive for Jennings is his YPC, meaning he is a big play threat.
VT Ken
I remember seeing LSU's receivers went from one of the worst to one of the best groups in the recent past. It was chalked up to a bevy of new catching drills they implemented, like opening a door in front of the receiver as the ball is arriving and things like that. I'd be curious to hear from the coaches whether they've been trying anything new to help improve in this area.
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