Steelers Film Room: Clap Puts Kenny Pickett INT on Chase Claypool
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The Pittsburgh Steelers had a few passing plays fall in the New York Jets direction in Week 4, but one is worthy of another look.
Football is a very fast game that looks way more simple to the average every day fan than it actually is. It is very difficult to both appreciate and understand the level of attention to detail that goes into every play at so many positions.
Wide receiver is a flashy position that when you hear about it you'll often envision spectacular one-handed catches by Odell Beckham Jr, or that time DeAndre Hopkins caught the ball on a hail mary between three Buffalo Bills defenders.
Those plays are spectacles that offer eye candy at the surface, but often have a ton of nuts and bolts underneath. Before and during the catch there is a lot more going on than a play may led on.
When a receiver often times drops a pass many will chalk it up to "focus," or you might hear the term "body catching" and "alligator arms." For these terms, while they can offer up potential causation, it's not always as cut and dry as it may seem. How that happens matters almost, if not more.
Take the Chase Claypool drop that led to an interception for an example.
There is a lot going on here, but let's start from the beginning and that is tracking the ball.
Claypool finds the ball in the air and knows where it's going so he throttles down. The problem is he's not fully throttled down, so as he times his leap it causes his body to be falling backwards. This is not ideal for a box out jump ball situation because he's not attacking forward towards the ball at its highest point.
Then there's the catch technique:
Claypool is using what is known as a "clap" catch technique that relies on bringing both palms together to essentially trap the ball. This is a risky technique that could be considered a bad habit because you're catching the ball at it's highest speed in the palms and that can cause it to bounce up and out of his hands.
Many of the NFL's best hands in this particular jump ball situation tend to use more of the traditional, "diamond" catch technique. This involves bringing your hands close enough to essentially form a "diamond" in the middle of your hand. The receiver then allows their fingers to catch the ball first to slow down its rotation before bringing it into their palms.
Here's a great example of this on a contested catch situation by Antonio Brown:
Now note how before the ball arrives how close his hands are together vs Claypool:
While I do not necessarily believe that clap catch technique is a death sentence for all wide receivers, it's one of the things that hinders Claypool the most. The tracking and timing is one thing, but when you clap the ball in a contested situation like this it leaves an opening for the defender to get between both hands to knock the ball away.
This is also not the first time Claypool has done this, as it shows up all over his film (volume on):
On a side note, massive respect to Matt Waldman and his breakdown here on this play. Cannot recommend his work enough and if you really want to evaluate the game in a much closer lense, he will teach you some incredible attention to detail points you won't find from many other film watchers.
Claypool is a good player, clearly works hard and is valued within the scheme of the Steelers offense, but issues on the finer details are keeping him from fully living up to his potential.
Till these issues are attacked, he will continue to be a frustrating player to watch.
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