Hail Mary pass

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In American football, a Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary play is a forward pass made in desperation, with only a very small chance of success. The typical Hail Mary is a very long forward pass thrown at or near the end of a half where there is no realistic possibility for any other play to work, though the most famous were thrown at the end of a game. The phrase derives from the name of a prominent Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary. The point is that the success of such a pass is so unlikely that it would need divine intervention to work.

Contents

1 Play Setup
2 Defense
3 History
4 See also

Play Setup

Although the Hail Mary has a low percentage chance of completion, it is generally a standard play in every playbook at the professional and college level. Generally, three or more eligible receivers are lined up on the short side of the field and all run a fly pattern. The running backs are kept in to block. Sometimes the team running the Hail Mary will not even have a running back in the backfield, instead choosing to use every possible eligible receiver (as many as four or five of them on some occasions) to run a pass route, hoping to spread out the defense and give the quarterback more passing options to throw to. The quarterback throws towards the end zone. However, it must be noted that the Hail Mary pass does not actually need to be completed to succeed. It may also succeed in drawing a pass interference penalty on the defense (a strong possibility with so many receivers running deep routes for the defense to cover), which gives the offense the ability to run another play with better field position in all situations (since the game cannot end on a defensive penalty, even if there is no time left on the clock).

Defense

Defending against the Hail Mary is straightforward. The first priority is to ensure the defensive backs are in zone coverage, and that they keep the receivers well in front of them until the ball is thrown. Second, generally no more than four defensive linemen rush the quarterback, with all the linebackers dropping back to prevent a shorter pass. In many cases, the defense will remove some of its linebackers and linemen and replace them with extra defensive backs, in order to help compensate when the opposing team brings in extra receivers, leading to there being five or six defensive backs on the field instead of the usual four. These are generally known as the nickel and dime packages, respectively. Occasionally, especially in college football, offensive players (usually wide receivers) will be put in on defense to defend a Hail Mary. Hail Mary passes are most successful when the defense is in the wrong alignment. If the defense is in man-to-man coverage, and a receiver manages to break coverage by getting further downfield than the nearest defensive back, the chance of success is greatly improved.

History

Arguably, the most famous Hail Mary pass came in a 1984 game between Boston College and Miami (FL). With almost no time left on the clock, BC quarterback Doug Flutie threw a desperation Hail Mary pass which succeeded primarily because Miami's secondary stood on the goal line to keep the receivers in front of them, and failed to cover a post route being run by Gerard Phelan. Miami's defense was based on the assumption that Flutie would be unable to throw the ball as far as the end zone, but Flutie hit Phelan in stride against a flatfooted defense a yard deep in the end zone.

In 1994, Colorado’s Kordell Stewart threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Michael Westbrook on the last play of the game at Michigan. This play has gone down in history as “The Miracle in Michigan.”

In 2002 the LSU at Kentucky football game ended in a Hail Mary pass thrown by Marcus Randall that has since been dubbed the “Bluegrass Miracle.”

The term "Hail Mary pass" is often incorrectly believed to have been coined by Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, referring to his desperation (and Catholic beliefs), for his game-winning touchdown pass in a December 28, 1975 NFC semifinal playoff game. With only 36 seconds remaining, Staubach threw a desperation pass to receiver Drew Pearson, who was being covered by cornerback Nate Wright. Pearson pinned the slightly underthrown ball against his right hip and ran into the end zone for the winning touchdown. In discussing the play during a post-game interview, Staubach told reporters that he closed his eyes, threw the ball as hard as he could, and said a Hail Mary prayer. Although the term dates farther back, originally to high schools across the country, Staubach did popularize it.[link] [link]

In the modern NFL, the Hail Mary will usually only be used at the end of the final play of the first half, when a team is out of field goal range. At the end of the game when many yards are needed on the last play, lateralling is more likely to succeed at getting a touchdown. This would not be used at the end of the first half, as the probability of the defense scoring is much higher than on a Hail Mary.

Hail Mary passes are similar in concept to the use of laterals on a final play, and religious terminology is also seen in many last second desperation plays, such as the fabled Immaculate Reception.

Hail Mary pass

Play Setup

Defense

History

See also