[MahiMike]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Let me go get the playbook that Andy gave me....

....shit, guess I can't find it.

What I can say is that yes, I did play WR in high school and to this day can still tell you my route tree. And yes, I know quite a bit about the game and am absolutely certain that EVERYBODY is taught to look to their outside shoulder on a flag route (again, unless it's a designed back shoulder throw and nothing Maclin did in running his route suggests that it was).

Again, just think of the physical machinations involved in looking over your inside shoulder on that route. Your feet follow your shoulders and your shoulders follow your head - it's virtually impossible to stay on the correct track for a flag route if you turn your head inside; you'll flatten out that route every time.

So sadly, as I seem to have misplaced my 2017 Chiefs playbook, the best I can give you is a circumstantial case. 1) That was a flag route with a DB that had inside position on the WR. 2) WRs are taught to look to their outside shoulder on flag routes due to basic body mechanics and the fact that the route is usually set up to draw the WR to the inside and thus give the QB the boundary to throw at (and the WR can shield the DB away from the ball). 3) The throw was perfectly placed at the flag. 4) Maclin did nothing as he attempted to find the ball that suggested that he was supposed to do anything other than run under it and bring it in over a shoulder (virtually impossible and 100x more difficult to do from the inside shoulder). 5) Maclin has made several odd mistakes in routes this year and has recently admitted that he simply hasn't been right this year mentally or physically.

Absolutely every bit of circumstantial evidence and basic reasoning suggests that the throw was designed to go to the outside shoulder. It's a basic staple play. I've actually presented a case for it and the best anyone has said in response is....well nothing really. You're asking me to just assume that the guy that's had a pretty poor year made the right play when in fact every readily available piece of evidence suggests the opposite.

If you think Smith screwed up, by all means, give me something other than "well Maclin was open" as your argument. Because Smith threw the ball exactly where an open Maclin would've caught it and strolled into the end-zone had he simply looked over the other shoulder. Smith led Maclin, Maclin just didn't locate the ball.

Dwayne Bowe 2.0