What did Aaron Rodgers mean by "late down the middle"?

Question

Rodgers threw a rare interception yesterday. Several articles quoted him as saying about it, "(Adams) felt bad about that, but I was sitting on the bench and all I was thinking was (former Packers offensive coach) Tom Clements’ voice in my head going, ‘Late down the middle’ — one of the QB mortal sins that I broke. So that’s a frustrating one, but it was a solid game. I felt good about the performance of our offense. I felt like I was in rhythm all day."

But none of the article using the quote explains exactly what "late down the middle" means. Like, should he only throw it there, not throw it there, run that way? Or something else?

Pretty bad reporting to use it but not explain it, IMHO. I really have no clue what he's trying to say.

Entropy · Accepted Answer

This is a very common football cliche, so the article not explaining it is not bad writing.

When throwing over the middle of the field, you tend to have more defenders (5-6 safeties and linebackers vs the 2 corners outside in base defense).  This means that any mistakes tend to turn into bad outcomes for the offense more often.  However, throws over the middle are substantially shorter than throws to the edges when distance from the line of scrimmage is the same...so they're easier throws.

So generally an offense wants to throw to the middle when they can, but they need to be careful.  Throwing on time so that the ball and receiver meet in an open gap in the coverage is critical.  If the QB hesitates and waits too long to throw, the gap may close or the receiver's momentum may carry them out of the open window...meaning that an otherwise on target pass is headed straight for a defender.

It's bad to be late on outside throws also, but you're more likely to get away with it.

conley39 · Answer

It means he didn't throw the ball soon enough allowing the defensive player time to get into the play for the interception.

Anonymous · Answer

Ain’t that deep Entropy you slapdíck.

Ogami Itto · Answer

Probably that a quarterback who is being harassed and desperate to get the ball away shouldn't throw to the middle of the field because that is where all the defenders are. They are watching his eyes.
Throw it out of bounds or eat it.

LegFuJohnson · Answer

Late means not on time.
Down the middle means not toward the sidelines.

He's talking about an interception, and you think it could mean "run that way"?  How much do you expect a reporter to explain?

You can't assume everyone reading your article is uneducated about the subject.

Should the reporter have defined "interception" or what "sitting on the bench" means as well?  "QB mortal sin that he broke"?  Don't people normal commit sins?  You don't break sins.  Should that have been explained?

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What did Aaron Rodgers mean by "late down the middle"?

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