[Red80]

Also, the ball was way overthrown, not underthrown. Why would he overthrow it if Ayomanor was supposed to cut to the sideline rather than go upfield? Maybe you meant the opposite?

I just think you have the wrong take on this one. But even if you're right, it was by definition a bad throw that ignored the presence of the safety, which at best would have led to a 50/50 ball in a situation where we didn't want or need that.

Daniels looked to the sideline and threw his hands up in the air after the INT. It was obvious that he thought Eric ran the wrong route. 

The intended route was a corner route or 7, not a square out or 5. #13 was supposed to accelerate to the corner angle after the initial move.

That could be true. However Ayomanor would have needed to "accelerate" a whole lot more than he did to be even close to where the ball was thrown. As the OP says he was well short of where the ball was intercepted. Looking at the replay Ayomanor isn't all that far from the sideline. He reached the point whe the ball was intercepted well over a second late. The timing was off. Daniels could see what is happening when he pump faked. If Ayomanor is behind the single defender and where you expect him to be on the field at that moment (i.e. the timing is what you expect) you can throw the ball. If Ayomanor isn't where you expect at that point (maybe a little hard to read) or the safety is reacting (which he clearly was) to generate over-and-under double coverage, you don't throw it and check down. If Daniels is committed to that throw no matter what the defense does or what Ayomanor does there will be lots of bad results. Defenses have looked at the film. They know Ayomanor is our best receiver and that we like to use his athleticism. They are going to key on him and defend that play.

 
This route, if run correctly, gives Ayomanor a decided advantage over DBs because of his superior size and leaping ability. Some of his best catches have been with these type of routes where he simply out jumps the defender. Elic usually wins those 50/50 battles.

Except when he doesn't. If Ayomanor is single covered and Daniels gets the ball to the right spot at the right time Ayomanor has a good chance to win the battle. It is much like the way we used JJAW. If Ayomanor is behind the defender Daniels has to get the ball there with high enough elevation that the defender can't intercept it but not so high Ayomanor can't catch it. Daniels isn't accurate enough to do that reliably. If he under-throws it a pick is almost assured. Daniels also frequently misses in azimuth which allows defenders converging on the play to intercept as well.

If OTOH Ayomanor is covered high-and-low it isn't a 50/50 ball anymore. The high defender can knock the ball away and also can grab Ayomanor's arms as soon as any of the three touches the ball. He can also intercept it himself. It becomes a 70/30 ball or worse. Our experience with JJAW proved this. One on one it works, double covered it doesn't and results in an unacceptable number of interceptions. Near the goal line the safety can't get over to help unless he lines up way over shifted toward the receiver. On longer patterns he can react and get there. In this case he got there and Ayomanor didn't.

The other obvious problem is that the defender can sometimes disrupt the timing of the play.  He can deny Ayomanor the sideline and force him toward the middle of the field. That has happened a few times this year. Ayomanor is then very open, but Daniels has to recognize what happened and react accordingly. That so far hasn't happened.

But I would agree that Taylor's call was stupid and risky. He should have called a relatively safe pass play, perhaps to #86, and set up the FG attempt.

I don't criticize the call unless Daniels has no discretion on what he does. When he pump faked he could certainly see the safety coming over and maybe that Ayomanor wasn't where he normally would be if the play was "on time". Check down to one of the two open receivers facing him. Get maybe 6 yards. Maybe time for another play from scrimmage, maybe not. Best of both worlds. The primary isn't there, take the check-down.

I just watched the replay for the first time. Ayomanor did get knocked off of his route by a WF DB, keeping him away from the desired location. 

Daniels, if he was to check down on that final play, would have had to do so before the pump fake, imo. Small time and space window. 

The ACC crew pointed out that Ayomanor was gassed for that final play. He was targeted for 6 straight plays before that. 

Richt had perhaps the most salient comment about the final play. How often do you see the same double-move play work when called twice in a row?

[Red80]

Also, the ball was way overthrown, not underthrown. Why would he overthrow it if Ayomanor was supposed to cut to the sideline rather than go upfield? Maybe you meant the opposite?

I just think you have the wrong take on this one. But even if you're right, it was by definition a bad throw that ignored the presence of the safety, which at best would have led to a 50/50 ball in a situation where we didn't want or need that.

Daniels looked to the sideline and threw his hands up in the air after the INT. It was obvious that he thought Eric ran the wrong route. 

The intended route was a corner route or 7, not a square out or 5. #13 was supposed to accelerate to the corner angle after the initial move.

That could be true. However Ayomanor would have needed to "accelerate" a whole lot more than he did to be even close to where the ball was thrown. As the OP says he was well short of where the ball was intercepted. Looking at the replay Ayomanor isn't all that far from the sideline. He reached the point whe the ball was intercepted well over a second late. The timing was off. Daniels could see what is happening when he pump faked. If Ayomanor is behind the single defender and where you expect him to be on the field at that moment (i.e. the timing is what you expect) you can throw the ball. If Ayomanor isn't where you expect at that point (maybe a little hard to read) or the safety is reacting (which he clearly was) to generate over-and-under double coverage, you don't throw it and check down. If Daniels is committed to that throw no matter what the defense does or what Ayomanor does there will be lots of bad results. Defenses have looked at the film. They know Ayomanor is our best receiver and that we like to use his athleticism. They are going to key on him and defend that play.

 
This route, if run correctly, gives Ayomanor a decided advantage over DBs because of his superior size and leaping ability. Some of his best catches have been with these type of routes where he simply out jumps the defender. Elic usually wins those 50/50 battles.

Except when he doesn't. If Ayomanor is single covered and Daniels gets the ball to the right spot at the right time Ayomanor has a good chance to win the battle. It is much like the way we used JJAW. If Ayomanor is behind the defender Daniels has to get the ball there with high enough elevation that the defender can't intercept it but not so high Ayomanor can't catch it. Daniels isn't accurate enough to do that reliably. If he under-throws it a pick is almost assured. Daniels also frequently misses in azimuth which allows defenders converging on the play to intercept as well.

If OTOH Ayomanor is covered high-and-low it isn't a 50/50 ball anymore. The high defender can knock the ball away and also can grab Ayomanor's arms as soon as any of the three touches the ball. He can also intercept it himself. It becomes a 70/30 ball or worse. Our experience with JJAW proved this. One on one it works, double covered it doesn't and results in an unacceptable number of interceptions. Near the goal line the safety can't get over to help unless he lines up way over shifted toward the receiver. On longer patterns he can react and get there. In this case he got there and Ayomanor didn't.

The other obvious problem is that the defender can sometimes disrupt the timing of the play.  He can deny Ayomanor the sideline and force him toward the middle of the field. That has happened a few times this year. Ayomanor is then very open, but Daniels has to recognize what happened and react accordingly. That so far hasn't happened.

But I would agree that Taylor's call was stupid and risky. He should have called a relatively safe pass play, perhaps to #86, and set up the FG attempt.

I don't criticize the call unless Daniels has no discretion on what he does. When he pump faked he could certainly see the safety coming over and maybe that Ayomanor wasn't where he normally would be if the play was "on time". Check down to one of the two open receivers facing him. Get maybe 6 yards. Maybe time for another play from scrimmage, maybe not. Best of both worlds. The primary isn't there, take the check-down.

I just watched the replay for the first time. Ayomanor did get knocked off of his route by a WF DB, keeping him away from the desired location. 

Daniels, if he was to check down on that final play, would have had to do so before the pump fake, imo. Small time and space window. 

The ACC crew pointed out that Ayomanor was gassed for that final play. He was targeted for 6 straight plays before that. 

Richt had perhaps the most salient comment about the final play. How often do you see the same double-move play work when called twice in a row?