In a move that reflected both his appreciation for the both theology and fine cinema, Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio settled on a theory as to why a Derek Carr pass seemingly died in the wind against the Chiefs last Thursday.
"The angel in the outfield," Del Rio said Monday, via the Mercury News. "I mean, it moved. You know?" Del Rio said. "I don't know if it hit a wire or an angel in the outfield moved it, a gust of wind. I don't know. It moved."
As NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted, the NFL ruled out the possibility that the ball hit a camera wire, leaving the wind -- or Angels -- as the main culprit.
Born in 1963, Del Rio is a little too young for the original Angels In the Outfield starring Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh, which means he enjoyed the star-studded 1994 remake featuring Tony Danza, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Danny Glover, Christopher Lloyd, Matthew McConaughey and Adrien Brody. On a summer edition of the Around The NFL podcast, I listed it as one of the most underrated movies of our time.
For those unaware of the plot line, a young Gordon-Levitt (Roger Bomman) is told sarcastically by his estranged dad that the family can be together if the last-place Angels win the pennant. Gordon-Levitt prays and summons real-life angels who swoop in during games to alter the outcome -- antics that include changing the course of ground balls and pitches.
Save for Thursday's loss to the Chiefs, Del Rio has been on a roll all season so maybe he's far more familiar with the Angels plot line than we originally would have suspected. Fortunately, as Lloyd's character in the movie states: angels do not interfere in the postseason, so Amari Cooper and Carr won't have any more errant passes to worry about come January.
