By Phil Bourjaily

To celebrate the beginning of both football and hunting seasons, here is Brandon Weeden, rookie quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, breaking clays with a football. We had shown a clip of Ravens QB Joe Flaco doing the same a while ago, but that was faked. This is the real thing.

Weeden, who is now 28, was drafted 10 years ago as a pitcher by the Yankee organization. He told Sports Illustrated he missed his first eight and was getting nervous, as the Sports Science people had only brought one box of 100 targets to the shoot. After dialing the timing in, Weeden was able to hit quite a few, including four out of five at one point.

As nearly as I can tell he is hitting these birds at a range of about five yards. If you think about it, a shotgun pattern is about the diameter of a football at that range, which is something to think about when you shoot station 8 on the skeet field. The difference between shooting clays with a shotgun and a football, of course, is that we just have to point the gun and pull the trigger and our pellets arrive almost instantaneously on target while Weeden has to time his throwing motion perfectly to account for both the time it takes to throw the ball and the ball’s time in flight. It’s a remarkable feat to hit any of these birds no matter how many he wound up hitting out of 100.

This video reminds me of something I read in “Great Pitchers of the Major Leagues” a book I had when I was young. Cardinals pitchers Dizzy and Daffy Dean claimed they grew up hunting squirrels with rocks. Watching Weeden hit a couple of these clays so hard they boil into dust, I can almost believe the rocks and squirrels story.

Comments (15)

from Moose1980 wrote 42 weeks 5 days ago

Pretty good, he's gonna need that accuracy playing for the Browns!

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from Kyle VanBritson wrote 42 weeks 5 days ago

I could totally do that, cough....cough

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from chadlove wrote 42 weeks 5 days ago

Unfortunately, that's pretty much what he did to my Sooners last season...

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from Hoski wrote 42 weeks 5 days ago

Moose!
I'm shocked! Outraged! Insulted!
(and quite literally in total agreement)
It's painful being a Browns fan.

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from focusfront wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

Not bad. But until he hits a Chukar Partridge with a football, I'll hold my applause. (Tough crowd.)

You Browns fans, once Trent Richardson's knee gets better, Weeden will have all the offensive help he needs to put up sixes. Just watch.

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from O Garcia wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

He did not do it on purpose, but Randy Johnson obliterating that live pigeon with a fastball is still awesome.

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from firedog11 wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

Just shows that some of the best people at doing physical things have a fantastic hand eye coordination plus steady nerve that many of us just wish for. That would include pilots, drivers and shooters. Think Carlos Hathcock or any other shooter especially if the other guy can shoot back.

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from Moose1980 wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

Hoski, the Browns are near and dear to me. When I played peewee football, the team was the Browns. I hope this is a step in the right direction for them, it's been a long time. I am however a die hard 49ers fan since the Joe Montana days, last year was certainly a pleasant surprise (the Niners/Giants NFC championship game took a few years off my life) and am looking forward to good things this year.

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from deadeyedick wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

WHO CARES !!!! ARE YOU GUYS RUNNING OUT OF THINGS TO RANT AND RAVE ABOUT ?

-2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from weswes088 wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

I kind of wanted to see him hit a clay flying parallel to him, rather than perpendicular. That is probably on the verge of impossible,though. This is still quite impressive.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Gregory J. Hill wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

You suppose Peyton Manning and John Elway are watching this?

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from Hoski wrote 42 weeks 3 days ago

Moose1980,
Certainly has been a looong time since Browns fans have had something to get excited about, seems we're aleays rebuilding. And the team seems to go through an inordinate number of quarterbacks.

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from Hoski wrote 42 weeks 3 days ago

deadeye, go suck an egg.

+3 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from pudgexl29 wrote 42 weeks 3 days ago

+1 Hoski!!!! Shut them haters up hahaha

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from 99explorer wrote 42 weeks 3 days ago

it makes you wonder how a baseball pitcher throws anything but a strike, let alone how he could walk in the winning run.

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from Hoski wrote 42 weeks 3 days ago

deadeye, go suck an egg.

+3 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Moose1980 wrote 42 weeks 5 days ago

Pretty good, he's gonna need that accuracy playing for the Browns!

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Kyle VanBritson wrote 42 weeks 5 days ago

I could totally do that, cough....cough

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from chadlove wrote 42 weeks 5 days ago

Unfortunately, that's pretty much what he did to my Sooners last season...

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Hoski wrote 42 weeks 5 days ago

Moose!
I'm shocked! Outraged! Insulted!
(and quite literally in total agreement)
It's painful being a Browns fan.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from focusfront wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

Not bad. But until he hits a Chukar Partridge with a football, I'll hold my applause. (Tough crowd.)

You Browns fans, once Trent Richardson's knee gets better, Weeden will have all the offensive help he needs to put up sixes. Just watch.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from O Garcia wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

He did not do it on purpose, but Randy Johnson obliterating that live pigeon with a fastball is still awesome.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from firedog11 wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

Just shows that some of the best people at doing physical things have a fantastic hand eye coordination plus steady nerve that many of us just wish for. That would include pilots, drivers and shooters. Think Carlos Hathcock or any other shooter especially if the other guy can shoot back.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Moose1980 wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

Hoski, the Browns are near and dear to me. When I played peewee football, the team was the Browns. I hope this is a step in the right direction for them, it's been a long time. I am however a die hard 49ers fan since the Joe Montana days, last year was certainly a pleasant surprise (the Niners/Giants NFC championship game took a few years off my life) and am looking forward to good things this year.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from weswes088 wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

I kind of wanted to see him hit a clay flying parallel to him, rather than perpendicular. That is probably on the verge of impossible,though. This is still quite impressive.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Gregory J. Hill wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

You suppose Peyton Manning and John Elway are watching this?

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Hoski wrote 42 weeks 3 days ago

Moose1980,
Certainly has been a looong time since Browns fans have had something to get excited about, seems we're aleays rebuilding. And the team seems to go through an inordinate number of quarterbacks.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from pudgexl29 wrote 42 weeks 3 days ago

+1 Hoski!!!! Shut them haters up hahaha

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from 99explorer wrote 42 weeks 3 days ago

it makes you wonder how a baseball pitcher throws anything but a strike, let alone how he could walk in the winning run.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from deadeyedick wrote 42 weeks 4 days ago

WHO CARES !!!! ARE YOU GUYS RUNNING OUT OF THINGS TO RANT AND RAVE ABOUT ?

-2 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.