Why Justin Herbert and Aaron Rodgers virtuosos in the art of passing

Jim Harbaugh stood in a hallway at Chargers headquarters and mimed the ideal way to throw a football, a throwback to his days as a first-round draft pick and his 14-year career as an NFL quarterback.

“I can feel it coming out of this finger,” the coach said, his right hand clutching an imaginary ball, “and then this one, then that one, then the thumb, and then the last finger. When you hit it right, like a tuning fork goes off – oh, it was soft. You feel it.”

When he was finished, he struck an artist’s pose, with his right hand extended forward as if he were holding a small, invisible paintbrush on the canvas.

Show me the Monet.

If brilliant passing is a work of art, Sunday night at SoFi Stadium will be a glorious exhibition, with Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on Justin Herbert and the Chargers.

Herbert and Rodgers are two of the purest passers in NFL history, quarterbacks with spirals so tight they could pass a football through a mail slot.

“I’m amazed by them,” said Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath, who threw passes with dart-like precision. “I haven’t seen them throw a pass that wasn’t a tight spiral. I don’t know if they changed the balls, the grip, the texture, whatever, but it’s amazing.”

Even at 41, Rodgers hasn’t lost his touch. And Herbert, who has been hit more than any NFL quarterback this season, still makes throws that seem laser-guided. His 19-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Johnston at Tennessee last Sunday fell an inch, maybe two, off the hand of a diving defensive back.

“If you took a league-wide poll and asked who has the best arm in the NFL — forget records, forget pocket — just in terms of ability to throw the ball, Justin Herbert would be number one,” said Jim Nantz, play-by-play announcer for CBS. “For a long time, in his prime, Aaron Rodgers would be number one.”

Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young refers to these types of passers as “finger throwers.”

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert passes against the Indianapolis Colts on October 19.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

“There are two distinct types of pitchers: finger pitchers and arm pitchers,” Young said. “Finger throwers let the ball leave their hand almost knuckle to knuckle. That’s where the accuracy and touch comes from. Arm throwers rely more on arm power, and it’s not as precise.

“With finger throwers, it’s like their arm extends when they throw. The fingertips extend the motion. That’s the gift. You can’t fake it. The precision comes from that little moment at the end where the ball goes off perfectly.”

Ben Johnson had a privileged vision of this perfection. He’s in his 19th season at NFL Films and is a high-speed ground cameraman, capturing the low-angle shots that show the action at the line of scrimmage, the feet moving, the hands fighting, the ball coming out of the quarterback’s hand and that slow-motion spiral flying through the frame.

“There’s nothing better when I’m in the end zone and the sea side — the O-line side — and I see one of those quarterbacks looking my way,” Johnson said. “The arm goes back, the shoulder digs in and I know the bullet is going straight into my barrel. That’s the greatest feeling as a cameraman.”

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers passes against the Cincinnati Bengals on October 16.

(Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press)

For Johnson, who will shoot the New England-Tampa Bay game on Sunday, focusing on Herbert or Rodgers makes his job easier.

“What I like about these guys is they stand up in the pocket, so I can see them,” he said. “They’re not chaotic. They’re throw-first guys, not runners, so you can prepare for the throw.

“When the ball comes out of their hand, it’s so smooth. The spiral stays perfectly steady, it’s the sweetest moment. Some guys throw so hard that the ball wobbles and moves over you, making it harder to concentrate. But when that point comes right at you, it’s magic.”

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is a finger thrower. Most of his passes are completely free of wobble, at least to the naked eye. Jared Goff’s move to Stafford has been spectacular, even if Goff is very accurate. His passes don’t have as high a turnover rate as Stafford’s.

“Matthew Stafford is the best quarterback on the Rams right now,” said Jim Everett, the franchise’s all-time leader in passing yards. “He’s even better than Kurt Warner in his MVP season.”

In eight games this season, Stafford has 21 touchdowns with just two interceptions.

“At times you take it off and it feels like you’re putting it in a tire exactly where you want it,” Stafford said, “and other times you might feel a little less sure where that tire is.” [went] regarding timing with the receiver and where it might end up. I want them all to feel really good. I hope they do.

Every era of the NFL has had impeccable spiral pitchers who have enjoyed varying degrees of success, players such as Ken Stabler, Dan Fouts, Warren Moon and Jeff George.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes against the Houston Texans on September 7.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“These quarterbacks today all have good arms and are accurate, but spin rate is the difference,” said Tom House, a renowned throwing guru who worked for years with Tom Brady, Drew Brees and many other legendary players. “We learned that from watching Brady throw at Foxborough, one of the windiest stadiums in the NFL. If you have spin speed, wind isn’t really a factor.”

George, the No. 1 overall pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 1990, was known for having one of the best weapons in league history, a quarterback who seemed almost effortless in his laser throws.

“It all came from playing baseball,” he said. “I was a shortstop, so I threw the ball like I threw a baseball. I got all my power from my wrist, really from my wrist down, more like one shot. That’s when I got my release.”

As a result, when he got in shape for football, he would do it on the baseball field. He would have someone throw him the ball as if he were fielding a grounder, then he would throw to first base, keeping the throw low, almost to the fist.

Receivers often noted that George’s passes fit them, making them easier to catch.

“I don’t use the laces when I throw the ball,” George said. “The laces are in the palm of my hand. My fingers were never on the laces and my index finger was on the tip of the ball. When it came off my hand, it was like throwing a screwball in baseball. That’s how I got my spiral.”

Former NFL quarterback Brock Huard, who could throw impeccable spirals, said hand dimensions and finger dexterity are important factors.

“The bigger your hands, the easier it is to throw,” he says. “You watch kids throw a Nerf football. The ones that throw a nice spiral are the ones with the biggest hands. It’s not just the size of your palm, it’s the length of your fingers. Like a pitcher manipulating the spin. Some of the bigger ones have that length to really control and spin the ball the way you want.”

Spinning the ball, throwing impeccable spirals are not the determining factor in winning or losing. There are all kinds of ways to make a birdie, if you prefer. Peyton Manning wasn’t known for throwing a ball without flutter. But he consistently placed the ball in the right place for the right receiver.

Manning bristles at the terms “arm talent” and proclamations that a certain quarterback can “run it.” What does that mean, he wonders. A golf professional can have a flawless swing on the range, then go out and burn it out at a tournament.

When contacted for this story, Manning politely declined, writing, “Call Marino.”

Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino passes against the Cleveland Browns in September 1992.

(Jeff Glidden/Associated Press)

Hall of Famer Dan Marino actually unleashed these framing-friendly throws.

“Guys like Dan Marino and John Elway were rare, they were both throwing arms and fingers,” Young said. “Dan in particular. I tried to copy him in high school and college and only hurt my arm. He was abrupt and violent and perfect.”

Harbaugh, drafted in the first round out of Michigan, said that as a passer, you reach a point where the ball just goes where you’re looking. Throwing is so fast that it is much more instinctive than an intellectual process.

“It’s the same as when I bend over and put my socks on,” Harbaugh said. “There’s a lot going on in your body when you do this, and you don’t think about it. But there was a time in your life when you had to consciously think about these things.”

Harbaugh taught himself how to throw…by throwing.

“When I was a kid, I just threw things: baseballs, rocks, tennis balls, footballs,” he said. “I was always throwing something, trying to knock something off a tree.”

The family had a tarp to paint in the garage. When Harbaugh had no one to throw to, he would drape this tarp over a goal post and throw it in. He did 150 backtracks a day.

The newspaper delivery also helped.

“I would tell any kid who wants to learn how to throw a football to take one of those rolled-up newspapers with a rubber band around it, grab it and throw it,” said Harbaugh, who ran an Ann Arbor News newspaper in his Michigan neighborhood. “Lift it up here [with arm raised]let it go, spin it from one end to the other. This is the throwing motion.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert throws against the Indianapolis Colts on October 19.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

In 1980, Jack Harbaugh was hired as Stanford’s defensive coordinator, so he moved the family from Ann Arbor to Palo Alto. This allowed Jim to get to know Elway, the university’s star quarterback, better. According to tradition, all of these receivers had their hands imprinted with the “Elway Cross,” a lasting imprint left by the tip of the football.

“If the wind is right and you throw it with enough speed, you get a little whizzzz sound,” the younger Harbaugh said. “I stood close enough to Elway to hear that whistle when I was a high school player. It was pretty cool. I had never heard it before until I heard it pitch.

Now, when he watches Herbert throw one of his beauties, Harbaugh hears an entirely different sound.

“Watching him throw,” the coach said, “I feel like I’m hearing angels singing.”

Times Staff Writer Gary Klein contributed to this report.