Untitled - Fast and Furious Football

PASSOFFENSE 55
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Protecting the Passer
I.ARRYLITTLE
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During my 14 yeals in the pros, I had the opportunity
to play for some outstanding offensive line
coaches: Joe Madro for 2 years with the San Diego
Chargers, and the next 12 yeals for Emie
Hefferle, Monte Clark, and Jon Sandusky with
the Miami Dolphins.
In the yeals that Ite been head coach, I've had
Ihree outstanding quaderbacks and some excellent
receivers, but th€ir success could not have
been accompliEhed without the fine protection
Ihat our offensive linemen pro\.ided. We try to
instill a tremendous amount ofpersonal pdde in
ourlinemen to protect the quafte$ack, not indi
ridually, but colJectively, as a well-coodinated
To anticipate and adjust to any type of defen-
.ive charge or maneuver to do this with any t)"e
ofefficiency requires that linemen know eve4,
po".ible detail about their opponenr. Offensivp
linemen should not be interested in physically
punishine an opponent, only in k€eping him off
rhe quarterback.
Key Coaching Points in Pass
Protection
These arc the basic instructions I gjve to line,
mon for pass blocking.
. Set quickly into a good fundamental position
with both fe€t in contact $.ith the srcund,
body under control and in sood balance. If
th€ defensive player makes contact while
you're still leaning back to set rp, the defensive
player has the advantage.
. Know wbere the quarterbackison each play.
Ilnow whjch side to favor as w€ll as how deep
you can retreat without intede ng with the
quaft€rback.
. Make an initial stand on or near the line of
scrimmage.
. Unlessit's an aggressive pass,letthe rush€r
comnit fimt.Ifyou'rc ovemnxious and ov€raggressiv€,
you'll get into trouble.
. Never cross over, sinc€ it is very easy to lose
balance or b€ thown off-balance. Slide your
feet to stay in front of the defensive player
just as a basketball player plays defense.
Teams prot€ct the quarterback differently ac
cording to the kind of offense they run. Some
t€ams run all play-action passes, trying to get the
quarterback to roll right orleftto break containment
in order to have the option to mn or pass,
with the offemive lineman run blocking, trying
to hook or wall the delensive lineman away from
the direction the quarterback is mlling.
Some teams use only thrce-step drops by the
quarterback, wherc the oflensiv€ lin€man takes
on the defensive rusher on the line of scrimmage.
Other teams use rcgular dropback prot€ction,
where the offensive linem€n sot a pock€t for the
quarl€rback who takes a five- to seven,stepdmp.
lpes
of Pass Protection
We leach spveral pass proleclionh: firc, fi"" cul,
firrn, and resular protection.
Fite Protection
Or1r fire protection is used for play-action passes,
mostly for quick out passes where the qualterback
takes very shoit drops. These arc the blocking
techniques we teach for it:
1. Fire aggressively into the middle ofthe defensive
rushel look eyes in, as ifit's a running
play.
2. Beat th€ defender to the punch, strike out
quickly, hit up and throueh the defender
using the hands to control him. Hit and
maintain contact and keep him occupied
with the hands to regain position and balance
quickly to accept his new cbarge.
3. Don't overeJ{tend. Keep your head upyou're
susceptible to beinggabbed, pulled,
and thrown off by the defensive rushcr.
4. Ifyou can't get away, use your hands to control
the defender and prevent turning.