Balancing Act – Focusing on Quarterback Balance and Rhythm in Pass Drops

Most emphasis on a quarterback’s pass drop is placed on depth from the line of scrimmage and the timing of the throw in conjunction with the receivers’ routes. Although these elements are vital, not enough emphasis is placed on the quarterback’s balance and rhythm within the drop. Balance is vital because we want the QB to throw as consistently as possible. 
 

   Having good balance is the best way to create consistency and the right habits. Rhythm is necessary so that the QB stays under control in terms of speed and doesn’t get too fast or too slow. If the QB is too fast, often his weight will be on the back of his last step, which will cause his front shoulder to lift and throw high or will cause him to hitch up. This wastes time and may cause a late throw. 
  

  Our offense is run out of the shotgun so we spend much of our time on the three-step drop. We first establish the depth of the launch point for our quarterback’s throws. In our quick passing game, the launch point will be three yards from under center and five yards when in the shotgun. For our downfield pass game, we want a launch point of seven yards for both under center and shotgun. We want to help our offensive tackles in their pass protection so we never want the QB deeper than seven yards to help eliminate the speed rush around the edge. If defensive ends want to speed rush, we want them to have to make a hard bend to get to the QB.  
 

   Placement of our QB’s feet within our drops will help establish balance and rhythm and will eliminate false steps. The goal for our drops is to have our toes and shoulders facing the line of scrimmage in a pre-snap stance and end up in a comfortable throwing stance with the front shoulder and instep of the back foot facing the target in as fluid a motion as possible. To accomplish this goal, drill pace and progression are important to on-field success. A key to our drills is that we perform only one step at a time, and use four different tempos in every drill – walking, ½ speed, ¾ speed and, eventually, full speed. We never add a step or speed the tempo up until the steps feel comfortable and are correct.  
  

  The first movement that we perform is the footwork in the 3-step drop. All drills will be for a right-handed quarterback. We start by straddling a yard line on the sideline using the line to help guide our path and measure our depth. We want our first step to be performed so that our toes on our right foot are facing the sideline at a 20-degree angle backwards, in line with the instep of our left foot and just touching the chalk of the yard line. A common error for our young QBs is that they try and reach so far on the first step that it’s hard to get balanced without taking a false step. Another error QBs make is that they will step over too much to the right or left side, causing them to go back on an angle and ending up behind a guard or even further over. A first step of 1 ½ yards is all that is required with an end depth of three yards for all three steps. We will perform the first step in a walking tempo and freeze, and then reload. We freeze after every step is taken so the QB and coach can evaluate if it was correct. We will then go on to ½ speed, ¾ speed, and eventually full speed. We may not get to ¾ or full speed in a drill every day. The second and third step have to be thought of as gather steps, so depth is not important. We will start to work on the second step of the drop with our feet set at the completion of the first step. The second step will include the left foot slightly crossing over the right foot facing the sideline on the chalk. Finally, the right foot will end perpendicular behind the left foot also facing the sideline (See Diagram 1). 
  

  Both feet should be shoulder-width apart with a slight knee bend upon completion of the drop with 60 percent of the weight on the back instep. This will ensure that the quarterback’s left shoulder is facing down the middle of the field. We will then perform the entire drop at the four different tempos while never moving beyond a tempo that doesn’t look or feel correct.
  

  Because we rarely end up facing down the middle of the field on our first read in our pass concepts, we need to end the three-step drop facing on a 45-degree angle either to the right or left side of the field. In order to accomplish this, the quarterback will alter his second step. When throwing to the right hand side of the field, the QB will take the same first step but then cross over the second step so that it faces on a 45-degree angle behind him. The third step will then end perpendicular to the left foot, shoulder-width apart, and with a slight knee bend (See Diagram 2). To throw to the left side of the field, the quarterback’s second step will face on a 45-degree angle toward the line of scrimmage. The third step will follow with the right foot perpendicular to the left foot, shoulder-width apart (See Diagram 3).
 Post Drill

    To establish rhythm with proper weight distribution at the end of the third step, we perform the post drill. This is where we want to establish 60 percent of our body weight on our instep of our third step so we can attack into our throw at our target. The QB will walk through the 3-step drop in one of the three directions, but on the third step he will pick up his left leg so it’s at a 90-degree angle. If the QB has 60 percent of his weight on his right instep, he should naturally fall forward into his throw with his weight transferring onto his left instep. If the quarterback gets going too fast and is off balance, he will transfer his weight to either the middle of his right foot or to the back of his foot which will cause him to pause on his right leg too long or, even worse, fall backward.
  

  This is a great drill to get the QB to understand that too fast and off-balance is not better than under control and in rhythm. Quarterbacks need to know that precision is more important than just pure speed in a drop. Too often quarterbacks go too fast in their drops and have to take recovery steps to correct their mistakes. A more advanced post drill would be to post the second step which would have the QB’s weight on his left instep allowing him to continue into his third step. This is a more advanced drill that will take more time to perfect. We will perform this drill one step at a time within the four different tempos. 
 
Bag Weave

    It’s just as important to be in balance when making subtle movements within in the pocket due to pressure by the defense or a change in a passing lane. Bag weave incorporates five half bags lined up two yards apart while being placed perpendicular to each other. The QB will start at one end with a 3-step drop and shuffle through the bags without crossing his feet (See Diagram 4). A well-balanced QB won’t get his feet much wider than shoulder-width apart to maintain his athleticism and height and won’t cross his feet. The QB will keep his eyes up picturing a read while verbalizing the progression given to him by the coach before the rep. Each QB will go both to the right and left while using tempos of ½, ¾, and full speed.

Bag Weave with Clap

    This drill is just an extension of the bag weave drill but includes a clap of the hands by the coach anywhere within the bags to alert the QB to get his feet set and make a balanced throw to a target. It’s important for the QB to be able to get his feet ready in the middle of his drop or while moving within the pocket to make an accurate throw off of a blitz or protection break down.