AFM RSS Feed Follow Us on Twitter       
AMERICAN FOOTBALL MONTHLY THE #1 RESOURCE FOR FOOTBALL COACHES
ABOUT |  CONTACT |  ADVERTISE |  HELP  



   User Name    Password 
      Password Help





Article Categories


AFM Magazine

AFM Magazine


Getting Successful Quarterback Play

© More from this issue

Click for Printer Friendly Version          

By Brian Hayes, Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach
Anna Maria College

There are a lot of different intangibles that make up successful quarterback play. I have seen all types of quarterbacks be successful and play well in many types of different systems. I believe that you fit your system to what your quarterback does best and work towards his strengths.  There are five points that I really talk a lot about when coaching our quarterbacks. These five things that I will talk about in this article have been great coaching points to me and they are things that are in our quarterback manual.

            The first thing a quarterback has to be is a student of the game. The quarterback is the leader of the entire offense so he has to be an extension of the coach on the field.  In our film sessions, I am constantly asking him questions on what he sees and pre-snap and post-snap. I always want to make sure he is seeing the same things that I am seeing or he may see something that I have overlooked. When a quarterback is starting to see the bigger picture, then he is starting to understand the system and understand what things are going on around him.

            When talking about being a student of the game we also talk about being a coachable player. If he is able to take coaching well and really grasp what you are trying to do, then your offense will be able to grow. There is a reason for every drill we do here because I never want to do drills that won’t make the quarterback better. I am a big believer in if a quarterback understands why you do things, then he will feel more comfortable and become a better player.

            The second intangible we talk about is being confident.  The quarterback is the leader of the offense and he has to show confidence in every situation that happens. The phrase that I always use is, “want to be the guy.” They have to show the willingness to always be able to make a play for their team. If the team doesn’t believe in your quarterback, it will be very difficult for them to play hard for him and rally around him. Also, in that same sense, a quarterback has to understand what plays not to try to make. That all goes with being confident and knowing your abilities.

            The third point we stress and drill is to be accurate. Accuracy comes a lot easier to some quarterbacks than it does to others. I believe that you have to stress accuracy in everything you do. We throw every ball in practice with a purpose. In our warm up, I talk to the quarterback about working inside the box and hitting a spot on every throw. I call the box the core of the body. So we want all of the balls we throw in warm ups to stay inside the area from the shoulders to the hips.  We also work some competition-type drills to keep it fun and focus in on winning the drill. It’s extremely important for your quarterback to know that he needs to have a purpose for every ball he throws in practice and that will carry over to being an accurate quarterback.

            Being an accurate quarterback is a total body process. So when I coach a quarterback, I talk about working from the ground up and from the neck up. I really want to break down the art of throwing a pass and work from the ground up. Every good quarterback has great balance and throws the ball on rhythm. Before the throw, the feet have to be shoulder-width apart. When getting ready to throw a pas, we teach a six inch step just to the left of our target or where we want to throw the ball. I always stand behind our quarterbacks to make sure they are pushing off the instep of their back foot and driving the ball out.  If they is not any knee bend and a good transfer of weight to then, they probably aren’t using their legs enough in the throw.

            Along with having great balance, a quarterback has to be fundamentally sound at the shoulders and with the arm action. The first thing I talk about is ball placement.  I would like our quarterbacks to have the ball between the ear and the shoulder. We want the ball to be in a comfortable position to them but we also want the ball to be in an area that creates a quick and compact release. The next process of the throw is to push the ball, back, out, and up. At this point we want to stress a stiff wrist and to keep the elbow on top. The next is the release and follow through.  In our warm up, we stress having the same release point on all our throws. Next is the follow throw and we tell our quarterbacks to finish in the perfect position, with the thumb down at the opposite hip of their throwing arm.  One more coaching point is to make sure the quarterbacks shoulders are on a shelf and not dipped too much.

            The fourth thing that I like to talk about is being an athletic and mobile quarterback.  To be a quarterback in this day and age, you have to be mobile. Every quarterback doesn’t have to be a great runner but they need to be able to move within the pocket. It’s great when you have a quarterback that is an exceptional runner because they have the ability to extend plays and make a lot of plays outside of the pocket. I really like to work quarterback drills inside the pocket and outside of the pocket. For a quarterback who is a great runner, he usually has a harder time sitting inside the pocket and standing in there and making throws.  So we work a lot of pocket drills and really throwing under pressure inside the pocket. Again, all of our drills are geared toward maximizing a quarterbacks strengths and ability to make plays.

            The last thing that I talk to my quarterbacks about is about being a competitor. I believe that if you have a quarterback that wants to be the best at everything he has done, then that is the making of a champion. I want our quarterback to make everything they do in practice important and to win every drill. I think this is important for not only football but in life, also. A great quarterback is also a great competitor and will never quit on your team, no matter what.

            There are a lot more points that we focus on with our quarterbacks, but these are what I think are the most important. Everything a quarterback does needs to be made important and he has to understand that it’s important because he is the one with the ball in his hands. I think if you coach your quarterback on all these points and fit your system around what he does best, it will maximize his play and the play of your offense.

 






NEW BOOK!

AFM Videos Streaming Memberships Now Available Digital Download - 304 Pages of Football Forms for the Winning Coach



















HOME
MAGAZINE
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE COLUMNISTS COACHING VIDEOS


Copyright 2024, AmericanFootballMonthly.com
All Rights Reserved