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A Defensive Code of Divine Guidance

Football\'s New Testament for Pass Rush
by: James Jones
Defensive Coordinator, Wagner College
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For any revolution to succeed, a core of basic guidelines must be established. Basic laws must be followed and strict rules enforced. No one teaches us these things... you learn them on the job.

And so the time has come where I now feel the need to lay down these laws. When I am through, Social Order on the football field will be the glorious achievement. My defensive line strategy is called The Ten Commandments of Pass Rush. This code has been devised to create a strong structure for Wagner's defense. The players' minds must be shaped on the field, leaving the potential for chaos behind.

The Ten Commandments of Pass Rush

1) A player must have a plan, a predetermined move. This will enhance the quickness of the move and make the move very crisp and sharp.

2) Get off the ball. By anticipating the ball movement.

3) Always attack a half man; never attack the man head on because the goal of the lineman is to stay between the defense and the QB.

4) The pass rusher must close the distance between himself and the blocker.

5) Hands and feet must be moving explosively up the field at all times.

6) Anticipate the blocker shooting their hands.

7) The pass rusher must always keep the hands of the offensive lineman off their body.

8) Players must be quick and violent with their hands, remembering to knock the opposing lineman's hands away from their body.

9) Always maintain good body lean, keeping his shoulders over his toes.

10) Get the offensive lineman's shoulders turned, and step through, by stepping behind his foot assuring that he does not recover the block.

While coaching Wagner College's defense, I have drawn several conclusions about the offensive tactics of football. Offenses are being forced more and more to throw the football because most defenses are playing a version of the eight-man front. Offenses are also increasing their ability to sustain with a ball control passing game. They are also doing a better job of finding the voided zone as well as finding the weakness of the defense.

It is, therefore, essential to have a dominating pass rush, and as a team we rely on the pass rush of our front four to set the tempo by keeping pressure on the QB. The pass rush requires a mindset of great determination to get to the QB; a relentless attitude that the pass rusher cannot stopped. More importantly is the commitment to precise technique execution. In order for the team to see positive results, the coach must put an emphasis on the mastery of such proper technique. These are the principles that lay a foundation to establish a dominating pass rush.

Pass rush can be divided into five different segments.

• Pre Snap Reads

• Get off/ Acceleration

• Collision

• Techniques

• Finishing

1) Pre-snap reads are the first step in developing the mental segment of pass rushing. Knowing your opponent is key. Most offensive linemen will indicate whether the next play is going to be a run or a pass, judging by their position and stance. Players must also be aware of critical factors such as Down & Distance; time left in the game and the present score. Through film study, the player should know their opponent's blocking scheme. As a result, the defensive line will know to narrow their stance and increase the stagger of the back foot in obvious pass situations.

2) The next key component to a dominating pass rush is the get-off and acceleration. First, pass rushers must explode off ball movement. This enables them to close the distance between themselves and the blocker. The pass rusher must immediately work a half man. Remember: never attack the Offensive Lineman head up on pass rush.

As you come out of your stance, you must keep your shoulder over your toes maintaining good body lean. This gives the Offensive Lineman less surface area to strike.

3) The point of collision is a very important step. After getting off the ball and closing the distance on a half man, the pass rusher must attack the 3 points of collision. At Wagner, we call these points the head and hands. The head should attack the V of the neck and the inside hand should attack middle of the breastplate. The outside hand attacks the outside flap of the shoulder pad. The key is the precision by which the pass rusher strikes. Coaches must ensure that the pass rusher strikes with his elbows tight to his body and his thumbs up, delivering a vicious blow with the heel of the hand.

At the point of contact, the player must roll their hips, and accelerate their feet. The pass rusher must extend his arm forcing the offensive lineman's shoulders to rise - called hitting on the rise. As this is happening, the lineman wants the pass rusher to grab cloth. This will cause a jolt, disrupting the offensive lineman's set by forcing him to shift his weight back to his heels, while gain control of the offensive lineman's shoulders. The natural reactions of the offensive lineman will be to lean forward or to sit down in order to reverse the backward momentum. The pass rusher must quickly snatch down and cross and clear his hips in one motion at the moment of weight transition by the offensive lineman. He will then use a rip or a hand over to ensure that the offensive lineman does not hang on. In sync with the hand over and rip must be the step behind the offensive lineman's foot. This will give the pass rusher a clear path to the QB. The most important component to this technique is the initial collision by the pass rusher.

4) In order to develop a dominating pass rush, the pass rusher must know the opponent's weakness and have an objective. In other words, he must know what will cause problems for the offensive lineman. The pass rusher can exploit these tendencies through great technique.

At Wagner College, we have three main objectives that deal with the technique of pass rush:

• Open the shoulders of the Offensive Lineman.

• Make the offensive lineman move their feet and change directions.

• Make it difficult to punch a firm surface.

Opening the shoulders of the offensive lineman will give the pass rusher a more direct path to the QB. This can be accomplished in three ways: 1) By using the speed rush; 2) by the outside rusher; or 3) a quick power rush by a defensive tackle. It is very important to utilize the pass rusher's assets. Understanding the rusher's strength and speed is very important in order to teach pass rush techniques that put them in the best position to be successful. A one-arm explosion is one of the techniques used to open the offensive lineman's shoulders:

The One Arm Explosion Technique

This move is most effectively used by an outside pass rusher when an outside rusher is beating the offensive lineman off the ball and causing the offensive lineman to over set. As the pass rusher sprints up field with good body lean, he plants his outside foot on the fourth step, and punches with the heel of the inside hand violently in the middle of the opponent's breastplate. Upon contact, the outside hand will be placed on the outside flap of the open shoulder. The feet must accelerate to compress the pocket. As the offensive lineman feels that he is rocking back on his heels, he will automatically try to shift his weight from backward to sitting down. If the offensive lineman is not able to sit down, press him back into the QB The pass rusher must keep his outside arm on the outside flap of the shoulder pads making it easier to escape up field, in case the QB tries to break contain. If the offensive lineman is able to sit down, the pass rusher must feel the transfer of the offensive lineman's weight. The moment this occurs the pass rusher must then clear his hips and use the outside hand to viciously snatch the outside shoulder down using a hand-over swimming technique and step through behind the offensive lineman. This assures that the offensive lineman will not recover. Making the offensive lineman move his feet and change directions is another objective that is a part of producing a dominating pass rush. As we look at the make up of the lineman, the defensive player tends to be more athletic, faster, quicker, and smaller. Therefore, it makes sense to make the bigger player, an offensive lineman chase the pass rusher. By making the offensive lineman move their feet and change direction, the pass rusher causes the offensive lineman to shift his weight, which forces him off balance. This makes it easier to get to the QB. The Wagner pass rushers use a stutter and hand over technique in order to throw the balance of the offensive lineman off.

The Stutter Hand Over Technique

The stutter hand over technique can be used by both outside pass rushers and inside pass rushers. The outside pass rusher must first close the distance between himself and the offensive lineman. At the point that the offensive lineman is kick sliding, the offensive pass rusher takes a stutter step and drops his hips to slow the kick side of the offensive lineman. This will make the offensive lineman try to strike with his outside hand. The pass rusher will then open his hips and grab the outside shoulder of the offensive lineman. The momentum of the offensive lineman will project the pass rusher up field and cause separation. The pass rusher must snatch the offensive lineman's shoulder down with his outside hand viciously snatching down to enable him to use a hand over technique, which means punching over the shoulder of the offensive lineman with the inside hand. This hand-over technique must be quick and precise to be effective in order to assure that the offensive lineman does not recover. The inside defensive lineman will follow the same procedure but close the distance quicker due to a lack of space.

There are various techniques, which can be used to make it difficult for the offensive lineman to punch a firm surface. The first technique is by maintaining good body lean. Good body lean must be maintained while making the pass rusher come off the ball low and hard. I found that the most effective method is through the use of large rings. As the players run the large rings, they have to use correct body lean or the centrifugal force will pull the player away from the ring. By slightly pointing the inside foot toward the ring and coaching the players to keep their shoulders over their toes while dipping their inside shoulder, the player will develop good body lean. There are many ways to teach knocking the hands down. The most effective way is to have two of your player's pair up. One imitates an offensive lineman shooting the hands into the breastplate from a stationary position. The other player motors his feet and arms in place approximately an arm's length from his partner. The object of the drill is for the defensive lineman to anticipate the offensive lineman shooting his hand out to punch him in the chest, and violently knock the offense players hand from his body. It is very important to incorporate good body lean, with the hand and foot speed of the pass rusher, the quickness of the move, and the clearing of the hips and stepping behind the offensive lineman's foot after clearing the offensive lineman's hands. This is used with a hand over technique as explained.

Tomahawk Technique

This is a technique that is exclusively used by our edge rushers. The pass rusher must get off the football and also must try to maintain a good body lean as if he is running the large rings. The pass rusher must know that he is trying to beat the offensive lineman to the depth of the quarterback. While this is happening, we want to point the toe of the pass rusher in, toward the QB. This forces the offensive lineman to open his shoulder. He will then take one desperate punch with his outside hand. The pass rusher will anticipate the offensive lineman shooting that outside hand and chop the arm of the offensive lineman viciously. This is where immediately the pass rusher over exagerates the body lean and accelerates with their inside foot pointed toward the QB. This can be quite helpful when an offensive lineman is having difficulty handling the speed of the edge rusher.

5) The Finish is a significant part of the pass rush. This must occur after every pass rush move in order to disrupt the QB's throw. The finish consists of the body lean and the acceleration through the QB. The pass rusher should accelerate through the center of the QB. It is imperative that the pass rusher keeps his eyes on the waist of the QB. He should tackle the QB high if possible, by securing the tackle with the inside arm and with the outside arm club the QB throwing arm in order to cause a possible turnover.

There are three main effects of a dominating pass rush, which we seek to accomplish every game: 1) The sack, which is the ultimate goal, tackling the QB behind the line of scrimmage and a chance to cause a turnover; 2) To increase the chances of an incomplete pass or an interception, hurry the play by applying pressure to the QB, limiting his ability to set his feet and disrupting his throwing motion. The pass rusher aligning himself in the pass lanes can accomplish pass deflection by the pass rusher. This will enable the pass rusher to knock the ball down. This type of disruption can cause the ball to be under thrown or overthrown, leading to a turnover; and 3) Knocking down the QB. Being knocked down can be a devastating thing for a QB. This can cause him to concentrate on the rush and not the progression of his reads down field. It also takes a toll on his body and takes him out of his comfort zone of making plays. Knocking the QB down also causes intimidation. This will put added pressure on the QB to make the right decision in pressure situations, creating a significantly higher margin of error.

Success will come with hard work and sticking to a structured program such as The Ten Commandments of Pass Rush. It's not only how you coach that's important, it's which techniques you use when you're coaching. On the field, football players need to be completely devoted to the code of divine guidance, without hesitation or reservation. For the believer the greatest privilege will be triumph!






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