Pass Protection
PASS PROTECTION
WE EMPLOY AN AGGRESSIVE PASS BLOCKING SYSTEM. MOST OF OUR PASSES ARE PLAY ACTION PASSES, THEREFORE, WE WANT THE LINEMEN TO EMPLOY A FIRE-OUT AND STRIKE FIRST MOVE ON PASS PROTECTION.
THE BEST PASS PROTECTION IN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IS WHERE THE OFFENSE TAKES IT TO THE DEFENSE. THIS IS A DIFFERENT GAME THAN WITH COLLEGE OR PROFESSIONAL PASS PROTECTION SCHEMES. THE FUNDAMENTAL MOVES OF OUR PASS PROTECTION ARE:
1. FIRE OUT INTO THE DEFENDER.
2. STRIKE THE DEFENDER HARDER THAN HE STRIKES YOU - STUN HIM.
3. RECOIL BACK TO THE QB.
4. KEEP YOUR FEET MOVING IN SHORT CHOPPY STEPS AT ALL TIMES.
5. POSITION YOURSELF TO STUN THE PASS RUSHER AGAIN.
6. REPEAT.
EACH TIME YOU STRIKE THE DEFENDER, YOU MUST BE AGGRESSIVE AND MOVE FORWARD. YOU RECOIL OFF THE STRIKE. NEVER, IN NO CIRCUMSTANCES, DO WE WANT PASS BLOCKERS TO BE PASSIVE AND ACCEPT THE HIT OF THE PASS RUSHER.
PASS CALLING
A STRAIGHT PASS PLAY IS CALLED IN THE HUDDLE BY ANY THREE DIGIT NUMBER. THE FIRST NUMBER DENOTES THE PASS PROTECTION, THE SECOND NUMBER IS THE PASS ROUTE TO BE RUN BY THE OUTSIDE RECEIVER, AND THE THIRD NUMBER IS THE PASS ROUTE RUN BY THE SECOND RECEIVER. IN OUR PASSING TREE ALL ODD NUMBERED PASS PATTERNS ARE RUN TO THE SIDELINE AND ALL EVEN NUMBERED PATTERNS ARE RUN TO THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD.
PASSING TREE
THUS, A 167 WOULD BE A DROP BACK PASS WHERE THE OUTSIDE RECEIVER WOULD RUN A CURL ROUTE, AND THE INSIDE RECEIVER WOULD RUN A POST CORNER.
100 PASS PROTECTION
THIS PROTECTION IS OUR DROPBACK PROTECTION. WE WILL GENERALLY HAVE 3 MEN OUT IN THIS PROTECTION AND THE BACKS WILL BLOCK THE DE'S FOR MAXIMUM PROTECTION OF THE QB.
800-900 PROTECTION (800 RIGHT/900 LEFT)
THESE ARE OUR SPRINT-OUT-PASS PROTECTIONS. ON THESE PASSES THE LINEMEN FIRE OUT AND STRIKE THE DEFENDER TAKING THEIR FIRST STEP WITH THE PLAY SIDE FOOT TO PREVENT ANY STUNT FROM PASSING THEM. AFTER STRIKING THE DEFENDER AND SEPARATING, THE LINEMEN HINGE BACK KEEPING THE PASS RUSHER TO THE INSIDE.
QB: MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE, YOU MUST MAKE THIS PLAY WORK. THIS IS YOUR #1 RUNNING PLAY. YOU CAN GAIN MANY, MANY YARDS ON THIS PASS SERIES WHEN EXECUTED PROPERLY. THE THINGS YOU MUST DO ARE:
A. SPRINT TO A DEPTH OF SEVEN YARDS DEEP BEHIND THE OFFENSIVE TACKLE.
B. WHEN THE 7 YARD DEPTH HAS BEEN REACHED, TURN UP AND ATTACK THE LOS. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. YOU MUST ATTACK THE LOS, AND ESTABLISH YOURSELF AS A RUNNER FOR THIS PLAY TO BE TRULY SUCCESSFUL.
C. YOU KEY IS THE STRONG SAFETY. AFTER YOU HAVE TURNED UPFIELD AND ARE ATTACKING THE LOS, LOCATE THE STRONG SAFETY. IF HE IS HANGING BACK IN THE FLAT PLAYING PASS, YOU ARE TO RUN THE BALL.
D. WHEN YOU RUN THE BALL, YOU ARE TO SET A PATH THAT WILL GET YOU A SEVEN YARD GAIN ON THE SIDELINE. THAT IS THE ANGLE YOU ARE TO RUN, UNTIL YOU REACH THE SIDELINE. ONCE THERE, TURN UPFIELD AND GET ALL THE YARDAGE YOU CAN USING THE BLOCKS OF THE RECEIVERS IN FRONT OF YOU. DO NOT TRY TO RUN OVER PEOPLE ON THE SIDELINES. GET ALL THE YARDAGE YOU CAN, THEN GET OUT-OF-BOUNDS. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE IS WHEN WE ARE INSIDE THE 5 YARD LINE, OR IT IS A SHORT YARDAGE SITUATION.
E. IF THE STRONG SAFETY COMES UP TO TAKE YOU AND CONTAIN, DUMP THE BALL TO THE SHORT RECEIVER IN THE FLAT.
F. YOUR PROGRESSION ON THIS PLAY IS TO LOOK FIRST TO THE SHORT RECEIVER IN THE FLAT, NEXT TO CURL, AND FINALLY TO THE TE ON A HOOK-UP SAFETY VALVE PATTERN.
G. IT CANNOT BE STRESSED ENOUGH: FOR THIS SERIES TO BE TRULY SUCCESSFUL, THE QB MUST ESTABLISH HIMSELF AS A RUNNER FIRST. WHEN THIS IS DONE, THERE ARE AN EVEN GREATER NUMBER OF YARDS THAT WILL RESULT FROM THE PASSES IN THIS SERIES.
600-700 PROTECTION (600 RIGHT/700 LEFT)
THIS PASS PROTECTION USING A TB BLAST FAKE PRIOR TO QB SETTING UP ON WHAT BECOMES A 7-STEP DROP. THE LINEMEN USE THEIR REGULAR 100 PASS BLOCK TECHNIQUES.
NOTE: THE 100, 600, AND 700 PASSES ARE GENERALLY RUN FROM A PRO FORMATION. DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE REGULAR SET (WITHOUT A LEFT TACKLE) IT IS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN GOOD PASS PROTECTION ON THE SHORT SIDE OF THE FORMATION FOR DROPBACK PASSING. FROM THE UNBALANCED FORMATION OUR PASSES ARE ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY PLAY ACTION OR SPRINTOUT PASSING. WE WILL USE THE DROPBACK PASSES FOR OUR TWO MINUTE OFFENSE AND DEFINITE PASSING SITUATIONS.
WHO HAS WHO IN PASS PROTECTION? IN REGULAR 100 PASS PROTECTION AS WELL AS 800/900 PROTECTION, EACH LINEMAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAN ALIGNED ON THEM. THE BACKS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE NUMBER THREE RUSHER TO THEIR SIDE. ON 600/700 PASS PROTECTION THE WEAKSIDE UNCOVERED LINEMAN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BLOCKING THE BACKSIDE #3 RUSHER IF NO BLITZ COMES OVER HIM. THE BACKS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FRONTSIDE #3 RUSHER.
BACKSIDE RECEIVER RULE
UNLESS TOLD TO RUN A DIFFERENT PATTERN IN THE HUDDLE WITH THE PLAY CALL, THE BACKSIDE RECEIVER WILL RUN A ROUTE THAT WILL PLACE HIM IN THE DEAD AREA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DEFENSE AT A DEPTH OF 12-15 YARDS AS THE SAFETY VALVE RECEIVER FOR THE QB. HE WILL CURL BACK TO THE QB. THIS ROUTE WILL GENERALLY PUT HIM BETWEEN THE DROPS OF THE LB'ERS AND ABOUT 5 YARDS DEEPER THAN THEY ARE. THE RECEIVER WILL FLOAT WITH THE DEAD AREA AS THE PASS PLAY DEVELOPS. THE CURL ROUTE THROWN OVER THE MIDDLE IS THE EASIEST PASS TO COMPLETE. THE KEY POINTS ARE TO FLOAT TO AN AREA THAT HAS A CLEAR PATH BACK TO THE QB AND ALWAYS STEP BACK TO THE QB TO CATCH THE BALL.
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