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Tuesday, January 1, 2008
How To Rush the Passer
Eastern Oklahoma, OK
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My rookie year in Seattle, I fractured both of my feet and was placed
on injured reserve. Throughout the season I was responsible for studying successful players and writing reports on what I had studied. The following article is one that I wrote that describes what I learned as I critically studied film on the top pass rushers in the NFL in 2005. The players were: Dwight Freeny and Robert Mathis (Colts), Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye (Bears), Chike Okeafor and Bertrand Berry (Cardinals), and the sack leader of 2005, Derrick Burgess (Raiders).
As I critically studied each of these players and what makes them successful, I found that although each player possesses his own style, there were a few simple techniques that were used across the board.
I. The first part of a successful pass rush is getting a great take-off from the line of scrimmage when the ball is snapped. Each of the players studied seemed to have an automatic advantage on their potential blocker because of the ability to time the snap and get upfield. The players with the most explosive “get-off” were Freeny and Mathis. Most of their success comes from a true speed-rush countered with a spin move.
II. The second factor that I noted was the ability to stay low around the corner. This factor becomes very important because it makes the job of the offensive tackle much harder. If an end can stay low when turning the corner, he will have a much better chance of getting to the QB than if he raises up and exposes his chest. Taller players have a tougher time with this, but it must be done in order to be effective. Again, Freeny and Mathis were able to excel in this category, but Okeafor also did a nice job.
III. Third, and maybe the most important, is the ability to “get your hips around” to the depth of the QB. Many players do a great job with getting off the ball and staying low. However, the difference in a sack and a rush is consistently implementing this technique. A good way to think about this is to picture a J. The tail of the J shows where a rusher should end up if he wants to be at QB depth. Although this is not an absolute, it is a good rule to follow. Most young players tend to think their rush will be successful if they can get by the tackle. The veteran knows that beating the blocker is only the first part of a successful rush. Getting your hips turned and angled at the depth of the QB is the essential factor for rushing the passer. Although easy to say, this is not natural for most young players and must be consistently practiced if one expects to improve as a rusher. Burgess did a phenomenal job in this category. He had several sacks because of his determination to get to the depth of the QB.
IV. The fourth factor of a successful pass rush is the ability to use your hands to your advantage. There are many moves and ways that rushers can use their hands to beat their opponent. However, instead of focusing on specific moves, I would like to harp on the main reasons why the use of hands can help a rush. First, they can provide protection for your chest. Protecting your chest is critical because it allows you to keep the potential blocker off of your body. This comes into play when a player is using a speed rip move and must protect his body and rip up and through the blocker’s hands and body. Brown excelled in this category. Second, you can use your hands to take advantage of an overaggressive setter by clubbing him inside or outside and swimming or ripping by him (Okeafor). Third, by using your hands to swipe the opponent’s hands, your shoulders and hips will naturally turn toward the QB and help you accomplish principle number III (Burgess).
V. Finally, to be a successful pass rusher, you must have a burning passion to get to the QB. Without this characteristic the above information becomes obsolete.
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I have always wanted to be a Journalist. ...
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