Learning pass rush moves
Q: My biggest focus going into next season is to learn more pass rush moves? Any tips?
I remember back in high school when I first saw Dwight Freeney do the spin. It was like a lightning bolt struck the top of my head.
The following day at practice I thought why don’t I try this move out. How hard could it be?
So there I was in our team period sprinting upfield on a 3rd and long. I chopped my opponents hand and started spinning like the Tasmanian devil.
I thought, “maybe I’ll be the next Dwight Freeney” that is until the blocker caught my spin and stopped me dead in my tracks.
I realized at that point that I had no idea what I was doing and that I needed to practice this move more.
But how?
Break it into small pieces
Every pass rush move is easier to learn if you break it into 3 phases: the approach, move, and decision point.
Approach
The point at which the rusher closes distance between him and his opponent.
Move
The point at which the rusher executes a move on the blocker.
Decision point
The point at which the rusher decides whether to stick with the rush and “turn the corner” or counter.
Drill each piece separately
The next step is to drill each of these phases separately in order to create muscle memory.
Step 1: Drill the approach
When drilling your approach, you’ll want to drill a 1 step approach if you play on the interior and a 3 step approach if you play end.
This is because a blocker’s set will change depending on what position you’re playing.
At end, you generally will contact the blocker on the 3rd step, but if you play DT or NT you will contact him on the 1st.
Below, is an example of a 3 step approach drill. All you need to do to modify the drill for interior players, would be to have your DL start closer to the bag.
Step 2: Drill the move
So after drilling the approach you want to break the steps of the move down into even smaller chunks and progressively work on each aspect.
To do this first start with the upper body movement and then progressively move down to combining it with the lower body.
For example, if you wanted to learn a swipe rip move your progression would look like this (Shout out to Coach BT Jordan for the clip)…
Step 1: Shoulder flip and rip
Step 2: Swipe rip (just upper body)
Step 3: Swipe with step
Step 4: Full swipe move
Step 3: Drill the decision point
Lastly, recreate the feeling of the decision point in drill work.
In game situations, you will only have a split second to decide whether to counter or to stay on your path so you need to be able to make this decision without thinking.
So, start as if you’re executing your primary move and have the blocker decide whether to prevent the primary move or set normally.
If the blocker prevents your primary move, all you need to do is convert to your counter (like in the example below).
Step 4: Execute the entire move in 1 on 1s
Once you’ve drilled each phase of the pass rush move, now it’s time to bring it all together in 1 on 1s.
There is going to be a lot of failure with any new pass rush move before success. That’s why you should use 1 on 1s as testing lab for new pass rush moves.
Other than bruising your ego, loosing in 1 on 1s has literally no consequence (unless you’re in the senior bowl ha).
If you’re not using 1 on 1s to practice new moves, you’re missing a huge opportunity to unlock hidden potential.
Step 5: Use the move in a game
This is the fun part! Once you’re comfortable with the move and have executed the full move successfully in practice, it's time to use it in a game.
That’s all for this week and thank you all for your continued support! If you have any questions or comments feel free to comment on this post and I’ll reply ASAP!
And whenever you are ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
Learn how to develop top tier pass rushers and a lethal pass rush attack here (1,000+ students)
Learn how to turn your D-Line into a block destruction machine here (1,100+ students)
-Craig