Vertical Pass Rush Part 1

By Denauld Brown
In many conversations about pass-rush defense, youll hear the expression its an art form used to describe it. At any rate, it sounds good to me and theres no doubt that I agree with what it is supposed to mean. Overall, a teams success hinges on how well a pass-rushing unit executes, and more so, theres often an expectation of high production for that aspect of your defense. As a defensive minded coach, I normally tend to focus on the Jimmys and the Joes and try to balance a players inexperience or lack of knowledge with on-field strategy. But for this articles purpose, I will attempt to discipline myself and just stick to the coaching points that explain what true vertical pass rush really is and how its executed. Generally, pass rush will be a key component to the total outcome of the game regardless of the type of offense you are facing. I have coached against many triple-option teams, including Navy, and running the ball is simply what everyone knows they are going to do. When the pass does show, however, it is imperative that your pass defense be ready to execute with precision. Create Your Pass-Rush Opportunities As part of a base defensive package you need to have a plan for exactly how to create as many opportunities to pass rush as you can. Now bear in mind that sword does have two very sharp edges. Offensive play callers create balance within multiple categories, but there are no guarantees that balance will carry over to how good they run the ball or pass it. In fact, I would venture to say that a play caller who is balanced in many select categories might be efficient but will often also invariably have a dominant hand, so to speak. So if your opponent runs the ball well, you need to be a great pass-rushing unit that can also stop the run. Conversely, if they pass the ball well, then you need to be a pass-defense that is also well-trained run-stopping defense. I am not implying that you cant do both equally as well on defense. What you want to emphasize, however, will inevitably take priority in your practice plan. The type of offense you are facing is irrelevant. It is important to make it about you and your defensive goals rather than the what if and the if thats. Vertical Pass-Rush Defined Vertical pass rush is a pre-snap mental representation of getting to the middle of the pocket with success. The driving force once the ball is snapped will be confirmed by physical and relentless execution. There is an understanding that multiple defenders must attempt to insert themselves inside the middle of the pocket with the intent to disrupt the timing of the passer. Once inside the pocket, however, life as the offense knows it, must cease to exist. This will be notification to your opponent that your ability to pass rush is not just a specialty skill but a way of life. I have never learned how to teach a player to be 64 tall, weigh 250 pounds and run at 4.5 speed, so I make it a point to attach visual pictures whenever teaching pass-rush technique to players.

The Pocket On day No. 1, we teach and talk about the pocket and its mechanics. I describe the pocket as living and breathing. Defenders must learn to understand that four vertically trained pass rushers along with seven other teammates, who are listed at part-time pass-rush status, are at a distinct advantage against five pass protectors. Everyone in the stadium enjoys watching a pass play. They can either root for the quarterback pass-completion, or they may cheer for the defense to get a quarterback sack. Regardless of the preference, these days, football seems to be driven by the pass play. With all that in mind, it makes practical sense to parallel your opponents passing philosophy and aerial ability with your vertically trained rushers. Training Vertical Rushers First, teach your pass rushers to imagine that the football itself is pulling them out of their stance. The defenders first step must be deep into the neutral zone by the time the ball touches the quarterbacks hands. The pass rusher must be on the edge of the offensive lineman by time his second step hits the ground. Now, I cannot take credit for this concept. Former Iowa defensive line coach Rick Kaczynski, who recently joined the staff at Nebraska, deserves the credit. The eloquent beauty behind these simple, but powerful, mental images are because it is a very optimistic way of looking at a close-quarters line play. To think that a pass rusher will consistently arrive on the edge of the lineman by his second step regardless of talent is almost un-coachable but I like it for that exact reasoning. Besides, Clyde can be just as effective as Jimmy and out-play Joe by using this approach even if Clyde possesses less talent. Envisioning this two-step-arrival concept also gives your players a pass-rush goal that he can attempt to achieve during his entire playing career. (Which is a great conceptsomeone please hire coach Kaczynski as a Defensive Coordinator!) Setting Pass-Rush Goals Getting the sack, however, cannot be the only goal for the full-time pass-rushing unit. There needs to be standards in place that allow for positive reinforcement and goal achievement. If not, the players will eventually feel as if there is an ultimatum attached to their playing time, and they will not fully commit to rushing the passer, which is contrary to the motivational environment you are trying to foster. Therefore, I have found that praising the unit for creating the 3rd-down pass-rush opportunity itself can be mixed in with statistics such as quarterback pressures, hits and batted balls so that the entire team can feel rewarded. It is also crucially important to not brow-beat your rushers for losing contain. I think that is a mistake. As mentioned earlier what is your pass-rush plan as a unit, rather than the d-line only? If you have no plan, then you are likely just filling gaps with bodies.rather than creating separation vertically with purpose and meaning. I have always really liked listening to defensive-backs coaches talk about training players eyes and using vision as part of the natural teaching progression for cornerbacks and safeties. Because I am discussing vertical pass rush, it was important to not only be different as a defensive line coach but to sound different as well. In this regard, I have developed an adage that states:

Production will ultimately be the measuring stick of your defensive unit therefore, your production will be your wisdom and your wisdom your difference. 4 Factors of Vision I have found it effective to weave a few topics together to draw it into a collective teaching progression rather than trying to teach many moving and unnecessary parts. Vision is the combination of four distinct but inseparable factors. 1. Hand placement. In other words, the eye is directly connected to the hand, and that hand will be placed to or away from the football. 2. Periphery. Feel the football with peripheral vision, rather than staring at the ball. 3. Free-release assumption of pass protection. Keep the guess work out of pass protection and just assume the offense wants to get all five receivers out in the pattern so a player can better assume when his one on one will occur not where it will occur. 4. Post snap technique. When the ball is snapped, Long Step, Get Vertical, and Show Speed, is the progression of terms we use once the ball is snapped. Hand Placement Now that vision is defined, we can move on to post-snap play and application. If you dont have a reason for telling a player to place his outside down hand away from the football, then dont do it. Understanding why hand placement is so important is the detonator. From what I have read C4 is an explosive made of plastic. With no detonator, it is useless. Knowing why hand placement is important becomes akin to knowing that the combination of C4 with a detonator, when used together, are volatile and highly explosive. Hand placement regulates the amount of steps necessary for a quality pass rush that will require split a second decision. Often, a good-looking rush falls short into what Ive termed driving by the quarterback. Hand placement also determines the conversion point from either speed to power or power to speed with the ability to secure the pocket with very little chance of losing contain. Lastly, Pre-snap hand placement determines the shoulder most vulnerable to a power rush. For example, if the inside hand is down, then the offensive linemans weakest point is his inside shoulder and vice versa with the outside hand down. See Figure 1.

FIGURE 1: The star represents the pass-rushers hand placement in relationship to the football. Pre-snap hand placement in relation to the football is ground zero for what most would consider a 4-3 Single-Gapping Defense. Your philosophy on defense will determine if vertical pass rush can be realistically implemented into your scheme. In a forthcoming Football Coach Daily article, I will dive head-first into Part 2 of Vertical-Pass Rush. In that article, I will cover the following Vertical Pass-Rush concepts Conversion techniques Showing speed How to maintain the same mindset with the two inside defenders.

I will also include a special section on the decision-making process and why the nose guard should get more sacks that the three technique in a 4-3. Part 3 Describes other critical Vertical Pass-Rush concepts, such as how to design blitzes, and stunts based on-hand placement.