Quarterbacks
Quarterback 101 Page 1
Your youth football team needs a capable quarterback to run your
offense. So what are the criteria for the position? Do you want a tall
kid with a good arm, or a fast kid with good feet? Aside from the
necessary physical skills, your young quarterback must possess a
high degree of self confidence and mental toughness to keep it
together when things don't go as planned. As the coach you may
have to choose between the kid who has all of the physical skills but
is mentally weak and the kid who is physically adequate but won't
crack under pressure, choose wisely. Once you have your
quarterback candidates you can then begin to develop a foundation
of basic skills that include receiving the snap, footwork, mesh points
with the running backs, pass drops and throwing mechanics. Keep it
simple, develop their confidence and an understanding of the game,
and help them keep mistakes to a minimum.
Quarterback Fundamentals and Mechanics
RECEIVING A SNAP
1. Establish a target for the Center. Have your quarterback place the
ball under the Center with his throwing hand using the grip he
desires when he receives the snap. Have the QB keep his one hand
there only, applying pressure to the Center's rear end and have the
Center execute a snap. If the ball hits the QB's hand and drops
straight down, it is correct. If the ball goes anywhere other than
straight down it is a bad snap. If there is a bad snap keep working at
it until the Center can hit his target consistently and without error.
Make sure the QB applies good pressure and slightly lifts the
Center's butt off of the ground to give the center a target he can feel.
2. To receive the snap, the quarterback must place the off hand
under the throwing hand (which is giving good lift pressure to the
Center). Make sure the thumbs stay in contact, not the heals of the
hand. A good hard snap will split the hands if the heals are together
but if the thumbs are together, they are harder to split providing the
hands and fingers a better chance to grip the ball, similar to how a
receiver would be taught how to properly catch.
EXECUTING A HAND-OFF
There are many different potential run schemes which cannot all be
covered here. There are going to be different steps and techniques
based on the run scheme employed by the particular team and
coaching staff and a QB should strive to execute them perfectly. A
QB's goal should always be to never have any mistakes in the
running game.
In this section, only the basics of ball carriage and protection and
proper delivery to the running back will be covered. The key point
to remember is that it is ALWAYS the responsibility of the QB to
get the ball to the running back. The running back does have to
establish a proper pocket for the QB to place the ball into but he
needs to have his eyes up and on the hole. This puts the
responsibility for the exchange solely on the QB. Turnovers or
mistakes in exchanges in the running game must always be the QB's
responsibility.
1. After receiving the ball from Center, the quarterback must
immediately bring the ball high and to the chin as he takes the
appropriate first steps based on the run play. This will ensure that
the ball is protected and does not get knocked out of the hands by
any line or running back action.
2. As the quarterback approaches the running back to make the
hand-off, the near arm or inside hand should slide down to the end
of the ball and grip the dial or tip with the fingers tightly to get his
arm out of the way and prevent the running back from grabbing this
arm creating a fumble.
3. The far arm or outside hand must remain on the center of the ball
and as the ball is placed into the stomach of the running back. The
outside arm must remain on the ball and ride with the running back
until the running back has safely secured the ball and is on his way.
THROWING
Every Quarterback will have a slightly different throwing motion
and delivery and this is okay. The important thing is to make sure
each player is comfortable and natural in his delivery. There are
really only two mechanics that are essential in every delivery and
should be consistent no matter who is throwing the ball. They are a
high release and a quick release and each quarterback drill will work
on and emphasize these two mechanics from that players comfort
level and natural throwing motion.
1. Grip
Each player will potentially have a different grip that works best for
him as well, and this is okay. The key is that he can consistently
throw a spiral that is accurate. The grip should not be changed or
tinkered with unless your quarterback is having problems
consistently being accurate and/or throwing a tight spiral. There are
certain keys to a correct grip and they are as follows:
a. The hand should be as high on the top half of the football as
possible.
b. The fingers should be as spread out as possible from index to
pinky.
c. The thumb and middle finger should form a perfect half-circle
around the ball. If either of these two fingers (the thumb or middle
finger) get higher or lower than the other, it will be difficult to throw
a consistent spiral.
d. How the fingers are placed on the laces is personal preference and
should be experimented with, along with the other grip factors, until
a consistent, tight spiral can be achieved with consistency.
2. Ball Carriage
a. After receiving the center snap, the ball should be immediately
brought high and to the chin just as with a run play. The only
difference is that as the quarterback drops back to pass, the ball is
moved from the chin to the ear and should remain high until the pass
is thrown. It is vital that the quarterback doesn't drop or dip the ball
as he is dropping back or throughout the delivery of the throw.
b. As the quarterback is dropping back, the ball should swing easily
from shoulder to shoulder at chin height to provide momentum, just
as the arms are used in running forward or backward.
3. Throwing Motion / Delivery
a. With the ball in a high position at the ear, it should be released
with a quick and high delivery.
b. The initial movement should never be down, dropping or dipping
in a long, slow wind up motion. The elbow should rise up and the
ball should naturally turn out with the palm facing the sideline.
c. The off arm should begin the throwing arm action forward as it is
driven hard past the hip or rotate the hips and shoulders and to bring
the elbow and arm through.
d. The elbow should then lead up and over the top being as high or
higher than the ear.
e. The hand should be in a "C" position at the top of the throw to
release the ball properly. If the hand gets into a "Y" position, the QB
will throw a high, wobbly ball.
f. The shoulders should be leaning downward at the apex of the
throw so the QB throws the ball downhill. On a deep throw, the
shoulders will be slightly at an upward angle to get the ball up in the
air.
g. The front foot should be planted on the ball not the heel and when
the ball is released, the chin should be over the knee which should
be over the ball of the foot. It should seem to the QB like a stake
could be driven straight through the head, knee and foot. If the QB
over strides, and plants on his heel, the shoulders will tend to be
upward and a lot of high passes will result. On a deep throw, the
stride should be slightly longer to get the shoulders slightly upward
and the ball up in the air.
h. The ball should be released off of the index and middle fingers as
the hand turns down and the thumb rotates. The follow through
should then naturally take the hand to the off hip to finish the throw
properly.
Quarterbacks Page 2
Quarterback 101 Page 2
DROPPING BACK
As the QB receives the ball from center, the first step employed in
the drop back is a punch step with the opposite foot to gain extra
depth and get the action and momentum started. The punch step
happens as the ball is being received and is like a pivot action to get
the QB momentum for his 1st drop step or reach step.
The 1st step is a reach step which is deep to gain as much depth as
possible.
The 2nd step is a crossover step and may begin the brake process or
may reach also depending on the drop.
The 3rd step will be the final plant step or another reach step
depending on the depth of the drop. As the plant step is placed
down, it should turn slightly to put the QB's body in the proper
position with the front shoulder facing the target.
If the timing is such that the QB will not release the ball off of the
final plant step, he should gather his feet underneath him. The feet
should be less than shoulder width apart and he should be light on
the balls of his feet ready to release the ball quickly as a receiver
breaks open, step up or move in the pocket, or take off running.
1. Three Step Drop - This will be in a short passing game series
usually involving quick timing routes. Because of this, your
footwork must be executed perfectly each throw. This series will
almost always be thrown on the third step as in a "1-2-3-Throw"
cadence to maximize timing. Punch, -1/Reach, -2/Brake, -3/Plant,
Throw. No false steps ever!!
2. Five Step Drop - This will be a little longer passing game series
and involves both timing routes and setup and read routes. On
timing routes, the ball must be thrown on the fifth step as it was
thrown on the third step in the 3 step drop. A "1-2-3-4-5-Throw"
technique must be used. Punch, -1/Reach, -2/Crossover, -3/Reach, 4/Brake, -5/Plant, Throw. On longer routes, which require a deeper
setup, a gather balance, and then a longer throw, the drop technique
changes to the following: Punch, -1/Reach, -2/Crossover, -3/Reach,
-4/Brake, -5/Plant, -Gather, Good balanced feet, Step, Throw.
3. Rolling Out - To get out of the pocket and give the QB a run-pass
option, the rollout or sprint out will be used. The first step will be a
reach step with the foot in the direction of the sprint out. The step
should be at 5:30 or 6:30 on a clock dial. The next two steps should
continue to gain the QB depth until he is about 6 yards deep. The
next two steps should get the QB around the corner and heading up
field with the football. The ball should remain high as the QB looks
to get his shoulders around and pointed at his target. The QB should
imagine he is in a hallway and all of his throwing action and motion
must keep his body in that hallway. Allow the momentum of the
body to get the velocity on the ball and continue to execute the same
sound throwing fundamentals discussed above.
4. Half Roll - To move the pocket for the QB but not sprint out with
a run pass option, a half roll will be used. The QB will execute the
same technique used for the sprint out but on the desired step,
usually the 5th or 7th, he stops and gathers his feet underneath him
squaring his shoulders to the field and his target.
PLAY ACTION
Play action passes are key to use with the running game and should
be utilized effectively by employing the exact same run action
scheme by the QB and the running backs. Both the QB and running
back must sell the run action. It must be genuine and they must
work hard to be good actors and sell the defense that it is run. Both
positions should thus employ the same techniques used in the run
play except for the actual exchange of the ball.
The QB must know the route and defender he is keying on because
his eyes will not be downfield as in a drop back. He will be blind
until he snaps his head around after the play fake. He must then do a
great job with his pre-snap read and know what he expects once the
play action is executed.
Pocket Play Action
a. Receive the ball from center and chin it as the proper steps are
taken for the run action.
b. Use the exact same techniques you use on the run action so as not
to tip off the defense. If this includes showing the ball to the back
and the defense then do so after you clear the center.
c. Upon reaching the mesh point with the back, pull the ball hard
back to your belly as you duck slightly to sell the action to the
defense.
d. Snap your head quickly to your read and bring the ball up to your
ear as you gather your feet underneath you and square your
shoulders to your target.
Bootleg Action
a. Utilize the exact same techniques as used in the first three steps
for pocket play action above.
b. Snap your head quickly to your read, bring the ball up to your ear
and begin the bootleg or sprint out action employing the same
techniques used while sprinting or rolling out.