Cleveland Browns: How to protect the QB in the pocket
By Joel W. Cade
The Cleveland Browns have struggled to protect the quarterback this season. Are the receivers and quarterback at fault? Find out here.
The Cleveland Browns passing game is struggling. Several problems have been named as the culprit: holding onto the ball for too long, dropping passes, receivers not getting open or the offensive line failing to protect the quarterback.
In reality, it is a combination of all these things. But fans only get to see the offensive line and quarterback with the TV angles. Thus, perspectives are often skewed in the direction of blaming the offensive line for all of the passing game issues.
This article will review the basic pocket protection scheme employed by offensive linemen to help fans recognize when the offensive line is giving up pressure and when other factors are involved.
What does clean pocket look like? A pocket is the traditional pass protection scheme of an offensive line. If pocket protection works correctly, the quarterback can stand in one spot, survey the field and throw the pass on time without being pressured.
In a pocket protection scheme, the quarterback will take the snap. If under center, he will “drop back” which means he will take three or five carefully choreographed steps back while scanning the defense. After the prescribed steps, the quarterback will stop. The stop point will often be called the “bottom of his drop” or sometimes called the “top of the drop.”
At the bottom of the drop, the quarterback should “hitch.” A hitch is where the quarterback stops his drop, plants his back foot and delivers the ball. When a timing pattern is thrown on time, the quarterback will drop, hitch then deliver the ball.
Good protection in a pocket progression allows the quarterback to drop straight back, hitch and deliver the ball. A good offensive line should be able to protect long enough for two hitches. But three or more hitches constitutes an issue either with receivers not open or the quarterback holding onto the ball too long.
The quarterback’s role in pocket protection is to take the snap then drop. When the quarterback hits the top of the drop, he hitches then delivers the ball. If the primary target is not open, he can hitch to a second receiver. In an ideal world, a quarterback drop operates in this manner.
Browns quarterbacks do not play in an ideal world.