Cleveland Browns: How to protect the QB in the pocket
By Joel W. Cade
If the interior linemen control the depth of the pocket, then the offensive tackles control the width of the pocket. That is, the tackles control how far the quarterback can move left and right inside the pocket.
Defenses understand the pocket protection scheme and look to exploit it. Most fans know that having a dominant edge rusher is important but many could not explain why.
A dominant edge rusher affects the quarterback in subtle ways that make life difficult in the pocket. By disrupting the pocket itself, the edge rusher can throw off the timing and rhythm of an entire offense.
Offensive tackles have one golden rule of pass protection: Never give up the inside. If a tackle gives up the inside, quarterbacks will get hurt. The second rule is not to get beat on the edge. Thus tackles must drop back in a manner that protects against the inside rush which allowing for enough depth to protect the bottom of the pocket. If this sounds difficult, that is because it is extremely difficult.
The goal of the edge rusher is to get to the quarterback at the bottom of his drop. The quarterback can be affected by being sacked, hit or being forced to step up in the pocket out of rhythm and timing of the play.
Knowing this, the offensive lineman has a few options. The first option, and most effective, is to run the defender deeper than the quarterback’s drop thereby nullifying the “speed rush.”
A speed rush is when the defender attempts to run around the offensive lineman and sack the quarterback at the bottom of his drop. In this scenario, the quarterback can deliver the ball at the bottom of the drop or hitch up in the pocket to a secondary receiver. The speed rush is an all or nothing technique that most tackles are adept at defending.
The second option for a defender is the power rush. The power rush is when the defender attempts to push the offensive tackle into the quarterback at the bottom of the drop. This is a safer technique as it may result in a sack but has a better chance of disrupting the timing of the play by forcing the quarterback to move within the pocket.
The third option for a defender is to take an inside rush toward the quarterback. This is another all or nothing technique. If the defender misses, the quarterback has a wide open field to scramble. Tackles can block the inside route very easily. But a player with poor technique (Austin Pazstor) will often give up the inside rush.
In a pocket protection, the offensive lineman’s job is to create enough width for the quarterback to operate in rhythm in the pocket. Sometimes that width is created by running the defender past the quarterback. Other times it is created by engaging the defender early and stopping the rush away from the quarterback.
With the interior handling the depth and the tackles handing the width, the quarterback ideally has room to move within the pocket in case the timing of the play is disrupted.
Ideally, the quarterback takes his drop, hitches and delivers the ball. If that does not work, the quarterback can move within the pocket vertically (depth) and laterally (width) to create a throwing lane to hit a receiver “late” in the play.