Bob Protection

The following information is important when setting your drills for teaching your offensive linemen how
to pass block.

To maintaing consistency in a passing offense, you must develop tremendous personal prode in your
offensive line's ability to protect the passer. You must not only work individually, but colledtively as
one well coordinated unit. The ability to anticipate each other's moves must be developed, along with
being able to make the proper adjustments accordingly and without hesitation.

You must be able to anticipate and adjust to any type of defensive front and individual maneuver. To
do this with any degree of efficiency requires you to know every possible detail available about your opponenet. Pass protection in its simpliest form can be reduced down to the offensive line having more
desire to get the job done then the defender that your offensive line is playing against. Refuse to be
Beaten.

The first and most significant element of pass protection for a lineman is to set quickly in a good position
which will allow for the greatest possible means of success and will not allow your quarterback to get
touched or sacked. The manner for pass sets varies depending on the alignment and caoabilities of the
defender. Getting and manintaining proper body and head position is the firs bais for getting the job
done. There is a spot from which each pass is thrown depending upon where the quarterback sets up
to throw and it is vital that the offensive line knows where that spot is in order that they may protect
the passing spot of the quarterback until the ball is released.

For the quarterback to throw the ball with any degree of accuracy, he must be free of harassment from
any defender and should be able to see down field. To accomplish this the offensive line must give a
clear area between them and the quarterback. The center and guards in a dropback scheme are basically responsible for the depth of the pocket while, the tackles are responsible for maintaining the width of the pocket.

Having acknowledged that a determined attitude is the basis for effective pass protection, the fundamentals
are as follows:

1. Get set quickly into a good fundamental position with knees bent, flat back, head-up, hands up, elbows
in and pointed down, chin over the inside knee, and body under control. If your opponent contacts you
while you are still leaning back to set up, he has the advantage.

2. Make contact with your opponent on or near the line of scrimmage. Once your hands attach to your opponent work to keep them there. (use your hands and arms to strike an upward blow, keep elbows
in and pointed down.)

3. Refuse to let the defender get into your body and force you into an upright position. When forced
into an upright position you lose the ability to control your man. If unable to seperate yourself from
the rusher, give ground as a last resort and work your body down low again (sit down in the chair) into
a good fundamental position.

4. It is better to give up ground (keeping position) than to over commit and lose your defender too quickly.

5. Always slide or shuffle your feet quickly (keep them on the ground.) Don't pump your feet up and
down. The more your feet is in contact with the ground when reacting to your defender (focus your
energy on the inside of your arches.)

In our BASE (best) protection = we COMBINE "BOB" (AKA: "FAN") with "SOLID" (AKA: "MAN") protection.

In the ATTACHMENT we give our players, the "BOB" ("FAN") is on the RIGHT:

Coach Bill Mountjoy
804-716-7038
(Va.)