Coaching your QB how to take the HIT once he has pitched the ball???

Remind the refs about Rule 2, Section 3, Article 5, letter "b" of the 2004 NFHS Football Rules Book:

"When a player simulates possession of the ball, reasonable allowance may be made for failure of the defense to discover the deception. This DOES NOT cancel the responsibility of any defensive player to exercise reasonable caution in avoiding any unecessary contact".

Last year, an official called my DE for unnecessary roughness for drilling a QB who had given the ball to the FB but had carried out the option fake. I asked for an explanation, telling the official that my DE was coached to take the QB down on all option plays. The official then told me that my DE had enough time to realize that the QB no longer had the ball, therefore, did not have the right to drill him. I continued my protestations, but to no avail.

I read the above rule to say that a defensive player is allowed to take a offensive player down who is carrying out a fake as long as that defensive player does not realize that the offensive player does not have the ball. If, in the opinion of the official, the defensive player took the offensive player down even though the defensive player realized the offensive player did not have the ball, it could result in a unecessary roughness call.

Govertical,

Thanks for that informative post! I always taught my HS level QB's just to be sure and protect themselves at all times when carrying out a fake, as they are "live" AND EXPECT TO GET HIT! Same thing I teach my QB's today at our level (we play NFL rules) and the DC's all teach the same thing, put the QB on the ground every play you can. He is live if he is carrying out a fake!

Coach Easton

LouVarley,

So on the pitch and drift technique the QB takes two steps toward the pitch man and then lets his body go limp, correct?

Coach Easton,

Would you care to go into the thumbs down pitch versus the basketball pitch a little more? I have heard about both of these but I really dont know as much as I feel I should know about the mechanics of pitching the ball.

Coach Varley, I do not teach anything about "drifting" toward the pitchman, whatever that means.

Coach Easton

Sorry Coach Varley, that was for coach Nicholson. John, I teach when getting ready to pitch,drop your hips, step toward your target smartley (drifting is not what I'm looking for) extend your pitching arm and hand to the pitchman and deliver the ball with the thumb down causing the ball to look much like a place kicked ball (end over end) while staying in almost a crouched position so that the ball floats up cleanly and is easily seen by the RB, thus making it very easy to handle. Going to his left and making a pitch by a right handed QB takes rep after rep after rep to insure himself that he can pitch going to his left with confidence. I always teach QB's to think "quick pitch" when going backside so he must not become right hand oriented. I always have him during drills, pitch 5 more reps going to his left than going to his right. Just my way.

Coach Easton

We use the same technique.....never had a bad pitch yet...why get the QB creamed? Never understood the idea of get on your heels to absorb the blow. That's clinic talk. Any QB that like to get smacked like that every down should play LB as well!

coach easton,

i have never had a qb touched by a crash. we don't attack a crash. we go backwards off the mesh! and i've been running triple for about 20 years. our qbs usually laugh at a crash person's frustration in not getting to him.

COACHES,

I HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN ONFIELD COACHING SINCE 1964. I JUST STARTED MY 41ST YEAR IN LATE NOVEMBER. I HAVE BEEN A HC FOR LONG YEARS NOW BUT STILL CONSIDER MYSELF A QB COACH AS THAT IS WHAT I DO TO THIS DAY, AND SERVE AS OC AS WELL. ON THE VEER, I TEACH MY QB'S TO GET RID OF THE BALL RIGHT NOW (PITCH IT)AS SOON AS THEY SEE THE NUMBERS OF THE DE'S JERSEY! TO ME, THERE IS NOTHING OUTSTANDING ABOUT MAKING A "LATE PITCH" AS SOME FOLKS RAVE ABOUT. PHILOSOPHICALLY, THE QB SHOULD NEVER BE TOUCHED PERHAPS, OR IN YOUR EXPERIENCES MENTIONED ABOVE THEY NEVER HAVE BEEN TOUCHED. HAVING COACHED THE TRIPLE (ISV-OSV) AT RAINES HIGH SCHOOL IN JACKSONVILLE, FLA. I HAD SOME REALLY GOOD QB'S. PATRICK SAPP, WHO WENT TO CLEMSON AND THEN TO THE NFL AS A LB, WAS 6'4 AND HAD THE STRONGEST ARM I EVER COACHED, WAS ONE OF THEM. WE RAN THE TRIPLE OUT OF THE BONE AND WE WERE 33-3 THE FIRST YEARS I WAS THERE. KIDS IN THE NFL TODAY FROM THOSE TEAMS INCLUDE BRIAN DAWKINS AND LITO SHEPHERD OF THE EAGLES, ROD GARDNER OF THE REDSKINS, JABBAR GAFFNEY OF THE TEXANS, DOMINIQUE ROSS OF THE COWBOYS ( 2 SUPER BOWL RINGS) RALPH DAWKIND(BRIANS OLDER BROTHER) WENT TO THE SAINTS, ETC. THE FIRST 2 OF THOSE FIRST YEARS I WAS THERE WE WENT 10-0 FOR REGULAR SEASON PLAY IN 5-AAAAA CLASSIFICATION IN A STATE THAT HAS GREAT HS LEVEL FOOTBALL.
I SAID THAT TO SAY THIS, I FEEL QUALIFIED TO TEACH WHAT I TEACH AS IT HAS BEEN REAL GOOD TO ME.
FIRST OFF YOU DON'T JUST STEP TO THE PITCHMAN. IT IS A PROGRESSION OF MAKING THE READ, DROPPING THE HIPS TO INSURE A GOOD POWER BASE TO PITCH FROM, STEP TOWARD YOUR PITCHMAN WHILE STAYING LOW AFTER DROPPING YOUR HIPS, EXTEND YOUR ARM AND HAND FULLY ON THE RELEASE OF THE BALL TO THE RB (THUMB DOWN METHOD) AND GO LIMP ON THE RELEASE IF THE DE IS IN YOUR FACE BY THAT TIME. I'M SURE YOU HAVE THE SAME CONFIDENCE IN YOUR METHOD THAT I HAVE IN MINE, SO AS ALWAYS WE SAY "GO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW". HAVE ENJOYED THIS TOPIC WITH EVERYONE INVOLVED, STATED MY OPINION AND METHOD AND ENJOYED LISTENING TO YOURS. BEST OF LUCK IN A SEASON THAT WILL BE HERE BEFORE WE KNOW IT.

Coach Easton

LOU,

WE USE ONLY THE BASKETBALL PITCH WHEN RUNNING THE GUN OPTION. IN MY OPINION, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE MOST ACCURATE PITCH, WITHOUT DOUBT.

COACH EASTON

A good way to teach the mechanics of the BB pitch is to have two QB's stand on the sideline at say the 5 yardline and one QB to stand on the 10 yard line. The ball starts in the line with the two QBs.

The Qb's will jog the lines and the 1st QB on the 5 yardline will plant his outside foot on the 5 yardline turn to the pitch back (QB in this case) and push the ball to the pitch back (QB) with the hand closest to the pitch back (QB). As he steps and pitches to the target, he jogs in line behind the QB on the 10 yardline.

The QB on the 10 yardline now does the same thing to the remaining QB and gets in line behind him after he pitches the ball. What you end up having is essentially a 3 man weave. The key point being to have the QB plant the outside leg on the line. They always want to take a false step outside the line 1-2 feet which defeats the purpose of minimizing the blow if not altogether eliminating it.

Try it!

Good Luck!