QB School: A Primer for Knowing What to Look for in the Draft
The team needs a QB. You’re stunned, I know.
The next X months will be spent talking a lot about which prospects are hot, which are cold, which retain heat in the winter, and which stay cool in the summer. Oh and some folks will throw out some lingo that may zip by your ear.
Don’t sweat it, ASFN has your back (even if we’re busy calling you stupid in another thread).
When you hear a reference to QB mechanics the person is typically referring to the degree of refinement a player has in muscle memory. Players with good mechanics usually (not always) make better QBs, but that isn’t the end of it just the start.
This isn’t a perfect guide, so if I get something wrong the say so, we want to be right, not pretty (hell, I can’t get prettier anyhow).
If you find any great articles or videos link them!
Watch the feet
Vocabulary:
Hitch step - sliding the feet together (never backpedaling)
Cross over - picking up the trailing foot and planting it before bring the opposite foot back.
When dropping back the feet need to get good clearance off the ground, two inches is usually fine, but the idea is to not get the cleat caught in the ground or stepped on. The QB has to have good balance throughout the drop, the legs shouldn’t ever get so far apart that his center of balance is thrown off. When planting his feet should be under his hips.
Because I’m lazy I may accidentally use “you” instead of “the QB”. Don’t worry, you’re not getting drafted.
3-Step Drop Technique
Three-step drops are for short pass patterns such as a quick out, a hitch or a slant. Timing is the key to the success of those passes. The QB must drop back and deliver the ball quickly without hesitation.
*If the ball needs to come out quicker then don’t use the cross-over step use a hitch step. If you need to give the receiver time you cross -or- QBs can buy time by taking hitch steps forward or to the side after the initial drop back.
For example, check out this fancy stuff:
Five and seven-step drops work like a three step cross-over does, ball foot back (1) crossover (2) crossover (3) crossover (4) then if it’s a five use the fifth step to stop momentum. If it’s a seven stepper then the fifth and sixth steps become crossovers and the seventh is the momentum stop.
So the foot opposite the ball foot (usually the left) now becomes the plant foot. The QB should use a hitch step to shift his body momentum onto his front foot. More on this after we talk about where the ball’s at.
Easy, right? Well in theory.
Watch the ball
While dropping back, the ball should be high on the numbers and firmly against the body of the jersey with the ball slightly below the chin. The elbows should stay controlled, not winged out too dramatically. You want to keep the ball there as long as you can, don’t tip your hand by dropping it to the belly (for the run) or try to use a wind-up to get velocity.
One of the reasons people got on Tebow was because of a loop in his motion that elongated his delivery. He held the ball too low and when he needed to pass the extra time it took for him to bring the ball up allowed defenses to anticipate his throw. Yeah, they’re that fast.
Watch the hips/rotation/follow-through
Now you’ll be transferring momentum to your plant foot; aim the toes of this foot directly at where you want the ball to go. Your entire body, including your hips, will point at the spot you want to deliver the ball. Move the hips, chest and shoulders toward your target, ahead of your passing arm and hand.
Remember that target isn’t always the receiver, all routes require anticipation and timing so it’s far more likely a QB is trying to throw it to a spot where it gives his guy the best crack at it.
Pro Tip: Passing velocity comes not only from arm strength but from total body momentum.
If you’re someplace you’re comfortable, like at home or on a bus, try this exercise: throw a standing punch without moving your body.
Not that impressive.
Now roll your body into it, lead like you’ve just been taught to throw a ball feet to hips to shoulder in a smooth roll.
More power right?
Don’t mind the octogenarian you just laid out? She had it coming.
But at the same time; watch the arm
Remember you’re standing tall (like Dwayne Johnson) with both feet under your hips at this point. Ball securely in both hands, chest high (check out Aaron Rodgers, he's great at this).
Prepare to throw:
Begin the passing motion:
The follow-through is often forgotten, but very important:
Putting it all together
Dan Fleming (in his amazing ESPN draft article from 2010) does a gorgeous job of telling us why motion in harmony is desirable, so we’ll let him take it out:
Everything Else
Don’t kill a guy for a mediocre combine showing, the Rams GM offers this reminder (also from EPSN): "You'd love to see them work out here, but for a quarterback [the combine] is not the greatest environment," said general manager Billy Devaney, whose Rams have the No. 1 pick in April. "They're out there throwing to receivers they've never thrown to before, they're throwing routes they maybe haven't thrown in college. It's hard to get into a groove when you throw three balls and go to the end of the line and then throw three more."
Look for the system they played in college. Does it feature a lot of snaps from center or shotgun? Is there complex routes and passing trees? Is the offense built to spread the field and take on mismatches or do they line up in more “traditional” sets? That doesn’t mean you let the system dictate readiness, both Quinn and Clausen came from the same Charlie Weiss’ system that gave them a supposed advantage over guys like Kolb or Bradford who have less-common offenses and while all still have much to prove Bradford looks like the best of the bunch.
Pros and their motions
Watch some highlights of these guys and see if you can pick up their unusual arm mechanics.
Aaron Rodgers - prototypical
Tom Brady - prototypical
Peyton Manning - prototypical
Drew Brees - prototypical
Byron Leftwich - windup
Tim Tebow - windup
Phillip Rivers - sidearm
Tavaris Jackson - ¾
Kurt Warner - ¾
Farve - does whatever he wants
The team needs a QB. You’re stunned, I know.
The next X months will be spent talking a lot about which prospects are hot, which are cold, which retain heat in the winter, and which stay cool in the summer. Oh and some folks will throw out some lingo that may zip by your ear.
Don’t sweat it, ASFN has your back (even if we’re busy calling you stupid in another thread).
When you hear a reference to QB mechanics the person is typically referring to the degree of refinement a player has in muscle memory. Players with good mechanics usually (not always) make better QBs, but that isn’t the end of it just the start.
This isn’t a perfect guide, so if I get something wrong the say so, we want to be right, not pretty (hell, I can’t get prettier anyhow).
If you find any great articles or videos link them!
Watch the feet
Vocabulary:
Hitch step - sliding the feet together (never backpedaling)
Cross over - picking up the trailing foot and planting it before bring the opposite foot back.
When dropping back the feet need to get good clearance off the ground, two inches is usually fine, but the idea is to not get the cleat caught in the ground or stepped on. The QB has to have good balance throughout the drop, the legs shouldn’t ever get so far apart that his center of balance is thrown off. When planting his feet should be under his hips.
Because I’m lazy I may accidentally use “you” instead of “the QB”. Don’t worry, you’re not getting drafted.
3-Step Drop Technique
Three-step drops are for short pass patterns such as a quick out, a hitch or a slant. Timing is the key to the success of those passes. The QB must drop back and deliver the ball quickly without hesitation.
- Take the first step away from the line of scrimmage with the foot on the side of the passing hand (if you’re right handed this means your first step back is with your right foot).
- Follow with a crossover step* with your other foot behind the first foot and finally a third step with the foot on the side of your passing hand (so again, if you’re right footed you’re right foot).
- Use your third step to stop your momentum away from the line.
- Bring your other foot back so both feet are under your hips.
*If the ball needs to come out quicker then don’t use the cross-over step use a hitch step. If you need to give the receiver time you cross -or- QBs can buy time by taking hitch steps forward or to the side after the initial drop back.
For example, check out this fancy stuff:
Five and seven-step drops work like a three step cross-over does, ball foot back (1) crossover (2) crossover (3) crossover (4) then if it’s a five use the fifth step to stop momentum. If it’s a seven stepper then the fifth and sixth steps become crossovers and the seventh is the momentum stop.
So the foot opposite the ball foot (usually the left) now becomes the plant foot. The QB should use a hitch step to shift his body momentum onto his front foot. More on this after we talk about where the ball’s at.
Easy, right? Well in theory.
Watch the ball
While dropping back, the ball should be high on the numbers and firmly against the body of the jersey with the ball slightly below the chin. The elbows should stay controlled, not winged out too dramatically. You want to keep the ball there as long as you can, don’t tip your hand by dropping it to the belly (for the run) or try to use a wind-up to get velocity.
One of the reasons people got on Tebow was because of a loop in his motion that elongated his delivery. He held the ball too low and when he needed to pass the extra time it took for him to bring the ball up allowed defenses to anticipate his throw. Yeah, they’re that fast.
Watch the hips/rotation/follow-through
Now you’ll be transferring momentum to your plant foot; aim the toes of this foot directly at where you want the ball to go. Your entire body, including your hips, will point at the spot you want to deliver the ball. Move the hips, chest and shoulders toward your target, ahead of your passing arm and hand.
Remember that target isn’t always the receiver, all routes require anticipation and timing so it’s far more likely a QB is trying to throw it to a spot where it gives his guy the best crack at it.
Pro Tip: Passing velocity comes not only from arm strength but from total body momentum.
If you’re someplace you’re comfortable, like at home or on a bus, try this exercise: throw a standing punch without moving your body.
Not that impressive.
Now roll your body into it, lead like you’ve just been taught to throw a ball feet to hips to shoulder in a smooth roll.
More power right?
Don’t mind the octogenarian you just laid out? She had it coming.
But at the same time; watch the arm
Remember you’re standing tall (like Dwayne Johnson) with both feet under your hips at this point. Ball securely in both hands, chest high (check out Aaron Rodgers, he's great at this).
Prepare to throw:
- Remove your non passing hand from the ball (if you’re Dante Culpepper remove both hands from the ball and look around wildly).
- Bring back your passing hand, and bend your elbow.
- Position the ball above your shoulder pads and behind your helmet. Your arm should make an “L”.
Begin the passing motion:
- Bring your passing arm and hand forward, keeping your elbow bent and the ball held high.
Pro Tip: When you hear someone talking about a high release point they’re talking about the ball being as high as it can when it leaves the QB’s hand. This helps to minimize the chance of the pass being batted at the line of scrimmage. Or pinging the ball off the back of a lineman’s head. Check out Drew Brees. 6 ft but he doesn’t get a lot of passes knocked down.
- Bring your passing arm forward as you release the ball.
- Let the forearm pass over and in front of your passing arm's elbow.
- As your hand comes forward, release the ball in a nice, tight spiral, flicking the wrist as the ball leaves the hand.
The follow-through is often forgotten, but very important:
- Make sure that your hand and fully extended passing arm are pointed directly at your target.
- After you release the ball, rotate your passing hand to the inside.
- Finish the passing motion with your palm facing the ground.
- Your shoulder should now also be pointed at the target.
- Hold that position for a beat after the throw.
Pro Tip: Some NFL players try to generate more velocity by focusing torque on their shoulder, some try to add the torque using their elbow.
Putting it all together
Dan Fleming (in his amazing ESPN draft article from 2010) does a gorgeous job of telling us why motion in harmony is desirable, so we’ll let him take it out:
Dan Fleming said:
Dan Fleming said:
Everything Else
Don’t kill a guy for a mediocre combine showing, the Rams GM offers this reminder (also from EPSN): "You'd love to see them work out here, but for a quarterback [the combine] is not the greatest environment," said general manager Billy Devaney, whose Rams have the No. 1 pick in April. "They're out there throwing to receivers they've never thrown to before, they're throwing routes they maybe haven't thrown in college. It's hard to get into a groove when you throw three balls and go to the end of the line and then throw three more."
Look for the system they played in college. Does it feature a lot of snaps from center or shotgun? Is there complex routes and passing trees? Is the offense built to spread the field and take on mismatches or do they line up in more “traditional” sets? That doesn’t mean you let the system dictate readiness, both Quinn and Clausen came from the same Charlie Weiss’ system that gave them a supposed advantage over guys like Kolb or Bradford who have less-common offenses and while all still have much to prove Bradford looks like the best of the bunch.
Pros and their motions
Watch some highlights of these guys and see if you can pick up their unusual arm mechanics.
Aaron Rodgers - prototypical
Tom Brady - prototypical
Peyton Manning - prototypical
Drew Brees - prototypical
Byron Leftwich - windup
Tim Tebow - windup
Phillip Rivers - sidearm
Tavaris Jackson - ¾
Kurt Warner - ¾
Farve - does whatever he wants
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