Pass rush moves!!!

[yordad]

Anyone care to list and explain them please? Or what it would take to master these moves?

I mean, of course there are some self-explanatory ones....

"Bull rush"- Easiest to learn!

"Hand swat"- Um, you swat their hands.

"Speed rush"- Speed around the outside. Usually requires a fast first step. Can't really be taught. Can be done with your inside foot first and a shoulder dip, or your outside foot first with a hands swat (head slap if ya can).

"Jab step"- Fake one way then go the other while using hand swat. The rookies usually have this move!

"The outside spin"- Takes time to learn, and pull off, but it is used to keep the OT guessing. It starts with a jab inside, then peeling back your left shoulder and spinning all the way to the outside. Can also be used to bounce a RB inside should it be a run play.

"The fake outside spin"- Instead of the spin, you just do like a little shimmy thing. Usually used after the spin, to keep um really guessing. This is an advanced move.

"The inside spin"- Can be used in conjunction with a quick step outside (with inside or outside foot), or bull rush.

"Head slap"- Illegal, but used. Ya gotta kinda sorta make it look incidental.

I mean, there has to be more right? Why are players always talking about moves? What the heck is so hard? And, more importantly, how is Kelsey still learning them?

[Coach Sal]

There are al different kinds of moves, all different kinds of ways to use them, and different types of players who use each.

The best pass rushers can use several different moves, and do so, when they face different O-Linemen.

Generally, there are two types of pass rushers. Speed rushers and power rushers. But you have to be able to use several different moves no matter what ind of rusher you are.

1. Speed rush - relies on getting off the ball as soon as possible, then simply beating his man around the edge. When an OT gets beat like this, it's usually because he can't move his feet quick enough to stay between the rusher and the QB. Coaches refer to "BGO" when they coach. That stands for "Ball Get Off." The better a guy is at BGO the better he;ll be at using a speed rush.

2. Power rush - Relies more on getting the OL off-balance and gaining leverage through beating him physically 1-on-1. When the OT gets beat like this, it's often because he allows the rusher to get lower than him and into his pads, causing him to rock back and lose balance because he can't keep his chest (and hands) forward enough.

Both types of rushers may use a swim move, where they put their left hand (if its a LDE) on the right side of the blocker and then use the right arm to "swim" over the top of the blocker.

They can use the spin move, where they go very hard like a speed rush, get the blocker to commit to moving with him, then suddenly stop on his inside foot and spin back the other way, toward the QB who is probably stepping up into the pocket.

Deacon Jones just slapped guys in the head and knocked them over. That's illegal now.

As a general rule, a pass rusher has to keep his hands free because he obviously needs them to finish the play (make the sack), but also because he has to use them to have any chance of getting the OL off him to create space.

Also, OL are taught to keep their hands inside and "punch" the rusher in the chest plate in order to keep him away and win the 1-on-1. So, a pass rusher has to try and keep the OL from being squared up on him and able to do that. That's where the speed and/or spinning come into play and are so important.

Hope all that helps.

[yordad]

Very informative Coach, TYVM. I was hoping you'd chimed in. Any idea which one Kelsey just learned?

[Coach Sal]

Just found this video explaining a lot of all this stuff, with actual players demonstrating. Check it out:

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/media.jsp?id=311

[BillsWin]

I used the bull rush alot in high school, and the head slap was my favorite. I was a shorter guy, kind of like a Kyle Williams or Kelly Gregg type player. But, I had the strength and technique to get that first step off fast enough to get the advantage on the lineman and bull rush the guy. My senior year I was converted to tight end though and played there for a while in college before I got hurt. However, I rotated in for D-end every once in a while and used the rip move more because I was toned down and could shoot inside faster than when I was bigger. There are so many moves it is all based on what fits you best.

[Coach Sal]

Very informative Coach, TYVM. Any idea which one Kelsey just learned?

I would guess he's learning nothing really new, just how to do some things a little better, and add a few wrinkles here and there.

He's generally just a speed rusher, so he's probably "learned" a better way to use a bit more power when he can't beat a guy with speed. Or he "learned" a better way to spin, like when to start shifting his weight and balance and how to get the OL to commit earlier.

[alohabillsfan]

Hell, it would be nice if Kelsay learned a pass rush move...

[Night Train]

Don't forget the "Foxtrot" & the "Funky Chicken" !!

[Yasgur's Farm]

Just found this video explaining a lot of all this stuff, with actual players demonstrating. Check it out:

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/media.jsp?id=311Great video coach... Thanks!

[OpIv37]

Anyone have Chris Kelsay's email address? Now that he's been in the league for 6 years, he's finally trying to learn some pass rush moves, so I want to forward him this thread.

[OpIv37]

There are al different kinds of moves, all different kinds of ways to use them, and different types of players who use each.

The best pass rushers can use several different moves, and do so, when they face different O-Linemen.

Generally, there are two types of pass rushers. Speed rushers and power rushers. But you have to be able to use several different moves no matter what ind of rusher you are.

1. Speed rush - relies on getting off the ball as soon as possible, then simply beating his man around the edge. When an OT gets beat like this, it's usually because he can't move his feet quick enough to stay between the rusher and the QB. Coaches refer to "BGO" when they coach. That stands for "Ball Get Off." The better a guy is at BGO the better he;ll be at using a speed rush.

2. Power rush - Relies more on getting the OL off-balance and gaining leverage through beating him physically 1-on-1. When the OT gets beat like this, it's often because he allows the rusher to get lower than him and into his pads, causing him to rock back and lose balance because he can't keep his chest (and hands) forward enough.

Both types of rushers may use a swim move, where they put their left hand (if its a LDE) on the right side of the blocker and then use the right arm to "swim" over the top of the blocker.

They can use the spin move, where they go very hard like a speed rush, get the blocker to commit to moving with him, then suddenly stop on his inside foot and spin back the other way, toward the QB who is probably stepping up into the pocket.

Deacon Jones just slapped guys in the head and knocked them over. That's illegal now.

As a general rule, a pass rusher has to keep his hands free because he obviously needs them to finish the play (make the sack), but also because he has to use them to have any chance of getting the OL off him to create space.

Also, OL are taught to keep their hands inside and "punch" the rusher in the chest plate in order to keep him away and win the 1-on-1. So, a pass rusher has to try and keep the OL from being squared up on him and able to do that. That's where the speed and/or spinning come into play and are so important.

Hope all that helps.

*sigh- I saw Bruce Smith get sacks with every single technique in that post (except the head-slap, of course). That's why he's the best ever. I wish he could still play....

[ServoBillieves]

Kelsay*, and yeah, he should know these moves by now.

[cookie G]

Deacon Jones just slapped guys in the head and knocked them over. That's illegal now.

The key to the Deacon Jones head slap was to get the hollow of his palm to hit the ear hole of his helmet, creating the ringing effect. He claimed to have a metal plate fitted to his palm and covered with a cast to heighten the effect.

[OpIv37]

The key to the Deacon Jones head slap was to get the hollow of his palm to hit the ear hole of his helmet, creating the ringing effect.

If that's true then I don't know how anyone can say Deacon Jones is better than Bruce Smith or Reggie White. Bruce and Reggie had to beat their opponents with strength and skill, not by stunning them first.

[jimbohastle51]

head slap is the best, and also what put deacon jones in the hall of fame

[methos4ever]

And don't forget the spin move and the transition (which very few master) of starting with a speed rush and then switching to power - and vice versa. If you can figure those out you become feared. As a pure speed rusher, if they know they can ride you around the QB, you got zip.

[cookie G]

If that's true then I don't know how anyone can say Deacon Jones is better than Bruce Smith or Reggie White. Bruce and Reggie had to beat their opponents with strength and skill, not by stunning them first.

I think his head slap got him notoriety, but it was his speed that made him great.

He was a little before my time, I was a kid at the end of his career.

ALL the old timers said he was the best though.

I had read some stat guru a few years ago crediting him with around 185 sacks, including over 20 in 1964 and 1968. That's incredible, since he only faced more than 400 passes in a season a few times in his career.

I'd bet if someone calculated sacks per pass attempt, he'd clean up.

LT is still the best I've ever seen.