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Defending Against the Pass - Passing - part 3

We used to say that offense sells tickets, defense wins ball games.  Maybe not so much any more.   Defending against teams like the Packers and Saints seems an exercise in futility.  If you're playing against them, you'd better score a lot of points.

We've been talking about the passing game.  It isn't as important in Women's Professional Football as in the NFL because, unlike the Peyton brothers who were taught to pass and practiced the skill from before they rode a bike, girls/women haven't had years of coaching and practice  throwing and catching a football.  The pass is a powerful weapon but far more difficult than it looks on Sunday television.  Mastery takes hundreds of hours of practice.

Still, as women's football gains popularity, as girls-playing-football gains wider acceptance, we're going to see more passing in Outlaws games. 

We've talked in preceding posts about the offensive side of passing.  What about the defense?  How do you defend against a passing attack?

They're getting to Marisa before she can throw.  Best way to
break up a pass is to sack the quarterback.

The best defense is rushing the quarterback.  If you can sack the quarterback, you defeat the pass before it is thrown.  In our post about throwing the ball we had a series of photos where Marisa Rivas eluded the defense and got the ball away.  In this photo, they got to her. 

If your defensive line can't get to the quarterback, defending the pass  falls to the secondary - the defensive backfield. 

One of the toughest positions to play in football is the defensive secondary.   You need to figure out which receiver to cover.  The offense has five potential receivers - two ends, three backs.  In the NFL they sometimes send all five down field - that's what's happening when the announcer says there's an empty backfield. In women's football they rarely send all five down the field but frequently there will be more than one.  So the defensive backs have to know which defender is covering which receiver.

That accomplished, you need to run with the receiver wherever she goes.  She'll try to fake you out, look like she's going left and instead cut right.  Look like she's curling back toward the quarterback, then release and scamper for the end zone.  So you have to keep your eye on the receiver.  And stay with her. 

A complication for the defender is you aren't allowed to touch the receiver.  You aren't allowed to just get in her face so she can't see the pass coming.  You can't hold her.  All with one exception.  If the ball is in the air and you see it and try to catch it, it is okay to jump in front of the receiver.  Both defender and receiver have equal rights to catch the ball and in fighting for it, some contact is permissible. 

The key is whether or not the defender is looking at the ball.  If you've turned you eyes toward the quarterback, you see the ball coming,  and reach for it bumping into the receiver as you do, that's okay.  But if you're looking at the receiver and bump into her, that's "interference" and a penalty.  The penalty is a "spot foul" placing the ball where it would have been if the receiver had caught it.

Glance the wrong way for an instant and the receiver
can break free for an easy catch and score.
Hate when that happens (unless we're on offense)

The problem with that is you don't know when the ball is going to be thrown so you don't know when to look back at the quarterback.  If you take a quick look, you have to take your eye off of the receiver.  While you check to see if the ball is coming, the receiver can change her route and get open. 

Even if you do have the receiver covered, if you stay with her step for step, and you avoid the interference penalty, the receiver still has an edge if the quarterback is Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees.  Because wherever you are, you're only covering one side of the receiver.  If you're a step ahead of the receiver, the quarterback can throw the ball short.  If you're behind the receiver, the quarterback can throw the ball over her head (and over yours) so she grabs it on the run and continues to race for the goal. 

The rule of thumb here and in sports in general is to keep yourself between the receiver and the goal line.

All of this said, I do have a few shots of pass defense.  First is a three-photo set illustrating my advice to keep yourself between the opponent and your goal line.  This is a pass to an Outlaw.  Two defenders are in the area but behind the receiver.  Receiver catches and makes the score.  So one admonition to defenders is to not let the receiver get past you.

You can see the ball sailing in over everybody's head to land in
the receiver's hands.

If the receiver can get a step ahead of the defenders and the quarterback can place the ball just
out in front of her, you have six points.

Touchdown.

The second photo series is an incompletion caused by defenders and receiver getting to the ball at the same time.  Three defenders, one receiver.  You can break up a pass by fighting for possession just as long as you're going for the ball and not interfering with the receiver.




Ball sailing high.  Three Outlaws closing in on the receiver.



The ball is reaching the receiver at about the same instant as the
defenders.  If you look closely you'll see it just above her
yellow helmet.

Thanks to a good solid hit, the receiver can't control the ball.
Incomplete pass.

I suggested above that the receiver has an edge in fighting for the ball if the quarterback throws it to where only the receiver can reach it.  In the following series Outlaws #6 Griff had proper position, keeping between the receiver and the goal.  The quarterback placed the pass perfectly where only the intended receiver can reach it.  But Griff slipped inside and...

Griff slipping in front of the receive hoping to cut off the ball
before the catch.

Okay, so she caught it.  Griff reaches through and slaps the ball away.

Griff's black-gloved hand slapping the ball away.

At the right here is a closer shot cut from the photo above.  Look closely and you'll see Griff's black gloved hand popping the ball out of the receiver's grasp.  Great play.

Every play in football involves fighting for control.  I love watching defenders battle receivers for the ball - especially when the defender is a friend of mine and wins the contest.

The ball drops harmlessly to the ground as Griff's teammate, #23, Jackson, closes in.  If it had been a catch Jackson would have been there to help with the tackle.  Another part of pass defense is damage control - if the receiver does make the catch, get her tackled before she can make any more yards.








When you're in the defensive secondary, you are visible.  Make the play and the crowd cheers.  Miss the play and everyone sees.  Although there aren't a lot of passes in women's professional ball, the secondary has to cover receivers on every play just in case.  If  this isn't a passing play, you need to run toward the line of scrimmage to help with the tackle if the runner breaks free. 

Lots of running.  Running with the receiver.  Running back to the line.  Not only is the job difficult and highly visible, it is physically demanding. 

Glad I was a lineman.  I hate running.  (Don't much like walking, either.)

Then You Have to Catch It - Passing, Part 3

We've been talking about passing in football.  If watch NFL teams like the Green Packers and New Orleans Saints you almost feel sorry for the opponents as Rodgers and Brees throw the ball with almost supernatural accuracy. 

Then there is Indianapolis.  The Colts won just two games this season, two of a possible sixteen.  Worst record in the NFL.  This is the team that played in the Super Bowl in 2009.  Won fourteen games that year.  Won twelve in 2008, thirteen in 2007.  Ten in 2010.  And only two in 2011?  What happened?

If you're a fan at all you know the Colts have Peyton Manning as their quarterback.  One of the best in football.  Sometime in the 2010 season, Manning was injured.  He had surgery after the 2010 season and sat out 2011. 

And that has made all the difference. 

Loss of the passing attack led by a premier quarterback, devastated the team.  Brought them from one of the best to one of the worst. 

Two points - passing is important for success in the NFL.  And passing is difficult.  The ability to pass is part natural ability, part practice and practice and practice.  Peyton Manning has a brother, Eli, who plays for the Giants and is similarly talented.  They are sons of Archie Manning, who played quarterback in the NFL for fifteen years.  Guess what the Manning sons did for fun from the time they were born.  No wonder both Eli and Peyton are so great at passing the football.

In Women's Professional Football, very few quarterbacks have grown up throwing the football practically every day of their lives.  And that's what it takes to be a skilled passer.  Years of practice throwing, learning how hard to throw, how to lead a runner, how much loft to put on the ball. 

In the time I've been watching the Outlaws I've seen very few really effective passers.  Teams try to pass the ball but with inconsistent success.  Still, the passing has provided some wonderful photos.

This is one of my favorite shots of all.  I love the way football players go all out, exerting maximum effort, as they compete for the ball.  The effort is rarely more visible than in receivers reaching for the ball.  In this photo, it is receiver and defender together leaping high.  I think the Outlaw is #6, Griff, a defensive back.  The pass was thrown by Dallas and the player in white is the intended receiver.  So Griff's job was to prevent the catch.  And I believe she did. 

The football is hard to catch.  Often receivers are flying through the air.  Often the ball eludes them.

Just out of reach for Monica.  Heroic effort, though.

Julie Wilke's first game as an Outlaw, first pass thrown her way,
completed for a touchdown.  Later she played quarterback and got
on the other side of the pass/catch game.

Looks like a miss.  Good effort, though.

Not sure but this looks like an incompletion, too.

Will she catch it?  I think she did.

I think this is a catch, too.  At first I couldn't find the ball in the
picture.  Then I noticed it blocked my view of the defender.

Browsing the attempts I tried to remember the specific play.  Was the pass completed?  Or did one of Woody Hayes' bad things happen (remember, he said when you pass three things can happen and two are bad).  If I were certain of the outcome, I'd make this a quiz.  What do you think?  Complete or not.  But I don't know in every case. 

I do know that there's a downside to catching a pass.  The football attracts other players.  Some who want to spoil your fun.  Historically defensive backs have been hard hitters.  If you catch the ball, they'll try to hit you hard before you secure the ball in your arms, trying to jar it loose.  There is now an NFL rule against hitting a "defenseless" receiver.  Which strikes some of us older guys as spoiling the game.  Us older guys who were never pass receivers.

I don't know if this was a catch or miss.  I do know that if she caught it she was going to have to take a pretty solid hit.  In fact, even if she didn't catch it the defender might lay a hit on her about the time the ball got to her.  Just to make sure. 

I love this picture (above) because it shows a player violating the cardinal rule of sports "Keep you eye on the ball."  When I first saw it I wondered why she was looking up the field.  Then I realized she was looking to see if anyone was taking a bead on her, going to hit her, try to jar the ball loose when she caught it.  I think she did make the catch.  And didn't get immediately tackled.

The following two photos are here because I admired the effort of the receiver, leaping high to catch the ball.  Then I wondered how she managed to keep her balance.  It appears she's jumping toward the ball and stretching out so much that when she lands, her feet won't be under her and she should land on her face.  But she did catch it and did advance it...

Wait a minute.  I said she advanced it.  But she is running to our left, running in the direction from which the ball was thrown.  I think this photo pair is an example of the other bad thing that can happen when you pass.  It can be intercepted. 

Three things can happen - reception (good), incompletion (bad), interception (very bad).

Next posting we'll take a look at defending against the pass. 

Random Fan Photo

First You Have to Throw It - Passing Part 2

Searching my Outlaws photos for passing pictures, I came across this one of Julie Wilke. 

She is exhibiting proper form in throwing the ball.  Coaches teach quarterbacks to establish good balance, to step through the throw, not throw off of your back foot.  They explain proper position of the elbow and proper follow-through.  (It is amazing that follow through affects the direction of the ball since it has already left your hand but follow through is important.)

If you Google you'll find lots of sites explaining proper passing techniques for the quarterback.  Here's one I found on youtube.

In my photo here it is clear that Julie is doing it right. 

If only it were so simple.






We're devoting a few blog posts to the passing game.  In the previous post we noted high scoring games in some of the bowl games.  Last night West Virgina scored 70 points in the Orange bowl.  They had 401 yards passing, 188 running.   A few days ago Baylor won with 67 points.  Several other games have scores in the 40s.  These high scores are possible because of the passing game. 

The game rules promote these mega-scores.  The rule is that when the receiver is 5 yards past the line of scrimmage the defender cannot touch him/her while runners are fair game from the moment they get the ball.  So receivers "gain" lots of yards before they even have the ball, before anyone can lay a hand on them.

Rules also stop the clock after incomplete passes, which promotes longer games.  In contrast, on running plays the game clock keeps running after the end of the play.  In another post we'll talk about clock management in football.

If passing generates big scoring games, why isn't there more passing in women's professional football? 

Because passing is hard.  It takes remarkable skill to throw a ball twenty or thirty yards to a receiver racing full speed down the field.  College and NFL passers have practiced passing for hundreds of hours.  Few female quarterbacks have the luxury of hundreds of passes in practice to hone the skill. 

Even if you've mastered the skills outlined in the Youtube video, in games you rarely get to throw as  you've been coached. 

Quarterbacks are smaller than their blockers.  Throwing the ball requires seeing your receivers through a wall of blockers and defensive linewomen.  Difficult.

Small quarterback with a wall of blockers and tacklers between her
and her receivers.  How can she see to know where to throw the ball?

 Remember our three second rule?  The quarterback has about three seconds from the time she gets the ball to the time she releases it to her receiver.  Hurry up.  Those are big strong defenders coming at you trying desperately to get a sack.  A sack is tackling the quarterback before she can release the ball.  Often the quarterback has to throw the ball while running for her life.  In times like that it is easy to forget fundamentals, balance, step-through, follow through.

On this and the photo above the Outlaws quarterback is having to hurry
her throw.  She doesn't have much time to worry about proper balance and
form.  She is getting some help from Monica who is going to block
the one tackler.  But there are other tacklers to the right of this action.


 

Julie throwing under duress. 

Monica without help from blockers.  Hurry Monica!  Both of those
defenders are bigger than you are.  Throw it!  Quick.

With Soho charging at you you'd better throw it fast.  You may
not have the full three seconds. 

Sometimes the defender almost wins the contest.  Sometimes the tackler gets hold of the quarterback, upsetting balance and making it more difficult to throw long and true.



Almost.  Sometimes the attacking linewoman gets
just enough contact with the quarterback to
spoil her aim.



Julie again.  Where's that perfect form?  Hard to think about
fundamentals when  you are in the arms of a tackler.

The quarterback has a hazardous job.  Generally smaller than would-be tacklers, she has to get the ball from center, step back to get a little room to work, spot the receiver down field, take aim on where to throw the ball so the receiver can catch it without breaking stride, check for the pass defense to be certain she doesn't throw to the wrong-colored jersey.  If she doesn't get it done fast enough, someone like #8 Ski Tejeda may just tally yet another sack by hitting the quarterback in the backfield.

Throwing the ball on an empty field requires skill.  Throwing in a game with blockers and tacklers all over the place is incredibly difficult.  Players like Rodgers (Green Bay) Manning (Eli - Giants, Peyton - Colts) and Brees (Saints) are practically supernatural.  How can anyone do what they do? 

Practice practice practice practice.  Plus a whole lot of skill.

We'll stay on the passing game for our next two posts.  One will look at receivers.  I have some cool shots of receivers trying to catch that ball.  And another post will be about defending against the pass.

Random Fan Photo

Three Things Can Happen, Two Are Bad, Passing, part 1

Did you see Baylor-Washington in the Alamo Bowl?  Baylor wins 67-56!  Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III completed 24 of 33 passes for 295 yards.  Washington's QB Price went 23 of 37 for 438 yards.  

In the Fiesta Bowl Stanford's superstar QB Andrew Luck went 27 of 31 for 347 yards while Oklahoma State's Weeden hit 29 of 42 for for 399 yards.   Oklahoma won 38-41 thanks to two missed field goal attempts late in the game.  In the Rose Bowl Oregon completed 18 of 24 for 276 yards while Wisconsin got 19 of 26 for 296 yards, losing the heart breaker 38-45. 

If  you're a Dallas Cowboys fan, you watched in despair as Eli Manning picked apart the Dallas defense and eliminated the Cowboys from the post season.  Have you seen Brees of New Orleans, Rodgers of Green Bay, or Kramer of New England?  Of course you have.  What they do is almost supernatural.  Eerie.  How can anyone throw a football so far with such pin-point accuracy? 

Passing has not always been such a major part of football.  The first pass in a professional football game was in October of 1906.  There were funny rules as football officials tried to decide whether throwing the ball was a good thing or bad. 

Three things can happen, two are bad.  One of the
bad things is the interception - the other team
catches the ball instead of your receiver.

Ohio State's Woody Hayes - the older folks among us remember Woody and the intense rivalry between OSU and Michigan's Bo Schembechler - Woody said "Only three things can happen when you pass and two of them are bad."   I'm not going to relate the history of passing here.  Google "football history passing" and you can read the history for hours.  Rather this post and a few to follow will just be about passing in Women's Professional Football. 

Passing is difficult.  Try it. 

Go to a football field and see how far you can heave the ball.  Try putting a spiral on it so it carries farther.  Then have a friend, someone who can run really fast, race down the field and try to lead your receiver - throwing not to where she is but where she's going to be - so the ball drops into her hands and she can catch it without breaking her stride.  It helps if you were born with a great throwing arm.  And it helps if you grew up playing football with friends and family throwing hundreds of passes until you acquired the skill. 

Now just to make it more interesting, put some really big people between you and your receiver.  Check out the following photos as QB Marisa Rivas attempts a pass.

Marisa Rivas takes the ball from center and fades back to
pass.  And is in trouble immediately as a Dallas defender
is coming un-blocked from her left.

It gets worse as three other defenders shake off their blockers
and take aim on the Austin QB.

Almost got her.   The key word - "almost".  Marisa
escapes the grasp of the would-be tackler.

One tackler down, three to go. 

Protect the ball. Push the blocker away.  Now what was I going to do? 
Reminds you of the old comment, when you're up to your ... in alligators
you my forget you're here to drain the swamp.

In spite of the pressure Rivas manages to throw the ball.  Good thing she is a lefty; one of the
defenders is tying up her right arm.

The ball is gone.  Thrown in the run, off balance, with hostiles in hot pursuit - where
did it go?

You'll have to trust me.  It was a completion.  Honest! 
I didn't get the whole reception.  I'm proud I got as much
as I did.  It is difficult to get both ends of a pass play because
they take place at different parts of the field.

Passing isn't a big part of women's pro football. Because, in my opinion, girls don't grow up throwing the ball over and over and over until they acquire the skill to hit a moving target thirty yards away with a lot of big people in the way. But I do have a fair number of photos of the passing game. In the next few posts, I'll share them with you.