Vince Lombardi said, “Leadership rests not only upon ability and not only upon capacity; having the capacity to lead is not enough. The leader must be willing to use it. His leadership is then based on truth and character. There must be truth in the purpose and willpower in the character.” At BYU we believe that our quarterback has the capacity to do things for our football team that no other player can do. Because of this capacity, all of the training that he receives is in preparation for him to lead our team to victory on and off the field.
If he understands this role and then embraces it at a higher level than our competition, we have a great chance to succeed.
With that core established, we can now teach our quarterbacks the basics of “The QB Code.” This code is taught from day one and ingrained into our young quarterbacks thought process. It’s not a secret that we’re going to throw the football and we don’t profess to have a difficult and expansive pass game. We depend on the execution and efficiency of our quarterback to lead our offensive success.
Every quarterback should have a pattern that he follows on every pass play. When we signal or run in a play from the sideline, this should trigger several mental snap shots in the mind of our quarterback. If these snap shots follow a defined pattern, it will allow for the quarterback to be more efficient.
PRE-SNAP
This is an example of a pattern followed by a quarterback from the time he receives the call up until the snap of the ball.
1) Know the formation and play. You have to know the details of where everyone lines up.
2) What is your footwork? We believe that the footwork and the play fake should be very specific to the play.
3) What is your progression? Know where everyone is and how, when and where to get the ball to them.
4) Pre-snap thoughts-
a. Play clock – no delay of game penalties.
b. Our formation, alignment and motions – no procedure penalties.
c. Down and distance-first downs = touchdowns!
d. Possible route adjustments vs. certain coverages.
e. Coverage recognition (Cover 2, 3, 1, etc.).
f. Fronts (over vs. under). Possible coverage and blitz recognition.
g. Possible hot or quick throws.
5) Who is your key defender? Find the specific defensive player that will dictate your read!
POST-SNAP
This is the pattern followed by the quarterback after the snap of the ball up to the delivery of the pass.
1) Find the area of the defense the play calls for. Have an awareness of what is happening on both sides of the receiver you are throwing the ball to. This vision should reduce the number of interceptions.
2) Find the target you are throwing the ball to. Make sure that the receiver is in a position to make a play. He may have fallen down, tripped, got hung up, etc. This can help reduce the number of incompletions.
NOW THROW THE BALL (See Play Diagram)
There are three technical qualities that the quarterback should possess: great timing, great decision-making, and great accuracy. We don’t believe you can possess those qualities without an understanding and ability to apply a quarterback pattern. You can have your own pattern for your type of offense, but it needs to be streamlined. If the quarterbacks are comfortable within the bounds you have given them, it will allow them to be more efficient as a quarterback and leader for your team.
A great quarterback should be one of your hardest workers. With this pattern and approach it will give him something to grasp that makes sense and is tangible. They will be encouraged and they will hopefully grow faster than you hoped for.
In conclusion, I have set many goals with my quarterbacks that may not have seemed attainable in the beginning, but this QB code has given them the necessary patterns allowing them to have confidence as they learn the offense. This process has given us success and we hope that by using patterns, in time, you will find your desired outcomes. I believe patterns can be used in any aspect of the game. Good luck!
Brandon Doman, a former quarterback at BYU,is the Quarterbacks Coach at his alma mater. You can reach him at BrandonDoman@GridironStrategies.com.