Mechanics Forward Pass

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s a dic be . but on e has to live by:Stay cool, calm, and collectetl."

Mechanics of theForward PassBy Bob Frala, Former QB Coach at Missouri University(Under Dan Devine, 1970)

Good forward passers areeither born or made.And you have to pay thepricework hard at it(very chauc e yoti get. The best sin-

j^le tbinjf you can do is "a lot ofthrowing."You must also realize tbat you aregoing to get slammed down on theseat of your pants from time to time,and you have to he prepared for it.Hut there isn 't much to fear. Yourl)all-carriers get whacked down almost

every time they carry the ball. Youliave to avoid becoming gun shy.Just don't tbrow tbe ball becauseyou bave to. Hold it until your receiv-er gets open or tuitil you feel safe ctil-ting it loose, even tbougb a t;u kler isready to hit you.You can throw ihe ball right up totbe point tbat you are knocked down.So don't riLsh. It's .simply a case ofmind over matter, and there has prob-ably never been a great passer wbolacked the confidence or courage.

). The f^mlesl ninif a pmsn am arm-mil is to havr a pms inlertrpletl. Pa.ssersare jndged more hy their intercep-tions than ihcli ol tlir defensivemen in the area of your receiver andalways lluow to the opeji side lodiminish ihc chance of an intercep-tion.U ever iu doubt ;iboui wbeiberlo tlirow, ditu't\ Kal tlie ball and

lig for yardage. On ce you haveui tun wilb it, don't cliaugc yourmind . Rm niing wiili the ball is veryeffective and is acttially a play in itselfibal prevenis interceptions.Stay in your pocket and trust yourprotectors. Stay in the pock etItiterccplious occur whenever you;ue rushed lo throw before you'reready, or whenever you are forced tothrow of(-l)alance. Always fight tokeep your balance.

Whenever you're intercepted, youhave one responsibility: You are tbesalety man. You nuist preven t a runback. There is only one rule ofthiunl)no inteneptiotis. Alwayscover th e pass. (Yell "{^overl" for th elinemen.)2 . A passer is 90% head aud 10%arm. You throw with your head muchmore than with your arm.3 . You have one objective and thatis to put the ball down at the rightplace at the rigbl time. Never be con-cerned about bow the hall Iook.s in theair (spiral (r wobbly). Tbrow ycjur nat-

ural way. And reniembtir, for tbe passto be completed, it must be caught. Somake it as easy to catch as possible.4 . Always strive to keep the pointol tbe ball up or parallel, never down.When the point is up, it becomes soft-er and ea.sier to catch . You can kee pmoving tbe point up by moving theindex finger larlher back loward therear of (he ball. In college, however,

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FOOTBALL Mechanics of the Forv\/ard Passyou have'to rifle the ball because thedefenders arc .so good.

5 . Passing yardage is made hy thereceivers mnning with the ball afterthe catch, not by how far the bail Istraveling in the air. The moral is:Throw the short one!

A lot of passes are worthlesshecause the throwers are alwa\'s look-ing for the long one, while the defens-es are doing everything to stop it.

If they are willing to give you tlicshort, take it. "The long ones are forshow, the short ones for dough." Pickyour receivers.

Choose the receivers who can dosomething with it after they get it.

6. Clood passers will complete bet-ter than 50%. On dropback passes,set up fast and deep (8 yds). Workforward as yoin- biockei"s block menout. Duck under a hard rush, asdefenders are taught to tackle QB.s

high. Passers who set up deep areharder to get to.

7. Rifle the short ones and loft th elong ones so that the receiver can rununder them.

8. It is always better to overthrowyour receiver than to und^thrtrw him.The only time you will ever hear theQB coach complain about an incom-plete pass is when you under throw(short and behind). Your receiverhasn't a chance on an undertJirownhall. We'd rather have you over throwfive yatds than imderthrow one yard.

You can't wait until a receiver iscompletely clear. You have to antici-pate. Concentration is absolutelyimperative. Focus completely on yourreceiver. Ignore the rushers.

9. Always complimem receiversalter a catch oi a good U'y. Never criti-cize if they drop one. Compliment

your linemen on good protection asthey will be taking .i lot of bumps andbruises for you. They are your breadand butter.

10 . Following are some check-points to guide you in your naturalway of throwing:

Cirip the way it feels best for you.Mosi passers place their fingertips

across the laces and control and feelthe ball with them. The hand shouldnever be snainrd. TTie index finger iyour direction linger and should bethe last one to leave the ball.

Spring otit iis quickly as possible.On action passes, look u|} the defenseas quickly as possible.

Be collecled! This means both feecomfortably spread under you withthe weight on the balls of the feet andon balance. Hold the ball with bothhands up by the shoulder. (Keep hothhands on the ball until the last possi-ble instant before throwing.) Stay

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alive by bounc ing a litiU- on ibe ballsof your i'ecl.As you .stari to throw, shift all yourwfigbt over the rear foot and lei yourfront loot l>ecoinf the directional

foot. Step directly at your target,pointiiif; the loe straight al it. (Dt)n'llake too long or too sbort of a stride.)Your knees should always be bentsligbily and never stiff. Use a boxer'sslide to put your body into the Uirow.Don't just throw with your arm . Iiis good to bop into your llirow by get-liiig your body to move forward. Thelonger the throw, ihe m ore body youput itilo it.On real long tbrows, you can actu-ally run into it. Use your left arm to

help wliip your body around.II. I_t everything follow tbroughnaturally, wilh tbe back foot always leav-ing the ground on the follow throug hand youi aim sweeping down across infront of your body for protection.

12. It is more like a catcher's snapto second witb no wind up . Your wristshould never turn out as it does whentbrowing a curve ball. It is best for th ewrist to turn in or straight down withthe palm finishing u p facing down.Always throw at a target whenwarming up or regardless of what typeo[ throwing you are do ing. Your tar-get sboiild always be tbe receiver'shead. Don't try to aim or gtiide yourthrow. Just look at your tai^et and letit go. Tbe ball should come in headhigh and in Ironi ol the receiver.

13. Never jump in tlie air to throw;you will lose your accuracy. Alwayswarm up well before starting to throwto receivers. Jtist play catch and grad-ually loosen up. As you wai m up ,review (he mechanics of throwing asthese nmst become habit.

Study your receivers and know allyou can aboul them , such as speed,peculiarities, types of patterns be

runs best, etc.14. Know all you can about passdefense, as that is what you are trvingto beat. You luust be able to read ibe

defense. If the coach picks a specificreceiver on a given play, look him upHrst, but only throw if be is open.15. Read tbe defender, as you nowknow wbat your receiver isgoitig todo . Th e defen der's reaction will tellyou wbetber he can cover or not.Example, il'your receiver is doing iui"out," the defender is no t backing offmuch and staying outsid e. Forget thisreceiver and go tt> ano the r. If, howev-er, the deepback is giving ground fast,

your "out" man will be open. Youmust wat( h the linebackers too. Stayaway from throvring to anyo ne w ho isbeing double covered.Never throw into a crowd. Alwaystbrow to tbe side of your receiver awayfrom the defensive man.

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Mechanics Forward Pass