Seven Yards In 1.5 Seconds

Dropping back is vitally important because it sets everything else up. The quarterback must not only get back very quickly, he must also read the defenses and pick his receiver while doing it. I drop back sideways, rather than backpedaling, and I always keep my eyes on the defensive secondary (dotted arrows). Once I've taken the snap I pull the ball in toward my belt and up to shoulder level, all in one smooth motion as I start moving away from the line of scrimmage. I reach back with my right foot as far as I can (red arrow) and then scissor the left leg over across the right (yellow arrow). The last couple of steps are made with a sideways, hopping motion. My goal is to finally set up to pass at a point seven yards behind the line, and I want to be there in just under 1.5 seconds. By then I should know which receiver I'm going to throw to and even under pressure I'll have about a full second to release the ball.

In many respects I throw a football almost like a pitcher throwing a baseball, except that my stride is not quite as long. As I bring the football back, my weight is on the right foot. Then, just as I start to throw, I step forward onto my left foot making a stride of about three feet. I bring the ball forward very close to my right ear, keeping the nose tilted slightly upward as I do so, then release it, snapping the wrist forward much like a fisherman does when he fly casts. This type of release is important, I feel, because it not only imparts the proper spiral to the ball but it also gets it away quicker, more crisply and with more power. The football comes off the index and middle fingers last—they are the ones that really impart the spin—and then, in my particular follow-through, my hand reaches out and downward, palm facing the ground, almost as if I were reaching out to pat the receiver on the back.