The goal of pass protection is to keep your man off the quarterback. The more time you give your QB, the better he’ll perform and the more games your team will win. Whether you’re a coach or a player who wants to improve, check out these three drills from USA football focused on pass protection technique. The great thing about them is they can be performed in order, as each one progressively ramps up the level of difficulty.

Set and Punch Offensive Line Drill

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This drill works on your basic set and punch technique.

• Line up in your normal stance.
• Have a teammate hold a bag across from you, standing over either your left or right shoulder.
• Using a short set, kick slide to the bag while delivering a solid punch.
• Punch with your palms, keeping your thumbs up and your elbows tight. As you deliver the punch, keep a wide stance and your chest up.
• Practice setting and punching to different d-lineman positions by having your teammate change where he lines up.

Continuous Set Drill

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This drill ups the difficulty by having you perform multiple sets in different directions.

• Line up in your normal stance.
• Have two teammates with bags line up across from you, one over each shoulder.
• Kick slide back and deliver a punch to the first rusher.
• Immediately kick slide back in the opposite direction to intercept the second rusher and deliver a solid punch. The two rushers will continuously move up the field as you kick slide.
• Keep good posture with your chest up and a wide base throughout the drill.
• Keep your elbows tight.
• The drill is over when you kick slide a certain distance or when the coach blows the whistle.

The Mirror Drill

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This drill will have you fighting fatigue and using a wide range of sets to combat the defender’s moves and stay in the correct position.

• Set up two cones 3-5 yards apart.
• Line up in a two-point stance between the cones with a teammate acting as a defender standing across from you.
• On the whistle, the defender moves side to side. You must stay in front of him. The defender can juke, spin, bull rush and employ a wide range of moves.
• Work to keep a wide base and a knee bend throughout the drill. Keep your chest up, your elbows tight and your hands at your chest.
• Never lunge toward the defender.
• The drill is over when a set amount of time is up or when the coach blows the whistle.

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