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Pocket Climb Drill: How Quarterbacks Step Up in the Pocket

Updated · Fact checked

Tackles are taught to push edge rushers around the outside. When you step up, the rushers' momentum carries them past you; when you drift backward or bail outside, you run into their path.

The pocket climb drill trains short, controlled step ups and slides with the ball high and the eyes downfield, so you can move without losing the play.

Technique Tuesday #03: Climb Slide - QB Pocket Movement DrillAll Things QB - Hosted by Tim Jenkins

How to do it

  1. Drop

    Take a 5 step drop and hitch, ball high at the chest.

  2. React to the pressure

    On the coach's signal or pad, take two or three short steps up, or slide left or right, keeping the eyes downfield.

  3. Reset and throw

    Reset the feet under you and throw to a target, or tuck and scramble 10 yards.

Sets and reps
3 sets of 5 reps each side, 30 seconds rest.
Equipment
Football, Two cones or bags to mark the pocket, A partner with a pad (optional)
Muscles and skills
Hips, Calves
Used in these 440 plans
Quarterback

Coaching cues and common mistakes

Coaching cues

  • Eyes downfield, not on the rush
  • Short step-ups, ball high and tight
  • Reset the feet to throw

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the eyes
  • Bailing out of a clean pocket

What good pocket movement looks like

Small steps, not big ones. Big steps put you off balance and take the ball out of the throwing position. Keep the ball high and tight at the chest so it can come out the moment a receiver opens.

Your eyes stay on the coverage, not the rush. Feel the pressure with your body and let a coach or teammate with a pad or a bag supply it.

Add the scramble

Once the climb is clean, finish some reps with a 10 yard scramble: climb, tuck and run. 440 pairs this with the drop back drill and throwing on the run so the drop, the climb and the escape are trained together. The full plan is on the quarterback training page.

FAQ

Why should a quarterback step up instead of backing up?

Pass blockers push edge rushers around the outside, so stepping up lets the rushers' momentum carry them past you. Drifting back or bailing outside runs you toward the rush.

More quarterback drills

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Sources

  1. ITP Glossary: Climbing The Pocket (Dan Hatman, Aug 20, 2015), quoting Joe Montana, The Scouting Academy / Inside The Pylon
  2. Three powerful blocks to stop the opponent (book excerpt), Human Kinetics

Program numbers (benchmarks, sets, reps, loads, protein targets) are 440 Football's own prescriptions. For athletes 13 and older; check with a physician or a registered dietitian before major training or diet changes.