Skip to content
440 Football
Sign inStart training

Swim and Rip Move: Two Pass Rush Moves Every Lineman Needs

Updated · Fact checked

When Mike Mayock, then an NFL Network analyst, described the pass rush drill at the NFL Combine, he called the rip and the swim the two moves every defensive lineman and linebacker rushing the quarterback has to be able to use. They are opposites. The swim goes over the blocker's arms; the rip goes under them.

This drill builds both on a bag before you take them to a live rusher, so the hands are clean and fast when it counts. The demo video is titled Fundamentals With Football Canada: Rip and Swim Drill.

Fundamentals With Football Canada Rip and Swim DrillShadowman Sports

How to do it

  1. Set up

    Line up in your stance a yard from the bag, shaded to one side, with a cone 5 yards behind the bag as the quarterback.

  2. Strike

    Get off on the partner's movement and strike the bag with both hands, low and fast.

  3. Swim or rip

    On the swim, clear the near arm and bring your other arm over the top. On the rip, dip your inside shoulder and uppercut the inside arm through.

  4. Finish

    Get your hips past the bag, flatten to the cone and repeat from the other side.

Sets and reps
3 sets of 5 reps each side, 30 seconds rest.
Equipment
A standing bag or hand shields, A partner to hold the bag, A cone to mark the quarterback's spot
Muscles and skills
Shoulders, Hips
Used in these 440 plans
Defensive Line

Coaching cues and common mistakes

Coaching cues

  • Strike first, then clear the hands
  • Swim over the top or rip under
  • Flatten to the QB

Common mistakes

  • Swim without a strike (exposed chest)
  • Rising up

The swim

Attack the blocker with your outside arm to knock them off balance, then bring the inside arm up and over the top, like a freestyle swimming stroke, to get past. Coaches teach you to pin the blocker's arm on the side you're attacking, and many teach you to punch the swim arm through so your chest is exposed for as short a time as possible.

The swim is a timing move. It is generally used just as the blocker brings the arms up to engage you. Swimming without striking first is the mistake 440 calls out: your chest is open while your arm is up.

The rip

On a rip you dip your shoulder to get under the blocker's shoulder, then lift your inside arm in an uppercut to rip through and get your hips past theirs. Coach Jerry Campbell's rip-through drill coaches it as getting your shoulder into the blocker's armpit and ripping the inside arm to the sky.

Stay low through the rip; rising up is the other mistake to fix. Once your hip is past the blocker's, keep the pressure going inward toward the quarterback, as Campbell's speed move drill puts it, and flatten your path. The hoop drill trains that bend, and the full plan is on the defensive line training page.

FAQ

Which arm do you use for a rip move?

The inside arm, the one nearest the blocker's body. You dip that shoulder under the blocker's shoulder and lift the arm up through their armpit in an uppercut motion.

When should you use a swim instead of a rip?

Use the swim as the blocker's arms come out to engage you, since that is when it is generally used. The rip, under the blocker's shoulder, is the other half of the pair. Drill both moves to both sides: as a USA Football coaching column puts it, a lineman with only one move gets figured out quickly.

More defensive line drills

Build my position plan

Tell 440 your level, measurables and schedule. Get a daily position plan with loads, timers and demo videos, adjusted for your equipment, training phase and readiness.

Build my position plan

Sources

  1. Combine Preview: DL And LB (Feb 28, 2010, quoting NFL Network's Mike Mayock), Philadelphia Eagles (philadelphiaeagles.com)
  2. ITP Glossary: Swim Move (entry by Justin Twell, Aug 23, 2016), The Scouting Academy / Inside The Pylon
  3. Defensive Line Rip Through Drill (Glazier Football, August 11, 2021, courtesy Coach Jerry Campbell), Glazier Clinics
  4. Defensive Line Jet or Speed Move Drill (Glazier Football, August 20, 2021, courtesy Coach Jerry Campbell), Glazier Clinics
  5. 4 ways to teach defenders to get off blocks and be in position to make tackles (Chris Booth, 4/4/2018), USA Football
  6. Fundamentals With Football Canada Rip and Swim Drill (YouTube watch page title, uploaded 2017-06-20), Shadowman Sports (YouTube)

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.