Drew Brees Mechanics, drop depth and a look at the wide base

Will Hewlett is the first Australian to play NCAA football. His playing career extended to the pro ranks, with a stint in the Arena 2 league. His college experience included University of Nevada (UNR) and University of Dubuque.

Hewlett, who lives near San Francisco CA, leads the Player Development and is the Lead Coach for elite players at QBA camps. Coach Hewlett is also a regular speaker on the National Glazier tour.

In the past 4 years, Coach Hewlett has coached over 40 division one prospects and current Quarterbacks. He has conducted NFL Draft prep and development as well as coaching Arena football Quarterbacks. Coach Hewlett has consulted NFL and UFL and NCAA coaches on passing mechanics and quarterback play.

He continues to work with Quarterbacks in the SEC, BIG TEN, ACC as a private Quarterback Coach.

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[DBShowtime15]

you say to keep the upper body without lean, how do you throw deep balls then, i struggle to throw deep balls without a lean.

[Get20online]

@DBShowtime15 Lean in relationship to the body, not the ground. More knee bend and lean will in relationship with the ground is ok on the deep ball.

[eagleoc56]

How do you keep the QB from leaning back his upper body by taking a long last step? It seems like the wide base is counter to what I was told. My qb has a problem with this and I thought at one of the C4's they said to make your last 2 steps small (almost right underneath you) so that your feet are under you, your weight is upright, and you can work to get the ball out now. Great stuff.

Thanks

[Get20online]

@eagleoc56 The end goal is to finish in a position with the base wider than shoulder width (hips in side heels) – you can only get this level by first learning how to do the basic concept of the 5 step with the smaller last two steps which really is more of a 3 step concept.

[Get20online]

@eagleoc56 You can watch how Brees get that back foot back in close to the hip line very fast. Its takes a lot of strength and practice to get this concept but the speed of the game (nfl) dictates that we have get depth with max drop speed and get the ball out fast.

[Get20online]

First learn with a small base and last two steps, then progress to a wider base when the athlete is stronger. You can see on this clip, Ben cannot even transfer his back leg through, but relies on pure upper body and core strength to get it done. I don’t know many high school kids that can grasp this let alone college QB’s.

[DBShowtime15]

@Get20online I guess I'm confused on the relationship to the body not the ground part, sorry, but could you explain that a little more?

[Get20online]

@eagleoc56 Couple variables here, strength and speed. Most young QB's take a large last step because they cannot stop their weight and gather the weight to go back down the hallway. It's their way to band-aid the problem for not having the strength to redirect the weight. The problem arises when they attempt to throw on rhythm, froma 5 step or longer drop. They simply cannot gather the weight back into a position of strength to drive and it causes a hitch on a rhythm throw.

[Get20online]

@mdfbcoach99 Spot on!

You nailed the concept right on... Wide stance allows the whole process to speed up. - quick note, keep in mind the QB will have a tendency to internally rotate(dip) more when eliminating the stride in order to generate power. Not optimal but will happen - replaces the hinge and drive

[mdfbcoach99]

Hinge is a weight gathering concept used at the end of a 3/5 drop and Drive is weight transfer concept - correct? So you are saying wide stance allows for less of a hinge and aids in the drive(faster) with same or better results? Just trying to understand. Thanks for comments.