Understanding Pass Protection In Football

Written By: Danny Haddad
Updated: October 21, 2024

To protect the quarterback, the offensive line coach must craft a scheme that can handle any stunts or pressures the defense throws at it.

This article will break down all of the most popular offensive line blocking schemes and show you how to implement them in your offense.

Offensive Line Blocking Schemes

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Before we start learning about actual blocking schemes, you must first understand the two types of blocking schemes – man and zone.

Man

Man blocking schemes are exactly like they sound. Every offensive lineman is responsible for blocking a man. This means wherever he goes, he will need to latch on to them and block them.

The only exception to this rule is if the defensive lineman stunts to the other side of the formation, the offensive lineman will not chase them across the field.

Zone

In zone blocking, every offensive lineman is protecting their slide-side gap.

For example, if the center, guard, and tackle are sliding to the left, then everyone will protect their slide-side gap and pick up the defensive player who goes through it.

Now that you know the two different types of blocking schemes, let’s look at how coaches implement them into their offense.

Full Slide

Full slide offensive line protection
Full slide offensive line protection

The full slide line protection is when the entire offensive line slides in one direction. If the protection is set to the right side, the whole line will slide to the right, protecting their right-side gap.

The running back will take the next defender who comes off the edge.

The benefit of full slide protection is that it is very easy to teach. No matter if the defense stunts or twists, the rules remain the same about who to block. This means if players are uncovered and have nobody to block, they can help double team to their backside gap once they have secured their slide-side gap.

The cons of running the full slide protection is that the running back is one-on-one with a defensive end. This means that if the defensive end is physically bigger than your running back, it may be harder for them to block.

Defenses can take advantage of this match-up and overload the running back, forcing him to block only one player blitzing. This is why it’s important to alternate your back location, so the defense doesn’t know if you’re always sliding away or to him.

Slide Lock Protection

Slide lock offensive line protection
Slide lock offensive line protection

The next offensive line blocking scheme is slide lock protection. Slide lock is similar to full slide protection; however, now the tackle will lock on to the last defensive lineman away from the slide.

This protection will take the stress off the running back having to block a defensive end. They will now take any other threat through the B gap, which will most likely be a linebacker.

If no linebacker shows, they will check-release. This means they will check for a blitz and then get into their route for a check down for the quarterback.

Half Slide Protection

Half slide pass protection
Half slide pass protection

The half slide pass protection is one of the most common pass protections. As it says in it’s name, half of the line will slide, and the other half will man-protect.

The center or the quarterback will determine which side will slide.

The center, guard, and tackle will slide one way. On the other side, the guard and tackle will slide the other way, and the running back will insert and take the linebacker if they blitz.

Again, it’s important to rotate your running back to each side, that way the defense can’t blitz or stunt against your man side, which is susceptible to games.

Man Protection Scheme

Man protection scheme in football
Man protection scheme in football

The man protection scheme is a full-line man protection scheme. This means that wherever the defensive linemen line up, everyone protects their inside gap first, then works to the outside man.

The running back will insert and support against any blitzing linebackers.

This protection is great for youth teams, who don’t see a ton of stunting or blitzes.

However, if the opposing team does run stunts and blitzes, the man protection can leave your offensive lineman feeling confused.

Roll Out

Roll out pass protection
Roll out pass protection

Roll out protection is when the coach wants the quarterback to throw to one side, while sprinting or rolling out.

This means the quarterback will cut off one half of the field and only throw to two or three receivers.

In the picture above, the quarterback will roll to the right. This means the offensive line will all take steps to the right side and secure their play side gap. The key is to try to cut off angles of the player to the play side.

Ideally in roll out protection, the quarterback should get rid of the football after 2-3 seconds. If nobody is open then they should throw it away or throw it up to a receiver if it’s 4th down.

Roll out protection isn’t an every down protection, but it’s a great shake up if you have a mobile quarterback who can throw on the run.

Play Action Protection

Play action pass protection
Play action pass protection

Play action protection is when you make a pass play look like a run play, and then the quarterback drops back to pass.

In our image above, we are simulating running power. If your offense runs power as one of your main plays, then you can put in a protection where everyone blocks the same assignments, however they don’t go down field. They will pass block instead.

The quarterback will fake the running back and drop back to pass. This protection works if the action is married to your most popular run scheme.

What’s Next

Pass protection schemes are important for all of your linemen to understand. The game of football is so dynamic and players move, so it’s important to practice with players moving and stunting.

If you’re looking to get more develop more of your pass game knowledge, we recommend you check out our membership vIQtory Pro.

You’ll find even more details about pass protections, play calls, and creating the best schemes for your personnel.

About the author 

Danny Haddad

Danny Haddad Is an Analyst at vIQtory Sports. He specializes in offensive concepts and run game variations. Danny also serves as the offensive coordinator at Bellingham High School in Bellingham, Massachusetts.

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