What is a pass rush and what are some different types of pass rush moves?

As the skill level of quarterbacks continues to rise every year, defenses are constantly thinking of ways to stop the better ones. For example, if a team has a mobile quarterback, the defense may want to assign a specific player to keep an eye on him. But no matter how a team decides to defend a quarterback, there is one way to rattle a quarterback no matter who he is: bring as much pressure as you can.

Just about anybody who has some experience at the quarterback position can be successful if you allow him to sit in the football pocket and make easy throws. But once you begin to bring pressure, make him move around and make adjustments, the odds greatly favor the defense. The best way to bring pressure is with the pass rush.

Will McClay enters his second season as head coach and defensive coordinator for the Dallas Desperados of the Arena Football League. Also serving as a scout for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, McClay said that pressure on a quarterback is the bread and butter of any defense.

"When you pass rush you're trying to get to the quarterback as quickly as possible through their assigned gaps," he said. "And of course it all depends on what offensive front the offense is playing in, but the objective is to get to the quarterback as quickly as possible."

What makes the pass rush so effective is that there is a variety of ways that a defensive lineman could get to the quarterback.

"As you know there are a lot of different pash rush moves," McClay said. "So what a guy would have to do is find the move that best suits his abilities. The great pass rushers have a variety of moves that allow them to keep the offensive line off guard. But to be an effective pass rusher, you have to rush with power and speed."

McClay said that knowing the different moves will help any defensive lineman to become a better all around pass rusher.

"A couple of the moves that pass rushers use include the slap rib, the swim move, the bull rush and the arm over," he said. "Another move is the club move. Reggie White (NFL Hall of Famer) made the club move famous. What he would do with that would be to just rush a guy and shove him with his arm."

So how does a pass rusher know which move best works for him? First, McClay said that you must practice them all. After that, the type of pass rusher you are will determine what moves work best.

"Generally you will find similar moves to similar body types," he said. "Big strong guys are the bull rush guys and hump move guys because they very seldom have the foot quickness to execute some of the others moves."

"Another style of rushing the quarterback is by blitzing," he added. "You can blitz him anywhere on the field on the big field game and that's what has changed the game of football."