Pocket Escapes with Jayden Daniels
On the importance of quarterbacks having an accurate internal clock and a good feel for the pocket.
One of the fine arts of playing quarterback is knowing when to escape and when to stick in there and deliver the throw.
Without knowing the reads to each play, it’s difficult and somewhat unfair to make a judgement. Sometimes it’s clear, sometimes it’s not. Escaping the pocket to make a play, whether on the ground or through the air, However, these are all good examples of pocket escaping mechanics.
Escape Number One
Daniels looks to be reading whatever the concept is as a pure progression from right to left. The WR running the stop route is an obvious not open, and he moves on quickly to the crosser from the number three receiver. With a linebacker in the window, he moves on again though that route becomes viable in a tight window between the two underneath defenders to the right.
I think he does get to that second read to the crosser a tad too quick because his eyes move to it while still on the drop since the first route got covered so quick. That causes him to miss that tight window. However, it’s not an egregious move on, though something to take note of because it appeared to be a common theme throughout the game. When you combine a good processor and a dynamic runner, they can sometimes get away with reading through things quick because they can rely on their legs. Someone not so athletically gifted doesn’t always have that option. Moving on to the escape mechanics.
The escape is triggered when the right tackle’s man gets good depth and forces Daniels to move from his drop. At first he steps up slightly but at that point he’s done with the progression, and you can almost see him realize that in a sudden burst past the line of scrimmage. His eyes might be up to throw, but there’s nothing there and he does a good job of getting past the line of scrimmage and out of bounds.
Escape Number Two
This situation is at the end of the half so the defense is playing against the deep ball. The offense has a deep overs concept called and I don’t know the read. The pocket collapses on Daniels’ left side so he has to abandon the read after one reset.
This pocket escape looks picture perfect — the old up and out escape. At first, I think the QB’s mind needs to be reset to the second read and then escape. Like the last play, you can almost see that happen here in Daniels’ mind. He tries to reset but the defensive end is coming quickly causing Daniels to get out of there to space on his left. He keeps his eyes down the field too and finds the open guy. Though the big hit on his WR, I’d say the throw was the right decision as that defender was hard to see since he was covering the WR running deep.
The beauty in this pocket escape is Daniels’ staying parallel to the line of scrimmage after his initial pocket escape. It’s also an athletic spectacle to make that throw that far down the field while running parallel and stopping on a dime to throw right before being potentially hit.
Escape Number Three
With a smash concept called against Cover 2, there is opportunity for the corner route. Daniels moves off that side quick again probably because he didn’t trust the cornerback. He was was playing it in the middle well with his hips inside allowing him to pivot to whatever route the QB was looking at and/or threw too.
The crosser and the dig from the other side are cloudy too amidst the underneath defenders. When Daniels is starting his progression thataway, the left defensive end is right in the middle of swiping past the left tackle for a free shot at the QB. It’s a sudden reaction from Daniels to move up and go despite the fact the defensive end moves too fast for his own good and falls down. After that, there’s plenty of green grass for Daniels to go cover.
Escape Number Four
Everything happens a little quicker in the red zone so the QB usually needs to speed up his read just a tad depending on the concept. The play side concept is the notorious slot fade that LSU had already hit for two touchdowns in this game. The look isn’t good with the cornerback getting deep, though the hitch is open, and there’s a strong argument he should’ve ripped it there especially with the overhang’s hips upfield and not too much a threat to undercut it.
So be it, he moves on to the backside concept which is a dig and shallow. There’s no way to know if he’s reading it dig to shallow or shallow to dig, but if he were reading it the latter, then there’s another argument to be made he should’ve stuck with the pass longer and thrown it there. However, he feels the pocket closing in and sees a little grass to take off and run through.
The passover on the hitch isn’t something that I like to see, but Daniels makes up for it by running and getting close to the goal line. On 1A/1B pure progression concepts where the QB is reading a key defender on a two man pattern as the first read, it’s easy to miss one of those routes. Usually a pure progression has the QB looking at routes alone. Because of that, my experience has taught me it’s common for the QB to lock in on a route and pass up one of them. Combine that with the fact that Daniels moves quickly through progressions regularly, this play isn’t a surprise.
The Importance of Quarterbacks Having an Accurate Internal Clock and a Good Feel for the Pocket
A good quarterback gets the ball out fast and on time. Those two things are different but related. A good offensive play will have the first read get the ball. If the defense covers it, then the quarterback needs to recognize it on time to be able to reset and/or get eyes to the next route in the progression.
These four examples were all pure progressions and though Daniels got out quickly to escape, they were all done tastefully. There were none where he looked spooked and relied on his running ability too quickly. The last one was close, and can’t be a habit.
Having an accurate internal clock and good feel for the pocket are essential traits for the quarterback who wishes to be a threat as a passer. Adding the threat of a dangerous runner when escaping from the pocket is scary for the defense. The key is balancing the two.
Until tomorrow,
Emory Wilhite
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