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I've learned that in a zone when defenders are looking at the qb or when defs are in man to man d and able to look at qb in pass situations what the dbs try to do in order to get an early read on where the ball is going so they can play it well is they read the dip of qbs shoulder when they wind up to throw the ball.

I'm calling it the dip but the shoulder facing the defense actually goes up. the key here is that when the qb throws deep medium and shallow the dip will be at various heights and degrees depending on how strong the qbs arm is. more dip equals deeper throw equals defs who know to haul ass and play deep etc etc right?

ok. so this also gives us insight into why nfl offensive coaches love qbs with strong arms. #1 is obviously throwing into tight windows through thoroughbred defs etc etc (you know the physical velocity and launch angle/launch point potential of the throw itself) but #2 is also that strong arm qbs have less dip and ideally none at all. this allows them to not tip their hand to the def as much about where they are throwing or at least how far that throw is going to be in said lane because theoretically the qb still wants to square his shoulders hips and feet to the catch point. and obv this also may allow for quicker release. just thinking back it's possible that Dan Marino had small dip because that arm was live as fuck and I'd bet that jamarcus Russell had real low dip since dude could launch 70 yarders on his knees and shit

so if the cheetah def has difficulty reading your dip he will be less likely to be in position to make plays

it's important to note though that just because a qb can zip it in there doesn't mean they have a strong (read low dip) throwing arm. brees can throw a long high velocity ball but motherfucker has to cock back like crazy to do so and thus tip his hand etc. Romo has a strong arm but the motherfucker seems to move his body based on feel and he may or may not dip on any given play. if I remember correctly he usually does or at least usually has in the past and this may be part of why he is so easy to pick. because breaking on the ball is easier because you know how far he means to throw it. Rivers is an example of a qb with bizarre shoulder movement which may contribute to how defs play him

keep in mind however that certain def techniques like the previously discussed pattern read style of zone def the dip is basically irrelevant because the defenders are so busy trying to match the pattern and trail their assignment and play the spacing just right and they are turned around so they literally cannot see the qb most of the time. but we must remember that not every pattern reading def is blind to the qb. if you are for example the over the top safety adding in to the pattern you have time a lot of the time to watch the qb square up and dip so you have an idea about where the ball is going or if it is going to your pattern

since I'm on topic it is also possible that some qbs like to show high dip and then throw a low velocity or short location throw. just another game with the game

let's look at one specific possible application of qb dip. take our past example of kuechly playing middle field spot drop. he could be looking at any shallow wrs and noting locations but also and perhaps primarily reading where the qb is square and then waiting for a low dip throw to tell him where the play is headed