Trench Lab · D-Line · Pass Rush · Coach Jay Freeman
Defensive line pass rush moves: swim, rip, club, and bull
The core defensive line pass rush moves are the swim (swat the blocker's hands and bring your arm over the top), the rip (dip low and rip your arm up under his), the club-and-rip (club his outside arm, then rip through across his face), and the bull rush / speed-to-power (run your hands through his chest and walk him back). All of them start with a fast get-off and winning the hands.
By Coach Jay Freeman · 32 years coaching the line · Updated May 31, 2026
It starts with the get-off and the hands
No move works without a great get-off — beating the offensive lineman off the ball forces him to open his hips and gives you an edge to attack. And every move is a hand-fight: you have to win the hands, knocking his strike away before he can lock you out. Effort gets you nothing if he gets his hands on your chest first.
The swim move
When the blocker over-sets or leans, the swim is lethal. Swat his hands down and across with your outside hand, then bring your inside arm up and over the top of his shoulder, clearing the edge to the quarterback. Keep your eyes in the backfield as you swim — the swim lets you stay clean and see the play.
The rip move
The rip beats a blocker who's sitting heavy or locked on. Dip your near shoulder low — pad level wins — and rip your near arm up and under his arm, clearing his hands and getting your hips through to the edge. Low pad level is the whole move: you can't rip from a tall, upright posture.
The club-and-rip
The club is an inside counter. Drive the tackle back to quarterback depth, then club (a heavy swipe) his outside arm to knock him off balance and turn his shoulders, then rip through across his face to the inside. Club then rip — the club creates the opening, the rip takes it.
The bull rush and speed-to-power
Sometimes the answer is straight power. The bull rush runs your hands through the blocker's chest plate, extends your arms to keep him off you, and walks him straight back into the quarterback. Speed-to-power is the setup: sell the speed rush to get him opening and leaning, then convert to power right through his chest when his weight is on his toes.
On the other side of the ball, Coach Jay Freeman teaches blockers that "the rusher does one of four things" — power, speed, speed-to-power, or counter. Learning to *run* those four moves is how a defensive lineman wins the trench.
Common questions
- What are the most important pass rush moves for a defensive lineman?
- The swim, the rip, the club-and-rip, and the bull rush / speed-to-power. The swim and rip clear the blocker's hands to the edge, the club is an inside counter, and the bull is straight power — all built on a fast get-off and winning the hand-fight.
- How do you do a swim move?
- Swat the blocker's hands down and across with your outside hand, then bring your inside arm up and over the top of his shoulder to clear the edge. It works best when the blocker over-sets or leans, and it keeps your eyes free to see the backfield.
- What is speed-to-power?
- A pass-rush move where you sell a speed rush to get the offensive tackle opening his hips and leaning, then convert to a bull rush right through his chest when his weight is on his toes. The speed sets up the power.