Inviting the Bullrush: Eagles OL Coach Jeff Stoutland Arms Under Pass Pro Technique
Exploring how Jeff Stoutland's Arms Under Technique may invite opposing EDGE rushers to utilize bullrushes at a higher than average rate
Eagles OL Coach Jeff Stoutland is one of the best positional coaches in the NFL today because of his collaborative process and how he relates to his players. I recently watched Stoutland’s 2024 C.O.O.L. clinic “Teaching Basic run game and pass protection from the ground up”, to better understand the nuances of offensive line play. The entire talk runs about an hour and 20 minutes long and I highly recommend you check out the entire thing if you have the time.
But for the purpose of this research I wanted to highlight his segment on how he instructs the “Arms Under” technique (~11:20 into the talk).
Getting the Two Kicks In
It all starts with getting two kicks in for Coach Stoutland.
“The biggest thing for us is to get the two kicks in. So to create the early space and then begin to settle — buys time for the offensive tackles to begin to gather themselves and now assess the rush.” — Stoutland
The kicks are essential for the tackles to create early space between themselves and the pass rusher. Stoutland explains that if tackles don’t get enough space the pass rusher can get on their edge. Not getting enough space also forces the tackles to read the rush while setting back — rather than getting to a spot with space and assessing.
“Lane Johnson… watch him. He gets those first two in [kicks] has a lot of space between him and the defender now. If you create early space between the defender and yourself — you’re going to be fine. You’re going to be able to do this for a long time.”
The Eagles’ OT average the fifth most distance between themselves and the EDGE defender (3.2 yards of distance) after half a second after the snap — filtering for OT vs EDGE matchups where the QB used a straight dropback and where there was no play-action, RPOs, or screens on the play. They’re also the only OT unit to average more than 3+ MPH at that point in the play. Individually, Johnson (3.21 yards) and Jordan Mailata (3.19 yards) rank 13th and 17th, respectively.
Initial Kick Direction
Stoutland points out how the inside foot of his tackles, Jason Peters and Johnson, move straight down the field with no turn in the play example above. This allows them to create power and a wider edge. I wanted to attempt to quantify this as well using the same parameters from earlier.
Mailata averaged the third straightest initial first movement (271° — frame immediately after the ball snap event, 270° would be exactly straight down) while Johnson, despite not setting as vertically, generated the highest average speed among OT (0.87 MPH, next closed 0.73 MPH). The latter correlates to the power being generated by Johnson into his pass set.
Low Hands Society — Inviting the Bullrush
After establishing early space the tackles are now assessing the rush — with low hands.
“You don’t bring your hands until a defender decides, “oh boy I got nothing here. I better go to one-arm, bullrush, or whatever.” And at that point you go arms under. If you get your arms under, it’s a wrap. It’s done. You just get your cleats in the ground and there is no more push. The defender has no power producing angles. It’s over.”
Stoutland points out that when the tackle gives the pass rusher no hands, the EDGE will utilize the bullrush.
“Watch Jason Peters here before impact. He gives nothing to this rusher. The rusher is trying to figure out how to do this now. He goes, “aww screw it, I’m gonna go to the bull.” Now JP goes arms under, and he grabs the ground with his cleats, and it’s a wrap.”
I wanted to use the Pass Rush Move Classification Model to further investigate whether or not the Eagles’ tackles are inducing more bullrushes than other teams likely as a result of the Arms Under technique. That seemingly is true.
The Eagles tackles faced the most total bullrushes (200) and the second-highest rate of bullrushes (31.3% of pass blocks) against EDGEs in 2023. Only the Broncos (31.3%) faced a higher percentage of bullrushes last season. According to the pass rush classification model, the NFL average bullrush rate against offensive tackles was 19% in 2023.
The Eagles’ offensive tackles allowed the lowest leverage angle against bullrushes in the NFL (29.5°) — likely due to the Arms Under technique. As Stoutland states — there is no more push and the defender doesn’t have any more power producing angles.
I spoke with trenches expert Brandon Thorn who told me, “the reason the double-under technique is taught is to create vertical force into the rusher, which leads to lift and a dissipation of power. Said a little differently, offensive linemen don’t want to punch straight into a rusher/bullrush, they want to punch up to create lift.”
I also noticed that the Eagles’ tackles had the fastest max speed against bullrushes by opposing EDGEs. I do not have an exact reason for why this is, but I have some theories. First it has to do with the space created with the two kicks. More space leads to more room for the EDGE to accelerate into the bullrush.
My other theory is that the pass rusher is thinking outside speed move as he gets off the ball. But the Arms Under technique — as a result of the early space and not giving the defender hands — causes the pass rusher to convert his energy to a bullrush. Outside moves against offensive tackles are generally faster than bullrushes (Max Speed within 2.5s post-snap - Outside: 9.86 MPH; Bullrush: 9.60 MPH) which aligns more closely with the high speeds the Eagles’ tackles face against bullrushes.
Even if my mid-play outside move to bullrush change of strategy theory is wrong — Stoutland’s pass protection technique is flat-out inducing more bullrushes than outside moves. The Eagles face outside moves at the 2nd-lowest rate (22.7%) in the NFL. The NFL average for outside move rate against offensive tackles is 30%.
Generally speaking, if this technique is causing opposing EDGEs to trade outside moves for bullrushes, this is a positive advantage for the Eagles. On average outside moves generate higher pressure rates against offensive tackles (Pressure Rate - Outside: 28%; Bullrush: 25%) and the Eagles are in line with those figures (Pressure Rate - Outside: 29%; Bullrush: 25%). So, it doesn't initially appear that the discrepancy is due to opposing teams believing they have a better chance of causing pressure via the bullrush compared to other rush moves against the Eagles. This is likely the result of a technique being effectively taught.
Individual Performances
Jordan Mailata -
vs Bullrushes - % Against: 35% (5th) | Lev. Angle: 29.1° (9th) | Pressure Rate: 23%
Has the second-largest difference (+15%) in bullrush rate
Lane Johnson -
vs Bullrushes - % Against: 29% (13th) | Lev. Angle: 27.6° (5th) | Pressure Rate: 25%
Has the eighth-largest difference (+7%) in bullrush rate
Stoutland’s coaching instruction of the Arms Under technique has produced highly positive outcomes for the Eagles and their star offensive tackle tandem. It’ll be interesting to lookout for other teams that teach this technique and how they compare to the Eagles moving forward.
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