"Bend-but-don't-break" and "we want you to drive the whole field on us" don't work anymore. When you have QBs that live in 7-on-7 competitions all through high school, they are fine waiting comfortably and making an accurate throw to thread the needle. Look at Jake Heaps - world-beater when he felt like he had time.

In this era of football, making the QB feel like he's under pressure is the #1 thing a defense has to do. It used to be stopping the run, but I think that has slipped to #2. You have to make the QB feel like he has to hurry, or you will give up yards and points in bunches. The good thing is that 7-on-7's have made a lot of QBs into pansies who crumple when someone gets in their faces, because it's not what they're used to.

Once you make a QB think he has to hurry, then dropping 8 unexpectedly can be really effective, because chances are he will still rush the throw, and you'll have someone close to knock it down or intercept it.