drop back

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb American football Of a quarterback or other player in the backfield, to take a number of steps back from the line of scrimmage immediately after the snap or hike of the ball, to avoid defenders.
• noun American football The act by a player in the backfield of dropping back from the line of scrimmage after the hike of the ball.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• verb take position in the rear, as in a military formation or in the line of scrimmage in football
• verb to lag or linger behind