NFL talk? Questions about American football?

Original post by The Patriot

David Diehl. Giants O-Linemen haha. Probably an interview or something...

I want to play O-line. I should probably listen.

I am deciding a team to support - I may go for Chicago Bears :holmes:

Reply 1324

Original post by paddy__power

I want to play O-line. I should probably listen.

I am deciding a team to support - I may go for Chicago Bears :holmes:

How to play O-line, in rough order of importance:

- Keep your head up at all times. There is a lot of stuff going on in the trenches, with bodies everywhere. If you don't keep your head up you risk injury by not seeing what is coming to hit you. When initiating contact as a blocker or a tackler, keeping your head up is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN EVER BE COACHED. If you initiate contact with the crown of your head you put your neck into the axial loading position and risk paralysis or worse. HIT WHAT YOU SEE, SEE WHAT YOU HIT.
When in your stance you should also be looking up, to watch for defensive changes pre-snap.

- Know the scheme. Know who you're supposed to block and which way you're blocking them. Know where you have to put your hands to achieve this. This is actually the part that harms most rookie linemen! If you don't know who you're blocking, study your playbook more. If your coach hasn't told you who to block in person or in the playbook, ask him. If he doesn't know, get a new coach.

- Have a balanced stance. You should be able to move both forwards (run block) and backwards (pass protection) out of your stance. If you tend to lean in one direction or the other a smart DL will be able to exploit this, not to mention that you will need to take unnecessary steps to correct your balance before starting to move in the right direction. Check how balanced your stance is by getting a friend to lightly push you from the front and the back - if you fall over you may need to work on it.

- Be quick off the ball and be aggressive. The offense has the advantage in that they know when the ball is going to be snapped, and you should use this advantage. If you move first and get underneath your opponent, you will win. If the defense are timing you out then change the snap count and catch them out. As for aggression, you should be actively looking for contact and getting your lid on people.

- Stay low. Don't "pop up" out of your stance, try to keep knees bent and your pad level low. This is where the gym is important, strong legs will make this a LOT easier. Staying low is the essence of blocking - in 90% of blocks, the lowest man will win.

- Finish your blocks. Often you will see a lineman block his defender for a couple of seconds, let him go because he thinks that the ball has gone, and then the defender makes the tackle. I was guilty of this once - QB improvised a bootleg instead of passing from the pocket, and if I'd maintained my block it would have been a TD. Luckily it didn't cost us the game! Block your man to the whistle.

- Know your footwork. This is low down the list because you can be a competent lineman in this league without good footwork, but if you want to be great then footwork is important. Know which foot you step with first, in which direction and how far. If your feet get you in the right position to block, the block becomes a lot easier. Once you have engaged your man, keep your feet wide apart and drive him with short, choppy steps.

- If all else fails, block SOMEBODY. Sometimes, things just won't work out - your assignment may go AWOL, you might miss a block, or the defense might pull off some crazy blitz. In this case, just get in the way of somebody. The only way an offensive lineman can truly fail is by having a play where they don't touch anybody.

I know this is a lot and I'm only just scratching the surface of how to play this very complex position, but hopefully this will be helpful to you in some way.

Simon

Reply 1325

Original post by Hedgeman49

How to play O-line, in rough order of importance:

- Keep your head up at all times. There is a lot of stuff going on in the trenches, with bodies everywhere. If you don't keep your head up you risk injury by not seeing what is coming to hit you. When initiating contact as a blocker or a tackler, keeping your head up is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN EVER BE COACHED. If you initiate contact with the crown of your head you put your neck into the axial loading position and risk paralysis or worse. HIT WHAT YOU SEE, SEE WHAT YOU HIT.
When in your stance you should also be looking up, to watch for defensive changes pre-snap.

- Know the scheme. Know who you're supposed to block and which way you're blocking them. Know where you have to put your hands to achieve this. This is actually the part that harms most rookie linemen! If you don't know who you're blocking, study your playbook more. If your coach hasn't told you who to block in person or in the playbook, ask him. If he doesn't know, get a new coach.

- Have a balanced stance. You should be able to move both forwards (run block) and backwards (pass protection) out of your stance. If you tend to lean in one direction or the other a smart DL will be able to exploit this, not to mention that you will need to take unnecessary steps to correct your balance before starting to move in the right direction. Check how balanced your stance is by getting a friend to lightly push you from the front and the back - if you fall over you may need to work on it.

- Be quick off the ball and be aggressive. The offense has the advantage in that they know when the ball is going to be snapped, and you should use this advantage. If you move first and get underneath your opponent, you will win. If the defense are timing you out then change the snap count and catch them out. As for aggression, you should be actively looking for contact and getting your lid on people.

- Stay low. Don't "pop up" out of your stance, try to keep knees bent and your pad level low. This is where the gym is important, strong legs will make this a LOT easier. Staying low is the essence of blocking - in 90% of blocks, the lowest man will win.

- Finish your blocks. Often you will see a lineman block his defender for a couple of seconds, let him go because he thinks that the ball has gone, and then the defender makes the tackle. I was guilty of this once - QB improvised a bootleg instead of passing from the pocket, and if I'd maintained my block it would have been a TD. Luckily it didn't cost us the game! Block your man to the whistle.

- Know your footwork. This is low down the list because you can be a competent lineman in this league without good footwork, but if you want to be great then footwork is important. Know which foot you step with first, in which direction and how far. If your feet get you in the right position to block, the block becomes a lot easier. Once you have engaged your man, keep your feet wide apart and drive him with short, choppy steps.

- If all else fails, block SOMEBODY. Sometimes, things just won't work out - your assignment may go AWOL, you might miss a block, or the defense might pull off some crazy blitz. In this case, just get in the way of somebody. The only way an offensive lineman can truly fail is by having a play where they don't touch anybody.

I know this is a lot and I'm only just scratching the surface of how to play this very complex position, but hopefully this will be helpful to you in some way.

Simon

This is great, thanks.

All I really know about the game is what someone on here sent me a while back (mainly the rules) and what I have gathered from watching games and such. O liners seem like the ones who get the least glory :moon:

I'm pretty sure it is where I would be best. Does the above apply to all the Line positions?

Anyways, + rep :smile:

Reply 1326

Original post by paddy__power

This is great, thanks.

All I really know about the game is what someone on here sent me a while back (mainly the rules) and what I have gathered from watching games and such. O liners seem like the ones who get the least glory :moon:

I'm pretty sure it is where I would be best. Does the above apply to all the Line positions?

Anyways, + rep :smile:

You're spot on about the glory - if you play well, the RB/QB looks good. If you play badly, everybody knows about it. You have to make a truly exceptional play like legging it 30 yards downfield and cutting the **** out of the free safety to get any true recognition!

I guess from the fact that you actually want to play O-line that you are big, slow and proud of it... how do you measure up? If you aren't big and/or slow, there are probably more interesting things to do!

The above applies to all O-line positions, but there will be a few positional tweaks. For example, offensive tackles are generally taller than interior linemen and have more emphasis on finesse and footwork in pass protection. Interior linemen tend to be "nastier" and more aggressive, and at this level will be shorter than the tackles. In British leagues, average line height is probably about 6'1" with some veeeeery big boys at the top clubs, I know of a couple of 6'7"ers knocking around. I myself am a touch over 6'2" and 18 stone 6lbs, and will be playing left tackle in the coming season.

Reply 1327

Original post by Hedgeman49

You're spot on about the glory - if you play well, the RB/QB looks good. If you play badly, everybody knows about it. You have to make a truly exceptional play like legging it 30 yards downfield and cutting the **** out of the free safety to get any true recognition!

I guess from the fact that you actually want to play O-line that you are big, slow and proud of it... how do you measure up? If you aren't big and/or slow, there are probably more interesting things to do!

The above applies to all O-line positions, but there will be a few positional tweaks. For example, offensive tackles are generally taller than interior linemen and have more emphasis on finesse and footwork in pass protection. Interior linemen tend to be "nastier" and more aggressive, and at this level will be shorter than the tackles. In British leagues, average line height is probably about 6'1" with some veeeeery big boys at the top clubs, I know of a couple of 6'7"ers knocking around. I myself am a touch over 6'2" and 18 stone 6lbs, and will be playing left tackle in the coming season.

I'm about 6 foot 2 and broad. Currently I'm a few stone heavier than you but will probably be around 20 stone when I have cut away a good chunk of the fat and nonsense. In my rugby days I was probably a little lighter than you - I was actually pretty fast for a forward though so may end up being more effective as a D-Liner but I will be short on fitness probably for a good chunk of the first season. This is based only on my tenuous grasp of the game though.

Can you actually make a living from it in the UK or is it a part-time sort of thing?

Reply 1328

Original post by paddy__power

I'm about 6 foot 2 and broad. Currently I'm a few stone heavier than you but will probably be around 20 stone when I have cut away a good chunk of the fat and nonsense. In my rugby days I was probably a little lighter than you - I was actually pretty fast for a forward though so may end up being more effective as a D-Liner but I will be short on fitness probably for a good chunk of the first season. This is based only on my tenuous grasp of the game though.

Can you actually make a living from it in the UK or is it a part-time sort of thing?

Ah I see, if you're over 20 stone then you may be put as a nose tackle on defense - basically eating up a lot of space and preventing people running up the middle. Bath used to have a nose tackle who was 26 stone, before my time though. However if you are still mobile then you may be a very formidable O-lineman!

There is no money to be made here, all teams are amateur. Some teams have paid Americans to play in the past but that's rare now. If you want to make some money out of football then there are some semi-pro teams in continental Europe but you need to be pretty good to get a roster spot there.

Reply 1329

Original post by Hedgeman49

Ah I see, if you're over 20 stone then you may be put as a nose tackle on defense - basically eating up a lot of space and preventing people running up the middle. Bath used to have a nose tackle who was 26 stone, before my time though. However if you are still mobile then you may be a very formidable O-lineman!

I'm reasonably mobile I think. I will ultimately go where I'm told. What strength areas should I train BTW? I am pretty strong in general but should I work on explosive power or arm strength or...? Sorry for all the questions it's just you seem to know your stuff and no mind answering!

There is no money to be made here, all teams are amateur. Some teams have paid Americans to play in the past but that's rare now. If you want to make some money out of football then there are some semi-pro teams in continental Europe but you need to be pretty good to get a roster spot there.

Oh fair enough. I suppose such teams would have College players who didn't make it in america who still hope to break through? I know we have a league here, although I read that it was changed recently.

Reply 1330

Original post by paddy__power

I'm reasonably mobile I think. I will ultimately go where I'm told. What strength areas should I train BTW? I am pretty strong in general but should I work on explosive power or arm strength or...? Sorry for all the questions it's just you seem to know your stuff and no mind answering!

Oh fair enough. I suppose such teams would have College players who didn't make it in america who still hope to break through? I know we have a league here, although I read that it was changed recently.

Going where you're told is a good attitude to have - if the position isn't a good fit for you then the coach will probably see this and move you anyway.

Explosive power is the name of the game on both sides of the ball, so squats, deadlifts, cleans etc are all very useful. Strong legs are a must as this is your powerhouse and what keeps you low. It's all well and good having massive guns, but as an O-lineman you will rarely use your biceps. Having strong pecs and triceps however is useful as these are the muscles you will use to control your assignment once you've made initial contact. Remember that you can't grab hold of your man when you're on offense, so pushing is the name of the game. Explosive power in this "bench press" movement will help you out as a strong initial "punch" could knock your opponent off-balance and make him easier to block.

It might also be worth loosening up the muscles in your neck if you haven't used them in a while, because you will get a lot of facecage-to-facecage or (optimally) facecage-to-chest contact, which can make your neck ache a little if you aren't used to it.

We actually have two leagues in this country. There is the university league, BUAFL (British Universities American Football League) and the normal league, BAFACL (British American Football Association Community Leagues). The old league you are referring to is BAFL, that went under last year. BAFACL is split into Premier, Div 1 and Div 2 based on skill and there are promotions and relegations after the playoffs every year.

Premier teams are pretty good and are comparable in skill to lower DII / upper DIII US college teams. This is probably not a good place to start out playing as competition for places is tough. You would have access to great coaching but as a rookie, playing time would be pretty limited.

Div 1 teams wildly vary in quality, from being almost Premier caliber (or indeed recently relegated from Premier) to being pretty average-looking. This would be a good place to start out and probably get a solid amount of playing time.

Div 2 teams are mostly new programs, or programs with few players and/or coaches. The standard is generally average to poor but there are some exceptions, and there are some great players in Div 2 due to geography (they may be Premier caliber, but live nowhere near a Premier team). Div 2 is a great place to learn the basics of the game, and there is a good chance of starting in these teams.

Reply 1331