Offensive Line Xs and Os

4 comments so far June 1, 2007 by Darren K. Carlson

Probably because they do so much of the actual scoring with the ball in their hands, much is made of the role and assignments of the offensive skill position players. But, the reality is that effective offense starts up front. If you can’t get the opponent blocked, nothing else matters. Additionally, because they are so large and their job so physical it is often common to hear fans think offensive linemen are fat or slow, and their job relatively simple. Neither is the case. As part of BRN’s “Offensive Line Week”, I will spell out just a few of the “Xs and Os” of offensive line play, illustrating just how athletic linemen are, and how complicated their job can be.

The New Model
Let me start with a bit of total disclosure. I love option football. Love it. Run properly, it is the unstoppable play. And I miss it at NU. I watch what schools like West Virginia and Florida are doing (option from the spread formation), and I just get envious. That said, NU doesn’t run the option any more and we all need to get over it, myself included.
NU now runs a balanced attack, typified by a controlled passing attack. I hate saying West Coast Offense because it is a geographic misnomer. But, the name is from its Bill Walsh/San Francisco roots, and it stuck. Regardless, we all must commit to it completely. There was Nebraska football before NU made a total commitment to an option based attack (Vince Ferragamo, anyone?), and there will be football for a long time without it. For right now, we must accept this new model.

While the previous offense was predicated on about 85% running plays with 10-15 passes strategically placed in there, the new offense strives for near perfect balance between running and passing. For the NU linemen this created less emphasis on drive blocking and more on pass protection.

Football, especially line play, is really a game of leverage. The low man wins. Run blocking or drive blocking is predicated on getting your pads beneath the other guy’s, and driving him out of his space with quick, powerful steps. Pass protection also requires quickness and power, and the low man also wins. If a defensive lineman gets leverage going “underneath” and around an offensive tackle, it’s so long and hello quarterback sack. Pass protection is about quickly moving while in a knees-bent athletic position (not unlike a basketball player on defense) and using your long arms and strong hands to keep a defender “off” of you. In this NU offense, linemen must be equally adept at both. Though, some positions along the line place slightly more of a premium on one or the other.

Prototypes
With the controlled passing attack, NU has evolved their prototypical offensive linemen to fit some new molds. While the previous offense thrived on players ranging from 6’2’’ to 6’4’’ along the line, the new offense really prefers a guard to be at least 6’3’’’ tall, and a tackle to be at least 6’5’’. To illustrate, think of how many great NU linemen (Will Shields, Zach Wiegert) were 6’4’’ tackles at NU but converted to guards in NFL pro-style passing attacks.

Another thing to remember about offensive linemen, they are typically freakish athletes. The best are tremendous shot put and discuss throwers in track. Really, all of them could dunk a basketball jumping flat footed. They are agile and coordinated. The notion of a fat, slow, lumbering lineman is just false. If they are any of those things, they probably aren’t very good. That is what they have in common. What differentiates the various offensive line positions?

Centers – two words to remember: intelligence and “range”. Typically the smallest members of the line (6’2’’ or 6’3’’ and about 290 pounds), they must be agile and coordinated. In some offenses, they must be very powerful and take on the nose guard. This isn’t too often the case in a “West Coast” attack. Centers often must move to the “second level” to reach and block the linebackers. They also must be smart. They are often the leaders of the line. They make almost as many checks and calls as the quarterback. They must identify the defensive front, call out assignments, and frequently adjust schemes before the snap. The best centers have real nasty streak, too. From Remington to Raiola, they are the bulldog up front.

Guards – They are the real road graters of the WCO. Guards in the current offense must combine brute force with nimble feet. Much more than tackles, they are asked to “pull”, or leave their position in a dead run to block a player on the move in the open field. And, they have to have the strength to overpower a defensive tackle man-on-man. So, you will see the greatest amount of variance physically, too. Guards in the current offense range from 6’3’’ to 6’5’’ and can be as light as 295 pounds or as big as 330.

Tackles – They are the quarterback’s protectors, particularly the one guarding the quarterback’s blind side (the left tackle for a right-handed quarterback). While run blocking is an important part of their role, they are primarily pass protectors. The current mold requires a 6’5’’ to 6’7’’ player that looks almost lean at 310-315 pounds. They are athletes with huge wingspans (to keep defenders off of them) and play with bent knees but never a bent waist. Iowa has had good success converting large tight ends in to tackles. And, many of the best prospects have some background with basketball. Tackles must also have a mental toughness similar to a defensive back, in my opinion. If they get beat on one play, they must shake it off and be ready to go again the next play and not compound their mistakes. To allow a speed rushing defensive end to get “in their head” is a total disaster. They have to stay within themselves and focus on technique and execution. Frankly, this is the reason I have been skeptical of NU tackle Lydon Murtha to this point. It’s not his talent that betrays him. It’s his head.

Define the terms
Now that we have set the offensive philosophy and examined the prototypical players, a few common terms for their blocking techniques can be considered.

Pull – as mentioned before, to “pull” is for a lineman to leave his stance and position along the line and lead a running play on the run. You can see a player pull from the “play side”, when the left guard pulls and runs to his left around the outside of the formation to lead a pitch play. But, you’ll more often see a guard pull from the opposite side of the formation – the left guard leading a play to the right side. NU has developed a pretty serious right-handed mentality when it comes to power running. That is because the right guard – Matt Slauson – is an absolute brute at inline drive blocking, while the left guard – Andy Christensen – is nimble and a much more effective at pulling than Slauson.

Trap block – the trap block has an important place in the heart of Husker fans, as it was often employed on the fullback runs out of the “I formation”. Basically, it is called a trap because a lineman essentially allows a defender to get too far up field or practically in the offensive backfield, allowing another offensive lineman (often a guard) to hit them unexpectedly and move them completely out of position. It’s a thing of beauty, really.

Pin block and Reach block – it is hard to describe one without the other. A pin block is when a lineman uses his inside shoulder to hit a defender to clear the way for a play coming to his inside. For a left guard, that means using his right shoulder to hit a player to his left (face mask in “front” of the defender) and knock him off his pins. It’s a fairly straight forward thing. A “reach” block is far more difficult. That is when you are trying to get around the outside of a player to pin him to the inside so that a play can come around your outside. Using the left guard again, to “reach” would be to get around the defensive tackle, and use his right shoulder to pin him to the inside, so that a ball carrier can go around you to the left. Again, it is about getting the face mask in “front” or beyond the defender to get the shoulder pad in position. Seriously, line up with a friend sometime and try to reach block to your outside, you will appreciate linemen athleticism much more.

Pass protection – as alluded too earlier, pass protection requires all players (especially tackles) to keep their bodies squarely in front of a defender, keeping leverage and quickly shuffling feet (the feet should never cross) and using their arm reach and open hand (never grabbing) to shield a defender from grabbing them. Again, it places a premium on size (length) and quickness. Honestly, it’s one of the hardest things to learn on the football field.

Double teams – Every offense uses double teams. In fact, most plays are predicated on them. It is just what it sounds like; two players take on one. Centers and guards often work in concert, while the tackles most often team with a tight end. An effective double team typically requires one player as the guy who ‘posts’ the defensive player, or hits him first and stands him up. The second player is then the one responsible for driving him out. In all cases, the linemen must stay shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip, to prevent getting “split” by the defender. A sound defender will try to split a double team by first taking on one of the linemen, and then the other if need be. They can’t take both on at once. So, good double-teaming linemen don’t allow for that to happen by keeping it tight.

Zone versus Man
Now, I think it is worth addressing one blocking scheme that NU fans have had to adjust to with the advent of the current offense - zone blocking. It's very common in the new offense and hardly ever occurred in the old one. So, I hear a lot of people say it, try to describe it, and express opinions about it (usually negatively). Here is my understanding so far.

Simply put, zone blocking schemes differ from man-to-man blocking schemes in that you are blocking an assigned area versus blocking a particular defender. While I don't much care for mixed-sport comparisons, it's nature to think of it like basketball defenses. You either account for a zone (an area) or man (a person).

So, why run zone blocking schemes? Basically, they tend to be more effective against defenders who are on the move. When a defensive linemen "pinch" or slant hard to the inside, or the defensive line is running a "stunt" where one linemen moves around another, switching positions, it is easy for an offensive linemen to be at a serious disadvantage and miss that defender. In zone, this is less of a problem. As the defender moves out of one offensive lineman's assigned area, he can be picked up by another player assigned to the direction he is heading.

Like any blocking scheme, zone blocking is predicated on effective double teams and timing. For example, say the center and guard are double-team blocking the defensive tackle on an "inside zone" run to the middle. They must first execute the double team. But then, one of them (usually the center) must also make the right decision when to move to the "next level" and hunt the linebacker, because he is in that particular zone, too. This requires good observation, and almost a "feel" for when the back is going to hit the hole.

Zone blocking is also very effective when defenses may be running a scheme like a blitz or a stunt when a player actually leaves the area where the play is heading. When that happens, you'll see the back hit a huge void in the open field, often with a blocker in front hoping to find somebody to hit. In NU's previous schemes, it was incumbent on a back to know where the hole was supposed to be, get to it on time, and hit it hard. In the zone schemes, backs must run with great downfield vision and identify obvious cutback lanes. The Denver Broncos under Mike Shannahan are the best modern example of effective zone-running attack I can think of.

Finally, zone blocking just isn't for runs to the outside, like the very common "stretch" play designed to go off tackle. In fact, zone runs to the inside are common and often more effective. On zone read plays to the inside, the back can cut back to either side of the center, whereas a stretch play to the outside limits just how far he could cut the run back against the grain. Zone blocking is also prevalent in the passing game. The same rules apply. A linemen, tight end or back is responsible for an area and picking up players in that area. Again, the point is to foil the attempts of defenders on the move in a blitz or stunt. And, again, it requires coordination and timing for the offensive linemen.

So there you have it. Line play is more complicated than many believe, and the players involved are much more cerebral and athletic than the lugs some may make them out to be.

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