As an offensive lineman you need to be ready guard an arsenal of defensive moves; finesse, power, anything at all – they have to be
ready.
That’s why in my practice plan I like to spend a good amount of time practicing on blocking specific moves, teaching players where the points of weakness are in each defensive lineman move, and how to attack them. Today, I’ll share some of these helpful tips I’ve found along the way in my years as a football coach.
Blocking the Swim Move
What the defender is trying to do:
What the defender’s ideally trying to do is strike with his outside hand to your outside shoulder, grab your shoulder, pull through, and swim over.
How the offensive lineman blocks it:
As the defender does this, he exposes his inner rib cage. And you want to three things as a blocker.
- Not give him the shoulder, by leading with your inside hand
- Time a punch when he exposes the arm up and over
- Not allow him to close the distance between the two of you
Blocking the Rip Move
What the defender is trying to do:
The defender’s simply trying to get hip to hip, and from this position, it forces the offensive man to reach out and grab the defender to prevent an easy sack. A lot of times he’ll rip through and get a holding call.
How the offensive lineman blocks it:
The best way to beat this rip move is to simply keep your separation. If the defender is trying to rip through with his inside hand and outside hip and get in this position, the best thing you can do is keep your distance from him is by pushing both arms out directly into the chest of the defender, locking your arms out.
If your looking for more tips to help your offensive lineman, make sure to check out our archive of tips and drills!
Coach notes