Brad Moss
Kinesiology 5301
An In depth Look at the Offensive Line in Football.
It was once said that to build a team it all starts with your offensive line. The reason this is said is that if you have a strong line that can pass block and run block effectively it can make your entire offense run that much better. During this blog you will gain a better understanding of what an offensive line can do for an offense.
Position Names
The offensive line contains a group of 5 members that collectively each person need to do their job to make the group effective. The positions lineup from left to right are as following left tackle, left guard, center, right guard, and right tackle. When scouting offensive line there is a few traits according sb nation that teams should look for when building a great offensive line. One It clearly states that a scout will look for line that has great strength. They also state that this doesn’t necessarily mean weight room strength. The strength that they are look for is foot in the ground and hold your position strength. It is also explained that an offensive lineman needs to have the right kind of attitude to play the position as a lines attitude can trickle down to the entire team. The final thing that is said is that a lineman need to be effective and have balance and footwork. A lineman needs these quality because it goes with athleticism. If you have a lineman with qualities they can be very good at run blocking and getting to the next level in their blocks.
Responsibilities for an offensive lineman
There are two main responsibilities for being an offensive line and the first one is called pass blocking. In pass blocking the lineman need to build a pocket for the the qb to throw in . To do this the need to hold their position and not let the defense get behind them. The second responsibility for the offensive lineman is to run block. The main goal in run blocking is to create holes for the running back to run through and gain yards. The lineman can do this in a couple different ways. The first way is man blocking scheme where the line will block straight up with defensive line and create a whole that way. The other way is a zone blocking scheme where the line will gravitate toward a specific zone for the running back to run through.
References
Nice job laying this out Brad. I think you are spot on with the fact that strength, attitude and footwork are key attributes for a good offensive line. I'd add intelligence to that list. Offensive line play can get extremely complex due to different defensive fronts, stunts and blitz packages. It is imperative in today's football that your offensive linemen are intelligent players to pick-up on these schemes and adjust appropriately.
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