I Backs

WHY WE BLOCK WITH HANDS RATHER THAN SHOULDER:


JOE JACOBY: "Use ARM PUMP & PUNCH! It's a violent game - the arm pump & punch puts everything in motion. Flipper creates "grabbing areas" for them to go around. You PUNCH them - they are taught to do the SAME thing (jabbing their hands at YOU). Football is a HAND FIGHT. Quoted Joe Bugel - "where else can you go out and punch somebody in the mouth and not get locked up"? That's what O & D line play IS, & that's what you have to teach them! It's a VIOLENT game - so use EVERYTHING to your advantage. Hands are WEAPONS, USE THEM! The DL doesn't wear long pads like QB's, and their RIBS are exposed. "MASSAGE those ribs" (the PUNCH is to the short ribs at the base of the pads). USING YOUR HANDS GIVES THEM LESS TO GRAB"!

#1. LESS LIKELY TO MISS THE TARGET: Blocking with a shoulder or flipper puts you on one side or the other of the defender. Using the HANDS makes it more likely to hit the target (aiming AT or closer to the middle). "Block with your eyes — not your shoulder"!

#2. LESS LIKELY TO FALL OFF BLOCK: Burying your shoulder into a defender puts you beyond your "center of gravity", making it likely you will lose contact & fall forward to the ground. Makes it difficult to keep your feet UNDER you, & maintain your balance.

#3. MORE LIKELY TO LOSE SIGHT OF LBers: Burying your shoulder into a defender forces your head down, & you will lose SIGHT of LBers, etc., in zone blocking (that you may NEED to come off on).

#4. MORE LIKELY DEFENDER WILL GRAB YOU (if you use shoulder/flipper RATHER than hands) & keep you from coming off the block.

billmountjoy@yahoo.com