How to Be an Offensive Lineman

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Joe Bugel Loves Football Violence


When Joe Bugel was a kid, he used to imagine himself as Jim Brown. But later, when it became clear that he wasn't a skill guy, he changed both his position and his role model. He even traded in his No. 65 jersey for a No. 70, in honor of Sam Huff, the Giants and Redskins linebacker. Why Huff?

"He was mean as a snake," Bugel said.

Bugel's obviously attracted a good bit of attention this month, as the Redskins' offensive line has struggled with injuries and changing personnel. I don't think anyone says he's mean as a snake, and I'm not sure whether Bugel is having fun, exactly. But the 69-year old coach definitely had that glint after Saturday's opening scrimmage, the glint of a man who just saw several tons of manflesh slamming into the ground, and who liked it.

"That first hit, I feel great," he said, after full-contact tackling had finally returned. "That's the big explosion right there, you know what I mean? That puts you on a high. Pro football's always been the sport for me. After 32 years, I love to watch the competitiveness, the explosion, the blocking, the tackles. That's my turn on, that's my entertainment: violence."

The quote surprised me. It didn't surprise his players.

"That's why he's been doing this job so long: he flat-out loves it, violence," Fred Smoot said, without a hint of surprise. "I'm talking about good violence, legal violence. He loves to see his guys get after guys, and he loves seeing guys get after his guys. That makes 'em better. You got to love a coach like that."

See, we're not talking about street fights. We're not talking about cheap shots. It's more about brute strength and clean hits, sanctioned violence and sanctioned bruises. And just about everyone associated with the Redskins knows that this is Bugel's thing.

"Violent, smart, physical are really what his three turn-ons are," Colt Brennan said.

"He gets thoroughly excited by hitting," Chris Cooley added.

"That man's always had a screw loose, always," Mike Sellers said. "You have to be. You've got to deal with 1,500 hundred pounds of linemen, you have to tell them what to do, and he only weighs not even a quarter of what they weigh. It takes a strong man, and he's that man. That man is a tough SOB."

Physically tough, too. Bugel is forever doing push-ups around Redskins Park; "I can say he probably does a thousand a day," Chris Samuels said. ("The only reason he can get a thousand, he only goes like a half-an-inch down and then back up," Samuels added.)

So does this mean he could handle, say, a 60-year old man in a scrap?

"He'd kill 'em," Samuels said, speaking metaphorically. "He'd probably kill a 50-year old guy. He's tough. He's got old-man strength. He's so intense, he's tough and he never lets up."

I asked Bugel about the toughest Redskins, and while he didn't want to mention any names, he said there were several that "could jack you up pretty good." And I asked him about the noticeable lack of nicknames for his recent offensive lines. Modern players, he said, don't seem to rally behind such labels any more.

"I think they just want to be a Redskin and let's leave it at that," he said, before allowing that "it might surface again."

"Maybe after we go and dominate this year then he'll give us a nickname," Samuels said. "Maybe we'll be the Dominators or something."

As for Bugel, Baltimore is next, which means even more violence, with many more people watching this time. He'll be nervous before the game, just like he was before Saturday's scrimmage. The same thing happens with Greg Blache, Bugel said, even when it's just intrasquad. You want your players to do well, and you want your schemes to work, and you don't want anyone to get hurt, so your stomach starts churning.

"I still get butterflies," Bugel told me. "I get a little nauseated, so I know I'm on the right track."

Right track?

"When you lose that," he said, "it's time to retire."

WHY WE BLOCK WITH HANDS RATHER THAN SHOULDER:


#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.

#5. IT IS SAFER. If you lead with your hands, you are less likely to have a head and neck injury. Leading with your shoulder leaves your head and neck more exposed.