Oline Pride Weekly -Proper Offensive line stance
Offensive line is one of the hardest positions to play and coach because it requires so much time and has so many layers of detail. Each athlete that plays OLine must take the extra time to work on and master…
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Continue ReadingOffensive line is one of the hardest positions to play and coach because it requires so much time and has so many layers of detail.
Each athlete that plays OLine must take the extra time to work on and master their stance. Every players body type, core strength, and ankle flexibility is different so no one stance will be identical. However, every stance starts from the ground up with the right foot back and right hand down while playing on the right and left foot back and left hand down when playing on the left with the outside toe slightly turned out.
The stance and having an impactful departure from the line of scrimmage help the offensive linemen play with proper technique.
One of the first things that we are going to focus on today is dispelling one of biggest misnomers that I see around the country about the stance.
From my personal experience playing division one and professional football as a linemen the stance is the lifeblood of having a successful game and career.
As a professional offensive line coach I strongly believe that the back foot in a OLinemen’s stance should NOT BE VERTICAL!
You have to turn the back foot and toe out slightly at a, 45 degree angle so the linemen can have their instep (mid part of the foot) down in the ground.
Having the instep down is imperative so the athlete can play in the strongest biometric position possible. For example, look up any championship sumo wrestlers and pay attention to their back foot when they make contact. It’s turned out so they can produce as much force through the ground as possible.
Offensive linemen have to be very cognizant of being in a position of balance so they can properly own all 8 possible angles of departure. Owning your angles and having a great first step (departure) is the first key to having a successful block. All of my players and clients from the NFL down to youth football are taught to have the back foot and toe slightly turned out so we can always be in a ready position to take on impact and fight pressure to pressure.
Not having the instep down is one of the easiest ways to get yourself long arm bull rushed and embarrassed in pass pro situations.
When coaching defensive linemen, I teach them to scout, attack and expose linemen who don’t have their instep down with speed to power. Speed to power moves are deadly when the offensive linemen has his weight balanced on back toe and not the instep because they cannot properly anchor and stop the rushers charge.
The stance for a tackle has more stagger (distance between the feet) to help the linemen cover more ground. While a guards stance is more narrow it still has the back toe slightly turned out with the insteps hugging the ground.
The guards stagger is smaller because they are stuck fighting in a phone booth and have to be ready for impact immediately. The proper center stance has the feet even with both toes slightly bowed out based off of the athletes body type. The stance just like every other part of offensive line play is an art, and must be worked daily.
For more information or offensive line specific material follow me on instagram @LoganTT72, or on Twitter @LoganTillman