The Archived Articles © 1998 Crystal Publications Company

Line Blocking Techniques and By Donald J. Nimphius

Line Coach, Shoreham
Wading River High School,
the “Run and Shoot” Long Island, NY

he essentials of offensive line play ahead the separation becomes greater, and his charge becomes

T
Any football coach who

is worth his income include such mundane things as less effective due to his necessity to run the hypotenuse of any
stance, start, alignment, and body triangle.
realizes that the heart
position. These four basics are para-
of football is played on mount to leverage which is the essence Stance
the line of scrimmage. of offensive line play. How many names In my opinion, the 3 pt. stance is the most effective, although a
From the single and have they had in the past? Wedge, dou- 2 pt. stance may be used. In this instance, “Run and Shoot”
double wings and Notre
ble-team, cross, fold, fire, down, pass, linemen must be able to move laterally with ease and quick-
etc. Any coach can come up with addi- ness. They must further be coached to create the most produc-
Dame Box to the “Pro-
tional names, I am sure. tive blocking angle so as to enhance execution. Past experience
Set” and the “Run and has indicated that no more than one quarter of the lineman’s
Shoot” spread, line
What have Tiger Ellison and his mis- weight may be supported by the down hand.
sionaries done to the violent but beauti-
blocking techniques
ful game? They have reduced it to its Coaching point: Only daily drills and supervision can
have been essential simplest form! ensure this.
to success.
Let us look closely at the elements of line
blocking in the “Run and Shoot:” Splits
1. Alignment: splits, stance/the use of Race Booking. The offensive line splits must be 1 yd., wider if it is possible.
2. The Slide Step. Such wide splits result in each offensive lineman being out and
3. Blocking the Backside/the Midline Step. away from his teammate at the set. To a traditional coach this
4. The Super Back Drills with the line. would be insane!

Alignment and Stance; Splits
Alignment
Most coaches will be shocked to find out that Alignment,
Stance, and Splits are the key to the “Run and Shoot!” Let’s
look at the Rule book, rule 2; section 24; line #2.
Why does the “Run and Shoot” want to be so far off the ball?
Why such big splits? Run and Shoot blocking demands angles of
advantage and deflection of force, not frontal attack and brute
strength. The object is to make the defender run the longer leg
of the triangle.

“An Offensive player is on his line of scrimmage when he Much has been
faces his opponent’s goal line with the line of his shoulders written about Run and
approximately parallel there to and with HIS HEAD OR Shoot option patterns
FOOT BREAKING THE PLANE OF AN IMAGINARY and decision making
LINE DRAWN PARALLEL TO THE LINE OF SCRIM- by the receivers and
MAGE THROUGH THE WAIST OF THE SNAPPER.” quarterbacks. Very lit-
tle has been written
An effective alignment off the ball is essential for “Run and about offensive line
Shoot” execution! What is necessary is that the separation play. The principals are
between the offensive and defensive lines must be as great as is identical. He goes one
legal. This separation is approximately three feet, six inches. It way, block him that
may be greater, depending upon the defensive philosophy. way. Don’t take the de-
fender straight on! Let
How effective is a Defensive lineman when he is that far the back read your
away from his opponent? If he does anything but go straight head. Invite the defense

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to shoot the gaps or splits and block him the way he wants to
go. The old “Live or Die” drill is an effective practice tool.
Splits and the Slide Step
As indicated above, line splits are paramount. Many coaches
would demand splits that are much smaller. Most of these are
attitudes of a power running game. Not so in the “Run and
Shoot,” which is based on using as much of the field as possi-
ble. Thus, line splits of four feet or more are not only the
norm, but are essential.
How can this work?
1. First of all, alignment off the ball creates an offensive
advantage of time and distance.
2. Secondly, unless the defender is well in excess of 6’2”
tall at the end of his initial charge he has still not
reached the point of attack, let alone the offensive line.
His force is dissipated!
3. Third: the Slide Step. Let’s take a bit of technique from
ballet. As the offensive linemen come to the line of
scrimmage, by rule they are able to adjust their splits in
or out so long as their hand is not down.
First: They determine the position of the defender,
by normal alignment will he be head-up, inside, or
outside?
Second: They adjust their split(s) via the slide step
so as to force the defender to be in the easiest place
to block.
Third: They must keep in mind that their split
must never be less than 3 feet. If the defender
splits out with them, so be it. Remember the
defender must be coached for every situation. Pos-
sibly an offensive advantage (see Diagram One).
Diagram One
Normal Split
Defender Head Up
4 feet
Slide Step; Widen the Split
Defender is inside
5 feet
By the use of the slide step the offense has created either bet-
ter blocking angles or increased the route of the defender to the
ball. They may have done both!
Let’s remember: The offense knows when and where the ball
is going. Any action by the defense becomes a slant, an easy
read by the blocker, quarterback, and running back.
However, let’s say they slant down towards the ball. What to
the offensive linemen do? They slide step and attack the
defender in the gap he is trying to fill and block him by angle.
Archived Articles • 8.6.3
The Archived Articles © 1998 Crystal Publications Company
1. Defender goes to the offensive left and blocks him left!
2. O’Lineman slide steps to his left and attacks left.
Remember alignment separation (see Diagram Two)!
Diagram Two DL
Based on a triangle, make the defender run the hypotenuse
(longer leg). Advantage offense!
In Run and Shoot blocking, the offensive line blocks with
the same technique, run or pass. The Super Back reads the
heads of the linemen and works accordingly (live or die drill).
Two additional points are paramount!
1. The Super Backs MUST work with the offensive line
during ALL offensive periods.
2. All other offensive line blocking techniques must also
be drilled. Down, Fold, Do-Dad, Trap, etc.
The Midline Step (uncovered lineman)
The basic principle of blocking in any passing game is to have
the uncovered lineman pull to protect the backside. The prob-
lem is that simple geometry has not really been considered.
The traditional technique is for such uncovered linemen to
pull back at an oblique angle to block a backside rusher (see
Diagram Three).
Diagram Three
Traditional Alignment
B B
F T N T
As you can see, an almost equilateral triangle is created. Not
a good idea, since most backside rushers are faster and quicker
than most guards and tackles. Solution: Alignment and the
Midline Step (see Diagram Four).
Diagram Four
Run and Shoot Alignment
(note alignment off the ball & splits)
B B
N
F T
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 The Archived Articles © 1998 Crystal Publications Company

The uncovered lineman Much has been said and

must step directly backward Diagram Five written about the difficulty of
creating the short leg of the tri- 3 or 5 Step Roll B B the Run and Shoot. It is really
angle and force the rusher to N only difficult for those of us
run the hypotenuse, thereby F T T with closed minds. Look at the
creating an advantage of both Geometry of blocking. Look at
time and distance. The midlin- the isolation each defensive
ing lineman creates a collision Point of collision
lineman finds himself in. The
course between himself and the field is 100 yards long, and 53
backside rusher. yards 3 inches wide. Traditional
football uses very little of that field. Why not use more of the
Additionally, the midlining 3 or 5 step action of the Run field? It’s free.
and Shoot quarterback enables the block to be more easily exe-
cuted due to increased distance the defender must travel (see Pre Snap: Spread the opponent from sideline to sideline.
Diagram Five). Post Snap: Stretch the opponent vertically.
Combine: The passing game with option running.
Review GO WHERE THEY AIN’T!!
Alignment off the ball Coach Donald J. Nimphius, 10 Tree Road, Miller Place, NY 11764. He can
Splits, the slide step and angles be reached at 516-473-0369. Donald has coached football since 1960, and is
Super Backs drill with the line currently the line coach at Shoreham Wading River High School on Long
Midline step of the uncovered lineman Island, NY. n
Quarterback techniques

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