Edweirdo's Oakland Raiders Report |
Have you ever wondered what a football scouting report meant when it said that a pass rusher doesn't use his hands well? This article discusses the hand techniques that pass rushers, such as defensive linemen (DL), use to defeat blockers, such as offensive linemen (OL).
Before we get to that, let's review pass rush moves you're probably familiar with. As a generalization, these involve the legs instead of the hands:
So what does a pass rusher use his hands for? Two purposes:
These moves are often combined. Hall-of-Fame (HOF) DE Reggie White often setup an offensive tackle (OT) by faking as if he was going around him, waiting for the OT to begin sliding to the outside to mirror him, then suddenly clubbing the OT with his inside arm and beating the OT to the inside. This "hump move" worked so well for White because he was a legitimate edge rush threat, he had tremendous strength, and he timed his club perfectly, right as the OT was shifting his weight to his outside foot. As a Raiders fan, it's interesting to note that White picked up the hump move from Raiders' HOF DL Howie Long. Dwight Freeney uses misdirection by starting with an outside pass rush, but instead of using the club move, he spins back inside to beat the OT. This double-move is effective for Freeney because he has incredible quickness and balance.
The master at using his hands was Howie Long. Long developed phenomenal hand-eye coordination and quick hands from boxing (he was a collegiate champion), and those skills served him well as a pass rush threat in the NFL. Some of his team mates said it was almost impossible to get a glove on him, because he would knock away any arm that came near him.
Defenders also use their hands when playing the run, to prevent blockers from holding them, to protect their legs from low blocks, and to stack and shed blockers.
Effective pass rushing at the NFL level is all about using the hands. Check out the following quote from Cardinals defensive end Chike Okeafor on his beating Raiders right offensive tackle Gallery twice in a preseason game:
He's definitely a strong guy. It was just moves I made. If you get the proper technique and the right hands, it doesn't matter how strong you are.
If you have feedback / comments for this article, email me at edweirdosraiders@gmail.com. I may add them to this page.
khanman (2005/05/24): one thing that i might add concerning howie long. the thing that made him so phenomenal as well was his ability to get down real low to the ground and then lift up his arms right into the neck and throat of the blocker thus knocking him off balance and getting around him. i have watched howie many times do this and have studied film on it and he was a marvel to behold. he would even take on a double teams this way to get into the back field. very strong and very powerful arms and arm strength
West Side Pirate, columnist on RaiderNews.com (2005/07/05): This really spells out the skills taught to Defensive Lineman and is accurate stuff. Allow me to add some tid bits you only learn from time in the trenches.
I was fortunate enough to be coached up in these techniques in high school by a good coaching staff and I led my high school team in tackles from Defensive End. That is almost not possible, but let me share some secrets I learned from starting in the trenches. A dominant Defensive End can completely disrupt an Offense because he often only has one man to beat, the Offensive Tackle.
A tactic I used every down was I went head up with my opponent. Every down I went helmet to helmet with my opponent in what is a head butt. I would not be satisfied unless I had some of his helmet's colored paint transfer on my helmet at the end of the game by going helmet to helmet. This was my physical evidence that we called " stick marks" and it proved I got in my opponents grill and a piece of his big A$$. He would not be sleeping well that evening, which was my mission growing up watching Jack Tatum. So what did this accomplish? Only all these objectives in these trench wars:
Yeah for sure those are good techniques, which become great techniques as you get into your opponent to defeat him with consistent hard head butts and contact which make them all work even better. (You don't see this in the NFL anymore as the game and it's players get bigger and bigger and more passive and passive. ) They are fined if they really even hit some one now and they can barely even tackle. They are good athletes yeah, but football players?????
The Raider 2005 season will depend on how well our defensive line brings it. If they do bring it and get to the quarterback, it will be a good year. If they don't, well, it will be another long season.