Analytical Essay On How To Play Linebacker

Matthew Matuska
October 14, 2016
7th period
Analytical Essay
How to Play Linebacker
“There are sports and then there is football,” according to Coach Lorenzen. Everyone wants to be the quarterback, but on defense the linebacker is the quarterback. Linebackers are the people of the defense that stand behind the four guys that are on the ball. A read is when you watch what the offense does, if they show run you fill your gap and make the tackle. If the offense show pass you drop back and cover a wide receiver. As a linebacker you call the plays, you make reads, you tackle people, and you are the most beastly players on the field. When people play linebacker the stance is one of the most important factures. First they get there feet shoulder

There are about 30 play call that everyone on the defense has to know, but the linebackers have to know all the play calls and where everyone lines up. The defensive linemen only know what they due individually. The cornerbacks and safeties only know there duties also. That’s why the linebacker is the most important position on defense. The linebackers also have to make quick decisions like whether it is a pass or run. The linebackers have about one second to decide whether it is a pass or run, and by the time you make your decision they have to run either to their passing zone which maybe 15 yards behind them, or fill your gap on a 200 pound running back running at them full

When making a tackle a linebacker must have good form, without good form they will miss many opposing players. The first step to tackling is breaking down, or gathering one’s self. If they do not do that they will run right past the opposing player. Second is that they keep their head up and they put their “eyes to the thighs” which means put the facemask of the helmet right on their thighs. Third the linebacker wraps up the opposing player and squeezing so he doesn’t get away, and also drives him back until the whistle is blown. Do not stop before the whistle is blown because if a linebacker does and there is no one to help them out and they let go they can run farther and maybe get a touchdown. If the guy the linebacker is a bigger guy one may have to do a “hawk roll” which is when a linebacker does all those steps and instead of trying to drive them back they just roll and it will bring him down. The most important thing to think about when player linebacker is “AAT” which means, Alinement Assignment Technique. Coach Eben the defense and linebackers coach at CL-GLR has said this phrase for a very long time and it helps. Not only when playing linebacker, or even defense, you can use it in any sport because if one doesn’t have one of those things right the play can be a