Donnie Edwards
LB, Kansas City Chiefs
Donnie: What I didn’t know when I went to the league which I wish I should have
known in college and in high school was how to take on blockers because
I’m not very big I’m 220-225 depending you know what I mean but I
don’t care how big— the bigger the guy is the better for me because he’s
going to be trying to lounge at me. I’m just going to pop him and get off
and the key bug in that block is the linebacker is don’t get tied up with
him.
Never ever use your shoulder on a lineman or someone that’s trying to
block you except the fullback, seriously because you see a lot of guys
especially a lot of guys especially a lot of DBs that don’t understand how
to take on blockers they always come in there like this with their shoulder
and that’s guy is going to come. You come in with a shoulder. Here come
with a shoulder. Guess what you ain’t going nowhere.
And the key for defenders for making plays if you’re tired off by blockers
you ain’t going to the field because you’re not making plays. But what I
learned from a coach Dr. Cunningham told me when I was a rookie how to
take on blockers. He talked about having face and hands, face and hands,
what the hell is that? It’s really like face mask and hands.
So if someone has like a combination of using your like your two screws
right here your helmet and your hands and pop and get off. So when a guy
is coming to block me come to block me, I’m a line back and you come to
block me what I do, I hit my face mask and my hands at the same time and
get that separation because whenever you get that separation depending on
where that ball carrier is going boom you are going to just get off and
make the play.
So depending on which side the blocker is coming, what I try to do is like
I’m coming from a line back like this and the lineman is coming off. The
key is I got this got this A-gap so if I get cut off by this lineman coming
off on me then I get short here and I can’t get to may A-gap you’re
screwed. But the key is to get in you’re A-gap and get separation from that
guard coming off on you.
So when that guy is coming off of me. I try to step with the leg that I’m
going your face and hands with your face mask so you get that separated a
little pop is going to knock him back and then you use your hands to push
off and then throw him and get you a gap and then guess what all you got
to do is make the tackle on the whole, it’s really simple but I’m telling you
face and hands were really, really helpful you make a lot of plays.
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