The most fundamental of all football skills, the "block and tackle" combination is what sets a good player apart from a mediocre one. Before the advent of special teams and intense player specialization, all players --- quarterbacks included --- had to possess both blocking and tackling skills. In 1951, former Notre Dame fullback and football coach Larry "Moon" Mullins wrote, "Football to me means block and tackle. Not block or tackle. Why should we develop boys to be just half football players?"
The Block: Definition
At its simplest, a block simply is a player's effort to obstruct the progress of his opponent using his body as a sort of physical roadblock. According to the NFL rulebook, players must focus their efforts on the "frame," the part of the body below the neck -- contact with another player's head or face is not allowed. Ideally, you use your body as a battering ram, stopping your opponent's movement with the force of your own forward movement.
Blocking Penalties
You have to be very careful about how you block to avoid penalties. Although it might seem easier, you're not allowed to push a player from behind or grab him and hang on to obstruct his progress; this can result in a foul call for holding. According to NFL.com, if the referee or umpire charges you with defensive holding on an offensive player or with holding the face mask of your opponent, you'll be slapped with a five-yard penalty. If you're on offense and you get called for illegal holding on a defensive player, you earn a 10-yard penalty. You'll give up 15 yards for worse offenses, such as dragging a player by the face mask, helmet butting or using an illegal low block.
The Tackle: Definition
The NFL rulebook stipulates that a play ends when an opponent forces the ball-carrying player to touch the ground with one or both knees -- this is the goal of any tackle. The American Sport Education Program lays out the proper tackling technique in "Coaching Youth Football." It notes that tacklers should drive their shoulders into an opponent at about waist level, wrap their arms around the ball carrier's legs and lift him from the ground, knocking him backward to stop the play. In the heat of the moment, tackles don't always happen as planned; the main danger is when tacklers ram opponents with their helmets instead of their shoulders, risking injury.
The Soul of Football
Although blocking and tackling are separate skills, you'll hear the phrase "block and tackle" used to describe the essence of football's action. Coach Larry Mullins' quote above gets at the heart of the matter. Mullins also lamented the fact that some collegiate quarterbacks hadn't made more than a dozen tackles throughout their careers. "That is not football," he wrote. For football purists like Mullins, the "block and tackle" represents the strength, skill, balance and quick-thinking that all well-rounded players should have.
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