Middle linebacker no easy job
Posted: Wednesday November 18, 1998 09:51 AM
The middle linebacker is the heart and soul of most football teams. At the
end of every game he's hit every opposing offensive player while being hit
by most of them too. He's the quarterback of the defense and makes all the
stunt and blitz calls. But his responsiblities don't end there.
Consider Detroit middle linebacker Stephen Boyd. If it's a
power run inside, he's expected to make the tackle and if he's lucky, he
only has to beat a center or a fullback. If the run is outside, he usually
has to step over piles of players, beat a down block by a tackle or tight
end and burst to a speedy halfback. If the offense decides to throw, he
drops to a curl zone, reads the receiver patterns -- or maybe he's asked to
blitz and stop the QB.
All the good middle linebackers go through this array of responsibilities,
and when they don't excel at them, bad things happen.
Middle linebackers get in trouble when they can't disengage from a blocker
like Chicago's Barry
Minter was unable to on a play against Detroit this week. Or when they
run around a block as the Jets' Pepper Johnson did in on
one play Sunday because the ball carrier was gone. And when a middle
linebacker gets knocked off his feet, a big breakout run is sure to follow.
Besides zone pass coverage and stopping all inside runs, the middle
linebacker is expected to be a good blitzer, too. Michael Barber of the
Colts showed good timing Sunday to get to Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde and create
a fumble. New York recovers but only picks up a field goal after reaching
the Indianapolis 2-yard-line.
When I worked with Minnesota defensive coordinator Foge Fazio, he always
told the middle linebackers, "If you make a mistake, make it full speed."
If Chicago linebacker Ricardo McDonald had
followed his advice Sunday, he might have had a sack instead of being
caught in no man's land. Instead, Lions quarterback Charlie Batch hits Walter Rasby for 17 yards
to help set up a field goal.
By the end of a typical 65-play game, the average middle linebacker will be
blocked 40 times, make 10 tackles or assists, drop into coverage 20 times
and blitz five times. And that adds up to the roughest --- and possibly
most important --- two miles of running covered by anyone in football, or
anywhere else for that matter.
Pat Kirwan brings 12 years of NFL front office, coaching and scouting
experience to CNNSI.com and offers up regular columns throughout the 1998
season.
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