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AFM Magazine


\'The Punch\'

- Using your Hands in Pass Protection.
by: Jim McNally
Offensive Line Coach, New York Giants
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Every snap is a hand-to-hand war at the line of scrimmage. Somewhere along the line offensive linemen have been taught that they should be passive and "take the blows," "deflect the force," or "re-direct" their defensive line opponents. I do not buy into that thought process; never have and never will. That type of thinking will get you beat. I believe that the "PUNCH" technique has revolutionized how offensive linemen are taught. Now we teach them to "go after" the DL. "Get after them first" and "strike the first lick" are now part of the standard teaching heard on virtually every practice field.

This article will give you the basics you need to incorporate the punch technique into your pass protection schemes.

Quick Set. The first thing an offensive lineman must do is to come out of his stance as quickly as possible. He must get set in a football position with his hands up to eye level. At this point, he must look through his hands and hit what he sees. When a man is away from him a foot or two, or he is dealing with a wide rusher, the OL's hands should continue to move, ready for the punch. (see photo 1)

Target. The target, is the OL's eye contact with the upper body he is going to punch. When he is in pass set, he never wants to get beat inside, so he should pick a target on the defender's inside sleeve. When he is set, he should look right at that inside target and avoid watching the defender's head bob or he will get beat inside.

Big Eyes. The offensive lineman must train to get big eyes on a drill by watching the coach's finger as he is shuffling back and forth. As the coach moves his finger he should give the blocker a head fake to see if he follows the head, which in turn means he wasn't watching the target. The coach can also go for his hands or somewhere else on the upper body to test the lineman's concentration. A fundamental technique which assures proper focus on the target is to make sure the blocker has his chin tucked in to help keep his eyes big and centered on the target. (see photos 2 & 3)

The offensive lineman's drill kit for attacking the upper body:

Push/Pull. Try to knock the blocker off balance by pushing or pulling him. You want to try to disturb his center of gravity. The goal is to teach the blocker to keep his center of gravity no matter how much he is pushed or pulled. (see photos 4 & 5)

Separation. Teach the pass blocker how to keep separation. The coach wants the lineman to keep himself separated from the defender. To drill this, mire the blocker into the defender and have the blocker push himself away. Drill it repetitively so the blocker gets a feel for how to push away from the defensive man when he enters the attack zone. Make sure to keep an arm's distance away. As he pushes himself away, the feet will hop back to lower body position. (see photo 6)

Punch. In executing the punch, the lineman must understand that everything comes from the lat muscles. The lineman wants to sink his lats so the punch comes straight out from his chest while using the heels of his hands to deliver a blow. The lineman never wants to completely lock his arms because that could cause a hyperextension in the elbows. Furthermore, the recoil of the punch is just as important as the actual punch in that we want to make sure and retract our hands quickly in order to set up for another punch. (see photo 7)

Training the Punch. We execute numerous drills in order to wear out the upper body and appropriately stimulate the nervous system. All of the punching drills require the use of a shield or a bag on the wall. (I must give Tunch Ilkin, formerly an All-pro OL for the Pittsburgh Steelers, credit for his input in developing the following drills.)

Our drill progression is as follows:

1.) Start out with three sets of 15-second bouts, giving knifing punches straight to the chest (use a bag or shield to simulate the defender), then, rest for 15 seconds between each set. (see photo 8)

2.) Next move to a high-low punch drill. Again do three sets of 15-second bouts (15-second rest between each set). (see photos 9 & 10) Coaching Point: With high-low punches, deliver each blow using the heels of your hands, punching high in the chest first and again lower in the chest, almost in the stomach area.

3.) The opposite corner drill still involves using the heels of the OL's hands. In executing this drill, one hand punches in the shoulder area and the other hand punches in the abdomen area, opposite from the punched shoulder. Alternate back and forth from right to left. Three sets for 15 seconds (15-second rest between each bout). (see photo 11)

4.) Independent punch-drill just one hand at a time, doing ten repetitive punches with the left hand and then the right.

Coaching Point: With independent punches, the focus is on punching higher in the chest. After punching with each hand on its own, alternate left-right, left-right. Then switch and drill right-left, right-left. Do 10 reps of each drill.

5.) Move on from there to a 3-combination punch which would be left-right-left for 10 reps and then right-left-right for 10 reps.

6.) Next, move to a 4-combination punch (Left-right-left-right for 10 reps. Right-left-right-left for 10 reps.)

7.) After the 4-combo punch comes the 6-combo punch drill. Execute 10 reps on each side with the 6-combo as well. The goal is to teach the body not to tire out and to just keep punching. Make sure to get in front of the man to punch instead of punching from the side.

As the lineman progresses, he should drill versus moving shields and multiple shields so he can learn to punch staying in front of a moving man while also concentrating on more than one man to punch.

Pummeling. When your lineman gets into the punching and he gets a good hold on his defensive man, he must now continue to pull and push him in different directions instead of repeatedly punching him. (see photo 12)

Coaching Point: Remember to teach that he must always return to the center for a punch.

Centerline Training. When the defensive man turns and his shoulder is facing the OL instead of his chest, the coach should use centerline training to aid his offensive lineman. In order to do this, the lineman must catch himself and utilize the defender's shoulder as a place to punch him. Instead of punching with the palm of each hand, the lineman wants to feel the defender's shoulder with one hand and his elbow or hip with the other to hold him back from splitting the punch. (see photo 13)

Coaching Point: Always keep one hand on top of the other so you have control of the opponent and he does not split you.

Sensitivity Drill. This drill teaches players to feel the slap-downs and return to the chest when punching. If the defensive man knocks lineman's hands away while he is trying to punch, the lineman must return his hands back over to the top then to his chest as quickly as possible. Make sure to practice drilling with another player repeatedly, knocking the hands down or up while the lineman keeps his arms tight and returns his hands immediately to his chest. A preliminary method of this drill is to practice it with eyes closed so that he can get a feel for the slap-downs. (see photo 14)

Coaching Points: Keep the hands as tight as possible to the defender's wrists so they can return to the chest as fast as possible. After drilling both sensitivity and centerline, combine the two so the players can learn how to block and throw punches in combat.

The McNally File1961-65 Univ. of Buffalo player/guard
1966-70 Univ. of Buffalo Asst. coach
1971-74 Marshall Univ. Asst. coach
1975-77 Boston College Asst. coach
1978-79 Wake Forest Asst. coach
1980-94 Cincinnati Bengals Asst. coach
1995-98 Carolina Panthers Asst. coach
99-pres. New York Giants Asst. coach






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