Bob Diaco was back in front of the mic on Tuesday, and he once again used the phrase that football metalheads find impossible to resist.
“Block destruction is a little different system,” Diaco said. “It’s different fundamentally. The work done at the line of scrimmage not behind it on either side is a critical component and a real important piece.”
Yes, block destruction is back, which Diaco first introduced to most Husker fans in his introductory press conference. More than just two great words that sound great together or defense-up-your-y’know aggression, however, there are some specific techniques at play here as Diaco noted.
Don’t think I’ve ever said this before, but, here, let Trevor Matich explain. This clip is from 2013, when No. 5 Stanford was preparing to host No. 15 Washington.
https://youtu.be/9k55Qlbzvf8
You can fall down the rabbit hole from there if you’re really into football technique. Want to hear a coach more clearly explain block destruction? Here. Want to take a look at some block destruction drills? Here are 15 of them. Want a message board thread of youth football coaches discussing the concept? Probably not, but do what you like.
OK, so there does appear to be at least a little bit of branding going on here. Destroying a block simply sounds cooler than shedding a block, but that “brand” seems to be gaining a following combined with some evolving thoughts on how to teach football.
It’s sort of like rugby tackling in that way, which Diaco said can be a useful technique at times but is just one of about seven different types of tackles, which, of course, he listed yesterday.
“When you play in a game there are a lot of different style tackles that need to be conducted,” Diaco said. “There are disengaged tackles, there’s in-line tackles, there’s the vice tackles, there’s the angle tackle, there’s the open-field tackle, there’s sideline tackles, there’s gang tackling. There’s a lot of different tackling you have to execute.”
Guy’s a defense nerd and it’s great.
The Grab Bag
- Recluse stories are almost always good and Pat Forde has a great one on former Butler Coach Brandon Miller.
- Tim Miles talks about the support Nebraska Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst showed through Nebraska’s late-season struggles.
- Rex Burkhead is a Patriot now. He spoke with Adam Carriker about the move.
- Here’s a fun interactive feature from ESPN on the mascot method of bracket picking.
Today’s Song of Today
https://youtu.be/9Y6iN99OFIo
Brandon is the Managing Editor for Hail Varsity and has covered Nebraska athletics for the magazine and web since 2012, Hail Varsity’s first season on the scene. His sports writing has also been featured by Fox Sports, The Guardian and CBS Sports.
