The Bears had guards named Jay Leeuwenburg and Todd Perry. Leeuwenburg was listed at 294 pounds and Todd Perry. at 310. And in an era of road graders they were among the smaller guards in the NFL at the time
To back to present day: Sunday the Seahawks ran it against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The description is rather, well, nondescript:
All we know is that there was a running play that gained 13 years. But if you saw it, it has to put a smile on your face—if you are a football fan.
As you can see the two pullers were the left guard and the center. Back in the day it was almost always the guards who pulled. With Lombardi's Packers is was soon-to-be Hall of Famer Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston. The Seahawks used left guard Luke Joeckel and center Justin Britt. Both are former tackles but both can move very well. I am not sure why the Seahawks didn't use both guards, but there is no rule that says guards have to do the pulling. A center and a guard will do just fine.
So keep an eye out because it's a very pretty play to watch.
....though Lombardi teams are most known for the play; as you stated so well John, is a joy to watch no matter the team if done correctly. Key is the perimeter defender, thus the running back reads the block.
ReplyDeleteOne big reason the Packers ran it so effectively is that it began with a fake handoff to Jim Taylor, who then tied up the defensive end with a crab block so he couldn't penetrate. That freed the offensive tackle to block the MLB. Other teams couldn't run it that way because they didn't a fullback who could make that block consistently.
ReplyDelete