Offensive Line Training: Pass Sets, Run Blocks and Lifts

Pass protection: the kick slide and the punch

In pass protection your job is to stay between the rusher and the quarterback. Against a wide rusher, tackles use the kick slide: you get out of your stance at about a 45 degree angle, kicking the back foot and sliding the front foot after it, with your knees bent and your feet never coming together. Stay square as long as you can. Square shoulders are what let you close down a rusher who comes back inside.

Your hands do the blocking. The pass protection punch is a short strike aimed at the rusher's chest, with your hands kept close so they land inside the shoulders and your elbows tight. After each punch you give a little ground, get your balance back and punch again if the rusher comes back. Never give that ground to the outside. The inside lane is the shortest path to the quarterback, so you want the rusher going around you.

The mirror drill puts the feet and the eyes together: a partner moves side to side, changing direction at will, and you stay in front of them without reaching or crossing your feet.

The anchor: holding up against a bull rush

A speed rush tests your feet. A bull rush tests your base. Anchoring means sinking your hips to get a lower center of gravity and a better base to take the push. Former Pro Bowl lineman LeCharles Bentley coaches it as sinking the hips, not dropping the backside: once your knees bend to 90 degrees, your center of mass is too far behind you.

Bentley also prefers a slight bend in the elbows to fully locked arms when you're holding a power rusher, because arms pushed far from the body take your center of mass with them. 440 lists anchor next to maximal strength and hip drive as the line's strength emphasis, which is why the main lifts are heavy squats, presses and trap bar pulls in sets of 3 and 4.

Run blocking: drive, combo and down blocks

The drive block is the base one-on-one run block. Fire out of your 3-point stance on the snap with six to eight inch power steps, chest over your thighs and a flat back, and keep your hands inside the defender's torso. Short steps keep your feet under you; a long first step leaves you lunging.

A combo block is a double team on a down lineman with one blocker ready to climb to the linebacker. In Rick Trickett's inside zone teaching, the guard stays on the double team as long as possible and comes off to block the linebacker when the linebacker gets even with him. 440's cue is the same idea: hip to hip with your teammate, eyes on the linebacker.

A down block drives the defender inside you down the line toward the center, so the play can run outside the seal. Take a quick first step at 45 degrees with your inside foot, aim for the V of the defender's neck and make contact with your hands while your head and hips stay behind the punch. That is how coach Keith Grabowski teaches it on USA Football's coaching blog, and he tells coaches to stop teaching the old "head across the front" point: it puts the head and neck in a vulnerable position and makes the blocker lunge and lose balance. Your hands, not your helmet, are the blocking surface.

Pulling and the lineman's speed work

On a pull you leave your spot and run behind the line to lead the play, then either kick out a defender or turn upfield and block for the ball carrier. If you pull right, the first step is a hard step with the right foot back and to the right; to the left, it's the opposite. 440 trains this with a 15 yard pull-and-lead rep in the speed block, next to 10 yard 3-point starts and a kick slide ladder.

Body composition: mass you can move

440's body goal for linemen is mass with functional strength while managing body fat for mobility. Size helps you hold the line, but the plan asks you to kick slide, pull and recover from a missed punch with that size, so the goal is weight that moves well, not weight for its own sake. Accessories such as sled drives, a heavy farmer carry, neck harness work and incline dumbbell presses back up the main lifts.

Offensive Line drill menu

Position training references. The generated daily plan varies with equipment, phase, schedule and readiness. Each drill links to cues, common mistakes and a demo.

Offensive Line workout: main lift references

Accessories: Sled drive, Neck harness, Heavy farmer carry, Incline DB press.

These are baseline offseason prescriptions for experienced lifters. Teens should train with qualified supervision, begin with light technique work and progress only when form is consistent. Daily loads vary with level, phase and readiness. High-school and recreational plans cap percentage loads at 85% of estimated 1RM.

Protein target

440 sets offensive lines at 0.8 g of protein per pound of body weight per day.

• 160 lb128 g
• 180 lb144 g
• 200 lb160 g
• 220 lb176 g

Offensive Line training FAQ