Archives for December 14, 2012

For Justin Smith and Aldon Smith this week, it’s all about the ‘grab.’ When they are on separate ends – Aldon Smith on the left and Justin Smith on the right – there is nothing to worry about there. But when they line up on the same side, that’s when you really have to game-plan for it and get your protection slid that way. Even if you do, Justin Smith does one of the oldest tricks in the book, something we used to do a long time ago. It’s a ‘game’ they run and it’s called a ‘TE’ stunt – the ’T’ is for tackle and the ‘E’ is for end. The ’T’ is the first letter because the tackle goes first, into the ‘B’ gap. And then the ‘E’ is the second letter because the end loops around the tackle. We used to call it a ‘ME’ game, because the defensive tackle would call it, looking to the defensive end while saying ‘me, me, me’ – as in ‘I go first’ into that gap. When that defensive tackle goes into that gap, you want to stay in between that guard and tackle and get penetration so your defensive end can loop around. It sounds simple to block, right? Well, this is what happens. Justin Smith, if he’s on the right side, when he gets into that gap he uses his left arm and gets under the armpit of the offensive guard and he grabs and holds. That stops the offensive lineman from being able to pass the penetrator over to the offensive tackle and switch to the looper. If the tackle has a fist full of jersey or an armpit, or he has the hand hooked, the guard can’t come off, and the end has a clear path to the quarterback. This is something Justin Smith does very well.