Blocking and Tackling
September 08, 2008 07:21 PM | General
The gurus and the wizards have made football more complicated than what it really is. Today we listen to people talk about schemes and formations and sophisticated terminology when at its essence football remains a simple game about blocking and tackling.
Just like when you played out in the backyard when you were a kid. Put the tall guy over to where the little guy is … put the fast kid on the slow kid … put the big kid on the little kid and give him the ball … go down to the fire hydrant and do a button hook - all things we can easily understand.
Legendary coach Vince Lombardi’s playbook consisted of just a handful of plays. His mantra: block and tackle better than your opponent. No team in professional football ever did it better.
That is what the Mountaineers did during their impressive three-year run from 2005-07, claiming three straight New Year’s Day bowl victories – they blocked and they tackled better than their opponents. On the two occasions when they didn’t last year against USF and Pitt the Mountaineers lost.
Last Saturday in Greenville, N.C., one team blocked and one team tackled better than the other.
Better blocking and tackling is what West Virginia is going to have to do next Thursday night when it travels to Colorado for its nationally televised game against the Buffs. Otherwise, the Mountaineers will not win the game.
It’s really as simple as that.
