Good ESPN blog post on UM WR blocking and Hecklinski's approach to it
Rothstein even snagged a couple of good quotes from opposing B1G DB's on how effectively our receivers block. I really should pay more attention to this facet of the game. I think it's highly underrated, and it certainly doesn't often make the highlights.
http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=collegesmichigan&id=13734&src=desktop&wjb
“They act as if they are more excited to block than they are to catch a pass,” Minnesota safety Brock Vereen said. “Sadly, I’m not even exaggerating.”
Nice article; thanks for posting.
Reminds me of the vid posted last year of the collegiate WR who was completely allergic to blocking. Forget who it was, but it certainly won't happen to a Michigan WR, lest Walter Smith comes back to Ann Arbor to personally kick their unblocking arse.
I think it was someone from VT, and man was it painful to watch.
Thanks for the hint:
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-virginia-tech-wr-marcus-davis-blocking
By "know" I mean, I live in the area and attended every VT home game last year and I work in college athletics...so VT is all people talk about around here. He is indeed lazy. Very talented kid, could've been an All-American with his attributes, but 6'3, 220, built like a tank and a face that the ladies love...he always had other things on his mind. Freak athlete, just never wanted to put it together on the football field. Ask any Hokie fan and he may be the most frsutrating player they've seen in 15 years.
"Hecklinski rarely sees live what he teaches accomplished in games. Perched in the coaches’ box, his in-game job is to watch the interior of the offensive line against the linebackers, so he only knows the exploits of his receivers when they tell him on the headset between series. They’ll celebrate pancaking a cornerback or hitting their general goal of combined double-digit knockdowns every game." - from the article
First and foremost, thanks for sharing this article. It's great to get some insight into what the individual position groups are run through on a weekly basis. It was neat to read that they actually incorporate some of the OL drills in order to drive blocking skills, and even better, it was also nice to see them getting some praise from a couple DBs in the Big Ten as well for those skills too.
the kind of beautiful minutiae we enjoy hearing in the work up to the season! Great find and great read. Thanks!
WR blocking is something I look for, and it's clearly critical in turning 10 yard gains into TDs. It also seems to be becoming far more important with changes to the college game.
Even in our MANBALL offense, WR blocking is a bigger part of the offense given the changes in how defenses play, the increased use of slot receivers, increased number of nickel/dime packages and the increased importance of safeties in many D schemes. WR blocking now can be the difference between a big gain and a TFL with DBs more and more responsible for holding the edge.
mistaken post, move along.
August 7th, 2013 at 11:33 AM ^
very insightful
You can almost see the thought bubbles over the heads of the coaches in the audience... "WTF is the deal with that douchey MSU dickbag?" "Shut your Sparty piehole and let us get back to Heck's informative presentation" "Jesus, what an assclown!"