Watch enough Friday night film and you’ll see the same play repeat itself. A linebacker squares up on a bigger offensive lineman, gets popped off the ball, and the running back cuts right through the hole that lineman just created.
That’s not a heart problem. That’s a block destruction technique problem, and it’s coachable.
At the high school and youth level, the size gap between your linebacker and the offensive line you’re facing is often bigger than it is at the college or pro level. That makes block destruction technique the single most important fundamental you can install at the position, because want-to alone doesn’t hold up against 80 extra pounds.
What Is The Block Destruction Technique In Football?
Block destruction technique is the process a defender uses to defeat a blocker rather than trying to run around him, so he can get off the block and make the tackle. For linebackers, it breaks down into three phases: staggered footwork to create an anchor, hand placement and arm extension to control the blocker, and a disengage to shed the block and get to the ball.
In this article, we’ll break down each phase of block destruction technique step by step, show you the drills we actually run at practice to install it, and cover the specific adjustment smaller linebackers need to beat bigger offensive linemen. If you want the full position breakdown beyond just this skill, check out our complete guide to coaching linebackers as well.
How Do You Teach Linebackers To Shed Blocks?
We teach block destruction technique in three phases, in this order, every time: feet, extension, disengage. Skip a phase and the whole thing breaks down, because each one sets up the next. Here’s how we sequence it in install.
- Get the feet staggered so there’s an anchor point behind the linebacker before contact.
- Strike and extend the arms to control the blocker’s chest before he controls yours.
- Disengage by pulling the blocker off balance and clearing the backside arm to get to the ball.
Phase 1: Staggered Footwork For Block Destruction Technique
Some coaches teach a square stance going into contact. We don’t, and here’s why. At the high school and youth level, the offensive lineman your linebacker is squaring up on is almost always bigger, both in height and weight. If your linebacker’s feet are even, there’s no anchor behind him. The moment he punches and extends against a blocker of equal or greater size, that blocker has nothing to push against and simply drives him backward. That’s how pancake blocks happen.
Staggered footwork fixes this. One foot sits behind the other before contact, so the back leg becomes an anchor point. When the linebacker strikes and starts running his feet, he’s pushing off that back leg like it’s a starting block, not getting driven off two flat feet.
When I install this with my linebackers at Bellingham, I use an old set of shoulder pads strapped to a sled. We have the kid get into his staggered stance, punch the pads, and then run his feet through it. It sounds simple, but repping the stagger against resistance is what makes it automatic on Friday night, because a linebacker won’t think about his feet in the moment. He’ll just do what he’s drilled a hundred times.
Phase 2: Hand Placement And Arm Extension
Once the feet are set, hand placement and extension are what actually control the blocker. Here’s a cue you can test right now: lock your elbow out with your thumb pointed up. Have someone push on your forearm. It barely moves, because a locked, extended arm with the thumb up acts like a steel rod.
Now turn your thumb in. Have someone push on that same arm. Your elbow bends immediately, because a bent arm with the thumb in has no structure behind it.
That’s the difference between winning and losing the initial strike. We want our linebackers to punch up and through the blocker’s frame, thumbs up, elbows locking out, and then extend all the way through the block. Once that extension is achieved, the linebacker is controlling the blocker’s chest instead of the blocker controlling his pads. Good offensive linemen want to get inside your linebacker’s frame and grab jersey. Extension is what denies them that.
The mistake I see youth coaches make here is teaching the punch as a single event, one strike and done. It’s not. It’s a punch into a sustained extension. If the arms come back in after the initial strike, a bigger lineman will close the distance and grab hold, and now your linebacker has no way to disengage.
Phase 3: Disengage And Shed The Block
This is the piece that actually finishes the block destruction technique, and it’s the piece most coaches skip teaching altogether. Once your linebacker has pushed the blocker’s chest backward and locked out his arms, that blocker’s body is naturally going to fight to come back forward. Use that.
The disengage sequence is push to lock out, pull, then rip or arm-over. Your linebacker grabs the shoulder pad on the side he has leverage, pulls it down and toward himself so the blocker’s body starts to rotate with him, and then clears the opposite arm with a rip or an arm-over to shed off the block completely and get his eyes back to the ball.
If your linebacker doesn’t disengage and just leaves that back shoulder hanging open, a lineman who’s still engaged can recover, grab that backside shoulder, and torque your linebacker completely out of the play. I’ll say this to every coaching staff I talk to: go back and watch the film on any block your linebacker lost. Nine times out of ten, it’s because he left that back shoulder open instead of finishing the rip. For a deeper look at finishing blocks specifically at the point of attack, our post on how to block destruct as a linebacker walks through additional shed footwork you can pair with this.
What Drills Improve Block Destruction For Linebackers?
You don’t install block destruction technique with a walkthrough. It has to be drilled against resistance so the footwork and hand placement become instinct under contact. A few drills we build into our script every week:
- Sled stagger drill – Old shoulder pads mounted on a sled. The linebacker sets his staggered stance, strikes, extends, and runs his feet through the pads. This is the drill we filmed with our own players to teach the stagger.
- Chop and punch drill – Rapid hand strikes on a bag to build quick, thumb-up punches instead of a slow, looping punch that gives a lineman time to grab first.
- Stun and slip – The linebacker delivers the strike (the stun), then works a rip or arm-over off a shoulder (the slip) to simulate the disengage phase against a moving partner.
- Two-man shed drill – A blocker drives on the linebacker at half speed, and the linebacker has to work all three phases in sequence: stagger, extend, disengage, before finding the ball.
If your linebackers are also playing off blocks in space rather than attacking them, it’s worth pairing this install with our breakdown of the linebacker wall off technique, since the hand placement principles carry over even when the leverage rules change.
How Do Smaller Linebackers Beat Bigger Offensive Linemen?
This is where the staggered stance earns its keep. I’ve coached linebackers at 5’10 or 5’11 who lined up across from offensive tackles pushing 6’2 or 6’3 with 80 to close to 100 pounds on them. Square feet don’t survive that matchup. Staggered feet do, because the anchor leg gives your linebacker something to push off of even when he’s giving up size and strength.
We actually broke down an NFL clip from the Saints next to our own practice film to show this. The pro player lined up with square feet, and because he’s an NFL athlete with elite hip explosion, he still worked his way to a staggered position mid-rep and won the block. But watch closely: even he ends up staggered by the time he’s disengaging. That’s the point we make to our kids. If an NFL athlete needs to get staggered to win the rep, a high school linebacker giving up 80 pounds needs to start there. Don’t make your smaller linebacker fight his way into good footwork mid-block. Start him in it.
This is also where two-gapping principles matter. A linebacker anchoring against a bigger blocker isn’t always trying to win outright, sometimes he’s trying to hold his gap until help arrives.
If your scheme asks linebackers to anchor and control rather than fully shed, our guide on coaching the heavy technique is a natural next step.
Common Mistakes
- Square feet at contact. This is the number one issue we see on film. No anchor means no push, and against a bigger lineman it ends in a pancake. Fix it by drilling the stagger in isolation before ever adding a blocker.
- Thumbs down at the punch. A bent elbow gives a blocker something to grab. Cue “thumbs to the sky” every single rep until it’s automatic.
- Punching once and stopping. The punch has to turn into sustained extension. If your linebacker’s arms come back to his body after contact, he’s invited the lineman to close the gap.
- Leaving the back shoulder open. Skipping the rip or arm-over is why linebackers get recovered on and taken out of the play. Every rep should finish with a cleared backside arm, not just a stalemate.
- Coaching effort instead of technique. Telling a kid to “want it more” doesn’t fix bad footwork. Film the rep, freeze it at contact, and show him exactly where his feet and hands were.
Coach’s Takeaway
Block destruction technique isn’t one move, it’s a sequence: stagger the feet for an anchor, strike and extend to control the blocker, then pull and rip to disengage. Skip any one phase and a bigger offensive lineman will win the rep. Install it in that order, drill it against resistance every week, and give your undersized linebackers the staggered stance from the jump instead of making them find it mid-block.
FAQ
What is block destruction in football?
Block destruction is the technique a defender, most often a linebacker or defensive lineman, uses to defeat a blocker and get to the ball carrier instead of running around the block. It combines footwork, hand placement, and a disengage to shed the blocker.
How do you coach hand placement for linebackers?
Coach a thumbs-up, elbows-locked punch that drives up and through the blocker’s frame, followed by full arm extension. A locked-out arm with the thumb up creates a rigid structure that’s far harder for a blocker to bend or grab than a punch thrown with the thumb turned in.
What is the stun and slip technique?
Stun and slip is a two-part drill sequence where the defender delivers the initial punch (the stun) to control the blocker, then works a rip or arm-over off one shoulder (the slip) to disengage and locate the ball. It’s a direct rep for the disengage phase of block destruction technique.
How do smaller linebackers beat bigger offensive linemen?
Smaller linebackers win with a staggered stance that creates an anchor leg, full arm extension to control the blocker’s chest before he controls theirs, and a quick disengage. Starting in a staggered stance, rather than fighting into one mid-block, is the single biggest technique edge for an undersized linebacker.
For more on rule structure and player safety standards that shape how contact is taught at the high school level, the NFHS football rules resources are worth a coach’s time. And if you want to dig into the strength and force-production side of why extension and hip drive matter so much in a block, the National Strength and Conditioning Association publishes research coaches can pull from when building their off-season program.
If you’re building out your linebacker install from the ground up, our post on coaching linebackers to blitz is a natural next stop once block destruction technique is locked in, since the footwork principles carry over into attacking gaps downhill.