Tackling

“ Work with the tackling dummy can be done in the same manner, although the dummy teaches no more than the form of a dive, while the effectiveness which makes the players a stone wall on defense can be learned only by tackling live, dodging runners. ”

“ Playing football, I used to notice how towards the end of a game I might be sore and weary, without a kick in my body; but when I had a straight job of tackling a man my strength miraculously returned. ”

“ And this first lesson is tackling. Perhaps the picture on the opposite page will remind you of the time you taught your boys the good old game.
This particular kind of football instinct has produced many of the finest players the colleges have ever seen. In a real football family there isn't much bluffing as to what you can do nor are there many excuses for a fumble or a missed tackle. With your big brothers' ears open and their tongues ready with a caustic remark, it doesn't need "Pop's" keen eye to keep you within the realms of truth as to the length of your run or why you missed that catch. ”

“ In tackling, a back must be quick in turning, so that if the forward beats him he has a chance of over-taking his opponent. This has always been a strong point in the play of all our greatest backs, and should be cultivated by all those who wish to succeed. To the uninitiated it seems that when the ball comes to a back he should return it vigorously, and nothing more. ”

“ A particularly important phase of the tackling is daily work in sending the team down the field under punts.
A group which requires small groups of players at a time is the charging machine. From five to ten minutes of this work daily, especially with the forwards, will effectually strengthen the straight-arm work of the linesmen, and will quicken the slow men until the entire line springs into action as one player. ”

“ The man doing the tackling will avoid injury by making his tackle sure and breaking his fall with the man tackled. If others pile on, he should remember to keep his feet and legs behind him. The runner need not be hurt if he will fall forward and upon the ball when he is thrown. It is only the man who is thrown backwards who is likely to be hurt. ”

“ Fouls.—All rough play such as hitting, pushing, tackling, etc., propelling the ball with both hands at the same time, picking up the ball and throwing it, kicking the ball, or blocking with any part of the body except the hand. ”

“ Candidates for the teams are put through a severe course of practice in catching punts and hard-thrown passes, in quick starts, falling on the ball, tackling a mechanical dummy, in blocking, breaking through the line, and all kinds of kicking, although in matches the kicking is generally left to one or two men who have shown themselves particularly expert. ”

“ Second has the ball on its own twenty-yard line, and is trying to save its goal. You fellows on second hustle with all your might to get the ball through the ranks of the first, or School eleven. Fight for all you're worth to get that ball on the go and keep it going! You fellows of the first, or School eleven, I want to see what you can do with real tackling. ”

“ The tackler should, in that case, chase the runner to within about his length, then take a sudden spring into him, getting his arms well around the runner. He has simply to hold on, dragging like an anchor, and the struggle or impetus of the runner in the opposite direction brings him down. In making the side dive tackle the tackler should dive so as to get his head and shoulders in front of the runner, or across the line of his direction, and get his arms well around him, then rolling over so that his body or chest shall impede the runner's progress if he should shake him. See Fig. ”

“ Right tackle seems the destination of more than half the plays which our men start, and they gain steadily. From the kick-off the ball is taken straight up the field, the backs handling the oval cleanly and the interference being well nigh perfect. The tackle who is bearing the brunt of the terrific attack lies prostrate on the ground after every play and is plainly weakening under the human bombardment. On his own 30-yard line the visitors' captain calls a halt. ”

“ The tackle should go nearly straight, so as to protect the centre of the field, the ends taking care of the sides.
The great bulk of the tackle's work is on the defensive. His duty is to tackle everything in sight. Clean, sharp breaking through is imperative in a tackle. The first thing a tackle should do when he steps into the line on the defence, is to notice his opponent's style of blocking, and adapt his method of breaking through accordingly.
Plays directed on the tackle call for great judgment and great strength. The tackle should, if possible, shove his man back and into the play. ”

“ To do all that is required of him, a tackle must have the speed of an end and the aggressiveness and all-round ability of a good back. It is needless to say that he must have courage, weight, strength and wonderful endurance to fulfil the requirements of his position. ”

“ If he would only hit them, or skin them by inches, or shoot at them, they wouldn’t mind it so much; but when you get on the field with him and realize that if you miss a tackle he is going to get you out before the whole gang and tell you what a great mistake the Creator made when He put joints in your arms instead of letting them stick out stiff as they do any other signpost, you’re not going to miss that tackle, that’s all. ”

“ A very important part of the tackle's work is on the defense, where he should exemplify everything that his name implies. He should tackle all the time and all over the field. He should break through and tackle behind the line, and should never be denied. ”

“ Tackle.—If there is any one position in the line harder to play than another, that position is tackle. The tackle must look out for territory on both sides of him, and be ready to help either guard or end, as the emergency requires. The great majority of the plays are aimed at him. His constant study must be how to meet each particular play in every style of offence. He should stand about four feet from his guard, and should not allow himself to be drawn out further than six feet; the wider his line is drawn out, the weaker it will be and the more territory he will have to cover. ”

“ With tears in his eyes and sobbing like a little child, the unfortunate tackle wraps a blanket about him and is guided off the field, while a substitute, wild with joy at his chance, rushes in to take his phace. ”

“ In defending his territory against trick plays, the best and only advice that can be given to a tackle is to keep the eyes open, notice the alignments of the opposing back's, the way they stand, their facial expression, and movement, and try to divine which way the ball is going. When the opposing side is going to kick, the tackle should spread a little so as to give himself a better chance of getting through. ”

“ If there is no one to coach and no good player to practise against, the new men should work on each other.
Water-polo holds are a good deal a matter of individuality; each man builds up a set of his own, but one tackle and one break will serve as a foundation for all.
To learn the tackle, give your coworker the ball and let him come toward you. When he's a couple of feet off, take a good, hard stroke, lift yourself as high out of the water as you can throw your arm around his neck, and pulling his head down until it is jammed hard against your chest, wind your legs around his body. ”

“ The tackle shouid watch the opposing backs very carefully, as he can often tell, by some movement or expression before the play is started, where it is to hit the line, and so be greatly helped in the endeavor to stop it. ”

“ Guards play to the center, low, hard and stalling, not knifing through. Tackles fight their way into the play through opposing end. Ends play as close as possible, often not over two yards outside their own tackle and tear into every play smashing the interference and hurrying passes. Center and full play about three yards behind tackle, usually a trifle inside and wait until they diagnose the play, [Pg 25] then meet it. These men must be the best tacklers on the team and fast, for if the tackles and ends accomplish their work these men have their opportunity. ”

“ He and the end must learn to work together in boxing an opposing tackle or in opening holes through the opposing line. The tackle must always remember that he is responsible for the hole or opening between himself and his own guard. He must also remember that it is his duty to block the inside man of the opposing line, for often the opposing guard moves out very wide or one of the enemy's backs takes a position in the opposing line inside of tackle. This player then becomes the inside man and should be taken care of by the tackle, who should let his own end care for the opposing tackle. ”

“ An effective tackle, shown in one of the illustrations which accompany this chapter, is one made from behind. This is frequently possible when a forward has broken through the line just behind the path of the play. It is also employed in the open field when a runner has passed the first line of defense and is going down the field. ”

“ A RESCUE FROM THE LIGHT.
Now the keeper and his assistants can do something, and they move with the rapidity of men whose wits are accustomed to the emergencies of the deep. Projecting from one side of the house is an iron arm, at the end of which hang a block and tackle. This is used for hoisting supplies from the boat which brings them off. Quickly a line is fastened around the hook at the bottom of the tackle. ”

“ Tackles—The defensive tackles line up on the outside eye of the offensive tackles, and they aim for a spot one yard deep in the offensive backfield behind the inside foot of the offensive tackles. Each tackle is responsible for the hand-off play to his side, making the tackle or forcing the dive play to the inside so our middle linebacker can make the tackle. ”

“ The tackle is lowered, and as the spar drives against one of the stout iron legs of the light-house one of the two men catches the rope, and is quickly hauled up to the gallery. At once the tackle is lowered again, and the other man is hauled up. Half blind, half drowned, staggering with exhaustion, they are taken into the house where warm drinks and dry clothing revive them. ”

“ The tackle is the "work horse" of the eleven. He is called upon to stop most of the plays of the opponents, since nine-tenths of their attack is aimed at his position or just outside of him. On offense, in the various "tackle-back" or "tackle-over" plays that are so extensively used in the present development of the game, he is required to head the interference or to plunge through the line with the ball like a full back. He has become the important man in every play, and success and failure depend on how he performs his duties. ”

“ As a general thing your position on defence is a foot or so outside the opposing end player, although there are one or two formations when that isn't so. Another thing I noticed was that, while you watched the ball well, you were liable to let the other man get the jump on you. As soon as the ball is snapped, Thayer, get busy with your arms. There are two main factors in the playing of a tackle position. One is head and the other is arms. Use your head all the time and your arms most of the time. ”

“ The tackle should always be how enough, however, to pin the legs of the runner together, thereby bringing him to earth. The resistance of the runner as he falls will protect the tackler from any possible injury from striking the ground, as the runner will act as a buffer. ”

“ And with that I caught at the tackle and gave a tug on the ropes to test them, and as they held I swung to them to slide down—and the moment that my full weight was on them they snapped like punk, and down I went feet foremost and struck on the tiers of boxes with a bang. As I fell only a little way, and upon a level surface—for I went clear of the box to which the tackle was made fast—no harm came to me; but under my feet I felt the rotten wood going squashily, and then beneath it something firm and hard. ”

“ When the last luff was hooked on, all hands were called to the rope-cook, steward, and all—and ranging ourselves at the falls, one behind the other, sitting down on the hides, with our heads just even with the beams, we set taught upon the tackles, and striking up a song, and all lying back at the chorus, we bowsed the tackles home, and drove the large books chock in out of sight. ”

“ As regards the relations between the tackle and guard, they are best defined by saying that the guard expects to receive the assistance of the tackle in all cases requiring agility, while in cases requiring weight the guard is equally ready to lend assistance to the tackle.
When his own side has the ball, the tackle has far more than the end to do. In fact, the tackle has the most responsible work of any man along the line, having more openings to make, and at the same time the blocking he has to perform is more difficult. ”

“ A runner tackle is the same as a luff tackle, applied to the end of a large rope, called a runner, which is rove through a single block attached to a fixed point, or to a body that is to be moved, or raised ”

“ Look over and test your tackle every time you are going fishing—yes, and every time it gets caught on a stone or stump or in the bushes—if you wish to escape the loss of your best fish. All this means that tackle to be safe must be sound—that is, good all through. A line, for instance, which is strong in one place and weak in another will give you more trouble than one which is not so strong but uniform.
The strain upon the tackle is equalized by the elasticity of the rod, which to some extent makes up for want of dexterity. ”