Climb to the second level
What it is
Releasing off a double team or a covered defender to block a linebacker.
Why it matters
Climbing is the timing skill at the heart of zone blocking, and the most common film correction on any offensive line: release early and the down lineman wins, release late and the linebacker runs past you. The cue is to climb when the linebacker declares his gap, not on a count — and to arrive with the correct shoulder, since the side you take decides which way the back can cut.
Both sides of it
Running it
Stay on the down lineman until his movement is secured, feel the linebacker's flow, then take the shoulder that keeps him from the ball. Do not lunge — a missed climb is worse than a late one, because a lunging blocker takes himself out of both blocks.
Stopping it
Linebackers beat climbs with timing rather than strength: arriving downhill while the blocker is still on the double team means being blocked by nobody, and shuffling laterally means being blocked by everybody. Defensive linemen help by fighting pressure so the combo cannot separate cleanly.
Also called
Programs call this climb, come off, get to the backer or second level. The Coach answers to any of them.
Related
This entry is authored, not generated. It is one of 205 in the index that the AI-ssistant Coach retrieves from, and that Film Study tags clips against.