Pad level
What it is
The height of a player's shoulder pads at contact. The lower pads win, because force travels up the spine.
Why it matters
Pad level is leverage in the vertical sense, and it is the first thing a line coach looks at on film because it explains most losses without any other information. Low pads let a player deliver force through his hips into the man in front of him; high pads mean the force goes over the top and the player is the one being lifted. It is a hips-and-ankles problem rather than a back problem — the cue 'bend your knees, not your waist' exists because bending at the waist lowers the head without lowering the pads, and costs vision at the same time. The common tell is a lineman who is low off the ball and rises on the second step, which is where a bull rush or a double team actually gets won.
Also called
Programs call this pads, low man wins, get under him, hat under the chin or knee bend. 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.