Center, Guards and Tackles

[Heart of Oak]

Could someone tell me what the difference is between Center, Guard and Tackle, and in the case of the latter two, what is the difference between left and right.

I know how they line up and that the Center makes the snap, but what makes a player good at one of the three positions or suited to playing left or right.

An example is Lane Kiffin wanting to move Robert Gallery to Left Guard from Left Tackle, as he felt he was more suited to that position. How did he come to that conclusion, is it height and weight or is it speed and agility?

I, in my many years watching Football, have never fathomed that one out - note I am from the UK and therefore see most of my Football on the TV, which tends to concentrate on the backs and receivers of the offense.

[Omaha]

As a former center, it helps to be a bit shorter than your QB for throwing lanes. Have a low center of gravity and be built very broad. I have played the others but was more a traditional center, which is why I ended up there.

[or24]

Left Tackle requires quickness to prevent speed rushers from getting to the blindside of the qb. One of gallery's problems is that he has short arms.

[Omaha]

Originally Posted by or24

Left Tackle requires quickness to prevent speed rushers from getting to the blindside of the qb. One of gallery's problems is that he has short arms.

and those arms from what I am told are a result of a pituitary problem. If memory serves he has a size nine shoe at his size and none of the rest of his family is 6' tall

[dollar]

Originally Posted by Heart of Oak

Could someone tell me what the difference is between Center, Guard and Tackle, and in the case of the latter two, what is the difference between left and right.

I know how they line up and that the Center makes the snap, but what makes a player good at one of the three positions or suited to playing left or right.

An example is Lane Kiffin wanting to move Robert Gallery to Left Guard from Left Tackle, as he felt he was more suited to that position. How did he come to that conclusion, is it height and weight or is it speed and agility?

I, in my many years watching Football, have never fathomed that one out - note I am from the UK and therefore see most of my Football on the TV, which tends to concentrate on the backs and receivers of the offense.

Let me start from cero..

L: Left
R: Right
C: Center
T: Tackle
G: Guard

here's your conventional line-up:

LT --- LG --- C --- RG --- RT

Now, tackles will generally be taller, have longer arms, and good footwork. Guards will be shorter, with more bulk, more weight, yet quick in able to make pulls and traps etc. The center the shorter, yet smarter and needs to be the quickest one out of all to attack, because he needs to make sure to get the ball to the QB, which takes time, not a lot, but enough to make a difference if not done correctly.

Now, you'd like your tackle to have longer arms and better footwork because Defensive ends will most likely get around him, and he needs to be able to use his hands, move his feet, stay low, keep balance and keep himself strong, this that Gallery couldn't do.

Now a guard needs less footwork, he just needs to stay lower, and keep strength, because a DT will rarely get around you, so playing guard is a lot of strength, which is why Gallery was considered a top prospect.

Even though Gallery isn't your conventional guard due to height, he is because of his footwork and strength, plus his quickness (he used to play tight end, so his pulls are pretty quick).

Hope this helped at all.

[Heart of Oak]

Originally Posted by dollar

Let me start from cero..

L: Left
R: Right
C: Center
T: Tackle
G: Guard

here's your conventional line-up:

LT --- LG --- C --- RG --- RT

Now, tackles will generally be taller, have longer arms, and good footwork. Guards will be shorter, with more bulk, more weight, yet quick in able to make pulls and traps etc. The center the shorter, yet smarter and needs to be the quickest one out of all to attack, because he needs to make sure to get the ball to the QB, which takes time, not a lot, but enough to make a difference if not done correctly.

Now, you'd like your tackle to have longer arms and better footwork because Defensive ends will most likely get around him, and he needs to be able to use his hands, move his feet, stay low, keep balance and keep himself strong, this that Gallery couldn't do.

Now a guard needs less footwork, he just needs to stay lower, and keep strength, because a DT will rarely get around you, so playing guard is a lot of strength, which is why Gallery was considered a top prospect.

Even though Gallery isn't your conventional guard due to height, he is because of his footwork and strength, plus his quickness (he used to play tight end, so his pulls are pretty quick).

Hope this helped at all.

This was very useful, it has given me a basic on what the differences are.

Many thanks.