Read Blocks to Avoid Football Tackle

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Sean Hobson, for Expert Village. What we want to talk about now is trying to keep our running backs from being tackled and not being hit hard. One of the best ways to avoid a tackle is to read the linemen in front of you. You will always have an assignment when you are a running back. Such as where you're going to take the hand off and where you're going to run to. Whether you're going to run to the right side of the line, the left side of the line, whether you're going to go through the three, five, or seven hole. The main thing you have to read is how your linemen or tight ends are blocking for you. We're going to have our linebackers coming down to make a stop on our running back. Our running back has to read how the block is being made (video demo). You can see he's turning him to the outside so our running back is going to read it and he's going to turn it up inside to avoid the tackle. If our running back continues to the outside he pushes him to the inside to make the tackle. If this guy blocks to the inside our running back is going to come right off his hip through that hole and he's going to have a successful hole. If the running back makes up his own mind and does his own thing and doesn't read how the line is blocking for him he's going to have a tough time. If he uses his linemen he'll be a successful running back and most importantly, he'll avoid the tackles."