Ladies, I have just had an epiphany after my last post. I feel as though I am doing exactly what everyone else is doing to us...just regurgitating a bunch of information and we are expected to understand it no questions asked. However, I realized I'm not being as helpful as I can be. So, in order to remedy this situation I have decided to relate football to OUR favorite pastime...shopping.
You really wanna understand the offensive line? Well, let's compare it to shopping.
Here's the scenario...imagine H&M is having a huge blowout sale and everything, yes EVERYTHING, in the store is 75% off. So you grab 10 of your closest friends and take off for the nearest H&M. On your way to the mall, you begin strategizing with your friends about how to tackle the feat that is a 75% off sale. What side to attack first, do we split up into teams, go at it all together, what clothes we really need, you know the drill. In this sense, you are acting as a Quarterback acts on the field, you are leading the troops and figuring out how best to penetrate H&M that will result in the greatest amount of clothes purchased. A Quarterback strategizes how to attack a defense in order to gain the most yards and ultimately score the most points.
The time has arrived you have finally made it to H&M so you and your friends take off running to try and beat the crowd. Unfortunately, you take 2 steps into the mall and realize everyone had the same idea as you and now you are left fending off the crowds for that most perfect party dress. Lucky for you, you guys come armed with plans, in football we call them plays, in order for you all to be successful. As you enter into H&M, you decide instead of breaking into groups (your original plan), you decide you all would be best served if you stay together, so you change the plan. This change of plan is what in football they call as an audible. The quarterback, after surveying the field realizes his team would be better off doing a different play than the one he originally called, so he changes it at the last minute.
Now that you and your girls are armed with your new play you decide to put it into action. Let's be honest we always have those 5 or 6 friends who come along on a HUGE shopping trip to just browse because they just don't have the money to spend on clothes. It's ok, we have all been that person before, and let's be honest these 5 or 6 friends make the best people to shop with because instead of looking for stuff for themselves they scour the racks helping YOU find the perfect shirt to go with your new skinny jeans. These friends will do whatever it takes, from just standing around racks keeping other people from getting through them, to pushing through everyone and their brother because they have spotted THE shirt. Their only goal is to help you find the perfect outfit and make sure that you are able to get wherever you want to get in the store as easily as possible. In a way these 5 to 6 friends are acting just like Offensive Linemen in football. In football, the offensive linemen sole goal is to protect the quarterback and make his job as easy as possible. Like your friends do for you when they block people from getting to the rack you are rushing for, linemen block the opposition so that the running backs can get through them and ultimately score touchdowns. A touchdown for you at H&M is totally snagging the last size M shirt for $4, well in football it's putting 7 points up on the scoreboard!
You and your friends are now in full shopping mode. You have made it into H&M and even landed a few amazing finds in the first 30 seconds so you are feeling good. While you have those 5 to 6 friends who are just along for the ride and making sure that all of your shopping needs are met, you still have 4 other friends who are working just as hard as you to find that killer outfit. Two of your friends immediately stay behind you, using you to and the 5 to 6 friends in front to push through the crowd and trusting in you to lead them in the right direction. They have similar tastes and preferences as you and they know that by following you, they will in no doubt land the perfect shirt just like you. Once you all have made the initial surge through the crowd, these 2 friends are the ones that, in some seemingly impossible way, slip through the 25 people in front of the rack and in 30 seconds emerge with shirts for everyone, donning the right size and color for each person in your group. Before you even have time to ask how in the world they squeezed through everyone, you are all on to your next mission, finding the perfect pair of pants to go with your newfound love. In many ways these 2 friends act like Running Backs on the football field. They initially hang back behind the quarterback, surveying the field and the way defense is set up, and then after the initial snap, they take off and find holes and gaps to squeeze through to gain yards. No one really knows how most Running Backs find these tiny holes and gaps, but we all love them for gaining the yards. Lord knows as ladies, we love these 2 friends when we shop, because they do the impossible, slip through the crowd, find the right size, and are back in 20 seconds.
Finally, this leaves your remaining 2 friends. They are the silent strikers as I like to call them. They usually walk by your 5 to 6 friends who are there just to shop, but they often stray one way or another after the initial surge of people. Whether it's a cute boy they spot by the window or a killer pair of heels, these 2 friends are the ones that always see past what we are all captivated by and instead come back with some of the greatest finds. These 2 friends act just like Wide Receivers in football. Wide Receivers are the big play makers and they are the ones that go down field and look for holes and gaps that the QB might not see right away. Like your friends who find the killer pair of heels marked down to $5, Wide Receivers are responsible for gaining 20, 30, even 40 yards on one pass play because they got down the field and open and the quarterback was able to hit them with a pass.
So, it's all in a days work for us girls when it comes to shopping and being strategic. We know just how to navigate through a store in order to get 3 pairs of pants, 5 shirts, 2 pair of heels, and a killer hat to top it all off for only $40. Well for football players it is all about putting the most points up on the scoreboard and keeping their quarterback safe. I bet you didn't think that one simple shopping example could teach you everything you need to know about offense in football!
Now stick with me, because tomorrow I will teach you how defense works using a simple scenario I'm sure we have all been exposed to before: a party where it just so happens your crush is attending.
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