The Toughest Position in Football Is... Guard?
Over the next couple weeks, we will be asking current and former NFL players to explain why the position they play is the toughest on the field—mentally, physically, or just all-around. And today we look at one of the most commonly overlooked positions on the field, the guy you only tend to notice when he makes a stupid penalty: guard.
Guard is the least glamorous position on the offensive line, which if we're being honest, is the least glamorous unit in professional football. A successful guard is someone who keeps his name out of the stat sheet and who protects his quarterback and running back, allowing them to pile up gaudy numbers. The guard carries his lunch pail and puts in his time, except he spends all day battling it out with other 350-pound behemoths who want nothing more than to ram him into the turf en route to killing his quarterback. As an all-pro with the Baltimore Ravens for four straight seasons, Marshal Yanda is one of the best at his mostly anonymous position. As you may suspect, he loves the trench warfare.
When the game's on the line, pass blocking is the toughest thing. In a two-minute situation, they have all pass rushers in there. The biggest reason it's so hard is that it's an obvious passing situation. It's like 90 percent pass, 10 percent run. The defense knows that it's a pass. They don't have to worry about their run reads or anything else except rushing the passer. Pinning their ears back and rushing the passer. Beating me one-on-one.
Traditionally, the tackles have been the pass protectors, but nowadays, a lot of team defenses put pass rushers on the guards, too. You get J.J. Watt or Geno Atkins trying to rush the guards, taking advantage of us. They don't leave any stone unturned as far as getting after the passer.
Not that run blocking is easy. When you're pulling around, you have to be able to read the block, find the hole, and get to the backer [you're supposed to block]. That's tough, too. But at this level, every block is hard. Guys get paid on the other side, too. Pulling is a thing that you have to do a bunch to get a feel for, and you have to have good vision, too.
In our first preseason game, we had a 16-play drive. We went 85 yards and scored. We were tired. But I feel like if we are tired, the defense is more tired than we are. And that's an advantage for us. The way Coach Harbaugh runs training camp, we get a ton of reps and we're in really good shape. We get a little gassed. If we're breathing hard, they're sucking wind. That's what you like to see because that takes the air out of their pass rush. We're cutting them on the backside and they have to get off the ground. I feel like that's an advantage for us. The more plays we run, the more the defense gets tired. We get tired too, but it means we're moving the ball.
In the end, we're all important. It takes all five offensive linemen to mesh as a group. Guards are probably the least glamorous. But that doesn't bother me. I'm just happy to be out there, doing my job at a high level. I don't worry about that. But I would agree that it's the least glamorous position—us and the long snapper.
This article is part of The Code, an editorial partnership between Esquire and Ford F-150.
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