Posted on 09/17/2024 5:17:36 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Football doesn’t always have to be so violent, and this block from All-Pro Colts guard Quenton Nelson proved it.
Ask a football expert who the best guard in the NFL is, and Quenton Nelson will probably be the first name out of their mouth. The Indianapolis Colts invested the No. 6 overall pick on Nelson coming out of Notre Dame in the 2018 NFL Draft, and he’s exceeded every reasonable expectation during the start of his pro career. Nelson is a three-time First-Team All-Pro and a six-time Pro Bowl selection already who combines mauling run blocking with versatile and effective pass blocking.
As the Indianapolis Colts faced the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season, Nelson showed that he can still be menacing while also being respectful of his opponents. Watch this play where Colts QB Anthony Richardson rolls out of the pocket on a bootleg with Nelson pulling to protect his blindside. A Green Bay defender ran towards Richardson with his head facing the quarterback, going full speed into Nelson. This was a prime opportunity to deliver a decleating block that could have shown up on all the highlight reels as evidence of Nelson’s greatness. Instead, Nelson did the humane thing and gently put him down. Watch the play here:
This is an amazing block. It’s effective, it’s safe, and it shows a concern for your peers on the other team. Football is a violent game, but it doesn’t always have to be violent. Many of the bone-crushing hits that used to fill up highlight reels have no place in the game anymore. This block is just as successful as one that could have knocked the defender unconscious. Nelson showed care for his opponent without sacrificing anything for his team.
This is just another reason Nelson is the best in the business. There’s no one better to look up to for a young offensive lineman than Quenton Nelson.
I miss the old days when that Packer would have had his teeth rattling for a week by not looking around him for a possible blocker. The old “head on a swivel” warning.
The league is so soft.
Meh. It’s all fixed anyway.
He didn’t really do anything but just become a wall that they other dude bounced off of.
Nitschke?
In the old days, players weren’t 6’5”, 315 lbs and run a 4.9 40.
Very good point.
He really is extraordinarily good. I remember people thought it was overdrafting to take a guard that high.
I remember his rookie year, he threw an All Pro defensive lineman around like he was a rag doll. (I can’t recall which one now.) I saw him play in college, and I would have taken him there.
Plus the tough guys here have forgotten it’s 15 yards and expulsion for lightng up a player who can’t defend themselves
The game is going to die if they don't take steps to reduce injuries - lawsuits alone will kill it.
What nonsense.
There should be weight limits. Left tackle? No limit. Offensive Linemen? 275 lbs. Defensive line 250 lbs.
Linebackers? 225 lbs.
Tight ends/wide receivers 225 lbs.
Lawrence Taylor, Travis Kelce, etc are way too strong therefore they will be disqualified according to my rules.
Football was more like rugby at that time. Maybe that's what we need to get back to.
I think a pancake block is when the blocker runs over the man being blocked while the person being blocked falls on his back. Number 55 is a laughingstock for going down backwards so easy. Writer of report never played football.
The league now is just about “influence” blocking...i.e. getting in the way of the tackler.
Most tackles from defensive backs don’t “wrap up” the target..they just glance off the runner...thats why so many plays keep going. Crummy tackling. 3rd string stuff....
BTW...why do college players no longer wear knee or significant thigh or hip pads...why do their pant legs stop above the knee? They look like they are wearing cut-off “tights”. Some one called the game “basketball on grass”..Their shoulder pads are reminiscent of the “shoulder pad” look in womens blouses in the late 80’s.
In my humble opinion, Lawrence Taylor was THE greatest football player I ever saw. I watched him a lot in my days as a fan of the New York Giants. And seeing highlight segments of him years after he retired has only elevated my opinion of him. He had a combination of size, speed and tenacity that is rare even in the NFL. And he was perhaps the most relentless player you’ll ever see, with a pain threshold that was beyond human.
And yet one thing tower stands out about his highlight films is that he rarely ever hit people really hard. His style play was more akin to a predatory animal like a lion or tiger, chasing opposing players down, getting a tenacious hold of them, and using his strength and weight to drag them to the ground like a helpless zebra or gazelle.
Exactly, put the fear of GAWD in the rusher. I would change his perspective forever.
My nephew, at 6’4’ 275 was considered too light to play center in college. He was a muscular 275 not a blob.
My son is 6’2”, 275 and is being heavily recruited by D2, D3 and Ivey Legue schools. They’ll put 15-20 pounds on him. We wish he was 6’4”. He’d be seeing some action from D1 schools if that was the case.
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