left guard - right guard....what's the difference?

[oldunclemark]

The question comes up because Quenton Nelson of Notre Dame has started 3 years for ND at left guard..

Will Hernandez..(No. 2 prospect at guard) has played 4 years at left guard at Texas El Paso.

If you draft either boy, can you put him at right guard if that's where the need  is?

 

1.) How big is the difference between left guard and right guard and exactly what is the difference. ?

2.) If you have played LG all your career, how easy is it to move to RG? 

3.) Its probably a mistake to draft a right tackle and try to play him on the left side. Is it a mistake to do the same with a guard?

 

 

    ..any coaches or linemen out there? 

[Stillen]

Essentially, you want the left side to be more athletic to be suited for pass blocking because its the QB's blindside because most are right handed. The right side in turn becomes more of the run blocking side because they're "less athletic" and don't move as well laterally, etc than the left. The transition from right to left and vice-versa for guard is less intense and more seamless than for tackles because you have an open side.

[oldunclemark]

13 minutes ago, Stillen said:

Essentially, you want the left side to be more athletic to be suited for pass blocking because its the QB's blindside because most are right handed. The right side in turn becomes more of the run blocking side because they're "less athletic" and don't move as well laterally, etc than the left. The transition from right to left and vice-versa for guard is less intense and more seamless than for tackles because you have an open side.

Makes sense.

Is that why teams with right handed QBs don't have left handed backup QBs,.? Maybe that's why there are few lefty QBs, right?

 

I'm safe to conclude that a left guard could play the right side much more easily than a right guard could play the left side?

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2018 by oldunclemark

[aaron11]

3 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Is that why teams with right handed QBs don't have left handed backup QBs,.? Maybe that's why there are few lefty QBs, right?

 

 

 

left handed QBs are just rare peroid

 

lots of articles out there speculating why, but no one really knows 

[oldunclemark]

5 minutes ago, aaron11 said:

left handed QBs are just rare peroid

 

lots of articles out there speculating why, but no one really knows 

Baseball is a right handed game...obviously

You cant play the infield (except for first base) if you are left handed.

There are no left-handed catchers because most batters are rightys and would make a throw to second base more difficult..

 

Is football a 'right handed' game?. Is blocking a side dominant thing?

In other words..If you are right handed, do you naturally block more effectively going right?

Is that another reason why good left tackles are rare?.

Edited April 1, 2018 by oldunclemark

[SaturdayAllDay]

3 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Baseball is a right handed game...obviously

You cant play the infield (except for first base) if you are left handed.

There are no left-handed catchers because most batters are rightys and would make a throw to second base more difficult..

 

Is football a 'right handed' game?. Is blocking a side dominant thing?

In other words..If you are right handed, do you naturally block more effectively going right?

Is that another reason why good left tackles are rare?.

For blocking, sort of yes, but mostly no. Because of the way you block in pass protection, you typically want to have your inside foot forward a bit in your stance, so as to make the inside rush harder and push to the outside (this is more noticeable with OTs, but happens with OGs as well). People have dominant hands/feet and feel more comfortable with one foot forward over the other (at least at first), but I found even by the High school level Id become comfortable in my stance on either side of the line. Just took a bit of time/practice to get used to it.

 

It shouldnt really matter at an NFL level what hand you are when it comes to playing LT. Its more about being matched up against the top pass rusher on the other team that makes it hard, plus the fact that the QB has times when he cant see the rush coming, and cant take the proper action to avoid the rush, leaving you on a bit of an island out there by yourself. 

[LockeDown]

We know it's not only possible, but expected from some line coaches..,i.e. Howard Mudd, our old line coach from the Manning era. 

[crazycolt1]

Thisis an interesting topic from the QB side of it.

Mike Vick and Tim Tebow were both left handed and didn't make it in the NFL for long.

But then you have Mark Brunell, Ken Stabler, Boomer Esiason and Steve Young.

Maybe it's the 'modern' football?

 

[aaron11]

one theory ive read is that left handed throwers would rather be on a pitchers mound 

 

 

[Fisticuffs111]

Josh Sitton had a pretty funny answer in regards to #2, said switching from LG to RG is "like trying to wipe your a__ with the other hand"

[The Peytonator]

‘The difference between playing right and left guard is like try to wipe your * with your opposite hand.’ - Josh Sitton 

[The Peytonator]

Just now, Fisticuffs111 said:

Josh Sitton had a pretty funny answer in regards to #2, said "it's like trying to wipe your * with your other hand"

 

Hahahaha 

 

You best me by about a half second on that quote. 

[atapcl]

Top linemen should be able to do switch but as said above some adjustments to hand and foot placement must be mastered.

[oldunclemark]

1 hour ago, The Peytonator said:

‘The difference between playing right and left guard is like try to wipe your * with your opposite hand.’ - Josh Sitton 

That's what I'm referring to....

...I wonder if being left handed helps you be a better-than-average left tackle...

Not that you cant play the position if you are a righty..only that it comes more naturally to you.

 

When the scouting reports say that Nelson's natural position is left guard....do they mean hes left handed..or just that he's athletic enough to pull and get to the right side?

 

..or is it just that he's always played there..so the lazy observation is to say its his natural position..

Edited April 1, 2018 by oldunclemark

[oldunclemark]

1 hour ago, crazycolt1 said:

Thisis an interesting topic from the QB side of it.

Mike Vick and Tim Tebow were both left handed and didn't make it in the NFL for long.

But then you have Mark Brunell, Ken Stabler, Boomer Esiason and Steve Young.

Maybe it's the 'modern' football?

 

That's a good thought......Is there a left-handed starting QB in the NFL now?

..are there any at all?

[oldunclemark]

1 hour ago, aaron11 said:

one theory ive read is that left handed throwers would rather be on a pitchers mound 

 

 

Good point. If you're a lefthanded QB and left-handed pitcher in high school you've got a better shot in college and beyond if you stick to baseball

[crazycolt1]

34 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

That's a good thought......Is there a left-handed starting QB in the NFL now?

..are there any at all?

Not that I can find.

The last one was Kellen Moore for the Cowboys. He is the one who broke his leg which made Prescott the starter.

 

[The Peytonator]

41 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

That's what I'm referring to....

...I wonder if being left handed helps you be a better-than-average left tackle...

Not that you cant play the position if you are a righty..only that it comes more naturally to you.

 

When the scouting reports say that Nelson's natural position is left guard....do they mean hes left handed..or just that he's athletic enough to pull and get to the right side?

 

..or is it just that he's always played there..so the lazy observation is to say its his natural position..

 

I’m not sure that it’s necessarily about your dominant hand as it’s more about muscle memory. It’s kind of like how corners have their preferred side, especially if you’re talking about zone corners. You get used to setting up on the same side, making the same drops, you’re going to have a heck of a time transitioning to doing it the exact opposite way. It’s one reason I prefer zone defense to man...you can make things a lot easier on your guys rather than moving them around. 

[TomDiggs]

I know I have written about this a bunch but ill try to give the short, short version:

 

1. Is there a difference?- Yes

2. What are the typical differences?- Left guards are often the most likely to get some help from Center as protections shift slightly to the left to cover most QBs' blind sides. Right guards are more frequently left one-on-one against interior pass rushers. It is not always the case, but often times the DT on the right defensive side is shaded to between the Center and LG and draws a lot of doubles. Tha guy is often times the bigger DT too. So that can leave RGs to deal w the more athletic DTs and to have to do so one-on-one

 

The danger of taking a guy like Nelson who has played elite football at LG and then plug him at RG is that you are taking a guy and moving him from where he has been exceptional in the hopes that he can do the same on the other side.

 

It may be true. But it also may not be true.

 

I'll be curious to see if whoever takes Nelson keeps him at LG and has a plug and play guy there or tries to slide him to the right side and see how he does.

[alawai]

13 hours ago, Fisticuffs111 said:

Josh Sitton had a pretty funny answer in regards to #2, said switching from LG to RG is "like trying to wipe your a__ with the other hand"

It gives a new meaning when someone says he plays better with his hands on the dirt.

[Coffeedrinker]

There is a quite a bit outdated information in some of the responses on this thread.

 

What is the difference?  Technically nothing except for, you have to do everything the opposite on one side vs the other.  If on the left side you are supposed to step off with your left foot and punch with your right hand and then drift to the left, then on the right side you need to step off with your right foot, punch with your left hand and drift to the right.  Sounds easy but Peytonator stated, there is a muscle memory thing to over come.  When you practice something 500 to 1000 to 5000 times to it's hard to for your brain to switch.

 

It's not impossible and some players have a better aptitude to do it than others.  

 

A good example is Reitz.  A lot of people talked about how he wasn't very good and how the Colts should always look to upgrade him but what he brought to the table is he could play either guard spot or either tackle spot with the same effectiveness.  He was not great at any of them but he was good at all of them and when you can only dress 45 on game day a guy like that is invaluable to the team.

[Valpo2004]

21 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

The question comes up because Quenton Nelson of Notre Dame has started 3 years for ND at left guard..

Will Hernandez..(No. 2 prospect at guard) has played 4 years at left guard at Texas El Paso.

If you draft either boy, can you put him at right guard if that's where the need  is?

 

1.) How big is the difference between left guard and right guard and exactly what is the difference. ?

2.) If you have played LG all your career, how easy is it to move to RG? 

3.) Its probably a mistake to draft a right tackle and try to play him on the left side. Is it a mistake to do the same with a guard?

 

 

    ..any coaches or linemen out there? 

 

It's not as much as I think the difference is between left tackle and right tackle.  But left guards need to pass protect better because they are also on the blind side.  Also I think left guards tend to pull more when run blocking whereas a right guard is more of just a straight ahead bruiser.  

 

That said tackles are not usually position specific you just tend to put your better pass blocker on the left side.  Sort of the same thing with guards.  I don't think anyone out there is left guard/right guard only.  But you want your more athletic guard on the left generally speaking.  

[Valpo2004]

18 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

That's what I'm referring to....

...I wonder if being left handed helps you be a better-than-average left tackle...

Not that you cant play the position if you are a righty..only that it comes more naturally to you.

 

When the scouting reports say that Nelson's natural position is left guard....do they mean hes left handed..or just that he's athletic enough to pull and get to the right side?

 

..or is it just that he's always played there..so the lazy observation is to say its his natural position..

 

I don't think handedness has anything to do with it.  Say you are going to get behind a car and push. . . does a right handed or left handed guy push any different?

 

I think it mostly means he has the athletic ability to pull and pass protect so it would almost be a waste to put him on the right.  You can find plenty of big guys who can just push the guy in front of them to play right guard.  

[Valpo2004]

18 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

Good point. If you're a lefthanded QB and left-handed pitcher in high school you've got a better shot in college and beyond if you stick to baseball

 

Left handedness seems to help in baseball but I think it seems to hurt in football.  Especially when you get to the pro ranks.  

 

Lefties spin the ball differently.  Your receivers no matter what background they have come from have for the most part gotten used to the spin of the ball of a right handed thrower.  

[indyagent17]

21 hours ago, aaron11 said:

left handed QBs are just rare peroid

 

lots of articles out there speculating why, but no one really knows 

left handed QB's have a different spin on the ball which makes it something you have to get used to