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What makes a great lineman? Is it size, strength, and speed? Or is it more about technique and intellect?

In my opinion it is a mixture of all of the above.  At the professional level every lineman has to possess multiple tools in order to be successful or to be considered as a great lineman.

 Let us start with the basics, size.  “You cannot teach size,” as one of my old coaches used to say.  You either have it or you do not.  Strength, you can always train to be stronger, but you can only go so far.  Speed, at lower levels of football is not so important; but as a professional, foot speed is crucial.  Being an all around athlete at the professional level is important.  Now with all these physical aspects taken into account, they are not the only skills that a lineman needs to be successful.  At the professional level all lineman are athletic to a certain extent.  

What separates the great linemen from the rest is technique, work ethic, and intellect. Technique for an offensive lineman is very important.  We need to be lower than our opponent on every play and we need to be able to block without holding (or getting caught holding), and we need to be able to read the defence.  Great lineman will always have great hip dexterity and will be able to be low on every play and have explosion off the line. They get good at staying low through doing various drills and practicing, and for some it takes years to master.  Furthermore, the art of holding without holding.  

What I mean is that great linemen use their technique to shift their bodies as they are blocking to keep their man in front of them.  Once again hip dexterity helps with this.  The only way for a lineman to become great is through hours and years of practicing different techniques used to stay low and block their man without holding.   Additionally, a great offensive lineman has to spend countless hours in the film room dissecting every play of every game to prepare himself for anything and everything.  They must recognize which defence is being played and what is about to happen.  They must always try to be one step ahead in knowing what will happen next.  By watching so much film on opponents a great lineman will be able to pick up on different keys and notice certain players’ movements.  At the professional level it is crucial to study your opponent and learn as much as you can about them.  Not only is it very important to study your opponent, but one must also study intensively their own playbook.  This is important because a lineman’s playbook becomes his lifeline.  Everything you need to know is in the playbook, you need to be able to know it inside and out; as it has the answers to beating your opponent.  You need to know yourself before knowing your opponent. As we can see it takes more than being big, strong or fast to be a great offensive lineman.  It takes years of practice and hard work, determination and perseverance.  It is safe to say that the physical and intellectual aspects are valued as a whole in determining an offensive lineman’s success.