Tackle vs Guard
Tackle and guard are two important positions in American Football, in both offensive as well as defensive play. Those who are into football know all about these positions and their roles and duties during a game. With unlimited substitutions allowed to teams during a game, there are the offensive and the defensive players in a game of football. When the team has the ball, it is on offense. There are then offensive guards as well as offensive tackle. On the other hand, there are defensive guards and defensive tackle when the team is in a defensive mode. People remain confused between tackle and guard because of their similarities. This article attempts to find out their differences.
On the offensive line of the football team, there are two guards who stand between the tackles and the center. Guards are mostly concerned with pulling and trapping and they protect not only the quarterback but also the ball carriers. There are also left and right tackle on the offensive line who happen to be the outer members on this line.
On the defensive side of the field, there are defensive tackle who are two in number and try to stop running play. These tackles maintain their positions in an order to pressurize the quarterback.
One thing still confuses me about guards and tackles: what or whom are offensive tackles tackling, and what or whom are defensive guards guarding? Of course, it’s just a semantics thing (or is it?), but isn’t it illegal for offensive linemen to grab or tackle opposing defensive players? Offensive linemen are guarding or blocking for whoever has the ball, and defensive linemen are trying to tackle whomever has the ball, so it seems to me that offensive linemen (except for the ends) should be called inside and outside guards, and defensive linemen (except for the ends), inside and outside tackles.