Whenever football talk turns to the defensive part of the game, the main topic of discussion is the tackling ability of each member of the team. The main point, of course, is to stop the progress of the other team's ball carrier. You want to accomplish this as soon as possible after he has the ball.

There are many ways of stopping a ball carrier. However, the fundamental one, the one you should concentrate on developing, is making good, solid contact with either one of your shoulders in the area above the mid-point of the ball carrier's thigh.

1. Immediately before you contact the ball carrier, have your body in a crouched, coiled position. Do this by having a good bend in your knees and your hips. As body contact is made, your feet must be well-spread, your toes pointing forward. Keep the weight of your body evenly balanced on the balls of your feet. You must have your entire body under complete control. Then, you can change your movement in any way necessary without losing any of your power.

THE SHOULDER TACKLE should be made by contacting the ball carrier's thigh just above the mid-point. Your head should slide to the side opposite the shoulder used in making the tackle.

2. Keep your eyes directed toward the ball carrier's mid-section, right on his belt buckle. This part is the easiest for your eyes to follow as it is the center of his body and it makes a steady target. If you have your eyes on some other part of his body, a quick side step by the ball carrier can fool you into moving the wrong way.

3. Contact is best made somewhere above the mid-point of the opponent's thigh. Your head immediately slides to the side opposite the shoulder used in the tackle. If you use your right shoulder, your head goes to the left. Using your left shoulder, your head goes to the right.

4. In making contact with your opponent, come out of your crouched position with a snapping spring-like action. Direct an upward driving force into your opponent with your shoulder by straightening your knees and pushing hard off your toes. As contact is made, your shoulder should be going into your opponent at an upward angle.

5. At the same instant, wrap your arms around your opponent's legs. With your right hand grasp your left wrist or left forearm. You can also reverse this by using your left hand to grasp your right wrist or right forearm.

6. As the shoulder makes contact and the arms go around the opponent's legs, you have a double action. Your shoulder is pushing the upper part of the opponent's body backwards. Your arms are pulling his legs out from under him.

This double action, working in opposite directions, destroys the ball carrier's balance and down he goes!

7. Sometimes it is more effective to aim your shoulder for the area slightly above the opponent's knees. This is a good idea when your opponent is unusually tall and strong. On still other occasions, you make a low tackle, going for your opponent's legs below his knees. You do this when you are fairly small and light, physically speaking, and your opponent is a big, strong, hard-running backfield man. It is not always possible to adjust your tackles to suit the size of your opponent, but do so whenever you can. In both these tackles you use the same upward shoulder-drive and wrap-around of the opponent's legs with your arms.

8. When making your tackle from either side of the ball carrier, rather than head-on, try to get as much of the upper part of your body, particularly your chest, directly in front of your opponent. This will help slow or stop his forward progress. At the same instant, you grasp his legs with your arms to pull his feet out from under him.

We have been talking about tackling from a fairly open position. When you are preparing to make your tackle from somewhere on the line of scrimmage, you have to make some adjustments. On the line, there is usually something of a traffic jam. You have the problem of evading nearby blockers.

1. Your main purpose on defense is to protect your area from all "trespassers"! If one or two of these are blockers coming through in front of the ball carrier, you must remember that it is the ball carrier whom you must stop. It is necessary that you somehow maneuver yourself around so that the major portion of your body is in line with the running route of the ball carrier.

2. Many times it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for you to move into a position from which you can make a tackle. Always try to get enough of your body in the way of the ball carrier to stop him, or slow him up for a tackle by one of your teammates. If you can do neither, then try to force one of his blockers into his path. It is often possible to stop a ball carrier with one of his own blockers by a well-timed push.

3. The main point to concentrate on developing is a quick aggressive lateral and backward movement from your original position on the line. Once you determine the route the ball carrier is going to take, you can move rapidly backwards out of the traffic jam on the line, evade offensive blockers, and nail the ball carrier. While doing so you must be able to maintain good balance and be able to get a good drive for the tackle. Again, it is something that you develop in practice!

When you are a defensive player in your team's secondary, your tackles must be sharp and clean. In most instances, you are an individual tackier against the ball carrier.

1. You need to develop an ability to quickly recognize running plays. Then, you must be able to move quickly into a position that forces the ball carrier into such an area or such a running angle that you can make an easy tackle. It is best to make your maneuver so that the ball carrier is to your side. If you meet the opponent head-on, your tackle becomes more difficult. He has a choice of side-stepping to either side in order to avoid you. By hitting him from a side angle, you eliminate this choice. You can also make good use of either shoulder. Of equal importance, you offer less of a target for a straight-arm by the ball carrier. This tackle from the side is made in the same manner we previously described for the shoulder tackle.

2. You must become an expert at "timing" your tackle. You make your bid to bring down the ball carrier at the instant when there is the least chance of your missing. Again, this matter of "timing" is something to develop in practice.

3. On many occasions you will need help in nailing the ball carrier. He will have good offensive blockers going for him. They will be doing their best to keep you from moving into the ball carrier's running route. You use both hands to force the blockers, or blocker, away from you, or to force them off stride. If you cannot get to the ball carrier so as to make a good tackle, do everything you can to slow him up. Get part of your body in front of him, or get at least one hand on him. Then, your teammates will have time to move in to help bring the opponent down. A good trick to learn is how to push one of the blockers into the ball carrier's path. This often trips him up or slows him enough for you to put him on the ground.

4. You should also develop your ability to fake blockers. By your movements you should fool the blockers, or blocker, into thinking you are going in a direction other than your intended one. You should also be able to fool them by quick changes in the speed of your movement. It is most simply expressed by saying, "Have good footwork!" You should move like a boxer, shifting quickly one way, then another, always in good balance. Polish your skill at moving rapidly backwards and to either side and making good tackles while executing those movements.

5. Always try to keep at least partly in front of the ball carrier and in the path of his run toward your goal line.

6. Make every tackle "for keeps"!

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