Monday 22 October 2018 04:05, UK
Takeo Spikes had a 15-year NFL career at linebacker, in which he racked up over 1,500 tackles, enough to see him among the 2018 nominees for the Hall of Fame. So, it was about time we picked his brains about the art of playing the position during his time in the Sky Sports studios...
Click on the video above to watch as we did just that, with Takeo delivering a linebacker masterclass.
Neil Reynolds and former NFL defensive coach Rob Ryan join him to (reluctantly) play dummy as Takeo demonstrates tackling techniques, the best way to get off blocks and how to force fumbles.
As well as that, Takeo stresses the leadership role the the linebacker plays on a defense, much like the quarterback does on offense, and all of the information he needs to process as a result.
Takeo takes you through his pre-snap routine, getting the play from the defensive coordinator, scouting the line-up of the offense and then communicating that to your team-mates.
"You need to be unselfish", stresses Takeo. "You wont always make the tackle or get the sack, but you can help set it up for one of your team."
Click on the video above to watch Takeo's linebacker masterclass.
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