The last thing you want to happen to you as a defensive player in football is getting juked. Being beat one on one when you have a chance to make a tackle is never going to be fun.
In order to prevent this from happening to you, we have come up with several pointers you can follow to make sure you do not get juked in football.
Follow Their Hip
One of the best ways to make sure you do not get juked on the football field is to follow the ball carriers hip.
Similar to covering a player as a cornerback watching a ball carrier’s hips is going to give you the best information as to where the player is headed.
Offensive players will use their feet, head, and shoulders in order to move you in the wrong direction. A defensive player can avoid falling for these fakes by simply keying in on the hips of the offensive player.
Additionally, the hips are a great place to tackle a player. By keeping your eye on this location you will find that you will more accurately make contact with this portion of the ball carrier.
Take A Good Angle
The key to avoiding a juke like a cutback or a jumpcut is by taking a good angle. Taking good angles is one of the most important aspects of tackling a player in the open field.
For those that don’t know, taking an angle refers to the path you travel on as a defender to meet the ball carrier. For example, if you are a defender you want to run to the point in which you believe yourself and the ball carrier will come into contact.
Choosing the wrong angle to run at the ball carrier can leave you more susceptible to a juke. So for example you take a bad angle and overrun the ball carrier to the sideline.
In this scenario, the ball carrier can easily cut back inside with a juke due to your poor angle.
Taking a good angle should leave you squared up with the ball carrier. When squared up it is significantly harder for the ball carrier to beat you with a juke.
Keep Your Feet Under You
Another way in which a defender can avoid getting juked out is by keeping their feet under them. When new to the game of football it is common for defenders to launch themselves towards the ball carrier for a tackle.
This type of diving tackle is appropriate on some occasions but it can make it much easier for the ball carrier to juke at the last second. When going for a tackle you want to keep your feet on the ground all the way until contact is made.
If you find yourself launching towards defenders you will notice you do not have control once you leave the ground.
Similar to a basketball player jumping up to block a shot, once their feet leave the ground the offense has the advantage.
If a running back decides to cut back inside after you have left your feet you will not be able to adjust your path. This type of tackling is what can lead to some complete whiffs by players looking to tackle too aggressively.
Tackle With Shoulder Not Arms
The final piece of advice, in order to avoid getting juked on the football field, is to tackle with your shoulders and not your arms.
When tackling with your arms it is much more likely that the ball carrier will break your tackle. Additionally when juking an arm tackle can more easily be avoided as you are reaching out for the player.
Instead of trying to grab the ball carrier a defender should try and make contact with his shoulder. Once contact is made with the shoulder the defender should attempt to wrap up the ball carrier with his arms.
This is a much more reliable way of tackling and if a proper angle is taken should result in an easy tackle for the defender.
