Decleaters and pancakes

Question
Hi i'am 12 yrs old. i like football very much but don't understand what a decleater is or a pancake what can i do to set a recorded in decleaters or is there such a thing.I play OL tackle and love it. No glory.But all guts.

                            THANK YOU
                              Tyler

Answer
Hi Tyler.

Glad to hear you like football so much.  "De-cleating" is tackling or blocking someone so hard that you knock them out of their shoes, hence "de-cleating."  A Pancake block is when an O-Lineman blocks a defender and knocks him on his back.  The term was coined for Orlando Pace, who is so physiclaly strong and has such good technique that he frequently knocked defenders flat on their back like a "pancake."

I'll make a suggestion though.  Pancaking or de-cleating probably means you are playing hard.  But in the end, what makes an offensive play work is that everyone in the play did their assignment, and then as the play developed played smart situational football.  That's what wins games and impresses coaches - not "de-cleating."