also: down block · fan block · down · fan
The two directions a lineman can block sideways. Down is inward, toward the center; fan is outward, away from it. Which one a scheme uses is most of what makes it the scheme it is.
2 meanings, all below. Jump to the one you heard.
Blocking down means blocking the defender aligned inside you, toward the center. The value is the angle. A lineman going straight ahead is fighting a defender who is squared up and expecting him; a lineman blocking down arrives on a defender's shoulder from a direction that defender is not built to resist, and can move a bigger man doing it.
Down blocking is one of the two things that define a gap scheme. It is the reason gap schemes suit an undersized line. It also creates the hole a different lineman is going to pull into, which is why down blocks and pulls almost always appear in the same play.
blocking down, angle blockfan block, reach block, base blockFanning means blocking outward, taking the defender aligned outside you. It is the mirror of a down block and it opens the space inside rather than outside.
Where down blocking is the signature of gap schemes, fanning shows up most in pass protection and in plays that want an interior lane. A line that fans is spreading itself outward and trusting that a back or a puller handles what comes through the middle.
blocking outdown block, kick outFan and kick out both send a defender outward and are not the same instruction. Fan is what a lineman does to the man outside him from his own stance. A kick out is what a PULLER does after crossing the formation. The difference is who is doing it and how far he traveled to get there.
Down blocking is the single highest-value thing to teach a young offensive line, because it is the technique that lets smaller players move bigger ones. It is also more coachable than a straight-ahead block, since the angle does part of the work.