decleat

v. in American football, to knock an opponent off his feet. Also n., decleater. Subjects: English, United States, Sports & Recreation

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Citations: 1986 Mal Florence Los Angeles Times (Sept. 19) “USC’s 248-Pound Todd Steele Is a Real Blockbuster” p. 7: Todd Steele earned the team’s award as decleater of the week for his blocking. A decleater is knocking an opponent off his feet. He buried some Illinois defensive backs last week. 1986 Mal Florence Los Angeles Times (Oct. 31) “At USC, the Big Bully on the Block Is Jeff Bregel” p. 2: “You run at them with the pitch and power plays and, although you might not get the yards at first, they’ll be worn down in the third and fourth quarters to the point that they don’t feel like coming off blocks and you can decleat them.” The decleater, in USC parlance, is knocking a defensive player off his feet and onto his backside. 1991 Natalie Meisler Denver Post (Colo.) (Jan. 8) “W. Ridge’s Hammond picks CU” p. 1D: He took a 190-pound kid who lowered his shoulder on Rick and decleated him. 2004 Bill Coats St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Mo.) (Oct. 6) “Trev Faulk makes impact in return to action”: Faulk charged downfield, upended a would-be blocker—a “decleating,” in NFL parlance—and dropped Jamal Robertson “like nobody else was on the field,” coach Mike Martz said.

Posted 7 Oct 04 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

I know todd steele and his family

by JESSE 03 Apr 07, 0945 GMT

i asked at least ten high school teachers what does the word decleat mean. and they couldnt tell me…..

by JCain 29 Dec 08, 0744 GMT