 Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs developed the two tight end offense and the position of h @-@ back to prevent Taylor from blitzing into the backfield unhindered . " We had to try in some way have a special game plan just for Lawrence Taylor . Now you didn 't do that very often in this league but I think he 's one person that we learned the lesson the hard way . We lost ball games . " His skills changed the way offensive coaches blocked linebackers . In the late ' 70s and early ' 80s , a blitzing linebacker was picked up by a running back . However , these players were no match for Taylor . The tactic employed by San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh in the 1982 playoffs , using an offensive guard to block Taylor , was copied around the league . However , this left a hole in pass protection that a blitzing middle linebacker could exploit . Later , Walsh and other coaches began using offensive tackles to block Taylor . Later it became common for offensive linemen to pick up blitzing linebackers . In addition to the changes in offensive schemes Taylor influenced , he also introduced new defensive techniques to the game such as chopping the ball out of the quarterback 's hands rather than tackling him . 
