The ZBS takes the offensive line and choreographs their movements. Pass pro rules can matchup, adding another level to the adaptability. Below, I explain how that method translate into one-on-one blocks in the inside zone. Since the offensive lineman assigned to that defender was asked to follow him based on the man blocking scheme, hed knock the offensive lineman next to him off course. The other major advantage is that some players feel like it allows them to run faster. Instead, Sweeney spends more time alerting his lineman pre-snap about the possibilities of a stunt or scrape. The second player is a 1, the third is a 2, and so on. The outside zone concept is simple, but it doesnt need to be run only by multiple-back formations. Your email address will not be published. Theres a lot of moving parts and there are a lot of areas that need to be practice in a short amount of time. And again, this is also not universal. One way Duo is often explained is Power without a puller. On the backside, the LG = -1 and the LT = -2. Teams now use the outside zone as a counter to this pressure by getting the ball to the edge. Any team running a pound-it between the tackles power offense should consider implementing outside zone. Where the defensive end goes -- and how the offensive linemen double team him -- will determine which offensive lineman blocks the Mike. The center is 0, the play-side guard is 1, play-side tackle is 2, backside guard is -1, and the backside tackle is -2. The RB will key the block on the first D-lineman playside on inside zone, and make a cut based off the block on him. That 3-technique would be the next adjacent down lineman. With the wide zone run scheme, offensive linemen work laterally as they try to gain the edge. Its best used as a base play for your offense if youre running three wide receivers and a tight end or two wing-backs. Teams will use their H back to block outside out but then release him for a pop pass. On the backside the shaded Nose = -1, the Will = -2 and the backside DE = -3. This eliminates rules for the bend bang or bounces from the running back. Due to the speed the runner is moving at he will not be reading the playside tackle and is automatically trying to get to the edge. <> endobj If he tries to pull and come around the back-side number of the tackle, he will never get it done. The aiming point is to track the outside hip of the play side tackle (note: The aiming point of the back is chasing the outside hip of the tackle. I found this excellent article that breaks it all down here. endobj If the defensive end goes to the inside (through the B gap), then the offensive guard will stay on him while the offensive tackle peels off to pick up the Mike. Shoot, my guys blocked inside zone so much that they were taking their steps and shooting their hands while . (Diagram 1) Can't see the diagram? The Center has B gap entry. That means the center will work to the backside linebacker and not the play-side linebacker (PSLB). It requires speed and technique. Basic Inside Zone Blocking Rules Diagram. If you have an offensive lineman built more for a power game than a zone game, we recommend you forego outside zone. xTMo@[n%Oc :0d-D$:7l+kWqmW8\6*#$Iwf?jBhs(. If by the third step, the offensive lineman is not in a position to overtake the down lineman, he's up on the next path to cutoff whatever comes. It's basically the same principle X&O Labs uncovered back in March when we released our inside zone report. -Designed by Thrive Themes| Powered by WordPress, Understanding the Zone Blocking Scheme in Football, What is a Quarterback in Football? Hh9%9|6s$a=|/a!$T|{&q9z\1R3'kNCy@;XgGC8z|T?5B/XI4& The guard to the read side has to avoid the defensive linemen and go. The Outside Zone allows an offense to do this in a variety of different ways. The zone blocking scheme is a great way to counter any defensive play that might be called. Of course there are many variations of verbiage when it comes to rules by different teams, but if an offensive linemen knows the direction of the zone scheme, he can adapt a hard-set rule to be successful: protect playside, head up, then backside. One of these players on each side of the field will come off their initial double team block to get to the second level and pick up the Will and the Mike, respectively. Case 2: "Uncovered" Blocking Concepts to the Play Side (Reach and Overtake). Here we need to attack the play side armpit with the inside hand first, then work to the second level. "I don't like the theory of keeping the outside arm free - you need four hands on defender," says Sweeney. by Anonymous. "We got it from Glen Mason while he was at the University of Minnesota. It no longer matters who is lining up in front of each offensive lineman. Unlike a full zone principle, this scheme involves down blocks and pulls at the point of attack. The majority of coaches want their covered offensive linemen to be able to finish at a second level defender by the time the play is over. The Hawkeyes have averaged over 160 yards per game on the ground each of the last four seasons. Cutting off offensive linemen requires no size or strength. However, in the past few years under running game coordinator . Outside zone is a simple yet effective running play. In my philosophy, blocking outside zone is similar to how you would block inside zone. Although this topic was not in our original survey, we did do our research to find the most common aiming points of the ball carrier. The left guard has someone in their play-side gap so they attack their play-side shoulder. It is used when lineman struggle with reaching the down defender in front of them, so help is needed by the next adjacent lineman. As soon as they seal, he shifts his eyes one gap inside. 1 0 obj This was very similar to a man-to-man defense. After logging in you can close it and return to this page. Zone Read Scheme Rules, Techniques and Drills. (Diagram 2) Can't see the diagram? Copyright ©2023 Youth Football Online. Xs and Oz: Outside Zone Rules Outside Zone Blocking The offensive line blocks Outside Zone Rules. It started to become popular in the 1980s and in the 1990s with Alex Gibbs and Mike Shanahan. We need to cut on this scheme because we think the 5-tech can run the play down on the edge technique." In this article, were going to show you exactly how to run outside zone and how you can install it into your offensive system. Everything that Zweifel teaches in his outside zone progression is based upon the "reach and overtake" mantra that he drills into his linemen from day one. "When we put the lead foot where it is supposed to be, the rest of the body will come with you," said Tenopir. The Offensive Line uses a zone blocking scheme on both of these plays, however, each play is a little different. Linemen block their corresponding number while still working within the technique of the outside zone scheme. He teaches his players to eye the outside armpit of the defender with the objective to always advance to the second level. All children, especially those considered high risk, will learn life lessons from participating in youth football. Ruel's Techniques of a Stretch Scoop (uncovered lineman): That last coaching point is the golden nugget. Our landmark for our back is three yards outside the tight end and one yard deep," he says. Your email address will not be published. The tackle would miss the block, forcing the guard to pick up the defensive end or allowing the end to quickly get in the backfield. In this case, the Center = 0, RG = 1 and RT = 2. Case 3: Back-side Blocking Schemes (To Cut or Not to Cut). If players are stacked, the lower number goes to the defender closer to the line of scrimmage. 0:57. UJZ h?l UIJTZQ,m(!L05O5-we Better Know a Run Game- Crack Toss. In the mid 90's, Alex Gibbs put in a zone blocking scheme for the Denver Broncos. 17 Bellstone Drive, Bellingham, MA, 02019. On inside zone there will be double teams where as outside zone there will be no double teams except on the edge between the PS Tackle and the PS TE. Spread Offensive Run Plays Complete Guide, How To Run Counter In Football Complete Guide, Running The Power Play In Football Complete Guide, The Gap Scheme & How Its Run In Every Offense, What Is Power Read In Football? Stake - Technique used on BS of zone or both FS and BS of outside zone run plays "RTB" Prototypical Offensive Lineman We're here just to spark the debate and give you some fodder to decide how best to run your scheme. On most outside zone schemes, particularly ones run at the higher levels of football, offensive lineman would cut block defenders on the back-side of the play - regardless of whether that player was a first or second level defender. If you would like to discuss this topic further with Mike Kuchar, Senior Research Manager, X&O Labs, please feel free to email him at mikek@xandolabs.com. On this play, the offensive tackle would have man blocking responsibilities for the defensive end, while the offensive guard would have man blocking responsibilities on the Sam linebacker. It also shows the running back reading sequentially down the line. Copyright 2023 vIQtory Sports, all rights reserved. The blocking has been simplified through the use of two blocking schemes-- inside zone and outside zone-- for a variety of different plays. In the diagram above, inside zone out of 20 personnel allows an offense to block any and every front with the H-Back and offensive . The outside zone or also called the zone stretch is probably the most recognizable play in the zone blocking scheme. 9 0 obj It's a curveball, so to speak, to keep defenses off balance and on its heels. Install Guide. Outside zone is a running play on which offensive linemen focus their blocks on zones, or spaces on the field, as opposed to specific defenders (which is referred to as man-to-man blocking). Case 1: "Covered" Blocking Concepts to the Play Side. Ruel's Techniques of a Stretch Hook (covered lineman): Rip to run on second step by driving back shoulder through defender - this provides for a cutoff scenario. But then, a hole in the man blocking system was exposed by smart defensive coaches. This takes some work and some practice, but they'll be able to easily pick it up over time. OL = Outside Zone blocking. So why teach it? That caused offensive coaches to try to come up with a new blocking scheme thatd counter the slant and angle scheme and also protect against future defensive schemes that coaches might create. The first pro of inside zone is its simplicity for offensive linemen. Get X&O Labs' New Report Revealing Boise State and Oregon's "Trigger" Concepts May 24, A tight or inside shade first level defender, A cheating second level player to the edge of the defense, Short 45 degree step, target is play side number of adjacent down lineman, Rip off hand and shoulder though his play side armpit (rip and run), Hook him using your shoulders and butt by leaning into him, not by turning your shoulders, If you're on the ground, defender can get up first and make the play, They can still go over you and make a play on the QB or RB. While we found the objective clear, the methodology or technique that is used by that uncovered player varied among coaches. Click here to sign up - it's FREE! Team - Inside Zone blocking. The blocking techniques, though, are different, as the plays are designed to get the defense moving laterally across the field and create seams in their coverage. Now let's zero in on the right side of the field to illustrate the example of which offensive lineman will peel off to block the Mike linebacker. The Outside Zone Drill is going to be used after your Individual Period. For clarification, the first blocker is the tight end, the second blocker is the fullback and the third blocker is the wide receiver play side. Even if they cannot gain the edge, running backs will work outside-in until a gap pops open. Get X&O Labs' New Report Revealing Boise State and Oregon's "Trigger" Concepts May 24th. I believe that a player who thinks he can run fast will beat a player who thinks he is going to be running slow. GOD - Gap on Down; GOLD - Gap on LB Down; GOO - Gap on Outside (pass) This can be a great way to get the ball on the edge and utilize a WR who might not be getting a lot of passes thrown to him. By slanting the defensive linemen a certain direction, itd cause the offensive linemen to follow them, which would then cut off other offensive linemen from being able to block linebackers. The zone blocking scheme allows the offensive linemen to take a wait-and-see approach with blocking, allowing the play to develop before determining wholl block the linebacker on their side of the field. If the center cannot reach the nose, he will make a "me" call to the strong guard telling him to block the nose and the center will pull to block the MLB. And if he crosses my face, I just want to continue on my path because it gives the back more space to run.". RB aligns behind the tackle to his side, five yards off the ball in gun so we can stretch the defense. Coach Ferentz calls it a "force the hole" play and that hole is usually the C gap. Your counting rules for zone blocking also work for pass blocking; OL players become interchangeable, as all the rules stay the same. When the Quarterback is reading the end he is checking to see if he can run it for four or more yards opposite of the play call. Assignments change based on whether there is a defender present in their gap or not. Great against interior pressure: If you're successful with your interior run game like the inside zone and power, chances are you'll see the probability of interior pressure increase. The blocking has been simplified in the past twenty years with the advent of zone blocking rules, that enable several backfield plays to be run with the same blocking scheme. The filled/unfilled system prioritizes their rules based on whether the play-side gap of an offensive lineman has a defender in it or not. Coach starts off with a powerpoint lecture and then proceeds to his two main drills on tape and then advances to game film. Be aggressive, run your feet. We take the fullback on force. It's used against and eight man front. <> Peyton Manning was a true master of this where he would sell the fake so well that the defenders would come downhill to stop the run only to see Marvin Harrison or Reggie Wayne going streaking by them. Although Ruel doesn't teach a bucket step for those uncovered offensive linemen, we've found that the majority of coaches, 32.8 percent, teach a bucket step for that uncovered lineman. Individuals - Inside Zone drills. Blocking Outside Zone Using the Count System The play is designed to go to the right. https://spreadoffensefootball.com/using-the-sniffer-tight-end-in-the-run-game/. endobj Formation puts defense in a MOFO look and TE runs right by the LB to attack space in the middle of the field. Each O-Lineman's goal is to get in between his man and the sideline, however, this lateral step will sometimes cause the defender to . To preface, the count system does not equal man blocking. We can't get a soft shoulder." "But we do concern ourselves with a player who lines up in a gap position. NFL Offensive Lines: Alex Gibbs' Zone Blocking Scheme. We tell our guard he must get beyond the man (far jersey number) before he can come back on him. This means simply getting in front of them and cutting off their angle to the football. The best part about the Outside Zone scheme is that it can be used in a multitude of different ways to attack the defense. Inside Zone Run Blocking Rules Inside zone can be run at any level, whether youth, high school, college, or the NFL. The slant and angle defense exposed one fatal flaw in the man blocking scheme -- that offensive linemen were asked to follow their assigned defender wherever they went. They must be taught through practice and game reps to get a feel for when the Tackle does not have his man sealed so they can turn it upfield to gain yards. The last thing we wanted to address were the various "pin and pull" techniques that some coaches are using to get to the perimeter. Again, the purpose of the outside zone is to show a horizontal stretch on the defense. It has become even more popular in the past few years with Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay basing their entire offenses around the scheme. That opens up a nice lane down the middle. endobj Regardless of the defensive front, these two principles are consistent, and again, 73.8 percent of coaches use this terminology when implementing the zone scheme. Sure, some teams have chosen to man block the play, 73.8 percent of coaches still use a covered and uncovered principle when running the outside zone. Even if offensive linemen lose ground, the back can run off of those blocks and create positive plays that exploit fast-filling linebackers. The key read is the TE. But what we got surprised us. The guard and tackle on each side of the center will combine for the zone blocking double teams. Hand tells us the specifics of his ball carrier's path in outside zone from the shotgun formation. Learn more about spread offense runs plays from the articles below. This can be run from a variety of different formations and sets which makes it particularly difficult to defend. That movement will stop the penetration of the defender inside. He picks the foot up and puts it in the direction we want him to go. Huawei is pitching this offering as a way for hospitals to cut network rollout . If the Tackle is unable to seal his man the Running Back must plant with his playside foot and cut vertically upfield. A primary goal of almost all offenses is to get the ball to a speedy player in space. The backside guard takes his track to overtake for the center while putting his hand on the near hip of the player in his backside gap. The next step in the zone blocking scheme deals directly with how to block these two linebackers -- the Will and the Mike, in our example. Teams who run outside zone from under center typically require the running back to make a quicker decision, as the ball will be in the hands of the running back closer to the line of scrimmage. Programs like Boise State and Oregon thrive off running it from the gun, while the Colts ran it from under center, forcing the QB to get to the landmark quickly. Generally, offensive linemen are to attack downfield at a 45 angle instead of the more lateral step you see in outside zone. It provides a lot of advantages for offensive linemen, no matter what defensive play is called. Once his gap is secured, he will continue working up to the linebacker to cut off his angle. That pressure allows for the BST get down the line of scrimmage and to be able to overtake the first-level defender. The off-season is an opportunity for your child to improve. This play is diagramed against a 3-4 scheme. So when we started compiling the report, we've found that the most heated discussion is whether or not to full zone or man block the scheme. 5/5 Stars. This is similar to the philosophy of pin and pull, which we wrote about here. For all intents and purposes, the objective of the uncovered offensive lineman in the outside zone scheme is to take over the play side down lineman while the covered offensive lineman works up to linebacker level (Diagram 3). This will allow them both to peel off successfully to the second level. Attention Youth Football Parents! <>/XObject<>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 10 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S>> It is critical that he is able to read the Tackle. Covered linemen are those . It gave the OZ play a chance to cut into C gap. Sometimes that deep step is needed to take over the next down lineman. In fact, its the exact same as far as who the offensive linemen are blocking. This can be particularly difficult for younger running backs as they hear the Stretch play called and want to run the ball to the outside no matter what. Zone blocking is a style of blocking for offensive linemen that was created by offensive coaches in response to a new style of defense that had emerged. Behind the Inside Zone it is the second most popular scheme at the professional and college level. Zone is great because it takes into account any spikes or slants from the defensive line. Any time you run and pin and pull, it is a cut on the back-side - no scoop. A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled in favor of blocking the enforcement of a Louisville ordinance that allows 10-foot-wide buffer zones outside health care facilities, including a . Outside zone forces defenses to run horizontally and puts more responsibility on the running back to make the blocking scheme of the offensive line effective. "We watch the inside foot pre-snap. Pat Ruel, the assistant offensive line coach for the Seattle Seahawks, teaches a stretch hook concept (a combo horizontal stretch and hook) for his covered linemen to the play side of zone. . Enter the Name/Description. For spread teams, having the running back at an offset alignment or a pistol alignment gives the running back enough room to make a read off of the play side tackle. (QB Position Guide), What is a Running Back in Football? The difference is the wide zone blocking is horizontal, either going toward one sideline or the other. Todays breakdown I talk about blocking outside zone using the count system. "If we don't get engagement by ripping to play side number, then we automatically climb to the second level," he said. There are a variety of different coaching points that must be mastered but one of the key things is that the runner gets the ball at as close to full speed as possible. When we conducting our research, we've found there are three particular scenarios in which coaches are using the pin and pull technique. The two-back outside zone uses the same zone-blocking principles of the one-back look with a fullback or H-Back leading to the edge of the formation to track the first defender who shows as. One advantage of running this play from Under Center is the Play Action potential it opens up. This will close any holes between the linemen and prevent defenders from busting through them. There is nobody in his play-side gap, so he helps the tackle overtake the block and then looks inside for exactly this type of flow from the linebackers. Contact us if you are interested in contributing content. If the defense has a bigger, slower defensive lineman, this is great to get them running and ultimately tired out. If the first read is not reached, but is stretched and running outside, the back looks for the second read. This particular topic was highly debatable among coaches we spoke with. Outside zone is usually somewhere "on the tackle," or "on the TE." Again, often at the butt or outside leg. Again its important to drill this technique so it becomes second nature to the Running Backs. Can't see the diagram? This made it very easy to teach, especially for younger football players who were just learning to play the game. Click here. I found this excellent article that breaks it all down here. That can then open huge cutback lanes in the middle of the field for running backs to take advantage of. Even the Blocking Scheme in itself is very different in the the . The rules. This meant that if the lineman's assignment went to the left, hed be required to follow him and vice versa. Last, the play-side tackle has one of the most important blocks in the entire play. According to our research, 48.9 percent teach an up field, angle step as opposed to 36 percent who teach a bucket step. (Full Explanation). Click here. <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S>>