Engage, resist cross face move, take them outside/up field. The wide-zone run scheme is a play based on horizontal movement. No. By having the Running Back coming downhill the defenders are forced to react or risk being beaten to the edge. It's a terrific complement to the inside zone and the myriad of schemes that come off the zone concept can provide the defense with tremendous conflicts. % 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. Covered Offensive Lineman. When the ball is snapped the Quarterback will take the snap and step directly back as the Running Back come across his face. Unlike a full zone principle, this scheme involves down blocks and pulls at the point of attack. As soon as they seal, he shifts his eyes one gap inside. Outside zone has been a part of NFL run games for decades. *%nT]QnMLL**c&u%9l]+4Lj3ImEYJM!A3=bdG$Ui x|q<>;+U\l}2gB!mKl4U b;":#5Im!$y!M90JLEcSQ| . =l7*9s!-Oj8f9Du%hOg5LQen2tg[UvX t,3Ml8S9rlL dl*|MfLsFXJ$D9m+!R `)^+JPiXjU;uhpY` ip9adL3TMW#$8*nWx2#9~\|vp}ppa{m=Rkoxoi*+%7Vs?nK&+b?~DA3v[9NMO34Ndf78b,9\YT jO0:/D['e>=w8ZBq$ J 0^FOr@Dkoj364&aj$fD(OQ ;)g J'9XqDuxqD2I[}vmxmz0TV&3+OI=;@ D-PRLL*@EzfLs* In fact, its the exact same as far as who the offensive linemen are blocking. The linemen open up and get on a 45 degree track. This was very similar to a man-to-man defense. If he tries to pull and come around the back-side number of the tackle, he will never get it done. Case 4: The Path/Reads of the Ball Carrier. Outside zone and wide zone are often related to one another because of where they play hits. Team - Inside Zone blocking. That movement will stop the penetration of the defender inside. If the defensive end stays to the outside (through the C gap), then the offensive tackle will stay on him while the offensive guard peels off to pick up the Mike. Blocking Calls / Rules. Get 3 free templates to help you build an organized and structured team. https://spreadoffensefootball.com/using-the-sniffer-tight-end-in-the-run-game/. This can be run from a variety of different formations and sets which makes it particularly difficult to defend. "We used to cut those defenders such as a back-side shade technique, but now our guard will try to take a deep drop step and take him over," he says. According to Sweeney, four things can happen when you cut on the back-side and none are good: Sweeney's negatives of cut-blocking on the back-side of OZ: Now we realize that we may be biased in these numbers. The play side guard blocks down on the nose and the center pulls around the guards block and up on the backer. Outside zone is run strictly off of leverage and cutoff blocks. Perhaps no other coach knows the zone scheme better than Stan Zweifel. The center should start by working flat down the line of scrimmage to position himself in front of the defensive lineman. Hh9%9|6s$a=|/a!$T|{&q9z\1R3'kNCy@;XgGC8z|T?5B/XI4& The scheme is versatile, doesnt ask offensive linemen to physically overpower defenders, and puts more responsibility on the running back to make the scheme work effectively. <> Zone blocking can most simply be described by saying that an offensive line is responsible for a specific zone instead of a specific man (as he would be in a man blocking scheme). 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. 9 0 obj endobj 1. If the Tackle is able to seal his man then the Running Back is free to get the ball to the alley and attack downhill. We can't get a soft shoulder." ", But against stunting first level defenders, keeping both shoulders squared becomes a difficult fundamental to accomplish. Another common way to utilize the Outside Zone blocking scheme is to get the ball to the running back out of the backfield. Per Gibbs, outside zone is blocked the same as inside zone outside of two big differences. Stick your foot in the ground and making a slashing cut north and south. Select the appropriate domain. Again its important to drill this technique so it becomes second nature to the Running Backs. Once the running back reads the tackle, he will bend it back toward the middle if he sees him pushing the defensive end to the sideline. If you have an offensive lineman built more for a power game than a zone game, we recommend you forego outside zone. 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 . It is very similar to what Hand teaches, but his rules refer more to the perimeter defenders than to first level defensive linemen. What are the key pieces of a successful Zone Run Scheme? _X/Tn. The whole point of the play is to block a defender where they are, and not have to "move them." "He was the best in the business at that time and he used to tell us he always wanted to see our butts so that he can make the right cut. The center goes through or pulls for the Mike LB. The Outside Zone allows an offense to do this in a variety of different ways. Once the lineman is engaged with a defender, he needs to stay engaged until he feels the next adjacent lineman take his assignment over. On the backside the shaded Nose = -1, the Will = -2 and the backside DE = -3. Also, similarly to Inside Zone, it has multiple possible points of entry. And if he crosses my face, I just want to continue on my path because it gives the back more space to run.". A core component of their ground game has been a zone-blocking scheme, which Ferentz brought to Iowa City over 16 years ago, and continues to be a critical aspect of their rushing offense. It is critical that he is able to read the Tackle. Before getting into the actual drills, a few things must be understood. We've found the structure the play (either in gun or under center) dictates how fast that ball can get to the edge. PS Tackle to 'easy' release to MDM on 2 nd level. The Outside Zone blocking scheme is one of the most universal schemes in football. "We watch the inside foot pre-snap. While they ranged from 1-3 yards outside the tight end or EMLOS, we selected two of the more specific responses we received. Many teams have moved away from this because its very rare for the backside Defensive End to be able to run down the Running Back. Zone running plays are designed to block general areas across the line of scrimmage while the running back finds the best opening. If youre interested in learning more about other base run plays, we have blogs detailing inside zone and other plays here. The count works out from there. x[[o6~GkPs(>t.MC&dI9$EHxn$CQ/."_F {}jY[5t?hY;6o~_ Which player comes off the initial double team block will depend on where the defensive lineman is lined up and where the initial push goes. The center gives a quick hand to help the guard overtake his man. Reps. Reps. Reps. Reps. Reps. That's all my guys did in practice. The combination will come with the Center and RG (0 & 1) on the 3t and the Mike (0 & 1 on defense). As the name suggests, Zone Blocking Scheme is quite literally blocking a zone, or an area of the field, rather than man. But then, a hole in the man blocking system was exposed by smart defensive coaches. He can then read the block of his Playside Tackle to determine if he will press the ball outside or make a single cut back to the Inside. Teams who run outside zone must have athletic linemen that can cut in front of the defensive lineman. Get X&O Labs' Coaching Research Reports FREE Every Tuesday. Join our Youth Football Movement today. Outside zone is a simple yet effective running play. He then would need to try to fight through or around the defender who was now in his space to get to his blocking responsibility, which is the linebacker. He even tells his back-side tackle on zone to execute a "swoop technique" (Diagram 4) with the intentions of getting all the way to the play side of the zone. The blocking has been simplified through the use of two blocking schemes-- inside zone and outside zone-- for a variety of different plays. Of course, when you have backs behind Manning with the speed of Edgerrin James and Joey Addai, getting to the perimeter of the defense is almost guaranteed. The count system works the same for any front whether youre running inside zone or outside zone. So, what defensive coaches did was ask all of their defensive linemen to slant one way or the other after the snap. The 3rd level defenders have taken bad angles because of how hard the Jaguars pressed outside. If players are stacked, the lower number goes to the defender closer to the line of scrimmage. 28 Zone 'Slice'" - now we can still read what the DE does, but we have a body blocking him. One way to handle the handoff to the Jet man is by having the QB drop the ball down to him. All children, especially those considered high risk, will learn life lessons from participating in youth football. If the Tackle is unable to seal his man the Running Back must plant with his playside foot and cut vertically upfield. %PDF-1.5 Your email address will not be published. "Pro Rt. The whole point of the play is to block a defender where they are, and not have to "move them." Click here. On the backside, the LG = -1 and the LT = -2. His main job is to cut off the players gap toward the play side. He helps seal that scrape and AJ Dillon is able to get outside on edge of the defense. 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. The rules for the covered linemen on the outside zone are through the crotch. These number labels on the defense correlate to numbers given to the offensive linemen. This play, known as "Outside Zone" in their system (they called what most people would consider Outside Zone "Mid Zone"), quickly became one of the best plays in their offense. (Diagram 1) Can't see the diagram? One of the more popular variations of outside zone is the outside zone RPO. So Herb Hand, the offensive line coach at Vanderbilt University (who spent a good part of his coaching career under famed spread coaches like Rich Rodriquez and Gus Malzahn) emphasizes the drag hand technique of the covered offensive lineman. Todays breakdown I talk about blocking outside zone using the count system. One of the most common ways the Outside Zone has been used is from Under Center with the Stretch play. The idea is to "stretch" the entire defense the width of the field. Here, the end man on the line of scrimmage to the play-side jabs in on the snap which allows for left tackle David Bakhtiari to be able to seal him and give the Packers the outside. "I don't like the theory of keeping the outside arm free - you need four hands on defender," says Sweeney. It's basically the same principle X&O Labs uncovered back in March when we released our inside zone report. 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. Your email address will not be published. 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.