Outside Zone From Football Fundamentals: Zone Blocking Schemes: Blocking Rules To really simplify this section, we'll treat the entire line as if it's the same, rather than splitting apart the front side and back side of the OL. One of the more popular variations of outside zone is the outside zone RPO. Zone running plays are designed to block general areas across the line of scrimmage while the running back finds the best opening. This meant that if the lineman's assignment went to the left, hed be required to follow him and vice versa. If he tries to pull and come around the back-side number of the tackle, he will never get it done. The defense counters with four defensive linemen, as well as the Sam linebacker lining up in tight toward the line of scrimmage. While they ranged from 1-3 yards outside the tight end or EMLOS, we selected two of the more specific responses we received. No. cd0uw0o! The difference is in the how they are blocking. ", Milt Tenopir, the legendary offensive line coach under Tom Osbourne at Nebraska, believed in the same philosophy of having his covered offensive lineman really work to get to the second level. Sweeney doesn't subscribe to the "outside hand free" theory that Hand presents when working against a slanting first level defender. Can't see the diagram? The offensive lineman is told that he must read covered or uncovered. 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. Zweifel will do this when he sees a C gap down defender to the play side. According to Zweifel and other coaches we spoke with, the problem with running both the pin and pull and zone schemes is not having the practice time to devote to it. For the zone blocking scheme to work properly, there are some keys that offensive linemen need to follow. 8 0 obj Blocking Outside Zone Using the Count System The play is designed to go to the right. 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. We were first in the league in scoring and first in our league in points allowed on defense. He cannot get the linebacker until he gets there." The added speed of the runner makes it more likely that the Tackle will be able to make the block but many teams will use the Running Back to seal the edge to guarantee that the ball carrier can get to the alley. Its great for QBs, RBs, WRs, LBs, and DBs. Similar line blocking assignments: Just like the inside zone, the outside zone utilizes a full zone scheme. Next is the play side guard. 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. Knee through the crotch. The outside zone or also called the zone stretch is probably the most recognizable play in the zone blocking scheme. The tackle cannot come off the ball with no concern of the defender slanting inside. The end would line up head-up on the offensive tackle. What are the key pieces of a successful Zone Run Scheme? Outside zone is a concept that can be used as a base run play (Similar to how we detailed inside zone in the article). I'll focus on the wide zone, because that's more iconic to what Gibbs . 9 0 obj The backside tackle and tight end fight to cut off their defenders and prevent them from shooting gaps. xTMo@[n%Oc Contact us if you are interested in contributing content. Although this component won't be disclosed below, we will be covering this aspect in depth on May 24th when our Boise State/Oregon trigger concepts report debuts. The key read is the TE. Again its important to drill this technique so it becomes second nature to the Running Backs. Here's what they told us: Top reasons for running the outside zone/stretch scheme: Complements the inside zone scheme: While the inside zone relies on vertical displacement of the defense, the outside zone relies on horizontal displacement. Tenopir used to call this the "play boy" scheme because it's a fold block with the center and play side guard. Again, the purpose of the outside zone is to show a horizontal stretch on the defense. Now on the defense, the count begins with 0 and it starts with the first defender that is the immediate threat to the playside A gap. It is critical that he is able to read the Tackle. They teach a run to rip technique, similar to the responsibility of the uncovered lineman to the front side of the play. With inside zone, vertical steps backside are used to create double teams. Theres a lot of moving parts and there are a lot of areas that need to be practice in a short amount of time. This all creates a ton of pursuit to the play-side and opens up a small crease on a cutback for the running back. One of the toughest parts of running the Stretch play is in coaching the Running Back. Here's what the Inside Zone Read looks like Live. Coaching youth football isnt easy. 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. All rights reserved. Covered: There is a first level defender (DLM) from my nose to the nose of the adjacent lineman play side. Here we need to attack the play side armpit with the inside hand first, then work to the second level. Case 5: Problem Areas Among the Front (Pin and Pull Technique). Play-action package off OZ action: Now, this is where the fun begins. Currently 5/5 Stars. Huawei is pitching this offering as a way for hospitals to cut network rollout . We need to open his shoulders and work to the outside LB. Reps. Reps. Reps. Reps. Reps. That's all my guys did in practice. 6 0 obj If that makes sense for you, great! Maximizing the Outside Zone Blocking Scheme. Click here now! To start on offense, the count will begin with the Center and then work to the front side. Zone Blocking 1. Alright, so you've got your basic outside zone run, and that's working pretty good, but your opponent is adjusting. We're talking full displacement of defenders. This made it very easy to teach, especially for younger football players who were just learning to play the game. The aiming point for the block is the playside shoulder of the defender.. Inside zone running is vertical blocking where you are trying to move your man either left or . 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. If the center can't get the nose reached, he asks for help. It is used when lineman struggle with reaching the down defender in front of them, so help is needed by the next adjacent lineman. Teams now use the outside zone as a counter to this pressure by getting the ball to the edge. 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. Once his gap is secured, he will continue working up to the linebacker to cut off his angle. That's how the zone blocking scheme was created. Case 3: Back-side Blocking Schemes (To Cut or Not to Cut). This could ultimately lead to catastrophe. "When we put the lead foot where it is supposed to be, the rest of the body will come with you," said Tenopir. 1. "I don't like the theory of keeping the outside arm free - you need four hands on defender," says Sweeney. Attention Youth Football Parents! We hope that you can take a couple things from this report and bring it back to your program to become more successful. In both of these cases, the guard wouldn't be able to get to the Sam linebacker in time to make a successful block. <> The center goes through or pulls for the Mike LB. 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. Make your splits work for your advantage. Lean back if nothing is there - If there's nothing that shows immediately, lean back and get eyes on what's coming into your gap. When the ball is snapped the Quarterback will take the snap and step directly back as the Running Back come across his face. "If our linemen is covered, we let him cross over on his second step as long as it's up field," said Tenopir. In this instance the Running Back will line up next to the Quarterback opposite of the play call. Outside zone is a run play that takes advantage of the cut-off blocks and leverages the offensive line to get an aggressive running attack that will wear down the defenses pursuit. That 3-technique would be the next adjacent down lineman. The rules for the covered linemen on the outside zone are through the crotch. It's a curveball, so to speak, to keep defenses off balance and on its heels. The guard to the read side has to avoid the defensive linemen and go. 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. Look at your gap - This includes pre-snap so you get an idea of whether or not you're going to get a defender in your face right away. As Jim Sweeney, a 16-year NFL center tells his lineman at South Fayette HS (PA), "We always try to stay parallel with our shoulders because we want the back to have a three way go. Get our blocking diagrams to every defensive front Steps and Combos The next thing you need to study about the Inside Zone is Offensive Line Steps and Calling Combination Blocks. Versus a dominant nose or 2i technique (Diagram 11). How he blocks him can vary - some coaches prefer lead or angle step up field, whereas some tell their offensive lineman to bucket step. Seal - Term used for blocking defender out to stop penetration of gap or to ensure edge pressure . The PST kicks out the EMLOS. Thatd free up the Sam to make a big play. The running back has three primary rules: bend, bang, and bounce. He teaches his players to eye the outside armpit of the defender with the objective to always advance to the second level. Inside and Outside Zone take a little time for the blocking to develop and have delays or long distance built into the ball carrier's path, while Midline and Wide Zone are more aggressively downhill. It is very similar to what Hand teaches, but his rules refer more to the perimeter defenders than to first level defensive linemen. He picks the foot up and puts it in the direction we want him to go. Sweeney, now a high school offensive line coach, feels it's too tough a task to accomplish. An excellent progression. RB aligns behind the tackle to his side, five yards off the ball in gun so we can stretch the defense. First, all defensive linemen would line head-up on an offensive lineman. The count system works the same for any front whether youre running inside zone or outside zone. Zweifel tells his uncovered linemen first to take a deep drop step to gain depth with the second step being a crossover to try to get on line to overtake next down defender. Team Tempo - Inside Zone blocking. "We got it from Glen Mason while he was at the University of Minnesota. The count is just a good starting point for the who the OL will block with anticipation of taking care of anyone that enters their gap. He's authored dozens of clinic articles and published numerous videos on the outside zone. If so, you'll love my daily "Football Coaching" emails. The backside guard gives a post arm to help the BST overtake. stream Teams that can effectively execute outside zone will have success. The key to running inside zone is the double teams that occur at the line of scrimmage from the lineman and the running back being patient. This is a simple way to zone block, without having to extensively teach zone blocking principles like covered-uncovered. @l7)j$v tPO8? 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. Outside zone is run strictly off of leverage and cutoff blocks. That opens up a nice lane down the middle. The tackle would pick up the block, but it would knock the guard off course in the process. Once the lineman is engaged with a defender, he needs to stay engaged until he feels the next adjacent lineman take his assignment over. In a follow-up to the inside zone report that X&O Labs published back in early March, we wanted to research the most productive ways coaches are teaching the outside zone and stretch concept to their players. This is still a zone scheme, and OL will have to take their zone steps and pick up anyone who enters their gap because after all, the defense are humans and they will react differently after the snap. The goal is to stress the defense horizontally and the back has to be ready to take it if its there, but especially at the NFL level, getting on the edge is unlikely. Basic Zone Scheme PLAY DIRECTION RIGHT: Left shoulder 10% chance he is mine. Navigate to Security > WAF > Tools. This was very similar to a man-to-man defense. Even if they cannot gain the edge, running backs will work outside-in until a gap pops open. That means the center will work to the backside linebacker and not the play-side linebacker (PSLB). 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. Click here. 5 0 obj This is referred to as the second level of the defense. Better Know a Run Game- Crack Toss. Below, I explain how that method translate into one-on-one blocks in the inside zone. His job is to secure players in his gap so that the center can overtake him. 3. TIRVB(oSTsU%;1Xj_IL_E6cqE3p*p?EQyw~8+@+WS>W._ Slot T Offense Football Coaching Guide (Includes Images), Trips Formation Football (4 Best Plays Out of Trips), What is a Checkdown in Football? There are certain indicators that would "tip off" some form of angle or stunt to the play side of zone. Blocking Calls / Rules. It's not as wide. Sweeney recalled a story during his ten year tenure as a center with the New York Jets when star running back Freeman McNeil used to come over and watch the linemen during their individual session in practice. Herb Hand, Vanderbilt University (Bounce, Bang, Bend). That PSLB thats unblocked is now the responsibility of the tight end. With the wide zone run scheme, offensive linemen work laterally as they try to gain the edge. Your counting rules for zone blocking also work for pass blocking; OL players become interchangeable, as all the rules stay the same. Outside Zone Explanation Blocking rules are the same as Inside Zone Difference is the aiming point of the Offensive Lineman Play Side O-Line takes a kick-step to the outside and Karaoke crossover step to get up field Backside opens on the play side foot and loses ground (Don't allow penetration) <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S>> In this example, the RT will be on his own and is responsible for the DE (2 vs 2 in the count). Per Gibbs, outside zone is blocked the same as inside zone outside of two big differences. He helps seal that scrape and AJ Dillon is able to get outside on edge of the defense. Blocking Outside Zone Using the Count System WATCH: Michigan Inside Zone Blocking Drills - Sherrone Moore The Myth of the Vertical Pass Set It's cable reimagined No DVR space limits. Hand tells us the specifics of his ball carrier's path in outside zone from the shotgun formation. Can't see the diagram? Join our Youth Football Movement today. Once the guard has slowed down the man in his gap and the center has overtaken him, he will then move to cut off the linebacker. We do this by keeping both feet on ground." If not, run to the strong side A gap and cut off anything you could possibly see. Learn more about spread offense runs plays from the articles below. Please reload the page and try again. This can only be accomplished through practice with the backs running at full speed. This allows the Huskers to . It also shows the running back reading sequentially down the line. 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. Before getting into the actual drills, a few things must be understood. This will allow them both to peel off successfully to the second level. Sign up for our weekly recaps, informed analysis, and film breakdowns. Instead, each lineman is responsible to block an area . The backside tackle is looking to cut off the defensive lineman to his play-side gap. 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. endobj The concept is that the Running Back will be coming downhill and taking a handoff deep in the backfield. It's used against and eight man front. "We tell him to take a deep drop step and come out on the strong side A gap. This system rewards athletic linemen that can climb to the second level quickly, and running . Team Run - Inside Zone blocking. 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 . Hh9%9|6s$a=|/a!$T|{&q9z\1R3'kNCy@;XgGC8z|T?5B/XI4& On the left side of the line, they'll double team the defensive tackle. 2. Yes, he did just say front side A gap. "We must open the defender's shoulders. 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. . In this case, the Center = 0, RG = 1 and RT = 2. The scheme attacks space instead of players and offers a versatile play that doesnt demand vertical movement and instead stresses defenses on the perimeter. 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. He will identify the force player then make the decision on whether or not that player can make the play based on his leverage on the player who is blocking him. Similar line blocking assignments: Just like the inside zone, the outside zone utilizes a full zone scheme. As a result I normally give the players the option if they would like to get the ball dropped down to them. 4 0 obj Our hope is that after you read what they do, you find a common ground to adapt what you do to fit your personnel, which after all, is the essence of good coaching. Third, the offensive linemen must keep their eyes on the linebacker. Used for Outside Zone Blocking when covered and facing an OUTSIDE SHADE defender. 4 hands on DLM, 4 eyes on LB. One way to handle the handoff to the Jet man is by having the QB drop the ball down to him. 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. 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 other major advantage is that some players feel like it allows them to run faster. Offensive lines were having a very difficult time with all of the zone blitzing of 3-4 defenses, and the stunts of 4-3 defenses. Ruel stresses the idea of keeping his lineman's shoulders square and getting the stomach up field to guarantee the defender gets hooked. They're starting to put like, a bunch of . There were numerous reasons as to why high school coaches don't tell their kids to cut block, but perhaps no other coach was more straightforward about it then Sweeney. Thats where the overtake comes into play. The occurs after contact. Copyright 2023 vIQtory Sports, all rights reserved. Iowa's outside zone is modeled after the Alex Gibbs/Terrell Davis philosophy of getting the defense to run on the front side just to cut on the backside. There are many blocking calls used today in youth football. The guard and tackle on each side of the center will combine for the zone blocking double teams. Landmark is the play side armpit of defender. Get X&O Labs' New Report Revealing Boise State and Oregon's "Trigger" Concepts May 24th. The running back has three primary rules: bend, bang, and bounce. Last, if the tackle successfully cuts off the defensive end, the running back will bounce the ball to the outside, hoping to outrun the rest of the defensive backs. 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 . They called it the 28/29 Edge play. At the snap, they'd all either slant to the left or the right, depending on what defensive play was called, heading to the gap between two offensive linemen. On running plays, this is especially important. "Pro Rt. Generally, offensive linemen are to attack downfield at a 45 angle instead of the more lateral step you see in outside zone. Stake - Technique used on BS of zone or both FS and BS of outside zone run plays "RTB" Prototypical Offensive Lineman The rules. According to our research, 48.9 percent teach an up field, angle step as opposed to 36 percent who teach a bucket step. Xs and Oz: Outside Zone Rules Outside Zone Blocking The offensive line blocks Outside Zone Rules. Any time you run and pin and pull, it is a cut on the back-side - no scoop. 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 . For a more detailed breakdown of the concept, watch the video below of how the count system works and the technique involved in the scheme. This creates man-blocking principles within the zone blocking system. H Lead up, looking outside in Position Base Rules WRs Playside: Block the Most-Dangerous Man (MDM) Backside: Cutoff Stay alert for Bubble Tags or Audible OL Zone Combo - Covered / Uncovered Rules to Stack LB F A-Gap to A-Gap run Primary 1-back formation However, in the past few years under running game coordinator . (Full Explanation), What is a Lateral Pass in Football? At the high school level, it is illegal to cut block at the second level so why teach it? Know your steps and calls. With zone blocking, all the offensive linemen will work in tandem to block the defenders, rather than each lineman being responsible to block an individual defender. Uncovered: There is no first level defender (DLM) from my nose to the nose of the adjacent lineman play side. 1 0 obj If you have an offensive lineman built more for a power game than a zone game, we recommend you forego outside zone. Click here. The Center has B gap entry. The Hawkeyes have averaged over 160 yards per game on the ground each of the last four seasons. Regardless of how the handoff takes places the Jet man will be getting the ball and stretching the edge of the field. 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. (Diagram 2) Can't see the diagram? Team - Inside Zone blocking. The first pro of inside zone is its simplicity for offensive linemen. Unlike a full zone principle, this scheme involves down blocks and pulls at the point of attack. The Outside Zone blocking scheme is one of the most universal schemes in football. The PST kicks out the end and Quentin Nelson is able to sustain his block long enough to allow the running back to shoot the gap. The last thing we wanted to address were the various "pin and pull" techniques that some coaches are using to get to the perimeter. This means simply getting in front of them and cutting off their angle to the football. Running backs also have to be able to key and see that pre-snap to adjust their track accordingly. When the EMLOS is aligned in a wide-9 technique or way outside the PST, the PST now has to kick that player out. This eliminates rules for the bend bang or bounces from the running back. *@,$Oe* R:MnRO_ *?r&*o}OQ!*M$}M In this case, the Center = 0, RG = 1 and RT = 2. The whole point of the play is to block a defender where they are, and not have to "move them." The off-season is an opportunity for your child to improve. To preface, the count system does not equal man blocking. Get 3 free templates to help you build an organized and structured team.