Excellent article (1 Viewer)

[Aaronstory]

There have been more than a few threads I've seen where people have been debating the Zone Blocking scheme, so I thought I'd post this excellent article. Not news, obviously, but a good refrence.

 

[perry147]

There have been more than a few threads I've seen where people have been debating the Zone Blocking scheme, so I thought I'd post this excellent article. Not news, obviously, but a good refrence.

Nice article but if I understand it correctly there really is no "magic bullet" for this scheme to work. I have yet to understand why the zone blocking works so well, I mean you are still blocking a guy "in your zone", I guess the biggest change could be in the running backs and not the blocking.

 

[GregR_2]

Good article, thanks for posting the link.

 

[Aaronstory]

There have been more than a few threads I've seen where people have been debating the Zone Blocking scheme, so I thought I'd post this excellent article. Not news, obviously, but a good refrence.

Nice article but if I understand it correctly there really is no "magic bullet" for this scheme to work. I have yet to understand why the zone blocking works so well, I mean you are still blocking a guy "in your zone", I guess the biggest change could be in the running backs and not the blocking.

The thing that I found suprising, was the 'play-side' action, just blocking the nearest guy playside if you don't have a man on you, then hiting the second level.Again, not Earth-shattering, but interesting.

 

[perry147]

There have been more than a few threads I've seen where people have been debating the Zone Blocking scheme, so I thought I'd post this excellent article. Not news, obviously, but a good refrence.

Nice article but if I understand it correctly there really is no "magic bullet" for this scheme to work. I have yet to understand why the zone blocking works so well, I mean you are still blocking a guy "in your zone", I guess the biggest change could be in the running backs and not the blocking.

The thing that I found suprising, was the 'play-side' action, just blocking the nearest guy playside if you don't have a man on you, then hiting the second level.Again, not Earth-shattering, but interesting.

I was taught this in high school.Say you are playing right Tackle and the play is coming to your side and you have a DT on your inside shoulder. I block him or scrape him with the guard and then move to block the LB. This was not considered zone blocking we called it base blocking.

 

[Bri]

There have been more than a few threads I've seen where people have been debating the Zone Blocking scheme, so I thought I'd post this excellent article. Not news, obviously, but a good refrence.

Nice article but if I understand it correctly there really is no "magic bullet" for this scheme to work. I have yet to understand why the zone blocking works so well, I mean you are still blocking a guy "in your zone", I guess the biggest change could be in the running backs and not the blocking.

Angles of the blocks. Really odd they left that out of the article.

 

[perry147]

There have been more than a few threads I've seen where people have been debating the Zone Blocking scheme, so I thought I'd post this excellent article. Not news, obviously, but a good refrence.

Nice article but if I understand it correctly there really is no "magic bullet" for this scheme to work. I have yet to understand why the zone blocking works so well, I mean you are still blocking a guy "in your zone", I guess the biggest change could be in the running backs and not the blocking.

Angles of the blocks. Really odd they left that out of the article.

Please Explain.

 

[rhawkins68]

Pretty low level everyday guys description of zone-blocking which over simplifies the concept.

Here's a little more in depth article.

http://espn.go.com/ncf/columns/davie/1440703.html

I used to have a detailed description of Zone blocking and it's implementation into differnt formations. I'll see if I can dig it up. I prefer SAB for the age group i work with now.

Although, if you describe a man on you inside gap versus giving his technique it might be a bit much to read.

 

[Bri]

There have been more than a few threads I've seen where people have been debating the Zone Blocking scheme, so I thought I'd post this excellent article. Not news, obviously, but a good refrence.

Nice article but if I understand it correctly there really is no "magic bullet" for this scheme to work. I have yet to understand why the zone blocking works so well, I mean you are still blocking a guy "in your zone", I guess the biggest change could be in the running backs and not the blocking.

Angles of the blocks. Really odd they left that out of the article.

Please Explain.

I will try and get an article I found once upon a time at a coaching site. "Iffy" if I can find it so here's my explanation.Pictures are taken from above "in the sky" to see what angles they're blocking at. I think 65 degrees it's what's desired but might be 60 not 100% on the #. (They draw a line thru their shoulders on the pic BTW) The thinking is that if they block at the certain angle it's suffice for the RB to get thru regardless if there's a large amount of push, they've sealed off the defender.

/ \ see to the left? That'd be an ideal looking hole ...well as good as I can "draw" with a keyboard

Shanny is very obessed with this and so I expect Kubiak to be too. It's not so uncommon for Shanny to seem livid if a lineman blocks at X degrees instead of Y degrees. Which I think must seem to the casual fan wonderring why they're discussing geometry..lol

 

[rhawkins68]

There have been more than a few threads I've seen where people have been debating the Zone Blocking scheme, so I thought I'd post this excellent article. Not news, obviously, but a good refrence.

Nice article but if I understand it correctly there really is no "magic bullet" for this scheme to work. I have yet to understand why the zone blocking works so well, I mean you are still blocking a guy "in your zone", I guess the biggest change could be in the running backs and not the blocking.

Angles of the blocks. Really odd they left that out of the article.

Please Explain.

I will try and get an article I found once upon a time at a coaching site. "Iffy" if I can find it so here's my explanation.Pictures are taken from above "in the sky" to see what angles they're blocking at. I think 65 degrees it's what's desired but might be 60 not 100% on the #. (They draw a line thru their shoulders on the pic BTW) The thinking is that if they block at the certain angle it's suffice for the RB to get thru regardless if there's a large amount of push, they've sealed off the defender.

/ \ see to the left? That'd be an ideal looking hole ...well as good as I can "draw" with a keyboard

Shanny is very obessed with this and so I expect Kubiak to be too. It's not so uncommon for Shanny to seem livid if a lineman blocks at X degrees instead of Y degrees. Which I think must seem to the casual fan wonderring why they're discussing geometry..lol

It sounds like your describing SAB (Severe Angle Blocking) not Zone. The angle of attack is 30-45. Did a quick search on it and this was the first hit. http://www.y-coach.com/severe.html

Edit: Don't forget blocking schemes vary depending on the play. So you might see SAB on a power, Zone on a trap, etc.

 

[perry147]

Pretty low level everyday guys description of zone-blocking which over simplifies the concept.

Here's a little more in depth article.

http://espn.go.com/ncf/columns/davie/1440703.html

I used to have a detailed description of Zone blocking and it's implementation into differnt formations. I'll see if I can dig it up. I prefer SAB for the age group i work with now.

Although, if you describe a man on you inside gap versus giving his technique it might be a bit much to read.

Thank you very solid article that explains the differences in man to man and zone.

 

[Rovers]

The first article said how Zone isn't used in pass blocking, but Denver uses it with great affect. One thing that an O line often does with zone is they will all move laterally off the snap. Maybe this is called "slant blocking"? In any case, all the Bronco O linemen move in one direction. The defense follows, trying to stay in their gap assignment. That can make them over persue in the direction the O line is moving. Then, after a play fake, Plummer rolls out in the opposite direction that the O line moved in.

I've watched Denver do this alot, and Plummer has a ton of time to look downfield. Sometimes Plummer will roll out in the same direction as the O line. Having a mobile QB makes this a dangerous offense.

On the other hand, zone blocking isn't a majic bullet. The Jets never got the hang of it in the one year Heimerdinger tried to install it. I do agree with the GB coach though.... if you use zone blocking, you have to use it all the time, or a team will never get very good at it.

 

[Pittsburgh P]

ZoneBlocking vs. ManBlocking

A brief explanation from Football Outsiders.

 

[SSOG]

The first article said how Zone isn't used in pass blocking, but Denver uses it with great affect. One thing that an O line often does with zone is they will all move laterally off the snap. Maybe this is called "slant blocking"? In any case, all the Bronco O linemen move in one direction. The defense follows, trying to stay in their gap assignment. That can make them over persue in the direction the O line is moving. Then, after a play fake, Plummer rolls out in the opposite direction that the O line moved in.

I've watched Denver do this alot, and Plummer has a ton of time to look downfield. Sometimes Plummer will roll out in the same direction as the O line. Having a mobile QB makes this a dangerous offense.

I agree 100%. I say all the time that there isn't a single QB in the NFL I'd rather have running the offense in Denver than Plummer, with the possible exception of McNabb. The reason is that nobody is nearly as accurate outside of the pocket. His mechanics in the pocket are sloppy, but they are picture-perfect (I mean Peyton Manning-type perfect) on the toughest throw for any QB to make- rolling one way, then throwing across the field. He's equally proficient rolling either way, too. McNabb's just as good outside of the pocket, and is more of a rushing threat (well, when he's not injured), but he isn't as good throwing across field outside the pocket, which means even he gives up something to Plummer.When executed properly over the last 3 seasons, the bootleg is absolutely unbeatable. What happens is Plummer gets outside of the pocket with a TE (either Sharpe or Putz, depending on the year) running a route about 15 yards down the field, Lelie going deep, a LB covering the TE, and Lelie double-covered by a safety and a CB. If none of the defenders move, Plummer scrambles for big yardage. If the LB comes up to cut off the scramble, Plummer tosses it over his head to the now-uncovered TE. If the LB comes up and the Safety comes up to cover the TE, Lelie is suddenly single-covered deep and Plummer has a relatively easy throw for a 40 yard gain. It's really a thing of beauty to watch and the entire basis between Denver's offense- when it all works like it's supposed to, that is. Kansas City has been particularly susceptible to this, since their defenders are always so aggressive (thanks, Gunther Cunningham!). Watch some tape of Denver/KC games to see the bootleg working at its absolute finest. This is also why Denver tends to struggle against the 3-4, since OLBs have an easier time keeping Plummer contained than DEs.