Jim mcnally is a former nfl offensive line coach and is also known as the zone blocking guru for his innovative approach using the double uppercut blocking technique. On zone plays, the linemen keep the same blocking schemes, regardless of how many tightends or wide receivers they use. I recently wrote a post giving a very simple explanation of the outside zone and zone runs in general. We are always going to pull to get numbers at the point of attack or trap, but we arent going to expect all of our linemen to do that, they wont have to in our scheme. The zone runs or zone blocking are the run blocking concepts made famous recently by the denver broncos under mike shannahan. The zone running play works by having the offensive linemen block a space or a zone. The zone helps the linemen determine who and where to block. Inside zone blocking aims to create a gap inside the line, and outside zone blocking essentially shifts the line laterally and sets up blocks for the rb to escape around the edge.
We use the sled, chutes and boards to teach the proper technique. Below, i explain how that method translate into oneonone blocks in the inside zone. When passing it off, or zone blocking, the key is to stop the penetration of the defensive end. With the emphasis on the passing game and the evolution of 8man fronts and zone blitzing defenses, it has become more and more difficult to be able to effectively run the. Thats why virtually every team runs it and why so many rely upon it to be the foundation of their offensive system. In a zone blocking scheme, fleetfootedness and athletic ability trump size as desirable qualities in offensive linemen. You will also become an expert on blocking and drill work by watching the rest of these videos during your free time. Ricky is working with these offensive lineman on zone blocking. A pulling guard or tackle must place an initial block on the outside half of the nose tackle, then disengage, put on the jets and make a full drive block on an. Pass blocking zone or man zonelocking or manlocking principles may also be applied to pass blocking. Horizontal displacement is where your guys are blocking the down linemen left or right. Teach three adjacent offensive linemen to block in tandem against three defensive players.
The indianapolis colts use this variant quite a bit, as did the minnesota gophers back when they had lawrence maroney and marion barber under glen mason. Coaches use the colt blocking dummy to train lineman on proper pad level and hand placement in zone blocking drills, such as the 2 on 2 blocking drill on display in the video below. The inside zone is a powerful blocking scheme that looks to attacks primarily between the tackles and with the intention of providing gaps through vertical displacement. Our inside zone blocking principle requires linemen to block a particular man first and to zone if uncovered. For more information on the zone blocking scheme, im just going to link sal capaccios video primer to inside zone and outside zone.
Effective zone blocking techniques in the running game. Offensive linemen, when facing twisting defensive linemen, can also either lock on mantoman or pass it off in a zone concept. Inside zone blocking is designed to use the movement of the defenders against them as the running back finds the crease in the defense. As you can see the zone blocking scheme requires offensive linemen who have quick feet and can get their body in between the defender and. Zone blocking is a technique that is a simple and effective scheme for creating lanes for running plays. Incorporate trick plays into your offense part 2 basic trick plays. Run blocking in run blocking the idea is to drive the defender away from an area. Zone blocking in a youth football option offense coaches. Redzone blocking offensive and defensive lineman clinics. In an earlier article i covered the inside zone blocking scheme against various fronts, in this article i am going to cover various inside zone running plays against the 43 normal defense in ncaa football. Whats most effective about teaching this methodology is that the front that the defense presents is irrelevant. Outside zone blocking coaching youth football tips, talk. Drive step this is a 6 inch step into the opponent usually used for base blocking. Zone blocking football coaching drills provided by the glazier clinics and rogers athletic.
Long arms are ideal in this scheme to reach all blocks and make up for limited athleticism. In the game the play side tight end blocks the defensive end, the play. Designed help get in front of the defender when he is shaded towards the playside. Zone blocking free download as powerpoint presentation. The article goes on to explain that gases offense is more about finding ways to exploit matchups than it is defined by terms like zoneblocking scheme, but that is for another post some other time. The easiest way to know if a team is using a zoneblocking system or a man. Perhaps the two most common running plays in the nfl right now are the inside and outside zone runs. Teach zone blocking in 10 min or less pro style spread. Register red zone blocking registration form please fill out and submit the following registration form. The gaming tailgate inside zone breakdown of plays in.
Coordination and technique matter more than muscle in implementing a successful scheme because defensive linemen are often doubleteamed at the. Zone blocking involves the center, guard, tackle and tight end working in combination to block an area with an emphasis on doubleteaming the defensive linemen. As you can see, theres a lot you can do with inside zone, and you only have to teach your offensive lineman one blocking scheme and two tags. Once that is established and the defense is flowing fast to the sideline, the offense comes back with the. Zone six inch, 45 step playside, keeping toes pointed forward. The key to good offensive football is having a balanced attack with equal amounts of running and passing. Reviewed in the united states on december 19, 2012.
A very simple explanation of the zone runs, and the. Tennessee, the insidezone, and the smashmouth spread. This video is from the usa football youtube channel. The fundamentals of zone blocking are not very complex, however since these two plays inside. The aiming point for the runningbacks remain about the same. Must have additon to any offensive line coachs collection, well layed out easy read. Many zone teams begin by focusing on the outside zone. In 2016, we originally wrote a football 101 breakdown of the zone blocking scheme. This may be straight ahead or off to the side in order to create a hole for the running back to run through. Lead step zone step this is a six inch step at a 45 degree angle used mainly for the inside zone play.
Zulu and then see if the linemen could point out to the coach who theyd be blocking. Alex gibbs, the godfather of the modern zone blocking. From ready stances on the line, wed put defenders out in all the places they might block, call out the block i. The best part about the outside zone scheme is that it can be used in a multitude of different ways to attack the defense. How you can get everyone into the right block quickly no matter what defensive front you face, plus. The zone runs have been around at least since the glory days of. The ultimate guide to inside zone blocking football toolbox. Simple blocking rules can take an offensive line a long way.
Vertical displacement is were you focus on doubleteaming the down linemen into the laps of the linebackers. Alex gibbs did not invent the zone blocking scheme. This has the effect of creating multiple plays by only changing one mans job. The simple way to identify the mike in any defensive front. Pound your opponents with this one and it will quickly open up the playaction pass. Try to group your blocking schemes to be utilized in specific areas of your formation you desire to attack.
One popular variant that i did not discuss was the pin and pull zone. What is the difference between man blocking and zone. In the zone blocking scheme players typically try to cut block the backside defensive end or edge defenders to prevent pursuit. Design your scheme and blocking rules to match and reflect the blocking techniques youre asking the offensive players to execute. A primary goal of almost all offenses is to get the ball to a speedy player in space. Well by definition, the assignments in a zone blocking scheme arent individual players, but rather a blocking lane. Zone blocking also requires that offensive lineman understand when to release from a double team and block the guy in their zone. When i played, the difference in blocking was in the o lines steps. The nfhs football rules committees action this year on making clipping illegal in the freeblocking zone once again reinforces its continued effort to. Outside zone blocking author steve parker posted on february 9, 2009 categories offense tags blocking, coaching youth football, coaching youth football offense, youth football blocking i just found this great presentation on outisde zone blocking for youth football teams that i wanted to share before i forgot. Add descriptive terms to the play call to change the overall blocking scheme you want the team to use. In a split zone, the offensive player, typically a tight end or hback, blocks across the flow of the play to handle the backside defender. Throwing the ball all over the field and featuring the passing game.
That is, a blocker assigned to block a certain opponent, or an opponent in a certain place, at or near the point of attack on a running. Power six inch lateral step inside, keeping toes pointed forward. There are two schools of thought on blocking the inside zone vertical displacement or horizontal displacement. In a power blocking scheme, size and power is everything. You must attempt to cover every possible situation that may arise in a game and instruct the players on how to react. So with tennessee adopting a 100% zone blocking scheme, i felt it was a good time to go through some of the basic concepts of zone blocking so that we can have a more intelligent conversation on it. Four simple steps to assigning solo or double team blocks to every player. There are a number of types of blocking techniques used in run blocking including the drive block, double team block, trap block, and crack back block.
According to the rule, the freeblocking zone is defined as a rectangular area extending laterally 4 yards either side of the spot of the snap and 3 yards behind each line of scrimmage. Zone blocking drill offensive line drills krausko llc. A solid playcall that consistently picks up 46 yards singleback big split zone. Zone blocking is designed around the run game, though there are aspects of the system that work in pass blocking as well. The spread offense has received a reputation as being somewhat of a finesse attack. To understand how these plays work it is necessary to first understand how zone blocking works. Against a 43 defense against a 34 defense defense m middle linebacker s strongside linebacker w weakside linebacker j hybrid linebacker defensive end e end t tackle c cornerback ss strongside safety fs free safety offense x. Ricky is a retired nfl offensive lineman and takes time to work with young athletes. Zone blocking better utilizes a running quarterback as well, particularly when he is faster than the other teams ends. Inside zone blocking examples of inside zone plays run by alabamas offense. Installation of the inside zone play prior to teaching the zone progression, we teach an individual drive block.
Join me after the jump as i go into detail on how it works. In most blocking systems, theres the potential for blockers to be wasted if the defenders switch assignments. From there, all you need to do is make your payment when you attend your first session and have your parents sign our release form. Elimination of clipping in freeblocking zone continues. But either way, the rb now has the added job to anticipate when and where the gap is going to open up. The outside zone allows an offense to do this in a variety of different ways. Though inside zone plays are usually called to the guard or tackle holes 3,4,6,or 7, they can break open anywhere from tight end to tight end, depending on how the defense attacks. In this inside zone wham series we will use a tight end who is off the line of scrimmage to create variety while keeping the blocking schemes identical for the offensive lineman.
When blocking the sled we set our linemen in different positions so that they may take all the various steps they will use when blocking our inside zone play. The purpose is to stop penetration, create move ment on the first level, and seal off the playside or filling linebacker on the second level. Ace normal inside zone the first thing you will notice is the blocking scheme is different from the previous article. Because of the simple nature of inside zone blocking and the fact that it targets the middle of the field as well as most any run scheme available, inside zone is easily adaptable to any formation, style, or playmaker. Why almost every team runs inside zone football study hall. Nfl network analyst brian billick examines how broncos running backs use the zone blocking scheme to create big plays.