I realized that, of all the run blocking schemes I’ve covered, they haven’t included Zone, that is, until now.
Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan and his protege with the Texans, Gary Kubiak, are known to use this scheme, but there are others.
A few things before I get started:
- I will be referring to this article by Smart Football’s Chris Brown.
- IZB = Inside Zone Blocking
- OZB = Outside Zone Blocking
The great thing about Zone blocking is that, according to Brown, “the linemen keep the same blocking schemes, regardless of how many tight ends or wide receivers they use.”
It starts with the question of whether or not a blocker up front is covered – has a DL on him. If he is, he will simply block that guy. Brown writes, “The ‘zone’ aspect comes in with ‘uncovered’ linemen. If ‘uncovered,’ the linemen must step ‘playside’ – i.e. the side the run is going to – and help double-team the defensive linemen along with his ‘covered’ cohort. Once the two of them control that down defensive lineman, one of the offensive linemen slides off to hit a linebacker.”
But, beyond the name and point of attack, is there a difference between Inside and Outside Zone? Yes, there is.
Brown states that OZB involves the linemen making a lateral step in order to reach the defender across the line of scrimmage. The goal is to get the body of the blocker between that of the defender and the sideline. The intended point of attack is outside of the tight end.
With IZB, the aiming point is more toward the middle of the defender. The intended point of attack here is outside of the guard.
NFL Week 3 scores
Giants 36, Panthers 7
Rams 6, Bears 23
Bills 24, Browns 14
Buccaneers 10, Cowboys 16
Jaguars 22, Colts 17
Jets 23, Dolphins 20
49ers 13, Vikings 24
Chiefs 27, Saints 24
Lions 41, Titans 44
Bengals 38, Redskins 31
Eagles 6, Cardinals 27
Falcons 27, Chargers 3
Texans 31, Broncos 25
Steelers 31, Raiders 34
Patriots 30, Ravens 31
Packers 12, Seahawks 14
CFL Week 13 scores
Tiger-Cats 12, Blue Bombers 34
Lions 19, Eskimos 18
Argonauts10, Alouettes 31
Stampeders 25, Roughriders 30
Steve Sabol passes.
Link.
Broncos’ Fox, Del Rio fined.
John Fox and Jack Del Rio have quite a bit in common as far as their NFL coaching careers go. Both used to be head coaches of the 1995 expansion teams (Panthers, 2002-2010 and Jaguars 2003-2011, respectively), both now on the Broncos’ coaching staff (as head coach and defensive coordinator, respectively), and now, both have been fined by the NFL ($30,000 and $25,000, respectively) for how they dealt with the replacement officials.
Link.
Monday nighter ends with controversy.
Was it a TD or was it an INT? In the end, the NFL said the former.
That’s the question everybody in the football world is asking about the final play from scrimmage of the Packers/Seahawks game on MNF.
Link.
Wide receiver Greg Jennings kept saying, “The refs did a great job,” also saying that he can’t get fined if he says that. I can think of a former Mr. Irrelevant (2009) whose last name sounds a lot like what I would say to that: Chiefs PK Ryan . . . Succop.
I waited to publish this until after the NFL issued a statement, in which they upheld the call and the result of the game.
The Packers are 1-2. How beautiful.
Upcoming
In the last section, I briefly mentioned a former Mr. Irrelevant. Even though it’s during the season and not around draft time, I’ll talk next week about that title.
