Zone blocking
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zone blocking is a technique in American football that is a simple and effective scheme for giving the quarterback time and protection while simultaneously creating lanes for running plays.
In a zone blocking scheme, fleet-footedness and athletic ability trump size as desirable qualities in offensive linemen. Coordination and technique matter more than muscle in implementing a successful scheme because defensive linemen are often double-teamed at the point of attack. Creating movement on the defensive line is more important than opening a specific hole in the defense.
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[edit] Team support
One of the simplest reasons many teams have incorporated zone blocking in their offenses, is that zone blocking rules do not change based on the defensive front. In a "man block" system, blockers are paired with defenders according to certain rules to create a running lane. If the defensive front changes, or if the defense stunts or blitzes, the blocking rules may change. This requires learning multiple rules for the same play. Zone blocking uses very consistent rules that do not change according to the defensive front.
Some teams base their entire offense on it, including the NFL's Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, and Green Bay Packers. Adopting a more complex version of many of this scheme's core principles (as used by the Denver Broncos), the West Virginia University Mountaineers rely on it in their run-based "spread offense" (devised by former head coach Rich Rodriguez and their former offensive line coach Rick Trickett). The University of Michigan also started using zone blocking under head coach Lloyd Carr in the 2006 season using more of a balanced offense.
The Carolina Panthers made the switch to zone blocking under offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson for the 2007 season. They had previously employed a man-blocking scheme for a downhill running attack under coordinator Dan Henning, but during the 2006 season, the team's undersized linemen were constantly overpowered by opposing defensive linemen. The power running game became stagnant, and especially ineffective in goal-line/short yardage situations, thus resulting in Henning's firing and the switch to zone blocking.
[edit] Linemen techniques
Using a runningback out of the backfield, zone plays are usually categorized into three types: Inside Zone (IZ), Outside Zone (OZ) and Stretch. These types describe the initial landmark of the ballcarrier. A common approach is: Inside the tackles for IZ, just outside the tackle for OZ and just inside the last offensive player for the stretch. For each type of zone there are many different blocking schemes available:
- The most basic form asks the offensive linemen to identify whether he is covered or uncovered. If the latter is the case, he is asked to help playside on a doubleteam by using wide lateral steps or even bucket steps. The resulting doubleteam then reacts to the movement of the linemen as well as the movement of the linebacker. The initial movement of the doubleteams helps to equalize defensive talent and creates cutback lanes.
- Another scheme asks the offensive linemen to imagine a "railroad track" parallel to the runningbacks path and block everything they find on their way. This could be a linebacker, but also a slanting defensive linemen from somewhere else.
- Starting from either inside or outside, some offensive lines always pair two on one and use a fullback to block the remaining defender outside. This makes it necessary for the offensive linemen to use a variety of line-splits and steps.
- By using a counting system some offenses believe to eliminate unfavorable matchups that can be the result of unusual defensive alignment. This is often used in conjunction with other schemes.
- For the outside varieties of the zone play a scheme that is called Pin&Pull has had great success. The linemen do not step playside, but try to "pin" a backside defensive linemen, while the next backside offensive linemen pulls around the block and up to a track to the second level.
- Zone ideas are also found in other modern football plays that use reach blocking, O blocking or speed blocking, where offensive linemen take paths around defensive linemen to momentarily obstruct them before releasing on a track.
On higher levels the schemes are supplemented with a variety of audibles and calls to get even better matchups against certain defensive techniques.
Combining the zone scheme with the double or even triple option out of the shotgun was one of the latest innovation in college football and can be found in almost any given spread scheme. Today every NFL team uses some form of zone blocking but not all of them rely on it entirely.
[edit] Cut blocking controversies
The linemen of some teams that use zone blocking schemes have been criticized for their penchant for cut blocking the knees of defenders, sometimes away from the play. Cut blocks are legal in the open field and when a defensive player is engaged by another offensive player. Legal cut blocks should be aimed at the opposing player's waist or hip. Although some consider the technique unsportsmanlike because of the risk of serious injury, when taught and applied correctly it is a very effective tactic. In fact, some defensive players employ the technique to eliminate blockers so other defenders can make the tackle.
In 2006, Denver Broncos center Tom Nalen was fined for an attempted cut block on Igor Olshansky of the San Diego Chargers on a Spike Play - an attempt to quickly snap the ball and stop the clock by throwing an incomplete pass. Olshansky retaliated and was ejected from the game.
[edit] Sophisticated schemes
Zone blocking schemes frequently employ deception. For example, plays may be called in which blitzing defensive linemen and linebackers are permitted to rush into areas of the offensive backfield that are unimportant in the play called by the offense. Meanwhile, the offensive linemen who vacated the unimportant area migrate to the point of attack, blocking material defensive players.
Misdirection plays like Counters or Traps, are also used in a zone scheme. Counters work by misleading defenders away from the area of attack. These plays are usually called when defenses begin to over-pursue running plays by "reading" the feet of the linemen when the ball is snapped. Traps are used less frequently because a pulling linemen usually breaks the zone system. However, attempts have been made to integrate pulling linemen into zone schemes, especially with the rise of read zone plays.
[edit] Other Players Role
Players other than offensive linemen may enhance the success of a zone blocking scheme. For example, in a run-based spread attack like West Virginia's the primary responsibility of receivers is less to catch passes than to execute downfield blocks, springing the ball carrier and extending the run.
