Success as an offensive football team hinges on their ability to control the line of scrimmage. There are even a handful of youth teams out there trying. This will allow you to be multiple while only having to teach one or two blocking schemes. I use all 4 god variants call in my offense to adjust offensive line blocking to the different defensive formation that we see during the season and in some games. On doubleteam blocks, maintain hiptohip relationship, drive up and through defender. 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. Offensive back lead blocking on playside middle or outside backers. Get our blocking diagrams to every defensive front steps and combos. The zone running play works by having the offensive linemen block a space or a zone.
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. Let your offensive line call the blocking callblocking. In this situation, an offensive lineman is going to anticipate climbing to the next level to block a linebacker. Offensive line run blocking drills football drills. Ranking all 32 nfl offensive lines following the 2019. Waggle drill the offensive line waggle drill works on the proper pulling technique and path for the playside and the backside guard on the waggle play. Effecting the snap the center must be the leader of the offensive line. The whole point of the play is to block a defender where they are, and not have to move them. Usually both offensive guards and the center have the most. Mar 15, 2016 grey ruegamer offensive lineman for the new york giants the heart and soul of any good football team is its offensive line.
Now lets take a look at an outside zone running play the name of this play is zebra west right, 18 ho strong. In mechanigram a, lineman a4 was inside the freeblocking zone at the snap. Place one defensive lineman in the gap between the two offensive linemen, and a backer 5 yards back off the defensive lineman. Too many people believe the offensive line is a passive position. God blocking rules in youth football offenses coaching. In order to do this you must have a clear understanding of the concept of plays we will use. Zone schemes may be the easiest for the offensive line because all they need to know is where the ball is going. Offensive line drills how to teach zone blocking with the sled. I will give a simple explanation of zone blocking and leave any further research up to you. Offensive linemen, when facing twisting defensive linemen, can also either lock on mantoman or pass it off in a zone concept. As you can see the zone blocking scheme requires offensive linemen who have quick feet and can get their body in between. The big guys are all on the same level at the line of scrimmage and all of their splits are exactly the same.
They block one play this way and another play that way. Theres no position that requires more discipline or technique than offensive lineman. For more details on how i teach the down block technique, check out my wingt offensive line drills. Effective zone blocking techniques in the running game. To be a good offensive line requires more than just discipline. Its the best way for youth players to maximize their power and block with a low profile. Its 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. Developing offensive linemen for the zone scheme fishduck. Without a great offensive line no matter what offensive is run it will not be effective. Offensive line splits and levels firstdown playbook. Zone blocking free download as powerpoint presentation. Ive cribbed it from a copy of the 2004 denver broncos offensive playbook. Outside zone blocking coaching youth football tips, talk. This concept was made famous by the denver broncos and their legendary offensive line coach alex gibbs.
We break down the zone blocking scheme and discuss some of the. In our system, you will be responsible for making a number of line and protection calls. I found this excellent article that breaks it all down here. I dont like my oline kids blocking the fastest players on the other team in space on the run it simply wont happen for many of the olinemen we get assigned to our teams. In 2016, we originally wrote a football 101 breakdown of the zone blocking scheme. Elimination of clipping in freeblocking zone continues risk. No matter how big the engine is, it is not moving without the wheels. Shoulder blocking the shoulder block has been our preferred blocking style for many years. Zone block i wont go into much detail today, but it is simply run blocking where the entire offensive line blocks towards one side and takes on. Rick pennypacker pottsgrove high school pottstown, pa. The offensive lineman is told that he must read covered or uncovered. The ultimate guide to inside zone blocking pro style. Mar 31, 2009 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. Well, if your offensive line plays the real game like this they are playing at a severe disadvantage.
Half line slide protection is a zone protection scheme to the slide or call side. In our offense the as call means that the lineman will not be involved in a combination or zone block but, instead, he will be working alone. Jul 25, 2014 alex gibbs did not invent the zone blocking scheme. The offensive line drills below work on skills for both the run and pass blocking to created balanced football players. The offensive line blocking schemes and technique drills are used to work on blocking schemes and techniques.
The blocking rules allow the linemen to figure out who they are blocking quickly which is a major advantage. If you have no rusher directly in front of you then help the next man to weakside but stay alert for. The guard and center positions for the bucs combined for an 80. Understanding the zone blocking scheme field gulls. The ultimate guide to inside zone blocking pro style spread. Instruct the linemen to execute zone blocking as if it was an off tackle rush in.
Zone blocking is a technique that is a simple and effective scheme for creating lanes for running plays. Ranking all 32 nfl offensive lines following the 2019 regular. Offensive line philosophy we are the most important position on the field. In lockstep with many of the genus and species type confusions on how things are named in modern football, it is better to describe why a new philosophy was born and to identify the essential core differences between the two blocking concepts. Controlling what big and athletic defensive lineman and linebackers do is no easy task. Often credited to tom nugent, the exact creator of the i form is unknown but it has been a successful formation at all levels of football for more than 60 years, and will continue to be used for much longer. In a zone blocking scheme, fleetfootedness and athletic ability trump size as desirable qualities in offensive linemen. The university of michigan also started using zone blocking under head coach lloyd carr in the 2006 season, and continued to do so under his successor, rodriguez. While in a shotgun formation, an offensive lineman may legally block below the. Sep 22, 2016 i use all 4 god variants call in my offense to adjust offensive line blocking to the different defensive formation that we see during the season and in some games. Zone how the saints use ingramkamara in both duration.
Grey ruegamer offensive lineman for the new york giants the heart and soul of any good football team is its offensive line. All of my plays have 2 or 3 different blocking calls so we can adjust our blocking scheme during the game. Often credited to tom nugent, the exact creator of the i form is unknown but it has been a successful formation at all levels of football for more than 60. The right guard on zone right with a defensive end to his side, such as an odd front. The center will make the call and the guards will echo the call. For the offensive lineman, the running drive block is used when firing straight ahead to block a linebacker who is lined up three or four yards off the line of scrimmage, or when the blocker is asked to pull laterally and trap a defender who is lined up on the line of scrimmage. The next thing you need to study about the inside zone is offensive line steps and calling combination blocks.
Zone six inch, 45 step playside, keeping toes pointed forward. Falcons pat hill on difference between man and zone blocking in the offensive line. Aug 22, 2016 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. Each offensive lineman to the call side is responsible for blocking a specific gap. Understanding the down, gap, and cover blocks wingt youth. The university of iowa under head coach kirk ferentz, a former nfl offensive line coach, utilizes zone blocking and the insideoutside stretch play as the basis for their offense. Elimination of clipping in freeblocking zone continues. Ryan jensen and ali marpet anchored the middle of this buccaneers offensive line and provided some of the best pass protection that we saw from any interior offensive line this season. Atlanta also saw a similar transition, this time by bringing in the godfather of the zone blocking scheme, alex gibbs, whom many a defensive player can thank for a career or season ending lower leg injury. Zone blocking drill offensive line drills krausko llc. May 31, 2018 in 2016, we originally wrote a football 101 breakdown of the zone blocking scheme. Alex gibbs, the godfather of the modern zone blocking.
Thus, i try to keep the rules and line calls simple, it will give your offensive line the chance to perfect there techniques and perform them in an aggressive manner. You even see some of the more athletic high schools going to that scheme. Chip kellys numerical system to zone blocking breaking. This offseason, however, i received requests to explain the scheme again. 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. When blocking the inside and outside zone schemes, linemen are. 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 the running back. Former offensive line coach alex gibbs created the zone blocking scheme zbs during his time with the denver broncos in the mid. Once again, it was a pleasure to report on the offensive line principles in the zone scheme.
As defenses have made their formations and run blitz packages more complex and confusing for offensive units to block, the zone blocking scheme provides simplification in some ways. Mar 31, 2005 houston hired joe pendry as offensive line coach and installed a zone blocking scheme for domanick davis between 2003 and 2004. This depends on how far that first level defender is from the blocker. One of the most common ways the outside zone has been used is from under center with the stretch play. That reason is why chip kellys numerical system to zone blocking is a much more simple method to zone blocking. Differences between the zone and power running schemes.
Slide protection schemes and technique smart football. As an offensive line coach one of my favorite football practice drills is the 2 on 2 zone blocking drill. It is crucial the offensive linemen to the call side maintain the proper spacing in order to. Alex gibbs did not invent the zone blocking scheme. When developing an offensive line for the zone scheme, the coach is. Its origins go way back to the postwwii era of football, if not further, and it was popularized in the nfl in cincinnati in the late 1980s. Understanding the zone blocking scheme new, 30 comments its the offseason, and teams around the league are back in.
Football practice drills 2 on 2 zone blocking drill. Good offensive line coaches and good offensive lines are very aware of splits and levels. If you would like to discuss any of the topics here in greater detail, please feel free to contact me at optionfootball at. As you saw from the post, im no zone blocking fan for non select youth football. The zone helps the linemen determine who and where to block. Coordination and technique matter more than muscle in implementing a successful scheme because defensive linemen are often doubleteamed at the point of attack. Pass blocking zone or man zone locking or manlocking principles may also be applied to pass blocking.
The nfhs football rules committees action this year on making clipping illegal in the freeblocking zone once again reinforces its continued effort to. The down block is a same shoulder block unlike most others in the wingt, meaning if im blocking the man down to my left that i will step with my left foot then block with a left shoulder technique. When passing it off, or zone blocking, the key is to stop the. Designed to overpower the defense at the line, the iformation offense is a great way to play smash mouth football. Many coaches teach the inside zone an interior play that will hit within the tackle box and the outside zone a perimeter run scheme in two separate ways, but i try to combine the same blocking schemes. Zone blocking schemes zone based blocking schemes have become the primary blocking scheme of many modern day football teams. I am really interested to hear from any other youth coaches on success stories or tips to outside or inside zone blocking. Understanding the down, gap, and cover blocks wingt. Buck sweep drills the offensive line buck sweep drills work on the proper pulling. Coach, that sounds like what we face on most weekends. Jun, 2018 33 videos play all offensive line drill library football university football fundamentals. You can line up in several different formations while still keeping the same blocking scheme. Being an offensive lineman is often a thankless job, but good blockers are crucial for the offense to reach its potential. If it is going to the left, they step left foot first and have the defender in that gap.
Oct 30, 2012 falcons pat hill on difference between man and zone blocking in the offensive line. Pass blocking zone or man zonelocking or manlocking principles may also be applied to pass blocking. Zone blocking procedures philosophy of coaching offensive line no position in football require more discipline and technique success of the offense depends on controlling the line of scrimmage spend a tremendous amount of time on fundamentals. If it is going to the right, they all step with their right foot first and are responsible for the gap to their right. That was the advent of the great schism in offensive line philosophies zone and man or angle. I looked over the article pdf from above a really found it interesting. There i was, a brand new offensive coordinator on my first day of the job. Teams have way too many running plays with varying blocking schemes in their offenses. May 27, 20 remember zone scheme dont want to allow and penetration across the line. Halfline slide protection is a zone protection scheme to the slide or call side. Featuring a new chapter on nonpadded zone blocking drills, the second edition also includes stance and angle of departure drills, a twohand punch progression, oneman, twoman, and threeman games for inside and outside zone, a nineonseven inside zone drill, and special situation drills, and contains over 100 diagrams and illustrations.
Check out the video and let me know what you think. A detailed look at differences in schemes for both the offensive line and the running backs as the redskins transition from zone blocking to power blocking. Below i will explain the chip kelly method and than i will explain the differences in the 2 systems and why it makes the blocking not only easier for the players but the play calling easier for the coaches. Just like the inside zone, the outside zone utilizes a full zone scheme. Zone blocking in the running game is when two or three offensive linemen work. In a 25year career as an offensive line coach and clinician for youth, high school and college coaching staffs, i have come to one conclusion. Alex gibbs, the godfather of the modern zone blocking scheme. The easiest way to recognize either is to watch the offensive lines first step off the snap.
Line up two offensive linemen, a tackle and a guard, in a three point stance along a yard line. A prevalent blocking scheme in the nfl and college is now the zone. Zone blocking can most simply be described by saying that an offensive line is responsible for a specific zone instead of a specific man as he would be in a man blocking scheme. Use the shoulder instead of the hands because the low man wins the war on the line of scrimmage and its very difficult to stay low if you are chicken. With this alignment i can simulate most any defense we. Business sport, sporting goods and toys industry blocking football methods offense football coaches management football coaching football offense football players usage linemen football. The outside zone allows an offense to do this in a variety of different ways. Regardless of the formations you use, the blocking rules will always stay the same for your offensive line. Power six inch lateral step inside, keeping toes pointed forward.
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