Zone Blocking

Bill,

In the Mudd inside zone, the uncovered man is taking a drop-step and crossover. Which step is contact made with - third or second? I would be afraid that a DLM slanting inside would catch the lineman with his feet crossed and make him vulnerable to tipping over. I guess the crossover step allows the uncovered man to "square up" better.

Does Mudd teach wider splits on inside zone to accomodate/necessitate the crossover step? Also, after punch, the uncovered man keeps his inside arm free until the LB commits, is that correct? Bugel is 4 hands on the double team?

Hope this makes sense.

PS: MOST NFL line coaches prefer tight splits (12" at tightest; 18" normal; 24" max) on zone plays. You can't zone effectively with a teammate & take large line splits! You widend the defense that "wants to be widened" by the initial steps of the line & RB that stretches the defennse ( defenses that read & pursue well).

I was on another site and read that some coaches feel that there is a push out there for offenses to go to a midzone or a bounce play instead of the stretch play. Does anyone run any of these plays and what advantages or disadvantages are there?

What are the different steps and techniques of the midzone and bounce play?

You can run TOSS with zone blocking, but the Counter/Power are blocked differently (instead of zoning with a teammate playside - you are gapping OR doubling down & building a wall to the backside - with a trapper & wrapper coming playside).

Getting back to ZONING - make sure your O-Linemen use the "PUNCH" technique - which Joe Bugel (taught (& STILL teaches) so well with the Redskins. I am enclosing exerpts from an article about that technique.

Bugel's current and former players believe his success stems from masterful motivational skills, communication ability and teaching acumen. Returning Redskins say they have improved markedly through Bugel's emphasis on hand techniques to hinder defenders.

Last season, Thomas, a gifted athlete who is agile despite his 6-foot-5, 306-pound frame, relied on a flawed blocking method -- blocking wide, with his hands several inches apart. It left Thomas' chest open to defenders, making him more vulnerable. A lineman has more control over the defender by keeping his hands close together inside the chest area -- "tight hands," Bugel explained -- before punching out.

The Redskins also have incorporated one of Bugel's trademark techniques: the arm pump, which is used in run blocking. The lineman cocks, or pumps, his arms to his sides before forcefully pushing upward -- "like a fork lift," Bugel said -- into the defender's chest area. It diminishes the chances of holding and keeps the lineman from being passive.

"He wants us to hit 'em in the chest and make their heartbeat stop," Thomas said. "It stuns them at the line because the defense is taught to hit you in your chest, so it's better if you hit them first."

Bugel used imaginary handcuffs, teaching his players through repetition and constant reminders. Thomas, a sixth-year veteran, had previously known a similar technique but stopped using it last season because it wasn't emphasized. Samuels, who is coming off perhaps his worst NFL season, picked up damaging tendencies in recent years -- dropping his head and using his hands improperly.

"I developed some bad habits the past couple of years," said Samuels, a five-year veteran who was still named a third alternate to the 2004 Pro Bowl. "With Joe Bugel coming back, it's definitely going to help us out. He's helped my game out tremendously already."

FROM WHEN TOM OSBORNE WAS AT NEBRASKA:

Inside Zone Blocking


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Inside zone blocking is designed to use the movement of the defenders against them as the running back finds the crease in the defense. 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.

Inside zone blocking rules allow linemen to use the movement and attack angles of the defenders against them. Whichever way the defender chooses to go, he is sealed off and the running back is prepared to cut off the block. Nebraska running backs are taught to attack the line-of-scrimmage (LOS) before cutting on inside zone plays. This gives the blocks the needed time to develop. The rule for the I-back is that his feet must replace the feet of the lineman before he can cut.

Inside zone blocking rules are keyed by whether a lineman is covered or uncovered. A covered lineman (one who has a defensive lineman aligned across from him) will execute a "stretch base" technique. This means he will take a short stretch step to the play side (step right on a 44, left on a 46) and attempt to control the playside shoulder of the d-lineman. The purpose of the stretch step is to invite movement by the d-lineman, then immediately engage him.

Uncovered linemen (no d-lineman across from them) execute a "stretch double" technique. Stretch double also calls for a stretch step to playside. The uncovered lineman then attacks the backside shoulder of the same d-lineman, creating double teams on most of the defensive linemen.

NOTE: the linemen operate on a system that moves to playside, NOT toward the hole called. On a 44 dive the play is called to the right guard, but the key is that it is a right side play. The right tackle's and right tight end's playside shoulders are their RIGHT shoulders even though the play was called to the left of them. The 4 hole is to the right side of the center, so right is playside for everyone on the line.

In executing the stretch double technique, the uncovered lineman assists the covered lineman to the playside; i.e., if a center and playside tackle are covered, the playside guard executes the stretch double with the tackle, NOT the center. If side-by-side linemen are both covered, the playside lineman is "on his own," and executes a stretch base block without double team help.

When executing the double team, both linemen follow what some coaches call a four hands-four eyes technique. This means they have four hands on the defensive lineman and four eyes on the linebacker in the area (their zone- which is where the name of the blocking comes from). When that linebacker commits to attacking the LOS one of the linemen chips off the double team and blocks him. The other lineman must be in position by then to take over the block on the lineman by himself. The linebacker is technically the responsibility of the uncovered lineman, but in practice either lineman can chip off and take the linebacker, depending on their position.

The goal of the stretch and stretch double is to create a cutback lane for the running back. When executed correctly, the "stretched" defender has moved in the direction of the call, and the stretch double prevents him from reaching a running back that has "cut back" against the flow of the play. If the double team can prevent the down lineman from making the tackle, and the "chip off" block prevents the playside linebacker from doing the same, the play can quickly get into the secondary.

The beauty of zone blocking is that the defense can pick its poison. Which ever way they choose to attack or stunt, the linemen (if they have perfected the zone blocking teamwork) can account for them. And the running back is trained to watch this block develop and cut off of it, no matter which direction the defenders are moved.

A very important block on an inside zone play is the backside seal block that allows the IB to cut back all the way to the backside TE spot if the whole defense fights to the playside. Depending on the formation used, the backside tackle, tight end, or fullback can be used to block the backside. A sure sign of an inside zone play is when the fullback heads away toward the TE without a fake while the IB goes straight ahead for a handoff. In one-back sets the backside seal cen be done by a wingback in motion. This is one area where big WB Troy Hasselbroek shone at the end of the 1999 season.

The offensive line blocks Outside Zone Rules. These are similar to Inside Zone Rules in that they use the covered/uncovered read and playside direction. The blocking techniques, though, are different, as the plays are designed to get the defense moving laterally across the field and create seams in their coverage.

The covered lineman executes a "rip-reach" technique. He takes an angle step at the playside shoulder of the defensive lineman and rips with his backside arm. His job is to turn the DLs shoulders and get him off-balance and prepared for his partner.

The uncovered lineman executes a "pull and overtake" technique. He takes a shallow pull step toward playside (sometimes called a bucket step) and works to take over the block of his partner.

The covered lineman wants to rip through his d-lineman to get to the linebacker, while his uncovered partner takes over his original block. If the covered lineman is unable to rip through because the DL fights to the outside, then the covered lineman stays with that block and the pull and overtake lineman pulls around that block and finds the linebacker.

THIS EXPLAINS IT ABOUT AS WELL AS YOU CAN VIA INTERNET ON A SITE.

Here is another version: FROM A EX-LINE COACH WITH CARDINALS:

PRINCIPLES OF INSIDE AND OUTSIDE ZONE SCHEME

ZONE SCHEME- MID TEMPO SCHEME DESIGNED TO BLOCK MULTIPLE FRONTS. DESIGNED TO LATERALLY STRETCH THE DEFENSE OPENING DIAGONAL RUNNING LANES WITH BIG CUTBACK POTENTIAL.

KEY PRINCIPLES:

1. INITIATE MOVEMENT ON THE FIRST LEVEL AND CLIMB TO THE SECOND

2. NEUTRALIZE 1ST LEVEL AND PICK UP 2ND LEVEL AS IT INSERTS INTO THE FRONT

3. MUST BLOCK FORCE ( ALLEY OR SECOND LEVEL PLAYER ASSIGNED TO TURN PERIMETER PLAY INSIDE ) AND ZOT ( ZONE OF THE BACKSIDE TACKLE )

INSIDE ZONE

KEY: MUST DETERMINE IF COVERED OR UNCOVERED- THIS DONE BY SIGHT AND FRONT DETERMINATION

A. COVERED- 3 STEP ZONE (MAY HAVE HELP IF HEAD UP TO INSIDE)

1. WEIGHT TRANSFER STEP ( 6"-8" POWER STEP JUST OUTSIDE DL ALIGNMENT )

2. STEP TO CROTCH MIDLINE (KNEE TO NUTS )

3. WIDTH AND DISTANCE STEP - MAINTAIN BASE, GET GOOD POSITION AND DOWNHILL MOVEMENT

NOTE: MAY HAVE VERY SLIGHT HIP TURN TO TRACK

B. UNCOVERED- ZONE STEP ( STEP TO HIP OF PLAYSIDE DL- EYES ON LB) 3 CHECKS

1. CHECK SLANT- COVERED MAN PLAYSIDE ( 1 HAND IF SLANT BRING TWO )

2. CHECK PLUG- BACKER FILL (ATTACK V.S. IMMEDIATE FILL)

3. CLIMB TO BACKSIDE BACKER

NOTE: HELP INITIATE MOVEMENT THEN CLIMB- NO PIECE THEN CLIMB NOW

NOTES: BACKSIDE TACKLE IS ALWAYS CONSIDERED UNCOVERED

21 BLOCK- BACKSIDE TACKLE BLOCK END AND CLIMB TO WILL AS HE CROSSES MIDLINE

TUFF STEP- UNCOVERED LINEMAN STEPS BACKSIDE TO SECURE BACKSIDE COVERED LINEMANS BLOCK

A. TECH

1. STEP INSIDE OF OUTSIDE FOOT OF DL- EYES ON LB

2. FOREARM LIFT AND GET MOVEMENT

3. CHECK PLUG TO B.S. LB

OUTSIDE ZONE

A. DIFFERENCES FROM INSIDE ZONE

1. STEP OUTSIDE PLAYSIDE- SLIGHTLY BIGGER HIP TURN( DO WHAT ABILITY ALLOWS )

2. 2ND STEP - STEP ON PLAYSIDE FOOT

3. WIDTH AND DISTANCE STEP - MOVEMENT DOWNHILL

4. TARGET - PLAYSIDE ARMPIT

NOTES: IF COVERED IN OUTSIDE ZONE SCHEME - MAY HAVE TO WORK HEAD ACROSS AND FOREARM LIFT ( PIN WITH HEAD PRESSURE- PUMP PLAYSIDE ARM )

V.S. PLAYSIDE SHADE PRESS PLAYSIDE BREASTPLTE AND PULL BACKSIDE- TURN SHOULDERS AND WORK DOWNHILL

FINALLY !!!!!!!!

Well it took 8 games, but we finally ran the zone well. The guys weren't really buying into it and it was my first time teaching it, but we finally ran it with success last night. Thank you all who wrote in with answers to my questions.