Zone Blocking Scheme

[DJL]

Also consider the QB skill sets the of college teams that are using the zone scheme...OSU, Arizona, Oregon, Auburn are certainly dual threat.

Hey Jake was a dual threat. He could check to a run to the short side of the field or check down to a running back on 3rd and 8.

 

[deanvogs]

There's nothing wrong with the zone blocking scheme itself, it's the lack of evolution of around it that is the primary issue for Iowa IMO. Iowa finally added the jet sweep to the inside zone to give teams something to think about this year; and that was something Wisconsin and others have been doing since ~2010. Iowa has always run pin & pull outside zone but it's really the only consistent variation they use. Iowa really doesn't run split zone looks much either, which is basically has a counter feel to it. Iowa will occasionally run "FB Sugar" zone looks, where the FB in I Form will go away from the play side but it looks very much the same to the front four, allows them to flow to QB pivot side at the snap.

All Xs and Os discussion aside they haven't had a skilled, load carrying back since Jewel Hampton left in '10. Coker was a reasonable fit in '10-'11, but didn't have ability to change direction at speed and struggled against good defenses. If you're going to run a mostly plain-jane zone blocking scheme, you better have a Shonn Green or Jewell Hampton type back who can create YAC on their own and make teams pay for over-pursuing. Iowa simply hasn't had one on the roster in awhile and is trying to run the same scheme; not a recipe for success in the ground game.

Thanks for clarifying this HGF. For a lay person it seemed like the zone stretch play had little or no variation to it. The D reads one or 2 keys and knows what is coming. As you said it is perplexing why Iowa doesn't have anything in the playbook to keep them honest so to say as variations off the same bread and butter play. Even the jet sweep is easy to defend, as all opponents know to watch for that or the fake jet sweep when Parker is on the field. It seems to me that we give all of our play calling away by personal and formation.

That is the thing that really bothers me when KF says execution, execution, execution. Sure that is easy to say that every play should be run perfectly, but that isn't reality. The D doesn't even have to be close to perfect, as they know what is coming. Just give our boys a little bit of a chance of being 50% perfect on a play, but since the D got confused or mislead it still leads to a big play.

 

[FromFry2Ferentz]

2011–Present: Denver Broncos [HC John Fox]
2010–Present: Seattle Seahawks [HC Pete Carroll]

Apparently it is still successful.....

 

[DDThompson]

HOw many thumbs up can I give to Hawkeyegamefilm?

Exactly. HGF is a good read and for those of us that were not coached in the details or "whys" of the game, he makes it an easy read.

Best contributor on the site.

 

[eveningnewsteam]

There's nothing wrong with the zone blocking scheme itself, it's the lack of evolution of around it that is the primary issue for Iowa IMO. Iowa finally added the jet sweep to the inside zone to give teams something to think about this year; and that was something Wisconsin and others have been doing since ~2010. Iowa has always run pin & pull outside zone but it's really the only consistent variation they use. Iowa really doesn't run split zone looks much either, which is basically has a counter feel to it. Iowa will occasionally run "FB Sugar" zone looks, where the FB in I Form will go away from the play side but it looks very much the same to the front four, allows them to flow to QB pivot side at the snap.

All Xs and Os discussion aside they haven't had a skilled, load carrying back since Jewel Hampton left in '10. Coker was a reasonable fit in '10-'11, but didn't have ability to change direction at speed and struggled against good defenses. If you're going to run a mostly plain-jane zone blocking scheme, you better have a Shonn Green or Jewell Hampton type back who can create YAC on their own and make teams pay for over-pursuing. Iowa simply hasn't had one on the roster in awhile and is trying to run the same scheme; not a recipe for success in the ground game.

This is exactly right, which makes Weisman having over 600 career carries even more maddening

 

[SamBrownlee48]

Zone blocking is far from dead. Some of the most prolific college offenses use zone blocking exclusively. Zone blocking is the basis for Chip Kelly's offense at Oregon and at Philly.

But as JD later added, the way zone is run has changed a lot. 1) we are seeing a lot more zone read option. 2) The bread and butter is inside zone.