Are the Days of Zone-Blocking all but over ?

[nunusguy]

The sad truth for poor old Alex is that the NFL has caught up with a lot of his zone-blocking scheme. He needs to invent something else pretty quickly, or people are going to start catching onto this guy.

Zone blocking worked when defensive tackles were big fat guys and linebackers didn't run like safeties. In a bigger, faster, more aggressive NFL, zone blocking may be as meaningful as a Brett Favre retirement.
http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice...ortsJustice%29
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The Chronicles Richard Justice theorizes that Alex Gibbs departure was no big loss to the Texans since NFL teams have neutralized the effectiveness
of his blocking schemes.

[nero THE zero]

No. That's a silly stand to take.

There are a number of teams that run ZBS exclusively (us, Washington, Seattle, Carolina, etc.) and many more who run a considerable amount of zone plays. Nearly every team has zone plays of some sort in their playbook. Zone blocking is simply a system, and it is an effective one at that.

There was someone, either here or on TT (I think it was cland), who made a great point; the ZBS is simply a system in the NFL, and just like the 3-4, or the Tampa 2, or the WCO, it will only work if it has the right players executing the right way, but it won't go away.

That's the jist of it. It's a system, it has its strengths and weaknesses, and there are a number of reason why it didn't work for us last season. But, it's certainly not going away, and we will certainly be using it again next year, and as long as Gary Kubiak is our HC.

[Keith]

Wow, Justice writes a post about Gibbs that demeans his contribution to the offense's development. What a shock.

As for the ZBS, it comes in more than one size. And, yes I agree, as it is for ANY system, its success is contingent on the collective talents of the individual players that run it.

The Texans played most of the season with a first round LT, a third round RT, but then some questionable pedigrees in the middle (recall Pitts was injured).

Just as the team had questionable linebacking until it drafted DeMeco and Cushing, I think it is tough to assume improvement will occur without an influx of talent on the interior OL this offseason.

Just have to weigh the needs: G/C, CB, FS, RB, etc. The offense ranked high, but it was way too one-dimensional for most of the year. Fix the talent issue, and the system will look much better.

[Arky]

Just Richie being Richie....

Originally Posted by Keith

Just as the team had questionable linebacking until it drafted DeMeco and Cushing, I think it is tough to assume improvement will occur without an influx of talent on the interior OL this offseason.

Yeah, that's what I think, too. Seemed like they had 3 Morlon Greenwoods in the middle OL at times. Caldwell still has upside and perhaps Studdard has more.... I'm all for using #20 on Iupati and then using the next two picks for defense...

[Warren]

Zone blocking worked when defensive tackles were big fat guys and linebackers didn't run like safeties. In a bigger, faster, more aggressive NFL, zone blocking may be as meaningful as a Brett Favre retirement

That's just wrong. Zone blocking was designed specifically to counter increased movement and stunting by defenses. In a ZBS each blocker is responsible for a particular zone, rather than a particular defender, so the blockers don't have to worry about what to do if their guy does something like shift before the snap, twist, or drop into coverage – the OL have their progression to work through. And unless you’ve got the athletes on the OL to handle these bigger, faster defenders straight up, you’re going to need to use leverage and technique to do it… like with a ZBS.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by Warren

That's just wrong. Zone blocking was designed specifically to counter increased movement and stunting by defenses.

"I'm not going to miss our little weekly chats since we never had one. For some reason, he didn't find my wit and charm to be his cup of tea."

This is the REAL reason for the article. Remember the media likes to have access. When Justice didn't get anything juicy to write about, he turned sour. Justice isn't about to let "FACTS" get in the way of a good story.

This team could do more with more talent. Personally, I like seeing an athletic OL pull around and block a DB for a huge gain every now and then. We shall see what the OL looks like next season. Will Chester be back healthy? That is a huge question in my estimation. If not, we should draft an OL in the first round (Iupati, Trent Williams, Russell Okung) or take one in the 2nd round if we go DB in the first.

The offense needs to be more consistent with the running game. Short yardage and closing out games requires a good OL. Probably more important than a "feature" RB in my opinion. The only good RB I know of who played behind a crappy OL was Barry Sanders.

[cland]

Yep that was me nero THE zero (on both boards.) Again if you really wanted to destroy this team's offensive mojo, trying to play a Power Blocking system with Studdard, Myers, and White would surely have done it. Better talent in the middle=better results in the run game.

The other piece is that the ZBS has an effect on the passing game as well. Setting up your OL's in a zone wall, and picking up players if they are in the gaps is very similar to pass-blocking technique, and allows you to hide (if only for a moment) whether the starting steps of the OLmen mean they are in pass-protection of run-blocking. The amazing thing about this season is that despite our inability to run, we gave up a small number of sacks, and led the league in passing.


On a side note:

I really wish there was a Free Agency for beat reporters. We might have to sweeten the deal by adding Anna Megan, or maybe Bob can cover part of his salary but we've got to get Richard 'the media cancer' Justice off the roster.

I mean read this article. It's like an angry 12 year old wrote it. Allow me to translate:

Gibbs didn't like to talk to me, so he's clearly bad at his job. If we increase our ranking from #30 rushing in the league, that seals it. Gibbs runs a bad system. Of course Rick Dennison is the Man!!! (buttering him up so he'll talk to me.) He's going to bring in this crazy new system and really fix things (I clearly don't understand that Rick coaches the exact same style as Gibbs.) Also the Texans should have made the playoffs (disagree with that you silly readers, clearly ending on this point makes all my nonsense accurate.)

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by cland

Yep that was me nunusguy (on both boards.)

Eh hem.

[cland]

I was misquoted!

[dadmg]

Originally Posted by Roy P

"I'm not going to miss our little weekly chats since we never had one. For some reason, he didn't find my wit and charm to be his cup of tea."

This is the REAL reason for the article. Remember the media likes to have access. When Justice didn't get anything juicy to write about, he turned sour. Justice isn't about to let "FACTS" get in the way of a good story.

And we have a winner.

[kRocket]

[QUOTE=nero THE zero;17956]No. That's a silly stand to take.

There are a number of teams that run ZBS exclusively (us, Washington, Seattle, Carolina, etc.) ....[/QUOTE

Wow, you named off all the top teams in the league !! With the excwption of US they may be among the lowest ranked teams in the league.

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by kRocket

Wow, you named off all the top teams in the league !! With the excwption of US they may be among the lowest ranked teams in the league.

Carolina has one of the best running games in the NFL and I'm speaking of the 2010 Redskins, not the 2009 Redskins.

Also:

* It was nice knowing you in New York, Thomas Jones, but it looks like Shonn Greene is the man there now. So far, Greene has not only posted 263 yards in his first two games but he's also bringing the type of physical running style that the Jets will need to compete in Indy against the Jets. And by the way, for those of you who fuss about the zone scheme being too soft, does it look soft with the Jets? Obviously the Jets are better (and much more expensive) on the interior of their line, but the scheme can be dominant provided you have the personnel.

And:

There were questions about Shonn Greene before last year and I was one of the guys asking them. Was he fast enough to get the corner and make teams respect his outside as well as his inside running? Was Greene going to be just another Big Ten banger who didn't translate to the NFL? Was he a one-year wonder who wasn't ready to make it on the next level?

After 263 yards in his first two playoff games, I think the questions are being answered.

Greene is a physical back who is a great fit in the one-cut zone game that the Jets like to run and that is a testament to his time at Iowa under Kirk Ferentz. Word on the streets is that the Texans had an interest in Greene in the third round because he was such a good fit. While Greene isn't a blazer, he is similar to Cedric Benson in terms of his style.

[Warren]

Word on the streets is that the Texans had an interest in Greene in the third round because he was such a good fit.

A few weeks back Barry Warner said on 610 that the Texans had two RBs targeted in the 3rd round: Greene and Glen Coffee. The Jets traded up from the 12th spot in the round (#76 overall) to the first (#65) with the Lions to get Greene. The 49ers took Coffee at 10/74. With the RBs gone, the Texans took Antoine Caldwell at 13/77.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by Warren

A few weeks back Barry Warner said on 610 that the Texans had two RBs targeted in the 3rd round: Greene and Glen Coffee.

I was trying to determine if we should draft Chip Vaughn or Shonn Greene

http://inthebullseye.com/forums/show...eene#post10832

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by Warren

A few weeks back Barry Warner said on 610 that the Texans had two RBs targeted in the 3rd round: Greene and Glen Coffee. The Jets traded up from the 12th spot in the round (#76 overall) to the first (#65) with the Lions to get Greene. The 49ers took Coffee at 10/74. With the RBs gone, the Texans took Antoine Caldwell at 13/77.

I knew about Coffee; Kubiak had mentioned it in one of his post-draft pressers -- which seemed kind of odd to me, he's pretty much telling Caldwell he was a consolation pick. But, this is the first I'd heard about Greene.

Narrowly missing out on two targeted running backs coupled with the ineffectiveness of our running game this year could have a significant impact on our draft strategy this year. McClain has already said that the Texans will be drafting a RB in the first two rounds; I wonder if we'll see some movement so they can position themselves not to miss.