Mid/Outside Zone Case 3: Indi Lineman Covered Blocks
By Mike Kuchar – @MikeKKuchar
Senior Research Manager
X&O Labs
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Editor’s Note: A” covered” offensive lineman refers to any lineman to the play side of the middle or wide zone concept that is covered up by a first level defender (Diagram 1).
Introduction
This case presents data on the different techniques that offensive line coaches are teaching to their covered offensive lineman in stretch concepts. We’ve found that these techniques will differ based on the leverage of the down defender. There are so many intricacies that go into these coaching points- head placement, hand placement, foot placement, angle of departure, etc. They are all covered in this case as it pertains to the wide and middle zone run concepts.
Our initial research shows that 59 percent teach the far armpit as the visual aiming point for the covered offensive lineman in both the wide and middle zone concepts. We’ve found our research split on the footwork that coaches teach their covered offensive lineman in wide zone schemes- an even amount teach both the reach footwork and rip to run footwork while 13.3 percent teach the bucket step. We’ve found that coaches are from two schools of thoughts on the covered lineman- they are either reach step advocates or bucket step advocates and we present both perspectives below.
Rip to Run Footwork
36.7 percent of coaches teach the rip to run technique in wide zone run concepts, regardless of position of the defense, so it’s important to present that side of our research. Rick Trickett, the offensive line coach at Florida State University, is one of those coaches. For Trickett, the crux of the scheme is the first step of the covered offensive lineman. “He must bring his shoulders through on the first step on the stretch scheme,” Trickett told an audience of 400 coaches at the C.O.O.L. clinic in Cincinnati last month. “We work to get our outside breast to his far armpit and our inside foot to crotch. To do this we bring our shoulder over our knee on the first step.”
Eddy Morrissey, a former Graduate Assistant under Chip Kelly at Oregon teaches the tracks methodology and uses a run to reach footwork for everyone along the front. “Technically I’m covered, but it’s really ripping and pressing and covering him up,” Morrissey told us. “We don’t want the uncovered player to knock into me and there is all this penetration. As I feel pressure, I need to lean back into him. I want my guys to face the sideline and now we are on a track.” He teaches an elbow whip, pivot and run technique to his offensive linemen in his wide zone concept. He provides a video tutorial on this technique below.
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Introduction:
Introduction:
Backside Blocking
“Relentless off the ball, to the ball, and after the ball.” I first heard this phrase entering my senior year at Truman State University in 2008. At the time it seemed like just another coaching slogan, something used to motivate players to play hard. Six years later, that single phrase embodies my entire philosophy on the way defensive football should be played. Relentless off the ball (keys and reads), to the ball (pursuit), and after the ball (tackling and takeaways). In January of this year when I was hired as the Defensive Coordinator at the University of Mary, that was my first message to our defense. Above everything, the style of defense that we play is more important than the scheme that we install. Having just completed our first spring ball, myself and our defensive staff put a major emphasis on just that; pursuit, tackling, and takeaways. Throughout this article I plan to explain how we teach pursuit angles, categorize tackles, and when we believe going after the ball should be the number one priority.
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