Zone Blocking Scheme 101

Zone blocking is one of the most discussed - yet least understood - strategies in football today. There are nearly as many different opinions on zone blocking as there are people who have heard of zone blocking, and most of the debate comes from people who couldn't tell you the first thing about how a zone block differs from a man block. 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. Here, I'll use a standard play - the stretch sweep with inside zone blocking - to illustrate how zone blocking works. It's one of the simplest situations to illustrate as well as one of the most devastatingly effective runs available to a team willing to commit to it.

Overview

If anybody ever asks you what zone blocking is, the shortest possible answer you can give is that the linemen block zones rather than block defenders. (If the asker is particularly annoying, you can always say that in a matter-of-fact, how-could-you-not-already-know-that tone. Very effective.) Digging a little deeper, what this really means is that the linemen are looking for specific areas of the field to block; if a defender happens to be there, they block the defender in such a way as to control the spot. If a defender isn't there, they continue toward that spot, offering double-team assistance only if it's convenient. Once they control a zone, if they're not fully engaged, the linemen can then look to the "second level" for somebody in the defensive backfield to block (on run plays).

The reason teams came up with zone blocking is rather simple: big, hulking offensive linemen who are agile enough to keep up with defensive shifts are hard to come by. In the NFL, the problem is quite simply that there are not enough quality big linemen for every team to assemble a dominant offensive line. Instead of competing against 31 other teams for a scarce resource, some teams sought to find ways to use smaller, quicker linemen effectively. Because of the acknowledged weight disadvantage these linemen would face, the goal was to scheme away from the straight-up shoving contests and find ways to maximize leverage on the opponent.

As we step through the following diagrams, keep these principles in mind.

The ideal linemen for zone blocking are:

Quick, even at the cost of size.
Disciplined, even if the assignment seems pointless.
Consistent, not giving visual cues to the defender as to their initial intention.
Smart, able to keep up with defensive shifts before the snap.

The ideal running backs for zone blocking rushes are:

Disciplined, willing to do their job and not improvise.
Decisive.
Crisp runners - not necessarily fast, but they must have sharp cuts.
Committed, willing to blast toward a gap that doesn't exist - yet.
Decisive. No, really. A backfield dancer is absolutely doomed.

Those characteristics in runners and linemen are relatively cheap to come by in the NFL draft. For years, Denver was the only team that was fully committed to a zone blocking scheme; during those years, their best linemen and runners were routinely found on the second day of the draft. Just as routinely, Denver was cranking out a different 1,000-yard rusher every year, subsequently selling them off to other teams for capital to be spent later. Meanwhile, the rest of the NFL was tripping over themselves to get the top-rated players at these positions. (Recently, the significant increase in the number of zone blocking teams has changed the market, and Denver spent a #12 pick on an offensive lineman last year.)

The point is that you don't have to have the superstars to run an effective system. While that always helps, zone blocking was an advent created to atone for talent shortfalls. So let's see the zone blocking principles."