In the Broncos model of the scheme, athletic linemen are needed. The Broncos line is small compared to many others, but they’re quick, and very good at getting to the next level.
For this, I’m going to use the Colts’ players offensively and the Eagles’ players defensively. This was inspired from the massacre of a few weeks ago in which rookie Joseph Addai ran for four touchdowns against the Eagles, and completely dominated.
The Colts call this the “stretch” play, a term which has become common among fans discussing zone blocking. The Quarterback extends the ball as far as he can to get it to the RB, and the RB finds a seam among his linemen and Tight Ends blocking. Two uncovered linemen, which will be the Right Tackle Charlie Johnson, playing for an injured Ryan Diem, and the Center, Jeff Saturday, pull to the right. The remaining linemen and Tight End(s) all step right, and either block, or get up to the next level to get a Linebacker if nobody is there, which is also called fire blocking. Here’s a picture of an offense running the play against a stand-still defense.
Here it is with the QB-HB exchange.
Against this play, possibly the most important defensive player on the field is the end at the point of attack, in this case, Trent Cole. If he gets pushed off the ball by his man, who will be Tight End Ben Utecht, there’s a huge lane for Addai to pick up big yards.
Obviously Johnson and Saturday would meet the Eagle Linebackers, Dhani Jones and Jeremiah Trotter closer to the hole, but it opens up a huge lane for Addai, and he only needs two blocks to get a huge gain. To make this play, the end has to use his strength to engage his man and fight upfield. However, he can’t rush upfield uncontrollably. This creates a seam for Addai.
If he engages his man and doesn’t fly upfield out of control, he’ll be in position to disrupt the play, and either make the tackle or let someone else clean up.
Here, Trent Cole at the very least earns a stalemate with Utecht, and that forces the pulling Johnson and Saturday to alter their paths, which makes it more difficult to find Linebackers, who have more time to get to the hole and engage them. Addai has to bounce it farther outside than he would like, and either the WIL Linebacker Matt McCoy or a safety can come clean up, if Cole, Trotter or Jones don’t get off their blocks and make the hit in the backfield.
The Defensive Tackles need to get upfield and penetrate into the backfield. Against zone blocking, DTs have a great chance to make plays because it’s slow to develop, and they can run down the back if they get into the backfield quick enough. If the strong-side DT gets penetration, it throws Saturday off his path, and makes the blocking take longer to develop. If the weak-side tackle gets penetration, he can shed his block and have a chance to slow down Addai. It also gives the Linebackers an easier time reading the play and gives them a clear path to the back. Another way for the tackles to have a positive impact against zone blocking is to get on the hip of the pulling linemen. I won’t picture it, but when a tackle sees a lineman lined up across from him pulling, he should attempt to follow him to the ball. This will be mentioned again later.
If the DTs, Mike Patterson and Darwin Walker, get blown off the ball, Addai is going to be running free. Huge lanes are created for him. Not only are the tackles taken out of the play, they get pushed back into the Linebackers, preventing them from diagnosing the action and making the tackle.
The backside DE, Darren Howard, has a chance to make plays. His first responsibility is to close down on the play. That means when he sees Tarik Glenn trying to get to the second level, he has to give the tackle a shove to knock him off his path, get off his hip into the backfield, and redirect flat down the line of scrimmage, take a good angle and have a shot at making the tackle.
Darren Howard is a nice player, but he simply doesn’t have the athleticism of Dwight Freeney. In an athletic explosion in which he’s hell bent on getting to the Quarterback, an athlete like Freeney can loop around the tackle, and chase down runners from behind on the opposite sideline. Howard can’t do that. He has to rely on technique and being in the right position to make plays on the other side of the ball.
The Linebackers need to study film and have an idea of what the Colts are going to do. Their run plays are basic. Everyone steps in one direction, and two linemen pull. There’s no misdirection. Peyton Manning can’t run, there are no bootlegs. The play is what it looks like. The pulling linemen take you to the ball. There aren’t any false pulls. Follow the lineman, meet them in the hole and blow things up.
Why can’t the Eagles stop zone blocking? Because they don’t have players that can do these things, or the coaches that can help them do these things. Trent Cole is a small guy and can’t fight blockers. Patterson and Walker can’t get off blocks and get driven back. Dhani Jones and Jeremiah Trotter can’t get off blocks. Trotter in particular is bad at reading the play and finding the ball, and takes himself out of a lot of plays by taking bad angles.
A lot of the problems against the run come from coaching. Jim Johnson simply isn’t doing the best job at preparing his players. That’s not to say he has the pieces he needs, but Johnson needs to do better with the guys he has, not the guys he should have. Of course, this is a lot more difficult than I’m making it sound, but that’s why I’m not coaching in the NFL.
This was a complete pain in the ass to put into this site. It was nearly impossible to get the font to be right and for the pictures to go in the right place, so if there's mistakes, I tried my best to arrange this the way I wanted to.
As for my pick for the game tonight, I take San Francisco (+10) over Seattle.
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