I came across a couple of video clips that relate to zone blocking techniques for the inside zone (also known as bend or tight zone) run and the outside zone (also known as stretch zone) run. Since 2002 zone blocking has been a critical success factor for the overall USC running game. In an average game for USC there might be 36 running plays for example. The last five or six are typically straight isolation lead plays out of the I formation in standard run out the clock mode. The remaining 30 are an interesting mix of a) zone running plays, b) isolation plays, c) counter misdirection type plays, d) power off tackle runs, or e) toss sweep plays, laterals, and other examples. From some game tracking data however I'd estimate that right around half the run plays in any given game for USC since 2002 are basic zone running plays.
In 2002 after the dismal offensive performance of 2001 Pete Carroll decided to re-tool the offense. As he explained to author Loel Schrader:
"I had decided we were going to do the whole offense over again," says Carroll. "I had gotten real frustrated with our offense, and I always wanted to be more involved to see if the things and concepts I liked would work. But I always gave in to the coordinators I had. This time, I decided this might be my last shot at being a head coach, and I'm not going to go down that way. I'm not going to leave it all on somebody else's shoulders. So, I spent the off-season working with the offense, and we recreated everything--philosophy-wise, rhythm, and principles--and the results have been phenomenal. Carroll turned to two professional coaches for assistance -- Alex Gibbs of the Denver Broncos and Jon Gruden, who was then at Oakland but moved to Tampa Bay. Denver had been known for possessing the best running attack in the NFL, and Gibbs was generally accorded most of the credit for developing it. Gruden was young, but he was known for his passing schemes and offensive brilliance. The first game against Auburn, Carson Palmer was poppin' that ball around, and we were running the ball better. I even told the guys, 'I don't care if we're the best running team in the conference, just get it to average.' That was how high I set my goals then." - Pete Carroll.
Most of the attention the past few years has been put on the passing game with Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, and John David Booty. Of course running backs Reggie Bush and LenDale White received much fanfare as well. Unfortunately much less attention gets put upon the men in the trenches of the offensive line that enable the skill position players to succeed. USC has been among the Pac-10 leaders in rushing every season since the dismal 2001 campaign and came off an impressive 197.2 yards per game / 5.0 yards per carry average in 2007. (Click here for the trend chart). As you can see in the table below only Cal in the Pac-10 has been better on average in the run game over the past seven years.
What is the method behind USC's rush game improvement the past several seasons that coach Carroll referenced in the book passage above? In 2002 Pete Carroll brought in a new offensive line coach named Tim Davis. As his biography notes:
Davis, 46, came to USC after
spending the previous 5 seasons
(1997-2001) at Wisconsin in charge of the tight ends and offensive
tackles. Badger tight end Mark Anelli was an All-Big Ten first teamer
in 2001. Wisconsin played in the 1998 Outback Bowl, 1999 and 2000 Rose
Bowls and 2000 Sun Bowl. Davis began his coaching career at Wisconsin,
working with the
offensive line as a volunteer assistant in 1983 and 1986 and graduate
assistant in 1984 and 1985.
What the biography passage leaves out is the interesting
history that
Wisconsin under coach Barry Alvarez was one of the best teams in the
NCAA during this time at executing the zone running game. Ron Dayne
followed it all the way to a Heismann Trophy in 1999 and a then NCAA
record 6397 yards rushing in regular season games. When the
American Football Coaching Association decided to publish their book
called
"The
Football Coaching Bible" Barry Alvarez was the coach selected to
write the section on the zone running game. At the NFL level of course
Alex Gibbs
the former Denver Bronco offensive line coach and others are given the
most credit
for developing this style of blocking in the 1980's and 1990's.
When Tim Davis left USC after the 2004 season to join the
Miami Dolphins he was replaced by another noted zone blocking expert Pat
Ruel on USC's coaching staff. After the 2005 season Ruel
wrote an article on the basics of zone runs for the American College
Football Association. Under coach Ruel the USC
running game
has enjoyed its two most production years rushing in the Pete Carroll
era in 2005 and 2007.
What is a zone running play? Zone runs can be executed as
inside
zone or outside zone run plays with a particular style of blocking.
They can be run to either the weak or strong side of the formation. In
addition they can be run out of the I Formation with the fullback
offset or straight. They can be run from 2 TE sets, or the 3 WR / 1TE
sets with one back alignments. The versatility of the play along with
the reality that is almost always gains positive yards (i.e. it does
not lead to negative rushing yards like draw plays sometimes do) is one
of the reasons for its popularity in college as well as the NFL.
Play action pass plays and bootleg passes can be run off it as well
making it a natural compliment to most any multiple pro style pass
offense. Another reason coaches like it so much, according to former
University of Michigan line coach Mike DeBord, is that the techniques
taught to the offensive line players are fairly similar. Thus in
case of injury it is relatively easier to move players around (with the
exception of center) than in traditional blocking schemes. This in turn
allows teams at the college level to get away with perhaps one or two
less offensive lineman on the roster than compared to the past.
In order to understand the basics of the IZ (inside zone) and
OZ (outside zone) base run plays you'll have to become comfortable with
what line coaches call technique
alignments (read this for starters) and then learn the covered
versus
uncovered rules for blocking. The
rules are very basic and logical but are best demonstrated at the white
board or on tape. Here are a couple of videos for those interested in
that level of detail.
The first video is a seven minute general
overview of the play with linebacker Kailee Wong of the Houston Texans
and a local sportscaster. This is an good
as any starter explanation for fans that I can find on-line. It won't
suffice
for interested coaches but I have another one as well. First
here is the initial intro video more aimed at fans. (Note these may
take a minute to appear and download depending upon your internet
connection speed).
For those interested in a more technical introduction to the
concepts here is a 27 minute long explanation of the basics provided by
former USC offensive line coach Mike Barry. Coach Barry was with USC in
the mid 1990's and moved onto the NFL pro ranks where he most recently
worked with the Detroit Lions. This longer explanation gets more into
the specifics of how to block covered versus uncovered versus shaded
positions and the types of steps involved for the lineman.