The Chip Wagon

Inside the Helmet - The Inside Zone Part 6

Combination Blocking:

Almost all IZ plays begin with a combination block, where two linemen block one defender. Two on one, as Chip says, this is a power play, not a finesse play.

Going back to our base formation:

And we saw:

Here, the doubled defender is the NT. Kelce gets to the playside of the defender and blocks him - seals him - and Herremans, who was uncovered, comes free to block to his playside (his left) and the two drive the NT. Meanwhile, each of the other linemen go for their numbered targets, all of them going to their playside. Note that Todd ignores the guy coming to the spot he is vacating. Not his problem. It's Lane's problem. Todd, uncovered at the snap, blocks playside. That comes with coaching and trust.

Inside the Helmet - The Inside Zone Part 5

STEPS

This is an endlessly fascinating subject for about .05% of the population, so I won't belabor it here. There are a number of really fine sites on the Internet that discuss steps in great detail and I urge you to check them out. Here's one. There are a few basics, however.

1. The playside foot always goes first., whether forward (drive), sidewise (slide), or back (drop), etc. The idea of the first step is to get the angle you want on the defender. If you're going to attack him, the drive step takes you toward him. If you're trying to get an angle, the slide step gets you there, and if you're trying to pull, the drop step will allow you to clear the blocker next to you in your path.
2. With the second step you want to plant and drive. This is your power step. Howard Mudd actually had his linemen take two slide steps on many plays, something Danny Watkins could never get down. Watkins wanted to get into his man and power him; that's all he'd ever done and, as it turned out, that's all he ever could do.

In a perfect world, every one of the O linemen takes the same step at the same time and when they do, it's a thing of beauty, like this one against Chicago:

Foles under center. No off-set RB. Which way is playside? The count:

I'm cheating here because I know which way the play is going to go - to the offensive right. I don't feel guilty, though, because the O line knows the play is going right as well.

How pretty is that? Every man is going to an area - a zone - and they are moving in rhythm and unison. Just check out the synchronicity of the steps of the six blockers and the perfect match with the steps of the RB.

Inside the Helmet - The Inside Zone Part 4

Who Blocks Whom? A Tutorial

When the center gets to the LOS, you always see him pointing at somebody, right? Who? He’s pointing at the defender who has playside A gap responsibility, what Chip calls the “0 (as in zero) defender.” He might be a down lineman, an LB, or a safety who has walked up. Regardless, it's up to the center to recognize who that guy is and point him out. Based on that, the O linemen count. The next guy out, whether DL or LB is #1, the next guy is #2, and so on.

Inside the Helmet - The Inside Zone Part 3

Covered or Not Covered  

The first thing the lineman must sort out is, “Am I covered or uncovered?” “Covered” means there is a man lined up over you on the LOS, what you might call the first level. It does not mean nose to nose, although that would certainly qualify. You’re covered if there is a man lined up over you but you're also covered if your outside shoulder overlaps the DL or LB’s inside shoulder. To repeat: your outside shoulder overlaps his inside shoulder, and your outside shoulder is to the PLAYSIDE.

 “Uncovered” means, well, you’re not – no DL or LB (on the LOS) on you or overlapping your outside shoulder.. If a linebacker is lined up over the OL but off the LOS – on the second level – the OL is not covered. If the LB steps up – to the first level – then he is. It gets a little trickier if the DL lines up in gaps but not much trickier. If the DL is in a gap rather than over you, you’re not covered.

Inside the Helmet - The Inside Zone Part 2

The Mesh Point

Note that the QB stands square to the LOS at the snap (something Vick could never get down - a simple thing like stance) and, unless he chooses to throw quickly, he opens up with a hop-step to be at a right angle to the line taken by the RB. The second step by the RB will normally hit right where the QB’s near foot was originally placed. This insures a tight mesh point. The RB makes a pocket with his arms and the arm closest to the QB will always be the top arm. This sounds trivial but it’s not. You don’t want the RB’s elbow knocking the ball out or the RB reaching or stretching or fishing for the ball; it has to be right there.