The game of football has evolved tremendously since its inception. Today, the game of football is almost unrecognizable from its formative years.

Much of this progress has emerged from the grassroots of the gridiron. There are high school or college scheme wrinkles that bubble up in the NFL on any given Sunday. Before the recent arrival of the pistol formation or the read option play, it was zone blocking that was the new advent within NFL playbooks.

When I first began playing football, offensive line schemes were generally simplistic and quite rudimentary. They relied completely on man-on-man blocking, which often gave an advantage to active defenses. However, the arrival of zone blocking opened up the playbook for offensive coordinators.

Below is a short, but informative, video introduction to man-on-man versus zone blocking, from former Baltimore Ravens head coach and Brian Billick, a keynote speaker at the 2017 USA Football National Conference, and Falcons offensive line coach Pat Hill..

The purpose of this drill is to teach an offensive tackle and motioning H-back how to perform a proper zone combination block while reading the defense’s reaction to motion.

Drill Setup

Place an offensive tackle in his normal pre-snap alignment.

Place an H-back approximately three yards inside to mimic the H-back already in motion heading toward the tackle’s side of the line.

Align defensive players, who will hold blocking shields throughout the drill, in the defensive fronts you expect to see against an upcoming opponent.

Key Coaching Points

At the beginning of the drill, as the H-back begins his motion, have the defense react the way you expect your opponent’s defense to challenge you.

During the motion, the H-back and tackle must communicate what they see with the shifting defensive front.  

On the snap of the ball, players should explode from their stance and execute a great zone block; this includes either a double team on the lineman while working toward the second level or man-on-man blocking while working outside [based on the linebacker’s reaction].

 

Photo courtesy of MiamiDolphins.com