It seems every time we research zone blocking fundamentals, the same concerns regarding zone combinations arise – footwork, aiming points and communication.

So let’s address the five most frequent concerns coaches have with teaching the zone combination block, particularly in the inside zone scheme and provide some in-season strategies to gain greater efficiency in zone schemes.

SEE ALSO: Strategies for blocking covered vs. uncovered inside zone runs

***

What type of communication should I use to identify specific combination blocks along the line of scrimmage?

At X&O Labs, we’ve found it to be imperative for coaches to tag the different zone combination possibilities along the line of scrimmage. Players must know who they are blocking before they attempt to block them.

Some coaches label playside block combinations as the following:

• Ted. Tight end and tackle working together.
• Tag. Tackle and guard working together.
• Cage. Center and guard working together.

Lineman are expected to echo these calls along the front presnap. Regardless of the terms you choose, a distinction should be made between the front side and backside of the play. Because there are two guards and two tackles, the verbiage should be different to prevent confusion.

Some coaches – including Steve Hagen of the New York Jets – tags combination blocks on the backside of the zone with letters that simulate gaps.

***

How do I teach my offensive lineman which linebackers they are working to in combination blocking?

This is one of the more underrated teaching points in the zone scheme. Offensive linemen must be able to identify who they are potentially working to. This is used when working a combination to a second level defender, such as a linebacker or down safety.

For example, some coaches have lineman identify the jersey number of the linebacker they are working to in their presnap calls. “Tag to 52” may mean that the tackle and guard are combination blocking to number 52.

Another concept is identifying a plus or minus alignment of the second level player the combination is working to. This often changes the footwork of the offensive lineman. Jeremy Darveau, the offensive line coach at Valdosta State University, uses the following templates to teach his linemen the difference in linebacker location:

Plus linebacker alignment. Refers to the playside linebacker being “plussed” over, which means wider from the box.

Minus linebacker alignment. The linebacker is tighter to the box. 

***

 What is the best footwork to use for the covered lineman in zone combinations?

Many coaches treat combination blocks as two individual blocks at the point of attack – one covered player block and one uncovered player block. As I discussed in a previous post, the footwork of the covered lineman in zone schemes vary based on the alignment of the down defender. For the most part, the defender can either be outside, head up or inside the offensive lineman.

For wide shade defenders, the majority of coaches choose to use a tight angle step.

For tight or head-up defenders, the majority of coaches choose to use a straight ahead drive block step.

For inside shade defenders, the majority of coaches choose to use a flipper – or shoulder lift – technique:

***

What is the best footwork to use for uncovered lineman in zone combinations?

The uncovered lineman refers to the lineman with no first level defender directly over him.

Ideally, this lineman is responsible for blocking a second-level linebacker unless an immediate threat shows sooner, such as a slant. Coaches are split between two types of footwork on this block: the lateral step or the bucket step.

• A lateral step is a side step that gains ground and keeps the shoulders squared.
• A bucket step is a backward step with the play side foot, which gets the shoulders to turn.

While this footwork can be altered based on the alignment of the next adjacent defensive lineman – a bucket step may be more suitable for wide defender – it’s imperative for the uncovered lineman to read the near hip of the down defender to protect against an inside slant.

This essentially turns into a one on one block scenario.

***

At what point do I tell my offensive linemen to come off on the linebacker?

We found two main trains of thought:

42.1 percent of coaches teach offense lineman to come off the double once they see the linebacker work underneath or over the top of the doubleteam

35.7 percent of coaches tell lineman to come off the doubleteam once the second player gets to his level.

Former NFL offensive line coach Bill Muir had his players understand two things when blocking zone combinations: decide where the linebacker is and decide how much time it would take to get there.

Once that is decided, Muir stresses the aspect of staying on the line of scrimmage as long as possible before coming off to linebacker depth.  

“Inside zone is a physical approach,” Muir said. “I wasn’t interested in getting off quickly. I wanted a push on the line. (Linebackers) came to us. We didn’t come to them.”

Regardless of technique, most offensive line coaches talk more about moving the down defender (defensive lineman) first before getting to the second level. It’s important not to get any splittage in the gap, meaning that the defensive lineman cannot be able to split the double team. This is prevented by both lineman stepping with the same foot.

What makes the zone play effective is that the covered and uncovered rules hold up against any defensive structure. Once players understand if they are covered and how they are covered based on the defensive lineman’s shade, they use the proper block associated with situation.

CLICK HERE: Learn more about inside zone, including access to XandOLabs.com special report

Mike Kuchar is co-founder and senior research manager at XandOLabs.com, a private research company specializing in coaching concepts and trends. Reach him at mike@xandolabs.com or follow him on Twitter @mikekkuchar.