The tite front has become all the rage in defensive circles this offseason. With high school and college defenses turning to the modern-day version of the Bear front to defend spread offenses, it is important that offensive coaches have go-to concepts and adjustments that can be successful against it. Today we break down four instances in which college offenses found success running inside zone against the tite front.

Inside Zone off Jet Motion

The offense comes out in an 11 personnel, 2x2 set with the tight end off the line to the field. The slot to the boundary goes in jet motion. The blocking scheme has the frontside tackle blocking out on the overhang, the frontside guard blocking the 4i, the center climbing to second level for the Will, the backside guard blocking the nose, and the backside tackle and tight end doubling the 4i.

The nose gets reached by the backside guard and the Will gets a little overaggressive pursuing the jet motion. This leads to a huge void in the frontside B-gap. The running back bursts through the hole for a gain of 11 yards.

Inside Zone/Double Slant RPO

The offense comes out in an 11 personnel, 2x2 set with the tight end off the line to the boundary. Just before the snap, the tight end motions across the formation and aligns outside the right tackle. The blocking scheme has the frontside tackle blocking out on the stand-up edge to the boundary, the frontside guard blocking the 4i, the center and backside guard doubling the nose, the backside tackle locked up on the backside 4i and the tight end climbing to block the Mike. The receivers to the field run a double slant concept and the quarterback hands off or throws off the movement of the Sam.

With only six defenders in the box, the Sam is responsible for the D-gap to the field. Rather than executing his run fit, he drops in coverage. The quarterback hands off and the running back cuts back to the vacated D-gap. The No. 1 receiver does a great job of blocking the corner once he realizes he isn’t getting the ball and the play results in a 17-yard gain.

Split Inside Zone (RB Bounce)

The offense comes out in a 20 personnel, 2x1 formation with the fullback offset to the field. The blocking scheme has the frontside tackle and guard double-teaming the 4i up to the Will, the center and backside guard doubling the nose up to the Mike, and the backside tackle blocking the backside 4i. The fullback blocks back across the formation to the backside standup edge defender. The slot receiver to the field cracks the Sam linebacker.

The defense seems to have the run stuffed at the line of scrimmage, but the line holds their blocks and the running back shows patience looking for an opening. The slot receiver delivers a devastating crackback block on the Sam just as he is about to knife in the backfield to make the tackle. The running back sees daylight in the vacated C-gap and bounces the ball outside with speed. He outruns the defense for a 57-yard touchdown.

Split Inside Zone

The offense lines up in a 12 personnel, 3x1 formation with a nub tight end to the right and two wide receivers in tight splits to the left. The H-back motions to the right side of the formation just behind the right tackle. The blocking scheme has the tight end blocking out on the corner, the frontside tackle blocking the tight 5-tech, the frontside guard climbing for the Will, the center and backside guard doubling the nose, the backside tackle climbing for the Mike, and the H-back going back across the formation to block the backside end.

 

The backside end does a poor job of getting hands on the tackle and staying tight in the C-gap when he reads the down block. This leads to him getting too far up the field and creates an easy block for the H-back. The linebacker coming back across the formation with the split action by the H tries to fit outside, but with the end out of position, the running back cuts right off the tackle’s block at the second level for a gain of 11 yards.

Overall, running inside zone against the tite front is a challenge. However, through the use of motions, blocking adjustments, RPOs and teaching the back where he should expect the hole to be, teams can find success. With an offseason of planning, look for teams to continue to be creative with their run game against the tite front this season.