Zone Runs

[Kaylos]

After playing ESPN 2K5, I learned more about zone runs and loved them. I noticed they were in NCAA also, so I started trying to use them. However, I cannot get any consistency out of it.

The way I understand it, the running back gets the ball and waits for a whole to open. The Linemen block the next man over instead of the man in front of them. Based on how the defense lines up will effect how the linemen block. The running back then moves towards the line looking for a hole to open, wether that is of the corner, up the gut, or to the back side, does not matter, you then go for that hole.

The problem I am having in NCAA is that the only time I get any success is when the tightend gets around to seal off the LB and the DE does not get too much penetration. If the defense shift to the play side it will not work, though sometimes I can flip it, though that is not usually very effective. It seems impossible to cut back inside, because even when the hole opens up, its tiny and the lineman usually pushes the DT right into you. If the back side opens up, the running back gets the ball too close to line to cut back to it, even with high agililty. An then many times the DE gets too much penetration to get around him. Deep DE penetration should open a hole you can shoot through and sometimes it does, but its usually too small or the MLB comes free and gets to you before you can turn it upfield for any real gain. If the outside gets sealed, you can usually get a very good gain, but its not consistent. Then many times the DT comes free too easily because the lineman is blocking him your direction and hits as you get the hand-off.

Maybe I am running it wrong or is the play broken? (I practice it with LSU Off and Def) I did manage to break one through the hole between the DE and DT once, but it was with heavily modified team against a weaker team. Or is the Linemen I have. Maybe it needs agile, high awareness, or both type linemen. I read somewhere in here that low awareness FB were horrible, missing LB blocks a lot not matter how good they were otherwise, maybe its the same with linemen with a more complicated run play.

I wasn wondering if anyone else had any experience with this. I love zone runs and if I could get to work somewhat consistently, even average gains would be

[Sandman42]

You usually need a good offensive line to run this play. What I do is wait for the blockers to hit their man and juke to the outside of them once they make their block. It gets good yardage most of the time, but sometimes I will get stopped in the backfield.

[Kaylos]

Yeah, it works pretty well if you bounce to the outside if the runside DE is not immediately in your face and the tight end gets a hand on the contain LB. The TE does not even need to block him well, just enough to slow him down enough to make him have to chase you instead being there waiting. Usually at least a ten yard gain and more with a few well placed moves and a little luck.

Its just frustrating because it is not consistent. Obviously consistent big runs would not be cool, but being able to cut back every once in while for decent gain would be nice as the design of zone is off the cutback, not really to the outside. Yet that seems to be the only time the play works. Maybe I will just save the play to catch the defense off gaurd in 2nd in really long and sometimes 3rd and medium situations.

The handoff also happens too close to the line. The play might actually work when the line gets every defensive player in the box moving the run direction if the hand-off was farther back allowing you to cut back towards the open field. I have seen the backside open up like that, but am always too close to the line to be able to cutback into it.

[jfsolo]

The poor Oline/Dline interaction and the poor acceleration of the linemen really limit the effectiveness of these plays. So many of the plays in this game don't work because of the the gameplay engine.

[ADW]

Zone blocking as it relates to the run game is where the offensive line will work together as a whole unit rather than each linemen having a specific man to block. The key to zone blocking is the offensive linemen will use combination (combo) blocks to double team defensive linemen who are aligned on the line of scrimmage. Since the offensive line is working in tandems, it allows them to be more aggressive since they know they have help initially with their block. The key is to get movement at the point of attack by controlling the defensive line and once the defensive line is controlled work to the next level and block the linebackers. This aspect of zone blocking isn't present in NCAA 2005 which makes these plays very much hit or miss.

If you notice when you run the zone play in NCAA often times (at least on Heisman default) the play side defensive tackle is able to penetrate through the line of scrimmage and stop the play for a loss. He's able to do this because the center and play side guard didn't combo block him. In a two back set the fullback generally winds up blocking this guy which shouldn't be the case.

If you notice the play diagrams the offensive line will block at an angle towards the play side. For many gamers this can be confusing as they may not be aware of why the offensive line blocks on this play in this manner. On the zone play the offensive line is looking to block towards the outside number of the nearest defender to the play side, some teams call this a reach block. For example the guard will look to block at the outside number of the defender aligned over him. If that defender's number is 96, he'll block towards the 6. If an offensive lineman is uncovered, he'll look to combo block with the next play side lineman on a defensive line player.

The rules for the offensive linemen are if the defensive lineman slants outside, they'll block him to where he wants to go. If the defensive lineman slant's inside, they'll initially combo him and let the next offensive lineman to his back side block that player. Once that defensive lineman is secured, one of the offensive lineman involved with the combo block will work his way to the play side linebacker. The offensive line is trying to force the defensive line to move east and west which "stretches" the defensive line out. This stretching of the defensive line allows the back to read the blocks up front and make a decision as to where to run the football.

On the outside zone play you're looking to get the ball outside on the perimeter first and foremost. If the defense cuts off the outside, you'll want to take the play off tackle. The cutback element comes into play when the defense over pursues the play and loses backside containment. So basically you have three running plays built into one play. The back must press the hole when running the zone play. This simply means he'll get as close to the hole as possible which in turns forces the defense to attack that gap. Once the defense is committed to attacking that gap, he can then look for the cutback.