From just the little I saw, from Jedi’s interview, it requires our guards and tackles to be VERY athletic, using pulls, for example, to create gaps for our running backs. Alot of lateral movement to move the d line creating gaps that way.
This, I think, will require our RB’s to have some patience and elusiveness, instead of being only one cut guys.
I too, would love to have HT come and give us the inside scoop.
HELP HT!

Patriots run a lot of singleback formations and that is the exact formation that Hillis was so successful running out of last season. Second, they like to take the back and have him go in motion to line up as a WR. Shanahan himself said he may have had the best hands on the team last year. Also, I believe the Pats are fairly fond of screens (WR & RB) and I think that Hillis could be nasty on a screen as a receiver or blocker.

Gap blocking assigns each blocker to block a specific gap; sort of the converse of a 1-gap defense. Zone blocking requires groups of blockers to team together to block a certain zone.

What McD is refering to, pulling guards, has more to do with how outside runs are blocked. In a standard sweep the guards (usually) pull to the outside to lead the sweep. In a ZB scheme you typically substitute the stretch play for the sweep and the entire line moves laterally, shoulder to shoulder and square to the line.

A combination of the two could be very potent. The stretch play and the wide play both naturally set up the defense for a counter. Also, the 2-gap defense, which is a natural defense against ZB, is more vulnerable to traps and counters.

SWG is right.

Another way of putting it is that the “gap” approach is the common approach to run blocking. I sometimes call it “regular man blocking” to differentiate it from the zone block, but gap blocking is the more common (and proper) term.

Another thing to consider: Zone blocking teams don’t zone block on every run play. While Coach McD is making the statement that he’ll be splitting the types of run blocking, I wouldn’t be surprised by that. I still expect us primarily be a ZB team. The key statement is “you’re going to see both”. You see both with any zone block team.

Remember the two keys (ok, now three):

1. We kept our RBs coach,
2. We kept our OL coach,
3. We’re “going to do both” (which is what we’ve always done).

Great post, great comment by SWG, and good discussion to all!

Didn’t Shanny always prefer the more athletic O-linemen for the ZB scheme? Definitely smaller but at the same time quicker than most. I’m all for bigger stronger linemen but I don’t want to sacrifice the speed. Plus, Shanny was always able to pick up guys a lot later in the draft simply because they fit our scheme and very few others.