As requested, here is a selection of running plays and a little bit of a breakdown of what is going on. Life was busy the last several days, so it took awhile to get around to putting down narration with the clips. Apologies if some of the words aren't pronounced correctly, but I didn't take the time to clean it up. Full disclosure, and it may be obvious, but all my voiceovers are AI, because I don't have the time or place to record audio for anything, but at times the pronunciation and enunciation can be a bear to manage.
I tried to strike a balance and not get super detailed, mainly because I have only a cursory knowledge of offensive line technique and it even if I did know what I was talking about, it would make for a very long video. If anyone wants to add more depth to this, that would be awesome. I am not going to post it on Twitter, because I don't feel the need to be publicly critical of a player, but this is a good place to discuss the good and the bad. So this is a YouTube video that is private and only available through the link below.
Just as a quick starter for anyone completely unfamiliar with offensive line play, basically we either zone block or gap block. I'm a gap blocking fan because while it is harder to learn and adjust if the opponent is mixing up defensive fronts or the defensive line is slanting, it can open predictable holes that the running back can take advantage of.
Generally when each guy has an assigned defender to block and someone is pulling, you know they are gap blocking. Zone blocking is just blocking in a general direction and following rules on when to double team the DL in front of you and when to release the double team and try to get to the next level to block a linebacker. When an OL is zone blocking, the RB has to head in the direction that the line is blocking and look for a hole to open up, plant his foot, and explode through the hole. If nothing is there, hopefully the defense over pursues, opening a cutback lane. There is a lot more to it, and probably a better way to explain it, but that is it in a nutshell.
I tried to strike a balance and not get super detailed, mainly because I have only a cursory knowledge of offensive line technique and it even if I did know what I was talking about, it would make for a very long video. If anyone wants to add more depth to this, that would be awesome. I am not going to post it on Twitter, because I don't feel the need to be publicly critical of a player, but this is a good place to discuss the good and the bad. So this is a YouTube video that is private and only available through the link below.
Just as a quick starter for anyone completely unfamiliar with offensive line play, basically we either zone block or gap block. I'm a gap blocking fan because while it is harder to learn and adjust if the opponent is mixing up defensive fronts or the defensive line is slanting, it can open predictable holes that the running back can take advantage of.
Generally when each guy has an assigned defender to block and someone is pulling, you know they are gap blocking. Zone blocking is just blocking in a general direction and following rules on when to double team the DL in front of you and when to release the double team and try to get to the next level to block a linebacker. When an OL is zone blocking, the RB has to head in the direction that the line is blocking and look for a hole to open up, plant his foot, and explode through the hole. If nothing is there, hopefully the defense over pursues, opening a cutback lane. There is a lot more to it, and probably a better way to explain it, but that is it in a nutshell.
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