Riley Shelf Life

[BigRedBuster]

 

One thing that some fans harp on is the fact that Ameer had to dodge defenders in his face in the back field. That was the scheme more times than not. In a zone read, one defender is not blocked (most of the time). It is up to the QB and RB to make that guy miss. From there, the O line is supposed to have a numbers advantage.

 

Also, our O line (and many around the country) are taught to block way differently than what they were in the 80s and most of the 90s. Rules changes are a big part and changes in offenses are another in making that change.

I don't think this is entirely accurate. Yes, specifically in the zone read, one defender (usually the end) is left unblocked for the QB to read.

 

But, in the zone blocking scheme, linemen are either covered/uncovered and often move laterally. So, on a zone blocking play (which we used regularly under Pelini and will use now in the future), the offensive line is not supposed to let a defender go untouched into the backfield and leave it up to the RB to make a guy miss one or two yards behind the LOS. The line is supposed to block a man (if they're covered) or double-team/move to a defender if they're uncovered.

 

Obviously numbers mean a lot here, as does stopping the backside defender from coming in and blowing up the play as the back looks for an opening.

 

But, there's hard evidence of our line either 1) failing to maintain proper technique while blocking or 2) missing assignments. In my opinion, was our line bad? No. Were they great? No. I agree with what someone else said that on a 10 point scale they're probably a 6.5. Or, I'd rate them a B or B-. Slightly above average.

 

I'm not sure about your point. Your first two paragraphs contradict each other.

 

I said that one defender is not blocked. You said the same thing. It is up to the QB and RB to read that defender and make a play that makes that player miss the tackle. The rest of the defenders are supposed to be blocked in a blocking scheme like what you described.

 

Now, one thing that some Husker fans have a problem with is they will say our O line sucks because they didn't go run over people. Well, like you described, that is not how they are taught to block. Basically, the lineman moves laterally and when the defender moves in one direction, they are supposed to push him TOO far in that direction for them to make a play on the ball. The RB then reads the blocks and picks a hole. Sometimes that means that hole isn't very big.

 

What both of us are saying is that even if our O line was great. It would look totally different than our O line's of the 80s and 90s. Some fans have a hard time grasping that because they aren't seeing the O line getting a huge push upfield.

[huKSer]

I don't remember the game, but we were away late in the season and TM was the QB.

We had 4 OL blocking 1 or 2 defenders on a pass play, and about 4 defenders went unblocked and blew up TM.

There were gifs galore.

Does anyone have it?

[Enhance]

 

 

One thing that some fans harp on is the fact that Ameer had to dodge defenders in his face in the back field. That was the scheme more times than not. In a zone read, one defender is not blocked (most of the time). It is up to the QB and RB to make that guy miss. From there, the O line is supposed to have a numbers advantage.

 

Also, our O line (and many around the country) are taught to block way differently than what they were in the 80s and most of the 90s. Rules changes are a big part and changes in offenses are another in making that change.

I don't think this is entirely accurate. Yes, specifically in the zone read, one defender (usually the end) is left unblocked for the QB to read.

 

But, in the zone blocking scheme, linemen are either covered/uncovered and often move laterally. So, on a zone blocking play (which we used regularly under Pelini and will use now in the future), the offensive line is not supposed to let a defender go untouched into the backfield and leave it up to the RB to make a guy miss one or two yards behind the LOS. The line is supposed to block a man (if they're covered) or double-team/move to a defender if they're uncovered.

 

Obviously numbers mean a lot here, as does stopping the backside defender from coming in and blowing up the play as the back looks for an opening.

 

But, there's hard evidence of our line either 1) failing to maintain proper technique while blocking or 2) missing assignments. In my opinion, was our line bad? No. Were they great? No. I agree with what someone else said that on a 10 point scale they're probably a 6.5. Or, I'd rate them a B or B-. Slightly above average.

 

I'm not sure about your point. Your first two paragraphs contradict each other.

 

I said that one defender is not blocked. You said the same thing. It is up to the QB and RB to read that defender and make a play that makes that player miss the tackle. The rest of the defenders are supposed to be blocked in a blocking scheme like what you described.

 

Now, one thing that some Husker fans have a problem with is they will say our O line sucks because they didn't go run over people. Well, like you described, that is not how they are taught to block. Basically, the lineman moves laterally and when the defender moves in one direction, they are supposed to push him TOO far in that direction for them to make a play on the ball. The RB then reads the blocks and picks a hole. Sometimes that means that hole isn't very big.

 

What both of us are saying is that even if our O line was great. It would look totally different than our O line's of the 80s and 90s. Some fans have a hard time grasping that because they aren't seeing the O line getting a huge push upfield.

 

I'll try to re-phrase. Perhaps I wasn't that clear. In your initial OP, you pointed out the "zone-read" and the need to make a guy miss (often times the DE.) I, however, believe there's a distinction between the "zone-read" and a zone running play (i.e. when the QB hands the ball off in a standard running play.) It's my understanding that when running a "zone" play, based on zone blocking principles, there shouldn't be a guy for the RB/QB to make "miss." It's up to the offensive line to either block a man (if they're covered) or double team/move to an unblocked man (if they're uncovered.) Again, my understanding, is that nowhere in a standard zone running play is there supposed to be an unblocked defender making his way into the backfield from the LOS.

 

So, again, I believe the "zone-read" and a zone running play are not necessarily the same thing.

 

Go to 1:21 in this youtube video.

 

 

You'll notice the FB makes a backside block, some of the line cut blocks and then the rest get on their man. That's a zone running play, and nowhere in that specific play is a defender supposed to come flying in.

 

That's where I say our offensive line, at times, struggled. They didn't get hats on these guys enough, and our technique along the line often was inconsistent, leading our TFL's or little to no gain.

[2ndNnine]

[walksalone]

9 pages of presuming what a guy's gonna do...

 

Football season really needs to hurry up and start for some of y'all...

[papersun87]

Here, chew on this:

 

[Mavric]

Do you have a link for that? Not really surprising but I'm wondering if that was just last year or over some period of time.

[papersun87]

just last season. http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/7/15/8945393/oregon-state-football-2015-preview-schedule-roster

 

Edit: here's 2013