Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

From an injury standpoint it is very dangerous and this is well known. Why is it still allowed?...........Also why don't we use it?

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Are you getting zone blocking and chop blocking confused?

Zone blocking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

No. I keep hearing people say they don't like the Texans because they incorporate zone blocking which from what I understand is kind of rolling at a lineman's legs and knees. It can cause injury like torn ACLs and ****. I remember hearing the same thing about a couple of other teams who do this.

Zone blocking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Did you even read the article?

All zone blocking is creating movement on the defensive line is more important than opening a specific hole in the defense.

That's like saying the 3-4 should be illegal because 4 linebackers cause more of an injury risk to running backs...

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Yea I read it, but all I keep hearing is that it leads to more injuries and Im positive its not chop blocking and was wondering why.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

If you would have read it you would have read this:

cut blocks = chop blocks

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

That is not correct. A cut block is a legal block aimed at a defensive players legs, prefferably his thighs. A chop block on the other hand is illegal and consist of on guy blocking a defender high while the other guy blocks him low. This is also commonly referred to as a "high-low" and carries a great risk of injury.

Here is a good example of a chop-block:

This is a good example of a cut block. You can see the center moving towards the defender but never engaging him. It leaves the LG blocking the DT, a perfctly legal block.


And lastly is a pretty good clip of Zone blocking.

Zone blocking don't have to incorporate cut blocks at all. The U15 team I coach run a lot of zone and in our age group cut blocks are banned. Zone blocking is basically just about angles and point of attack. Cut blocking is however easily utilised and very effective in this scheme, especially on the backside of a play which often opes up enormous cut back lanes. Cut blocks are generally frowned upon by defensive players but IMO a great way to balance out the fact that defenders are allowed to grabb and pull with their hands.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

gotcha.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Yea I didn't think a chop block was legal.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Good explanation of zone blocking. Forgive that its offense, same principle.
ESPN.com: NCF - Football 101: Zone blocking

What they might be mad at is zone blocking exposes the weak side. Its designed that way. So knees and ribs end up taking more a pounding if the other team does not call the correct counter play. From how I understand it.
I dont know if there are more injuries that come from it, but it is designed to not take ppl head on , hit them on the side together, and move them to disrupt other players. But Im positive players get hurt more from being hit on the side of the knee instead of directly on the knee. So, it wouldn't surprise me if zone blocking caused more injuries.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

I do not understand...


These are illegal?
http://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn....20Block-2T.jpg


Glad I bought mine while I could.:dunce:

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Great thread! This was Shanahan's bread and butter for a few years. It made some average running backs look real good. Say what you want about Elway, it was the blocking scheme that got him his rings. Kubiack took it with him to Houston and has evolved it there. While still fairly effective, like all things the other side figures out how to counter it and it loses its overwhelming advantage. Just looking at Denver's history, I'd almost say that it leads to running back injuries more than any position on the defense although I have nothing solid to back that up. Just none of the RB's lasted very long there and did nothing when moving to a different team. The defense hates it most because it makes them look stupid when it works.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Love these kinds of threads. Knowledge is DANGEROUS!

Keep it coming. Well done.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Maybe it's because they hold bacteria.:cool:

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

"It was the blocking scheme that got him his rings"

That's an ignorant way to look at it. What about the DRIVE or the fact that Elway played against great defenses(ie the 90s giants)? You could say this for basically every qb ever. The way Elway avoided the sack? Plus the teams elway beat in the super bowls didn't have the great defenses anyway(packers) so the blockers doing what they did probably didn't change anything.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

I don't agree with you on all parts of that statement. The blocking ofcourse helped Elway, its hard for a QB to be effective without having a good O-line in front of him. But IMO it helped the runningbacks a whole lot more, Clinton Portis and Terell Davis are the only 2 guys they have had that has been real studs, the rest of them just average backs that could read the cutback lane and gain yards in a RB friendly scheme.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Ignorant is a pretty strong word. The Drive was against Cleveland and it got him to the Superbowl, but no ring. He went there four times based pretty much only on his talents and the defense, but no ring. It wasn't until Shanahan brought in the zone blocking schemes that frustrated and puzzled many teams -some with very good defenses that gave Denver an amazing three year (including two championships) run. I'm not taking anything away from Elway's talents. He is one of the greats. It's just it took more than him to finally get there and those blocking schemes were a large part of that.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

I'll even go further with this and say that Portis and Davis were merely okay running backs who owe their entire claim of studlyhood to Shanahan and Kubiack's genius in developing the zone blocking scheme.

Damn, I'm spending way to much time talking about the Broncos. I think it's time I put on some Mardi Gras beads, get myself some gator gumbo, mud bugs, Turbo Dog beer and see if I can avoid the baby in a slice of king cake. Gotta get away from Colorado for a bit. It just ain't been the same since my zydeco band broke up. Et toi!

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

The defense? That team basically revolved around offense to be honest. I feel that him getting there as many times as he did(and the drive) is just as impressive as him getting the rings( and he got there without the blocking).

There were good defenses. But you should remember that the actual teams that Elway beat in the actual bowl had pretty meh defenses(packers and falcons).

You should also think about the defenses that elways lost to in the superbowls(giants of the 90s). The giants of the 90s were a much different team than the packers and falcons so that blocking scheme may not have worked so well on them.

I'm not knocking you, it's just I consider Elway the 2nd greatest qb ever (with brees at first of course).

Yes even more than Marino and Montanna and Unitas.
Seeing what Brees did after leaving San Diego just skyrocketed him to the #1 spot on my list(And I'd still say that if I wasn't a saints fan). And seeing the stuff Elway did puts him at 2nd for me. Then Marino, then Brady, then Peyton Manning, then Montanna.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Which would explain LeCharles Bentley's staff infection.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Got some stuff we see eye to eye and some other stuff we don't. Don't be too quick to discount the Orange Crush. When Reeves coached there, he did a pretty good job with the D. It was his stupidity with the offense that cost Elway some championships. Run, pass, draw play on every set of downs was pitiful, but still they (Elway mostly) would make it clear to the championship. Then came the zone blocking taking average running backs and turning them into studs that pushed them over the top.

I'll agree with you on the QB ranking. The only exception may be Manning. I'm withholding judgement on him until I see how he does with this same team we've been spending too much time discussing.

Hope I get the chance to sit down, have a few and discuss some football with you face to face some time. I think that'd be a fun time. Cheers buddy.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program...

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

supposedly the Falcons is going to this scheme on offense this season.

Re: Why is zone blocking not illegal?
 

Yeah. Had they had a better scheme, Elway would probably have 3-4 super bowls(and people would shut up about the cowboys).

Cheers. Good to know. Personally I'm not sure Manning needs to prove much cause I felt he already proved it but that's for another day.