Not sure if the bolded is sarcasm but it's all anyone has been talking about lol. I suppose we needed a thread though, it's relevant for sure. Hopefully it's worthwhile that doesn't turn into something else by page 4. So I'll add this from my thread the other day ...
"Re: OZ / Stretch plays. Someone asked (
@Vindicate ). I've been sick, just exhausted off work. Haven't been in here as much.
Did anything interesting happen in the last week????
Anyway I just wrote about Pierre Strong in another thread and a lot of what I said there applies to what you want out of a RB for OZ / Wide, stretch plays. He really has a lot of what you need and is well equipped for that specific role.
from the recap thread ....
"Hes got serious acceleration and fast twitch. Which after patience/setting up your blocks, is the most important thing for stretch plays, OZ imo. Basically has one gear but he gets to 0-100 real quick. Good long speed but he gets into top gear extremely fast. I mentioned it above but he's very good, very patient setting up his blocks and not just for stretch plays. Using them to his advantage to help shape the 2nd & 3rd levels. Its very subtle and tough to recognize but he does a nice job shaping the landscape to his liking. Having 4.3 speed doesn't hurt but the impressive part of that is that Strong is very good at keeping full speed while shifting, changing his path, weaving through defenders. One of the more impressive things about his game. He's got some nice COD at full speed. Not so much bounce around like Barry Sanders COD but a little shifting here & there, turning while keeping top speed."
What Shanahan said ...
"But the type of guys you want are guys who can put their foot in the ground, get downhill. You do want guys who can run and create arm tackles and then run through them. I'm not looking for a guy...that you have to give 30 carries to to get 100 yards. You want guys who get downhill, who get over four yards a carry and they move the chains for you."
So if you were to ask me what the most important attributes/qualities are for a RB in a zone scheme, specifically outside/wide zone I'd say the following ...
1)it takes a certain back to run this system but the OL are still the star of the show. The lanes and movement they create allow for for those big plays to develop. I remember always wondering why running backs won't simply bounce it outside when I first started watching ball. Seemed like the edge was there be taken. But the lateral speed even back then was incredible. You can't just win with pure speed 99% percent of the time. That lateral movement is a killer for some guys, combined with motion (hello TT?) it's that much more difficult. Getting those LB's moving east-west, hesitating for a half second, thinking instead of closing ground, leads to those big plays. Following your blocks, allowing OL to kick, climb and clear space, showing a little patience but not living off it. Is key.
2) decisiveness / vision - these are together at least imo bc one doesnt matter without the other. You could have the best vision in the world but without those instincts and decision making to make a move its useless. In general backs have more freedom to be flexible in a power scheme and depending on the blockers in front of them and their own athleticism, they might be afforded more patience overall. Zone runs, especially wide/stretch plays, require precise timing. Athleticism matters and obviously helps but your straight line speed and quick mater more than COD/3 Cone. Missing your lane while moving laterally is a quick death in the NFL. So you have to be decisive and have above average open field vision. You can't afford to be too patient, lanes close in a hurry. It's impossible to capture the edge on every wide run so at times you have to just take what's there. You're not always going to take the edge and scream down the sideline for 50. You have "aiming points" but cant just stick to the script for the sake every time. You need to generate positive yards.
In general amost every "aiming point" for a RB is their tackles midline/hip or their TE/"Ghost TE" hip. Those two obviously are usually near the perimeter so again not everything plays as planned. Depending on the emlos (end man on line of scrimmage), who's reached, whos not, what a defense is trying to do. Generally the plan is as follows ...
A)"bounce" take the outside if possible. No hesitation if there's a path outside you "bounce" it outside and take the most outside path you.
B)"bend" kick inside following your OL climbing to the LB.
C)"bang" generally same, looking for over pursuing defenders.
This is where you watch film and ask yourself was that oz? Was that duo or iz?
3)Acceleration/quick twitch. There's different types of speed and having quick twitch, real acceleration is key. Especially for this run. Everyone is fast. Having that burst, explosion is a lot more important than having "long speed", separation is king in this league.
There are other traits you want but those would be my most important for a RB in that scheme. Strong reminds me of a Shanahan type back in the mold of Brieda and Mosert.
I've noticed a few reporters and new players (Parker) talk about how much we're running in camp. Now it's important to remember the NEP are notorious for their strength and conditioning programs. There's a few a teams that are in extra good shape and the Pats have always been one of them. Nonetheless it reminded me of this quote from KS ...
"the main thing we're going to get these linemen, when they get in here, is we just want to get them to run. They're going to run a lot more than they ever have before. We're going to try to challenge the defense sideline to sideline, not just between the tackles. And it's a challenge to get guys to run but yet to still be as physical as anybody, so there's an element there that's not just lateral but it's getting downhill, too. It takes time to develop."
It's tough to call this a smokescreen bc of the commitment needed and Bill's M.O. I can't see them doing this to not do it later but I'm curious on just how much of a jump we make. I'm thinking we commit but take the slow & steady approach.
In terms of what you want out of your OL it's very simple. At least putting it on paper for an application. Short area quickness, agility and balance > everything else.
1)flexibility particularly in your lower half. You're asked to explode, reach, maneuver, take on contact and still make your way down field all while keeping your eyes & head on a swivel. flexibility is a must have. I'll add balance in with this one. Balance, contact balance is huge.
2)footwork. You can tell so much just off their first step(s) It's crucial for a successful zone blocking scheme bc at times everyone is taking the same steps, working through the same area. Footwork is a must have.
3)I feel like you could go a lot of different ways here. I want to say physicality bc it's big in a zone scheme (depending on the schemd you could have man principles on some stuff) but I'll go with vision. You're not just clearing bodies out the way or hitting something. You're working in space, trying to be efficient, effective and crisp. At times you're initiating contact off the line, tracking 2nd level defenders, trying to use space/leverage. I think I'd go with vision here although it's a tough call.
Guys like Shanahan squeeze water from rock in terms of maximizing the details. This type of attention to detail tends to spill over throughout the offense or team. Above, when talking about OL'm I think you could put chemistry, camaraderie #1 overall bc that's such huge part of guys being successful. You have different types of zone blocking. Numbers (sometimes man principles), filled/unfilled, so you've got to be able to communicate and be familiar with each other's tendencies.
We'll see how much and how quick we turn over but I'm not ignoring the obvious."
So I actually don't mind it, dont find it that hard to believe. Stevenson ran a lot of iz in college and Harris is pretty versatile in that regard. Strong is a nice back for stretch plays.
Wynn, Andrews and Strange are very athletic, agile and can do a lot of damage in space/2nd level.
It's really not that far fetch to say "hey we have the pieces in place" As I mentioned above though guys like Shanahan are who they are bc they can squeeze water from a rock in terms of details. We know Bill still can. I think its reasonable to assume guys like Judge and Matt should be as motivated as possible to get rid of some of the recent stain so there's that. And while guys like McDaniels and others are valuable it's Kyle that runs the show. This is an interesting angle though considering recent departures and arrivals.
Ive also been saying since last summer Mac should be running some RPO, use his legs occasionally/bootleg so I'd welcome more a little variety there. The NFL still can't defend the RPO mostly bc no one runs it so they don't practice for it enough. Mac has a little athleticism and awareness and was great at running it in college. Again I wouldn't mind more of that too while we're implementing different things.
I don't want to say its not a big deal, maybe just not shocking. Josh was a staple here. There's really not an established figure that can just step right in so change makes sense. I'm not against it. It's nice to be ahead of the curve. We've been the ones being imitated but we works.
