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Been thinking about this a lot, but one reason why the wide zone/outside zone teams don't really struggle against heavy boxes is b/c they can effectively eliminate half the defensive front with the movement of the OL. Here's an 8 man OL against a 9-man box (Kubiak Ravens 2014).
Just the backside alone eliminates 4-5 defenders right away and allows others to get to the second level. Add a FB into this and good luck defending it. As we've all seen.
Contrast that with the Rams, who under McVay have been a predominantly "mid zone" running team. Instead of the aim being the outside D gap like on wide zone/OZ, the aim point on mid zone is the edge of the B gap to the C gap play side.
For example, because the Rams do not widen their run game like the 49ers do, the Patriots are able to play a 6-1 and control all gaps. The Rams also do not use a FB, primarily playing 11p with their offense. As a result, the cannot get any movement vertically against NE here.
The backside is handled pretty easily, but front side, the blockers are all 1-on-1 and can't get off blocks to get the safeties coming down. They also could not get an effective double team front side to give Gurley a chance.
Any coaches out there have any additional comments?
Any coaches out there have any additional comments?
