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Everybody does. You guys do all the time. it's what is so devastating. In zone, linemen are moving TOWARD the play direction. In Gap linemen are moving AWAY from the play direction. Doing a a little bit of each makes reads nigh-impossible for LBs to make quickly and accurately.

Ugh, frustration: go to 1:34 in the NFL clip on youtube.

And…with the last two posts, you have the basically entirety of the GT run game. Power, Counter, QB Power, Zone, Zone Read, Split Zone. That's about what you guys do. Little gadget here, little gadget there, but that's the meat and potatoes of your running game.

FWIW, I think this was a bad ready by the QB. The RIGHT read right here is RPO to the top of the screen (which is why gibbs had to beat the tackle of #12) but I don't know what was called. Maybe that wasn't on.

Vs NIU 2 Combos on this one Everybody ends up sealed left, so the right read is for the back to break right. He does, makes the overhang guy miss, and whohoo. (He could also have jammed it up hard inside the LT and gotten a hard 4 and I'd have been okay with that.)

Zone (with read action): Here’s the combo: (look how far off the ball they drove the DL before breaking off to the LB)

And for the payoff, here's you guys: Split Zone: The combo is circled here: The linebacker goes in, so they seal him in: The TE misses his block on 94, so this only gets a couple)

Since then, bells and whistles have been added. Just like Rich Rod added an option piece to zone to make zone read, people have added a gap concept (puller) to zone to deal with that backside end, and created Split Zone (I'm sure you can guess that there's a nasty play action off this action...

The next way to deal with that end happened by accident in West Virginia of all places, at Glenville State College. The QB was running Angle and goofed up the handoff, and the back was gone. So the QB is standing there holding the ball waiting to get creamed by the unblocked backside end, only...

So, at this point, the only remaining problem is that backside defensive end. The first way they came up with to solve that problem is just to run the play to the other side, to the outside, and figure "yeah dude, a defensive end is just not fast enough to catch up with our RB from behind...

So, your running back, he's not looking playside at all. Those guys should be able to make those blocks (we've set them up to have the advantage). He's looking at the first defender to the BACKSIDE of the hole, and he's watching which lineman comes off of him. Which every lineman leaves to go...

This means that EVERYBODY playside (in this instance Right), of the intended hole has a BUILT IN angle advantage (in this instance PG and PT). That's an EASY block for them, because they're already aligned in the right place. The backside T is gonna go try and cut off the mike (or really just...

Here's what's important to think about: This play is aimed at the playside A gap (between C and PG), the whole offensive line's first step is going to be playside, in unison (in this instance right) (the center's step may be a quick little replacement step before he heads back left for the...

In practice, this is what it ends up looking like: (please note, this is SUPER SUPER simplified. Most teams won't even have their WR's block, they'll just have them run routes)

If the LB goes "over" the double, it looks like this: (notice how both linemen have angle advantages?) So, what's the end result? The C has successfully completed 1 block with 1man. The PG has successfully completed 1 block with 1 man, but they've ALSO gotten the benefit of a double-team...

If, on the other hand, your offensive linemen can hold the DT in the middle of the double, and slide off when and where THEY choose, they can always get the block right, and there will always be a hole for the back. For example, if the LB goes "under" the double, it looks like this: (notice...

And, yeah, I mean, that is, in fact, awesome. The issue, of course, is that BOTH sides get 11 guys, and there are guys called "Linebackers", who will happily let you doubleteam their DT if it means they get to detonate on your halfback in the hole. THIS is where the combo block comes into...

So, with that in mind, lets talk combo blocks, what they are, and why they're SUCH a weapon for an offense. If you'll recall from the first of these, the primary problem that offenses are trying to solve in the run game is that "maybe a defender lines up where you're trying to run". The gap...

"Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March." The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene 2 A public place. The date was March 15, 1978. A Georgian was in the white house, the number one song in the land was Night Fever, by the Bee Gees, Jacqueline Bisset was on the cover of Vogue, and football...

Yep, good catch.