You Got Served: The Zone Read

[NorCalBronco7]

Happy Victory Tuesday, friends. I hope you’re ready for a Serving, because I’ve got one for you. I’m in last place in the picks competition, and a primary reason why is that I’m now 2-6 in picking Broncos games. (I had them losing to Green Bay, and beating Miami.) You can’t win them all, I guess, and I just don't seem to have a great feel for when the Broncos are going to play well. Maybe if I read the DP rather than Doug's parsing of their work, I might know if they "had a good week of practice."

Anyway, today we’re going to explore in detail why the Broncos beat the Raiders on Sunday. It was a total team win, as has been said, but more than that, I would say that it was the first time this season that the offense pulled its weight. Aside from a couple of missed throws by Tim Tebow and some penalties (I’m looking at you, Ryan Clady) it was a consistent and productive effort. Since offense is kind of my thing, I’m excited to spend some time talking about it. Ready… BEGIN!!

1. So, there’s this play called the Zone-Read that’s been getting some mention lately. Sometimes it’s not zone, and sometimes there’s no read, but in the spirit of keeping things simple, we’ll go with that name. This is what the basic play looks like:


http://www.itsalloverfatman.com/broncos/entry/you-got-served-the-zone-read

[underrated29]

Good read. I enjoyed that.

[Dreadnought]

That was an awesome piece - Thanks!

[Tned]

Agreed. Great read. That's one you definately want to click on and read more than just the first few paragraphs.

[vandammage13]

I think he made a good point when he said that its not that the zone read can't work in the NFL, its that teams won't run it because they have too much invested in the QB.

Because of his size and strength, Tebow might be the exception to the rule.

Good breakdown of the zone-read scheme in the article....showed the concepts behind it that are pretty much undefendable if blocked and executed correctly.

Once the Broncos start running more play-action passes off the zone read I really think we might have something here....

[wayninja]

Very well presented. Good stuff.

[Softskull]

That site has quickly become one of my favorites.

[MasterShake]

Fantastic article! It looks like something out of the playbook from when they wore leather helmets.

Surprisingly, I found myself really liking that style of offense. I'm not sure if it was because it was working so effectively, but I kind of liked seeing some good ol' run until you prove you can stop us football. That finesse crap McDaniels installed looked pretty but couldn't cut it when it counted in the Red Zone.

[GEM]

Thanks for posting that!! I appreciate the full breakdown instead of the plain one line sentence article that the professionals put out there. Nice job!

[Mike]

Great read, thanks!

[Foochacho]

I hope it is true that it is a viable option and that other teams are mainly just scared of getting there QB hurt . If we are the only team ballsy enough to do it the other defenses in the league will have a hard time defending it. It will be foreign to what they defend against week in and out.

If this becomes a big part of our offense, it should be easy to find a good backup in the later rounds. Alot of athletic qbs come from a system similar and are not drafted high because they can not run the pro style offense. Should be easier to find someone to fill in for Tim if injured.

[G_Money]

Excellent article. :salute: And I agree - if Tim can hit the 3-on-1 bubble screens and the crosses once the lines are stacked and guys are coming full bore to stop the running game, this sort of running style could wreak havoc, 1998-style.

But McCoy is going to need to stay on his toes. The back-to-back weak QB draws at midfield with Tebow were not what we needed near the end of that game - don't get scared of your real running game that has chewed the Raiders up the whole second half.

McCoy needs to keep pushing the other team. If we do that for 60 minutes, we'll be all right. It's also good for the psyche of the OL to crush people in the run game - even with the stupid holding penalties, I was glad to see guys like Walton (who has a mean streak that I like, if he can execute often enough to put it to good use) start to take it to the Raiders. McGahee too with the way he attacked.

I'm very interested to see how the show continues on the road in KC. The Chiefs need turnovers to help their offense, which as the article points out Tebow is stingy with. The Chiefs have good DL players, but so do the Raiders and it didn't help them stop the run game at all. If their DEs can play contain better, it'll help, but I'm really looking forward to a winnable game in Arrowhead.

And who thought we'd be saying that 2 weeks ago?

~G

[Superchop 7]

Great breakdown. Thank you.

[MOtorboat]

Good read. I only disagree with one thing, and that's the reason he says pro teams don't run it.

[ShooterJM]

This is the thread that actually drove me to register for this site. Great article, thanks for posting it.

[TXBRONC]

Thank you Norcal that article is terrific breakdown what happened. :beer: :salute:

[underrated29]

good read. I only disagree with one thing, and that's the reason he says pro teams don't run it.


elaborate please?

[Jsteve01]

elaborate please?

Mizzou has spoken...that is the end of it my friend...let it go

[MOtorboat]

elaborate please?

I think the size, speed and intelligence of linebackers and ends is the major factor.

[Thestrategist1]

The Raiders Ends and LBer looked stumped, I love it but what they didnt seem to breakdown was how well Tebow was Disquising the plays. Like the article said it opens up a whole new can of worms for defenses when they over commit and if they contain McGahee right up the gut, I cant wait to see some of the passes created by play action and the 8 men in the box. They could be on to something here. Great Read thanks for posting.