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Zone vs Man
Posted on 9/20/21 at 3:22 pm
Posted on 9/20/21 at 3:22 pm
I love football and watch plenty of it, but I'm not knowledgeable about more in-depth scheme analysis - ESPECIALLY on defense.
So, for the fans like me, can someone please explain the argument for zone defense instead of man? I might have seen other teams implement it successfully in the past without realizing it, but I cannot remember explicitly watching my TV and saying "boy that zone defense really shut them down"...
I realize the zone vs man argument has been discussed ad nauseum since Saturday but I have not seen any explanation on the benefits of zone vs man in any meaningful way. My apologies if there is one out there - please point me to it...
So, for the fans like me, can someone please explain the argument for zone defense instead of man? I might have seen other teams implement it successfully in the past without realizing it, but I cannot remember explicitly watching my TV and saying "boy that zone defense really shut them down"...
I realize the zone vs man argument has been discussed ad nauseum since Saturday but I have not seen any explanation on the benefits of zone vs man in any meaningful way. My apologies if there is one out there - please point me to it...
4
Posted on 9/20/21 at 3:39 pm to Niner
Zone is good if you have ball hawk safeties and stud Dlinemen. We don’t, so dropping everyone back and only rushing 3 Dlinemen is beyond stupid.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 3:40 pm to Niner
quote:
I have not seen any explanation on the benefits of zone vs man in any meaningful way. My apologies if there is one out there - please point me to it...
In a nutshell, zone allows for a much more complex defense. It let's you do a lot of different coverages and is easier to disguise. When a defense fully understands everything you can really throw QBs for a loop since you are essentially negating any pre-snap reads they make, whereas with man they know what you're doing it's just a matter of can they do anything about it.
Our issue right now is that most of the guys look confused and are not passing off receivers. We've done some zone/man combo coverages where one side is man and the other is zone, but it doesn't matter how good the man coverage is in that if the zone side is lost.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 3:44 pm to jvilletiger25
quote:
Zone is good if you have ball hawk safeties and stud Dlinemen.
Man and zone are both much better with a good DL, the difference is that blitzing in man is way less confusing than blitzing in zone.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 3:47 pm to AA7
quote:
Our issue right now is that most of the guys look confused and are not passing off receivers
This. You know how you hear about "growing pains" in regards to a new scheme? These are the growing pains. We're going to have a killer defense in a year or two, but it's going to take teaching the players and recruiting new ones that fit the scheme before we start to really see it.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 3:48 pm to AA7
quote:This makes a lot of sense as to why our defense looks completely lost at times...I mean, we're three games into installing an entirely new defensive philosophy for all these guys.
In a nutshell, zone allows for a much more complex defense. It let's you do a lot of different coverages and is easier to disguise. When a defense fully understands everything you can really throw QBs for a loop since you are essentially negating any pre-snap reads they make, whereas with man they know what you're doing it's just a matter of can they do anything about it.
Still isn't an excuse for some of the mistakes from Saturday but I'm more inclined to be patient with the installation of a zone strategy to see if Mason can make it work.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 3:51 pm to AA7
quote:
Our issue right now is that most of the guys look confused
This is what I saw
Posted on 9/20/21 at 3:52 pm to AA7
quote:
Man and zone are both much better with a good DL
Of course, but zone is a lot riskier than man when you don’t
Posted on 9/20/21 at 3:55 pm to Niner
Another reason is that a zone is supposed to minimize the big plays also. Keep everything in front of you and allow the stuff underneath and come up and make the tackle. But it kinda defeats the purpose when your safety (looking at you, Smoke) jumps the short route in the flat that's already covered by the corner and allows a big arse TE to run free down the seam behind everyone.
It really doesn't matter if you're in man or zone though when you have 3 pass rushers being blocked by 5 O-Linemen. No secondary in the world is covering anything for the amount of time Clifford had in the pocket the other night.
It really doesn't matter if you're in man or zone though when you have 3 pass rushers being blocked by 5 O-Linemen. No secondary in the world is covering anything for the amount of time Clifford had in the pocket the other night.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 3:57 pm to IAmNERD
quote:
Another reason is that a zone is supposed to minimize the big plays also. Keep everything in front of you and allow the stuff underneath and come up and make the tackle.
It allows defenders to be more aggressive at times. It allows them to keep their eyes on the QB more instead of just on a man, and if you know you have coverage over the top it allows you to play more aggressive and bait or try to jump a route.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 4:02 pm to IAmNERD
quote:
supposed to minimize the big plays
Their TE's just giggled a little
Posted on 9/20/21 at 4:03 pm to Niner
Zone can bring more picks, but has more consistent soft spots.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 5:53 pm to jangalang
Our zone is currently baby poo soft.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 6:01 pm to AA7
quote:Well said, and it takes an incredible amount of dicipline to learn to keep zone integrity, much like zone blocking on the OL. Its art, dicipline and science. This is exactly what LSU had to deal with when Dave Aranda came in at LSU. I think they even dropped a game or two making the adjustment.
In a nutshell, zone allows for a much more complex defense. It let's you do a lot of different coverages and is easier to disguise. When a defense fully understands everything you can really throw QBs for a loop since you are essentially negating any pre-snap reads they make, whereas with man they know what you're doing it's just a matter of can they do anything about it.
Our issue right now is that most of the guys look confused and are not passing off receivers. We've done some zone/man combo coverages where one side is man and the other is zone, but it doesn't matter how good the man coverage is in that if the zone side is lost.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 8:43 pm to jvilletiger25
quote:AMEN! Giving any QB 10 seconds to find an open receiver is a recipe for disaster. What we saw Saturday, was a step above a 7 on 7 drill.
Zone is good if you have ball hawk safeties and stud Dlinemen. We don’t, so dropping everyone back and only rushing 3 Dlinemen is beyond stupid.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 8:48 pm to IAmNERD
quote:I haven't seen it mentioned, but Smoke should've gotten a taunting penalty with his early game "throat slash". That dude has the ability, but his smarts is severely lacking.
But it kinda defeats the purpose when your safety (looking at you, Smoke) jumps the short route in the flat that's already covered by the corner and allows a big arse TE to run free down the seam behind everyone.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 8:50 pm to jvilletiger25
quote:
We don’t, so dropping everyone back and only rushing 3 Dlinemen is beyond stupid.
As opposed to playing man for 15 seconds with a shite dline
Posted on 9/20/21 at 8:56 pm to blzr
quote:Jeremy Johnson would be in the Heisman watch if he had that time to find a receiver. The King of 7 on 7!
As opposed to playing man for 15 seconds with a shite dline
Posted on 9/20/21 at 8:57 pm to blzr
quote:
As opposed to playing man for 15 seconds with a shite dline
As opposed to bringing more guys and giving the QB a lot less time. When 5-6 guys are blocking 3, I don’t know many Dlinemen that are going to get pressure.
Posted on 9/20/21 at 9:02 pm to jvilletiger25
Which has nothing to do with the question
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