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The Shotgun Zone Fly: Benefits of a Diversified Run Game

by: Michael Parker
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More and more teams are realizing the benefits of a diverse run game based out of the shotgun. Coach Bryon Hamilton, at Foothill High in Palo Cedro, CA, implemented his own shotgun system several years ago. The system, which he calls the Shotgun Zone Fly Offense, dovetails well with the popular Spread offense. Since developing the SZF, Foothill has become one of the top teams in their classification and is known for one of the most formidable running attacks in northern California.

“When I was in the process of developing the offense I was committed to making our blocking schemes easy to understand and easy to execute against the myriad of fronts that we encounter,” says Hamilton. “We use a combination of zone blocks and man blocking schemes so we developed simple rules for both. By having simple rules our linemen can focus more on executing their techniques than on memorizing their assignments.”

The Shotgun Zone Fly Personnel

Like many teams that run a base zone running scheme, Hamilton looks for athletic linemen who are able to move well enough to reach block on outside running plays while trying not to give up strength for the inside game. Since they use double team blocks on their inside zone, the linemen’s relative size isn’t as crucial. “Since we are double teaming most of the time we can play lighter, more athletic linemen who are able to get into blocks quickly, we pull when required, and reach block in our outside zone,” says Hamilton.

For the backfield, the key is the QB. Hamilton says that he will trade a little bit of arm for a little more in the legs. The Foothill QB needs to be able to run. And since they use a single back set virtually every play, they only need a couple of good halfbacks as well.

The WR corps is also an important consideration in this offense. Hamilton designates one WR as his ‘Sweeper’ and the other is a more traditional WR. “We usually have one primary sweeper (Z) who is very good at running the sweep, as well as a threat in the passing game. The other receiver (X) does get to carry the ball a couple of times a game, but his role is more of a perimeter blocker and a traditional receiver,” says Hamilton.

“One of the advantages of our offense is that we can get the receivers involved with both aspects and they seem to really enjoy that. And as a coach I love being able to get the ball into our playmakers’ hands.”

The Shotgun Zone Fly Run Game Basics

One of Foothill’s best plays is the sweep. Much like the old Jet sweep, the most crucial part of the play is in the meshing of the QB and the ballcarrier.

The Mesh and the Cadence

“One of the most important aspects in the SZF offense is the QB, HB and Sweeper mesh. The mesh starts with the motion of the sweeper who is usually aligned slightly inside the numbers and comes on a flat motion, gaining speed as he approaches the offensive line,” says Hamilton.

“He begins his path when the QB says ‘Ready’ in the cadence. The sweeper starts the first of his two slide steps towards the hip of the QB when he reaches the inside leg of the tackle. The QB continues the cadence with a rolling ‘Set… Hit.’ The ball is snapped to the QB as the sweeper is on his second slide step. The QB then places the ball on the ‘running track’ of the designated ball carrier, or he rides the fake to his front knee and then pulls the ball off the running track on play action pass or QB run plays.

“It is important that the mesh is tight and that the sweeper rotates his shoulders to the QB, flashing his back numbers to the defense. This hides the ball from the defense and adds the element of deception to the offense. We subscribe to the old adage that a good fake is worth two blocks.”

Some coaches might be concerned with the nature of using a rhythmic cadence that defenses can key on. Hamilton has a solution. “Another thing we like to do is take advantage of defenses who play soft and wait to rotate a defender, usually a safety, to the side we are sweeping to. They do this by by sometimes going on first sound (with no sweep motion) when we are running inside or with the QB,” he says.

“Linebackers also get used to timing our motion for blitzes. We keep them honest by starting the motion, using a hard ‘Set…Hit’ and then continuing the Z motion to the other side of the formation before snapping the ball on two. We usually get one or two cheap first downs this way and we make overaggressive LBs pay for timing and jumping our motion.”

The Shotgun Sweep

Like many teams, Foothill really likes the sweep to move the point of attack out wide. But they do a few different things to it to make the sweep their own. “We will run the sweep, however, from seven different formations. The blocking stays the same but the formation adjustments allow us to move the defense around, forcing matchups and allowing us to attack specific defenders. A successful sweep opens up the entire offense, so we are committed to executing it well,” says Hamilton.

“Our sweep is a little different than the traditional fly sweep or jet sweep in that we will run it out of a lot of formations and we will run it to the outside or off-tackle depending on what the defense does. We run the sweep several different ways. We’ve found that the most effective way for us has been to laterally stretch the defense, get a lot of bodies to the point of attack by pulling the playside guard and having patient runners who are able to read their blocks, find a seam and get upfield.”

One of the differences between the SZF and many other spread systems is Hamilton’s desire to use TEs. Foothill will also run unbalanced lines occasionally to give them advantages with numbers over the defensive front. “We run the sweep from a number of formations with the mind set that we want to overload the sweep side. And we want to get a quick block on the force defender and prevent him from getting immediate penetration which disrupts the sweep lane,” says Hamilton.

“We assign the end man on the line of scrimmage, usually the Wing or the TE, to the force defender. We do not allow the force defender to penetrate the line of scrimmage before he is blocked. The block on the force defender is our primary read. If we can reach block him we will run the sweep outside the block and if the force defender is being kicked out we will run under him.

“We pull the playside guard on our ‘G’ sweep, which we run the majority of the time. He is the lead blocker and he is assigned to the first defender outside the force block, usually a DB. If the force defender is being kicked out, the guard will turn up under that block and attack the first defender that threatens the running lane. The offensive line uses reach block techniques to hook the defensive line and to work up to and wall off flowing linebackers.

“The HB has an important job in all of our sweeps. He will fake an inside run to freeze the ILB on most sweeps. On our Lead sweep he joins the pulling guard as a lead blocker and is responsible for cleaning up the alley.

“Our favorite formation to sweep from is what we call a ‘Closed’ formation. In this overload formation we line the Wing off the TE and the X receiver to the same side, overloading the sweep side. Our HB is stacked over the guard to the wing side at a depth of 5.5 yards and our QB is in the gun at 4.5 yards. The sweeper is off the line on the weak side. This formation allows us to get many blockers to the strong side and still allows us to run the ball inside if the defense adjusts to counter the overload” (See Diagram 1).

Diagram 1: Shotgun Zone Fly Sweep

There are two plays that Hamilton likes to run, in addition to the sweep, that play very well in keeping defenses honest. If Foothill were to run only sweep plays when they use their sweeper motion, the effectiveness would be lost. Teams would just adjust to it. So as an alternative, here are two more plays that fit in perfectly with the concepts Hamilton has mentioned.

Trap

“The SZF utilizes two types of traps. A traditional one guard trap that we run with our QB off the sweep fake has become a ‘home run’ play for us. It is an influence trap that mimics the sweep blocking scheme with the playside and the backside guards pulling and has been one of our very successful HB run plays,” says Hamilton.

“Both are easy to block and are very effective plays. The QB trap is a great play from our empty formation. The formation forces the defense to spread out and defend the entire field, leaving only a few defenders assigned to the inside run game. When you add the threat of the sweep and the pass from the empty formation, the QB trap really places a lot of stress on the defense.

“Another play from this series that has been successful for us has been the trap draw which we block the same way as our QB trap. The difference is that the O-line pass sets the defense before they engage their blocks and the QB pump fakes a pass before running the draw. This gives us another play that does not take a lot of practice time to execute” (See Diagram 2).

Diagram 2: Shotgun Zone Fly Trap

Belly - Belly G

“Our belly play is a traditional belly that incorporates down blocks by the playside lineman and a long trap block by the playside guard on the DT or the DE depending on the front,” says Hamilton. “We like to run this play under the sweep action when the LBs are flowing out of the box to defend the sweep. We will tag a ‘G’ call onto the belly when we want the backside guard to pull and lead up on a playside linebacker.

“The HB will run this play on a tight lane off the OT’s down block. We will also run this with a ‘check with me’ from the QB where he will locate a 3 technique (outside shade on the playside guard) and run it to that side. We do this because it is much easier – since we are pulling the playside guard – to down block a 3 technique than it is to execute when there is a defender in the playside A-gap” (See Diagram 3).

Diagram 3: Shotgun Zone Fly Belly/Belly G

By utilizing these three plays and others, Foothill has gotten a foothold in a tradition rich area of northern California. They have done it the old fashioned way – running the ball – with a new fashioned system.






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