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AFM Magazine


Shutting Down the Zone Option

How Delta State was able to completely stifle one of the most potent schemes in football.
by: Mike Kuchar
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Delta State head coach Ron Roberts knows the zone option. He sees it every week. Like most other conferences in college football, the Gulf Coast, a Division II conference, has become filled with teams who invest in running some form of option out of the spread. In fact, eight of the ten programs in the Gulf Coast are pure option teams. Whether it be zone, veer, midline, dart or speed option, chances are you will see some form of it. “We see it all, a little bit of everything to tell the truth,” said Roberts. “As a matter of fact, our scout teams have become brilliant in running it every week because they are forced to do so.”

But what separates Roberts and his staff at Delta from other programs that see the option is he knows how to shut it down and shut it down with consistency. The Statesmen finished 2007 with a 10-2 overall record, including a conference title. They limited all these option opponents to 67 yards rushing per game, second best in the nation. So how does Roberts continually drum up ways to stop the most innovative trend in college football? American Football Monthly found out.

STRATEGY

Before he began designing X’s and O’s to stop the zone option, Roberts spent a lot of time trying to figure out why teams run it. Before you can devise schemes to stop something you first have to figure out how offenses are trying to attack you. Roberts found what makes the zone option so difficult to defend is the structure in which teams run it. Since so many teams run the option out of the spread gun, the first thing they will do is count the tackle box to see how many players you will commit to the run.

So the first thing that Roberts did when he got the job at Delta State over a year ago was go to a ‘no huddle defensive scheme’ in order to get the call in as quickly as possible; that is, before these offenses get set. Since many of them run the no huddle offensively, Roberts decided he would fight fire with fire by doing the same thing. “They try to create the tempo and the pace of the game by coming at you quickly,” said Roberts. “They make you rush all your calls so that you don’t have time to look at your play sheet. But as a defensive coordinator when playing the no huddle spread scheme, you must really know your game plan and execute it thoroughly.”

Delta State’s scheme is all based on movement up front by the defensive line and linebackers. Since they never huddle, every call is determined by former defensive coordinator Dave Aranda (who since moved on to Hawaii) and signaled into the entire defensive unit. Every defensive player is trained to know each call during the pre season so that there are no discrepancies. Scheme wise, although Delta State operates out of a 3-3-5 odd stack, rarely will they end up that way before the ball is snapped. Playing the odd stack leaves only six men in the tackle box between the line and linebackers. Many spread option teams will count who is inside the box and if they see six they will commit to running the ball. “When we see a lot of zone option, we will bring down a safety. But we need to disguise it as long as possible or those spread teams will see you and throw the ball all over you,” said Roberts. “We’ll show what looks like a Cover 2 shell pre-snap but we’ll end up in some type of Cover 1 or Cover 3. We will play an eight man front and we’ll use a multitude of stunts and games to handle the zone option.”

HOW TO STOP IT

But before we examine the stunts and games that Roberts will use to shut down the zone option, the first thing you need to consider when defending the option is figuring who they want to carry the ball. Since many colleges are starting to recruit athletic QBs, you need to make sure that someone is accounting for them on the option scheme. Then, depending on how good the running back is, you can do some things to manipulate who you want, not who they want to carry the ball. “It’s getting to the point where these days it doesn’t matter how much of a threat each player is. Offensively, if you’re running the zone option, your QB is a threat or else you wouldn’t run it. Defensively, you better be able to stop both of them or you’ll be in trouble,” said Roberts.

One of the first things that Roberts does to stop the zone option is make sure they move before the snap. As was mentioned earlier, Delta State will start in an odd stack before the snap. But just as the QB gets under the center, Roberts will bring a linebacker down to the line of scrimmage and kick the front away, giving a four man surface which is much more sound against the run (Diagram 1). “We kick the front depending on which linebacker is down. We usually can tell who the feature back is between the QB and the RB. We like the four-man front because it allows us to play even coverages like Cover 2 or Cover 4. When you play even coverages while showing two high safeties, it’s much harder for offenses to figure out what you’re doing,” said Roberts. The other reason for the four-man front is that it provides for solid play against the cutback run of the zone play, which is the complement to the option. According to Roberts, if not accounted for, the zone cutback could be just as deadly.

Diagram 1: Pre-Snap Movement

“If you’re trying to stop the zone option, set the three technique tackle to the running back’s side because he is liable to cut things back if he gets the ball. If you don’t, they’ll kill you on the cutback play,” said Roberts. “Once in a while we will change things up by putting the three away from the back and run some type of game where we bring our five technique end inside the B gap to play the cutback.” For the most part, Roberts will make sure that his linebackers are fast flow over the top in order to play the QB. “The one consistent thing we’ll do is make sure our LBs are our QB players. We have our best athletes on their best athlete.”

THE SQUEEZE

Because Delta State is a no huddle team, Roberts’ players need to know their option assignments quickly and efficiently. There is no time to huddle up and change responsibilities; this can be lethal when playing assignment football as you would against option. So, according to Roberts, how his front plays the zone option is dependent on where he brings the linebacker down. For the most part, Roberts likes to drop the LB down to the direction of the back. But essentially, whatever side the linebacker drops, the end to that side will move from a five technique to a three technique with the drop down LB playing the five. The backside will show a shade nose and a weakside five technique end, ultimately ending up in a four-man front (Diagram 2). “If we don’t get a call, the option assignments for our front four are based on where the three technique and the drop down end is. That side will always execute a squeeze technique,” said Roberts.

Diagram 2: The 'Squeeze'

According to Roberts a squeeze technique is when the defensive end to that side will play any cutback by the running back on zone away. He has no QB responsibilities but he must keep his shoulders square in case the running back decides to cut the ball back where he is there to make the play. “We just teach that end that he must keep his shoulders square and stay on the hip of the offensive tackle,” said Roberts. “He’s going to squeeze and then be the backside A gap player for cutback. He’s going to play the running back on the give read by sitting and watching the give read. He’s not going to be in the A gap until the ball is given. Once he sees the ball given, he will fold and play the cutback. He must keep his shoulders square.”

THE EXCHANGE

Another way that Delta State will play the zone option is to work an exchange. An exchange is a movement between the defensive end and the stacked linebacker behind him. This type of exchange occurs to the bubble side of the defense, which is the side of the shade nose guard. On an exchange, the five technique defensive end will stunt hard into the B gap in order to play the running back on the zone, while the stacked linebacker behind him comes over the top to play the QB on the option (Diagram 3).

Diagram 3: The 'Exchange'

“The end will take the running back right away. We take the guesswork right out of it by making the QB pull the ball automatically. Once the QB sees the end come hard underneath that offensive tackle, he will definitely pull the ball. The LB plays over the top to make sure he’s the QB player,” says Roberts.

“Our strategy is real simple. If you are the end to the side of the drop down linebacker, you become a three technique and we run the squeeze. If you are the end away from the drop down linebacker, you stay in a five technique and we run the exchange,” said Roberts. “If there is no call to tell you to do something different, that is what you do.”

If Roberts wants to call a particular stunt to the side of the drop down linebacker he may call a ‘slam’ technique (Diagram 4). On a slam technique the three technique stunts hard into the A gap, the defensive end (drop linebacker) stunts into the B gap while the stacked linebacker scrapes over the top to play the QB on option. Roberts didn’t have to use it too frequently but it’s just another proven scheme that Delta State used last year to completely shut down the zone option offense.

Diagram 4: The 'Slam'






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