Strum-Mcfadden could struggle with zone blocking

[reddyuta]

http://cowboysblog.***BANNED-URL***...uggle-with-cowboys-zone-blocking-scheme.html/

 

[Idgit]

Yep. This has been my concern with this signing all along.

 

[superonyx]

People will say that it's because of his awful offensive line and no quarterback...

I took a look at 2012 and realized that Carson Palmer was actually pretty good that year for Oakland. He threw for over 4k yards and was sacked less times than Romo was last year.
I was not expecting to find this. So with a line good enough to protect Palmer as good as Romo was protected McFadden was still only able to run for 3.3ypc.

Not making me feel awesome inside..

Come on Joseph Randle..

 

[reddyuta]

I actually think Randle is way more suited for zone blocking.he has shown that he can find those holes and cutbacks .

 

[NEODOG]

It's all about hitting those gargantuan holes with burst, then hitting top speed.

As good as Murray was last year...... I'm completely miffed at the opportunity left out there...... If Randle had the ball on many occasions, he was going to the HOUSE

If I'm a DC playing us, screw putting 8 in the box..... I'm putting 8 out back

 

[Jstopper]

I'm not worried about it. Run dmc is gonna see the holes and make his cut and take off to the races. Watch.

 

[xwalker]

Yep. This has been my concern with this signing all along.

You can't implement a Zone Scheme in 1 year. The Cowboys struggled with it in year 1. It does not really hit full stride until about year 3, IMO.

Frank Pollack was the Raider's OL coach in 2012. He should know better than anybody if McFadden is suited for the Zone Scheme.

 

[TwoDeep3]

I have been a vocal proponent for keeping Murray. I think all of you understand this. So many have argued it is the line and not Murray, which flies in the face of truth.

But my biggest concern has been, "which running back has the acumen and desire to pick up the correct blitzer and protect Romo?"

I cannot get the image out of my mind of the Commander player leading with a knee to the small of Romo's back.

All the wonderful things that have transpired this off season, Romo falling and missing games scuttles all if it. There is no back-up like when Aikman went down and Steve Beuelein took the team on an undefeated string in 91. Some even argued Beuerlein should have been the permanent QB of this team that year.

The second aspect of missing Murray are those short dirty yards where he moved the sticks because of his strength. Not sure any of the speedsters have that ability.

On a side note, I read here yesterday Jerry saying he'd toss a 1st out - presumably for the right player - sometime in the future. If he can figure a way to bring AP down, this might be THE most magical season EVER.

I have to rein in my emotions on that idea. But thinking about it, I can hardly breathe because of the excitement.

 

[Silver N Blue]

Yep. This has been my concern with this signing all along.

He is going to struggle to remain healthy as well.

 

[CATCH17]

You can't implement a Zone Scheme in 1 year. The Cowboys struggled with it in year 1. It does not really hit full stride until about year 3, IMO.

Frank Pollack was the Raider's OL coach in 2012. He should know better than anybody if McFadden is suited for the Zone Scheme.

I disagree.

Zone blocking is a pretty basic thing to do unless your OL is a bunch of slugs.

You either try to hook the guy in your zone and if he beats you to the outside you use his momentum against him and drive him to the sideline.

That's about it.

 

[CyberB0b]

People will say that it's because of his awful offensive line and no quarterback...

I took a look at 2012 and realized that Carson Palmer was actually pretty good that year for Oakland. He threw for over 4k yards and was sacked less times than Romo was last year.
I was not expecting to find this. So with a line good enough to protect Palmer as good as Romo was protected McFadden was still only able to run for 3.3ypc.

Not making me feel awesome inside..

Come on Joseph Randle..

There's been lots of running backs over the years with inept QB play who seem to flourish. Jamal Charles, MJD in Jax, AD in Min, Arian Foster in Hou, Chris Johnson in Tenn, Matt Forte in Chi, Alfred Morris in Was.

You can't implement a Zone Scheme in 1 year. The Cowboys struggled with it in year 1. It does not really hit full stride until about year 3, IMO.

Frank Pollack was the Raider's OL coach in 2012. He should know better than anybody if McFadden is suited for the Zone Scheme.

2012 was one of his worst seasons as a pro.

 

[CATCH17]

I have been a vocal proponent for keeping Murray. I think all of you understand this. So many have argued it is the line and not Murray, which flies in the face of truth.

But my biggest concern has been, "which running back has the acumen and desire to pick up the correct blitzer and protect Romo?"

I cannot get the image out of my mind of the Commander player leading with a knee to the small of Romo's back.

All the wonderful things that have transpired this off season, Romo falling and missing games scuttles all if it. There is no back-up like when Aikman went down and Steve Beuelein took the team on an undefeated string in 91. Some even argued Beuerlein should have been the permanent QB of this team that year.

The second aspect of missing Murray are those short dirty yards where he moved the sticks because of his strength. Not sure any of the speedsters have that ability.

On a side note, I read here yesterday Jerry saying he'd toss a 1st out - presumably for the right player - sometime in the future. If he can figure a way to bring AP down, this might be THE most magical season EVER.

I have to rein in my emotions on that idea. But thinking about it, I can hardly breathe because of the excitement.

I think Murray was a good blocker physically but I think he was overrated as far as the mental aspect of blocking.

I saw that guy several times just not get his assignment right.

Also, we did a good job at teaching Felix Jones to block and he was horrible at it when we first got him. McFadden is a pretty decent blocker so I think we'll figure it out.

 

[xwalker]

I disagree.

Zone blocking is a pretty basic thing to do unless your OL is a bunch of slugs.

You either try to hook the guy in your zone and if he beats you to the outside you use his momentum against him and drive him to the sideline.

That's about it.

No, the timing of it has to be perfected. I've spent a good bit of time watching videos of Zone Guru Alex Gibbs. It's not as simple to implement as it might seem. It requires precise footwork and it requires each OLineman to "read" the defense and make the correct block as opposed to a power-man scheme were the Center makes the "read".

The Cowboy scheme is probably even more difficult to implement because they use a mix of both Zone and Power-man concepts.

McFadden is already a step ahead because he knows the basics of the scheme and the Cowboys OL has obviously mastered it; although, if they insert a rookie there will be a learning curve.

 

[TwoDeep3]

I think Murray was a good blocker physically but I think he was overrated as far as the mental aspect of blocking.

I saw that guy several times just not get his assignment right.

Also, we did a good job at teaching Felix Jones to block and he was horrible at it when we first got him. McFadden is a pretty decent blocker so I think we'll figure it out.

There are times even the best get beat. SDo anecdotal instances of when you've seen Murray fail truly ignore when he slobberknocked a linebacker as Romo threw the ball. Sorry Catch, but there was just too many times he was successful to think a hand full of times he wasn't has significance.

And teaching Felix to block was taking a willing rookie and molding him.

Run DMC is hardly that, and we have no clue how willing he will be to do whatever. he might. Not discounting it. But because one thing has one meaning in this game, or life for that matter, doesn't mean something similar will turn out the same.

 

[Roadtrip635]

Those were some of the questions surrounding McFadden back then. The Raiders switched from zone blocking to down field man blocking and McFadden seemed to flourish, but of course he got injured. The Raiders went back to zone blocking and McFadden appeared to struggle again. That's been one of the questions, was it the talent/scheme of their zone blocking, was it McFadden's ability/confidence in the zone blocking scheme or was it just injuries causing the struggles?

I do remember watching him during that time and he did appear to be a different runner. We'll have to wait to see how performs.

 

[Broges74]

I actually think Randle is way more suited for zone blocking.he has shown that he can find those holes and cutbacks .

Randle is not a bellcow. He was, is and always will be a change of pace back. Not ready for the pounding he will get running it 15+ times a game but may be ready for the pounding he will receive is prison if he doesn't change his ways.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

I'll reserve judgement until after the guy actually runs behind this line. I have no idea what kind of slop they were running in Oakland but I can hazard a guess,,,

 

[TwoDeep3]

No, the timing of it has to be perfected. I've spent a good bit of time watching videos of Zone Guru Alex Gibbs. It's not as simple to implement as it might seem. It requires precise footwork and it requires each OLineman to "read" the defense and make the correct block as opposed to a power-man scheme were the Center makes the "read".

The Cowboy scheme is probably even more difficult to implement because they use a mix of both Zone and Power-man concepts.

McFadden is already a step ahead because he knows the basics of the scheme and the Cowboys OL has obviously mastered it; although, if they insert a rookie there will be a learning curve.

I think there is a great deal of speculation dressed up as hard fact here. Do any of us truly know Run DMC is ahead of the game? Or that the Cowboys have a more difficult implementation.

Or that this line that has played one season together has mastered it?

That last part actually is a positive, because if they haven't, and elevate from where they are, this may truly be one of the best Olines ever. But it is a little early to state that as fact just yet.

 

[TwoDeep3]

I'll reserve judgement until after the guy actually runs behind this line. I have no idea what kind of slop they were running in Oakland but I can hazard a guess,,,

Love the sig. That made me laugh.

 

[CATCH17]

No, the timing of it has to be perfected. I've spent a good bit of time watching videos of Zone Guru Alex Gibbs. It's not as simple to implement as it might seem. It requires precise footwork and it requires each OLineman to "read" the defense and make the correct block as opposed to a power-man scheme were the Center makes the "read".

The Cowboy scheme is probably even more difficult to implement because they use a mix of both Zone and Power-man concepts.

McFadden is already a step ahead because he knows the basics of the scheme and the Cowboys OL has obviously mastered it; although, if they insert a rookie there will be a learning curve.

Eh, we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't see timing as a big thing at all.

To me, it's all about getting off the ball and trying to set the edge and if you can't do it then you just block the guy to the sideline and the RB will usually cut it upfield at that point.

The beauty of zone blocking is that in theory the DL and Linebackers can't do the right thing unless they just push you into the backfield.


Imo, the power schemes are much more complex and are what really take a bit of time to learn.