05-25-2021, 09:29 AM
(05-25-2021, 09:01 AM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: My biggest concern is playing too much zone which can be easily exploited by just about any QB and TE/WR with chemistry.
There is very little straight zone played in the NFL anymore. There are a lot of matching concepts now where it's zone when the alignment and release off the line allow for it but converts to man post-snap. You are also seeing a lot of split coverage, for instance, you see a lot of mable coverage where you have man to the single side and cover 3 to the 3 receiver side. Essentially, the idea of spot drop zones called out of the huddle that most fans think of when they think of zone just really aren't much of a thing at all today. It doesn't mean they can't convert to a spot drop and the check was wrong making it look like they are just covering grass, but the defensive schemes today are REALLY complex in terms of matching and check reads so it's not nearly as easy as many fans think.
To the other side of this, straight man has actually become far easier to exploit in the NFL today. The rise of pre-snap motion, stacking, pick plays and RPO's have made it really difficult to play straight man. Add into the freakish athletes on offense and you have a mismatch that always favors the offense because the defender starts with the disadvantage of not knowing where the play is going and most teams have pushed more towards match zone and combo coverage over straight man. That doesn't mean it doesn't occur, specifically in blitzing situations, but the idea of lining up man to man constantly isn't really a thing either. Most NFL teams are far more balanced in man and zone than people think.
