12-28-2023, 05:28 PM
(12-28-2023, 05:06 PM)PCB Bengal Fan Wrote: I don't think we've played like that in decades. The more zone you play the more jams should happen in my opinion.
Every team in the NFL plays like this every season, just some more than others. It's common to see when a defense is going man and sending pressure. They are trying to buy any extra time possible to allow the pressure to get home. The downside to it is it can be really, really hard to bump good receivers. If you're playing press man and you don't get your hands on that man, you're now in a tough spot as a corner and you are on an island. Awuzie actually had decent coverage considering he didn't get his hands on him but Pickens made a savvy move with a late push-off to get separation at the last second. To compound that, Battle stopped running as the ball was getting there and allowed Pickens to pull away once the ball was caught.
Pressing in zone is a little less common because it is riskier and doesn't really fit the theme you're trying to play. You need guys in the secondary to be able to pull it off. Remember, in zone coverage that the DB isn't covering a man, he's covering a zone. If you're running cover three, that boundary DB has a deep responsibility. You don't want him to get stuck at the LOS trying to hand fight with a receiver that allows enough time for a TE or slot receiver to get behind him. There are variations of zone coverage like press/bail 3 that allows a corner to get physical at the LOS and flip his hips to get deep but you often see these guys having space between them and the receiver so they can watch the QBs eyes.
