"Men of Steel" The official 2012 PIFFSburgh Steelers Thread

[BonafideDefacto]

I'll be honest. Was rooting for SF and ravens. My ass can't stand the cheatriots and I'm from the bay so I had the 49ers. Both won tho

 

[Marciano]

Don't see an offseason thread, I guess I'll still post up in here lol. But news came with our new O-Line coach possibly implementing zone blocking like he did in Kansas City. I'd say if so, it MAY fit Rashard's running style. It's too expensive to franchise him, but maybe we can re-sign for cheap after he tests the market.

Today, most of the top running teams in the NFL use a zone-blocking scheme that requires the offensive lineman to block an area, not a specific man. Among them are Kansas City, Washington, Denver and Houston.

Bicknell used a zone-blocking scheme last season with the Chiefs, who finished fifth in the league in rushing after leading the NFL in 2011. Bicknell said the Chiefs used a zone-blocking scheme because they had a running back, Jamaal Charles, who liked to run outside-zone plays.

If the Steelers change to a zone-blocking scheme, then it will be imperative to find the type of running back who is patient, stretches the play and has good cutback instincts.

Right now, the Steelers' top running backs, Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman, are physical backs who run inside and are more tailored to gap runs in a man-blocking scheme. Rashard Mendenhall and Chris Rainey are examples of running backs who can threaten the edge and are more suited to zone-blocking schemes. But Rainey is already gone and Mendenhall is expected to follow.