Originally posted by thl408:
Originally posted by Luckycharms:
Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Here's a pod cast from Niner Nation - a bit long IMO
http://www.ninersnation.com/2015/7/3/8888695/better-rivals-podcast-the-49ers-and-the-zone-blocking-scheme
Thoughts??
Yeah I just listened to this the other day. Thought it was interesting 32 of Carlos Hydes runs were gap scheme and he averaged 3.0 yards per carry. 51 of his runs were zone scheme and he averaged 4.8 ypc. Almost 2 more ypc, clearly in line with most people's thinking he's better in a zone scheme.
Just had a chance to listen and I found that part the most interesting. That Hyde averaged 2 yards per carry more when running zone blocking plays. I estimated in some thread that 75% of his runs were in a ZBS, but I will concede to the podcast's analysis of 61%. All he ran in college was inside zone as a lone back so it makes sense that he found more success when running ZBS plays in his rookie season.
Here is an old article (2005) that did a small study on ZBS versus Power Blocking Scheme (PBS) runs. It studied 4 RBs (Duckett, Dunn, DDAvis, and Portis) and how they did when running power versus when they ran zone.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2005/zone-blocking-vs-man-blocking
We took the running play information from 2003 and 2004 for Davis, Portis, Dunn, and Duckett and sorted the runs into buckets. These buckets were:
............
TLDR article:
Biggest takeaway from the study was that ZBS runs resulted in less "stuffed" runs when compared to PBS. "Stuffed" is defined as 'no gain or loss of yardage'. This makes sense because ZBS running backs are asked to be decisive in selecting which gap to run through as they make their read. Their decision must be fast and final.
In a PBS, a RB is asked to be more patient in allowing the blocks to develop at the designed point of attack. If it doesn't properly develop, then a loss of yardage is more likely.
Hell yeah. And perhaps, the best fit for a ZBS is actually Hunter. I think Hyde will excel in a ZBS if we can get that OL going but nobody is as quick, decisive, explosive and fast as Hunter once he sees that hole open up on a stretch run (or up inside)...plus he's so damn small he can just get lost. He could be a cut-back nightmare for defenses. He's the kind of RB who will go down more at contact but b/c he's going 170mph, he's usually hit on the side (vs. squared up like Gore), falling (flying) forward for several more yards (unlike Gore who stays low and powers through for similar yards after initial contact).
