STrib: Shannon Brooks, Rodney Smith like new offensive coordinator's run scheme

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Joe:

So how well do Brooks' and Smith's skill sets fit with Johnson's system? Both said they love it after Saturday's practice. The Gophers are using a zone blocking scheme, as opposed to a more downhill gap scheme under former offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover.

“The paths that we take are different," Smith explained. "Everything is not downhill. We’re working on our zone schemes. We get into the B-gap, which gets the defenses flowing. We have more perimeter plays now and we have more things that we haven’t installed yet that get me and Shannon out at slots. I feel like that’ll be really good for us as an offense, getting playmakers in space."

Added Brooks: "The offensive scheme is different, but I feel like it fits this offense here more then just power all the time."

http://www.startribune.com/brooks-and-smith-like-new-offensive-coordinator-s-run-scheme/373734691/

Go Gophers!!
 

Well, that's interesting. Some thought we were going to utilize less zone and play more Limey-ball. Love that we will attack the perimeter more.
 

My wife might start attending games if 70% of the plays are not RUTM.
 

All I want is quick slants and screen passes from time to time. Been looking for that since (and during) the Mason years. I am liking the changes on O more and more every day.
 



The ghost of Gordy Shaw? Outside zone? Maroney and Barber?
 

Spoofin said:
All I want is quick slants and screen passes from time to time. Been looking for that since (and during) the Mason years. I am liking the changes on O more and more every day.
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They were practicing their screens on Saturday, I didn't notice the quick slants but there were some pretty balls attacking over the middle which we have failed to do previously. Looking forward to that.
 


bottlebass said:
They were practicing their screens on Saturday, I didn't notice the quick slants but there were some pretty balls attacking over the middle which we have failed to do previously. Looking forward to that.
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Good to know. Thanks for posting. Anything that will spread out the D at all before RUTM plays is welcomed by me.
 





Love the idea of going to a more zone blocking type running game. Mason proved that can be very effective here if done right and the best part is you can recruit smaller more athletic lineman and are not as tied to finding the massive Earth mover types.
 

I love watching Shannon Brooks run. Dude reminds me of a video game running back, like Otis Anderson in excellent condition in Techmo Super Bowl. You didn't run to the endzone, you ran AT your defender so you steamrolled him before he cut out your legs!
 



MNVCGUY said:
Love the idea of going to a more zone blocking type running game. Mason proved that can be very effective here if done right and the best part is you can recruit smaller more athletic lineman and are not as tied to finding the massive Earth mover types.
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I got the impression (right or wrong) that the coaches wanted to keep big guys on the line. Do you think we may start getting smaller lineman?
 

bottlebass said:
They were practicing their screens on Saturday, I didn't notice the quick slants but there were some pretty balls attacking over the middle which we have failed to do previously. Looking forward to that.
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Leidner is still out then?
 

minibeaver said:
I got the impression (right or wrong) that the coaches wanted to keep big guys on the line. Do you think we may start getting smaller lineman?
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No clue in terms of their recruiting philosophy, but typically to run a zone blocking scheme you need quicker more athletic lineman. At least that is what we employed during the Mason years, not to say that the lineman were small by any stretch but there was definitely a premium on agility and ability to pull and move.
 

MNVCGUY said:
No clue in terms of their recruiting philosophy, but typically to run a zone blocking scheme you need quicker more athletic lineman. At least that is what we employed during the Mason years, not to say that the lineman were small by any stretch but there was definitely a premium on agility and ability to pull and move.
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Yeah. I thought I heard a coach or player say that they would be running a zone blocking scheme at times, but not all the time? Mason pretty much ran it exclusively right? Depending on how much we use it we may be shifting recruiting to those smaller types.

The 2017 O Line recruits we're targeting should give us an idea maybe.
 

minibeaver said:
Yeah. I thought I heard a coach or player say that they would be running a zone blocking scheme at times, but not all the time? Mason pretty much ran it exclusively right? Depending on how much we use it we may be shifting recruiting to those smaller types.

The 2017 O Line recruits we're targeting should give us an idea maybe.
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Also, like mention earlier, you can be big AND athletic, its just harder to find. Plus if we don't run zone all the time,i.e. trying to pound it one yard into the end zone, bigger and stronger can be more important. Ideally I think they want to reach a point where we have our Big tough players, our smaller, athletic players, and maybe some in the middle so that we have depth and are prepared to run whatever we think will work.
 

My recollection is that Mason's smaller more athletic guys did fine in the non-conference and a against some BIG teams, but didn't have much chance against the OSU's who were bigger AND just as athletic... Hopefully, Johnson and Miller are working toward dealing with that
 

Seems to me those teams were missing a defense when it counted, and large linemen would be somewhere below that in priority. Hate to bring it up but da gophs rushed for 424 yards in the infamous 2003 game.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Seems to me those teams were missing a defense when it counted, and large linemen would be somewhere below that in priority. Hate to bring it up but da gophs rushed for 424 yards in the infamous 2003 game.
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It could be argued that superior RBs and an athletic QB had more to do with that stat then OL play.
 

Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0 said:
It could be argued that superior RBs and an athletic QB had more to do with that stat then OL play.
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Well, it certainly didn't hurt! Behind good lines just about any back can look elite, even if they are only average or slightly above.

Personally, I'm excited to see that Claeys wants to take advantage of the various permutations of the different blocking schemes. I hope we don't see just zone, or just power. It was time to shake things up.
 


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