Wall Tag for the Inside Zone
The Wall Tag for the Inside Zone is a simple way to put stress on the entire defense. The ideal Spread to Run offensive system forces the defense to allocate it’s players across the field and defend the whole width of the field. With the Wall Tag we are able to force the defense to account for players in the flats, in the box, and in the alley.
Wall Tag for the Inside Zone
In our base Inside Zone scheme we will always read the C Gap Player on the backside of the call. This is very effective when we have a running Quarterback who can stress the defense, but there are years when our Quarterback is more of a passing threat than a running threat. In addition, the C Gap Player can make the read difficult for the Quarterback with different feathering techniques. The solution to both of these problems is to turn to the Wall Tag on Inside Zone.
The C Gap is one of the most important parts of the field for the offense to be able to control. This is the area where the defense is going to decide if they will force a run to stay in between the tackles or try to bounce it. Traditionally this is done with how the defensive player deals with a block but in the Inside Zone it is done based on how the defender is playing the Inside Zone.
What makes life difficult for the Quarterback and the play caller is when the defensive end is giving the quarterback problems by slow playing the read. The solution is to take away the read and have the Tackle block out on this C Gap Player. This takes the Quarterback’s read away from the C Gap Player and moves it to the B Gap Player.
Related Content: Using the Bluff Tag off the Inside Zone
When the read is moved to the B Gap player we have to find a way to give him two options to cover. For the Wall tag we will take our most inside receiver and have him run a hitch outside of the linebacker. This forces the linebacker to choose between either defending the run and filling the B Gap, or coming outside of the box to stop the pass. This gives the Quarterback a simple read and allows us to ensure that the linebacker is always wrong.
One of the key concepts in creating an offensive system is to have answers that protect your base plays. If the defense is going to prevent you from making a clean read on the Inside Zone you must have a solution that counters their defensive adjustments. The Lock tag is a great tag that can help protect the Inside Zone scheme and allow your offense to base out of its major plays.
