Man Blocking Schemes

Let’s start where we left off with Fournette.

The play above is a good example of vintage Fournette. Offset I-formation with the play going straight up the middle. This is a big reason why teams love Fournette, because he can get those straight forward yards. A play like the one above is more similar to how the Buccaneers used Jacquizz Rodgers last season. With Rodgers, they didn’t want him to do a lot of dancing or even decision making with the ball in his hands. They wanted him to get north-to-south, get through contact, and make sure he was falling forward for the most yards possible. If the Buccaneers were to draft Fournette, they’d be doing it with the mindset of become a more power, downhill running team with a smaller running play book – that doesn’t mean better or worse.

I will point out, however, that though Fournette *has* his bread and butter, he doesn’t always use it – which is most likely a product of him knowing he;s better than most college level competition, but so be it. 

The play above got Fournette exactly what he should have taken advantage of yet didn’t. At 6-foot-1, 240 pounds, Fournette has the size to take on any defensive back. He should know that bouncing to the outside like this does two negative things. First, it stops his momentum, which is his greatest asset with his size. Second, it brings his stiff hips into play, which he then had to try to change direction on. Fournette has to know what he’s good at, and he has to know why a team is designing plays around him. It’s not for him to bounce to the outside, at least not like this. He can a little more on other blocking schemes, but not that the exchange of him getting momentum going forward. But we’ll get to that in the last section.

The narratives around McCaffrey is that he’s a shotgun, spread offense scatback who uses speed and shiftiness to get down the field. The last part is true, but the first part only tells half the story.

Yes, McCaffrey can be used effectively from the shotgun set, both as a runner and as a receiver. But, you have to remember that Stanford is one of the best power runner teams in the country, and that includes with McCaffrey in single back and I-formations.

There are a lot of people who don’t think McCaffrey can run between the tackles. If you want to say that he’s a smaller back who isn’t going to break tackles like Cook, Fournette, Foreman, Conner, etc., you’re right, he won’t. But, that doesn’t mean he can’t be a between the tackles kind of running back; he’s just different in how he does it.

The reason I have confidence with McCaffrey, even in the inside power run game, is because in the NFL, the windows and running lanes only get smaller, and McCaffrey has shown that if you give him the smallest of openings, whether it be between a defensive lineman or a linebacker, he can not only recognize it, but hit it with good burst and balance. McCaffrey is never going to be a bruiser. So, if you’re only into running backs who convert on 3rd-and-goal as their specialty with the occasional outside run, maybe he’s not for you. But, for the Buccaneers, they already have that guy with Jacquizz Rodgers, who is a good short-yard, power running back.

Sure, there are plenty of plays that you could point out to me where McCaffrey makes first contact at the line of scrimmage, is hit and brought down immediately. But, the truth is, every running back those plays – many of them. I’m starting to realize when it happens to McCaffrey people focus on it more just because he’s smaller. He’s smaller, yes, but McCaffrey is less of a liability in between the tackles as you think.

Even when Florida State ran their Man Blocking Scheme plays for Cook, they were often with him going towards or outside the tackles, which was smart, because that’s where he’s at his best.

The play above is a counter play from the offset I-formation. In it, the edge defender (Taco Charlton) failed to contain the run play, but even if he would not have bit so hard, the pulling offensive lineman would have seal the edge and sprung Cook loose.

Before we had an example of him running power from the I-formation, but in the play directly above, he showed off his burst from the shotgun set, too.

Though McCaffrey has plenty of plays from both the shotgun and the single back sets, Cook seems to have the most balanced success from both formations when it comes to Man Blocking Concepts. The play above is a great example of how Cook can see a hole and get through it quickly. It also demonstrated how he can take a hard hit and hang on to the ball. I know Cook has his fumbling problems, but they seem to be a lot like his stumbling problem in that they’re all weird instances that make you scratch your head. It’s not that Cook doesn’t have the balance to not trip an fall as much as he does, and it’s not like Cook is strong enough to hold on to the ball more than he should. Regardless, Cook showed success in both formation in the Man Blocking Scheme, which helps boast his all-around game.

Finally, let’s get to the last blocking concept. The one that requires the most skill and chemistry, but can also have the biggest pay off.