Gap Blocking Scheme

Let’s keep it on Cook for this first part to show you the good, the bad and the great with him in a gap scheme.

First, a good play, the one above. I really like this play from Cook because in a gap scheme, a running back has to have two things at a bare minimum. They have to have patience to make sure all the moving pieces can get to their spots at the right time, and they have to have quick feet as to burst through or around defenders once blocked. Cook put both of those attributes on display in the play above, and it paid off big time. If you’ll notice, this was another play that was designed for Cook to get to the outside and use his speed in space. That was an NFL-type Counter Trey run from a shotgun formation.

The play above is an area where Cook could be a little better. Other than both ball security and feet security for him not tripping and falling so much, Cook could stand to have both a better recognition of where the best point of entry might be, and in his own skill set. Cook’s highlight tape is filled with him dancing on the sideline, staying in bounds and blazing by defenders from angles you wouldn’t think were possible. In the NFL, a play like this may be less likely just because defenders are quicker to the sidelines, but I would like to see Cook recognize where his strength in numbers were from his blockers, and know that going to the outside is his speciality with his speed. Reading those characteristics of a runner play are required for gap schemes.

That request was brought to fruition on the final play for him, the play above.

That play is beautiful for a number of reasons. First, it’s from the shotgun formation with the tight end coming across the line of scrimmage as the lead blocker, not demanding a fullback – the exact scenario the Buccaneers would prefer to run out of. That kind of formation means that it could still be in a passing play since it is from the shotgun, which would keep the defense guessing. It also showed that Cook isn’t a liability as a runner from that set, and therefore increases his value.

Second, Cook had the patience to wait for the tight end to lure the linebacker closer and closer, and once he knew he was too far sucked into the play, Cook burst to the outside and blew right by him. Finally, you can’t not talk about the breakaway speed. I don’t give a damn what his Combine time was, this kid can fly – with speed and strength not many running backs have, even in the NFL.

That play right there is so easy to envision in all Buccaneer uniforms. Cameron Brate is the tight end to lead block, Ali Marpet is the moving guard, and Cook is the one taking it into the end zone followed by six shots out of the pirate ship cannon.

The run above is something we’d typically see from Cook, and yet Fournette is doing it with more size which is extremely impressive.

Notice again that it was a from a single back formation. That’s what Fournette is. Once you get Fournette moving, he’s hard to stop, and this play above also breaks the narrative that he can’t make jukes because of that. He can, like I said, he just has to get going for them to be killers on a defense. Once he’s three or four steps into his speed, it’s often curtains.

Being a power back does not limit Fournette in the types of blocking schemes you can run with him, but it does limit the kind of formations you can run.

The GIF above is a good example of that.

On that Counter Trey play, Fournette was stopped at his initial gap. After trying to switch fields, it was evident that he just doesn’t have the hip quickness to flip his body and move from east-to-west to north-to-south as quickly as you’d need him to. This is the correct narrative with Fournette. When you get him moving, it’s very hard to stop him, but doing that requires a certain type of gameplan. If the Buccaneers like the power style they have with Jacquizz Rodgers, they could simplify their running play book and essentially have the same handful of running plays for both backs they use, if Fournette is their guy (which could be easier on their struggling offensive line). However, if they want a complex running game with shotgun and pistol formations to keep teams guessing if the plays are run or pass, Fournette would be the riskier of the three.

He’s a great talent, but a simplified one in terms of the kind of running plays you can have in your playbook.

I referenced this when talking about zone blocking schemes with McCaffrey, but when the chaos is ramped up, it seem to give McCaffrey a greater advantage. He’s so calm, not only when picking his running lanes, but also through contact. So much so that you often see him escape from tackles he has no business escaping from at his size.

To me, gap schemes are picture perfect for McCaffrey because of what he brings to the table as his best attributes. Gap schemes concepts allow for him to be patient, let him take advantage of his quick feet, and give him the chance to use his brain with the football as well as his athletics. Depending on who the Buccaneers want to build their offensive line around, he could be perfect for them as well. If the Bucs chose to focus their offensive line around their guards and use Marpet as their emphasis as a mover and lead blocker, I think McCaffrey could have a good amount of success in Tampa Bay in Doug Martin’s role.

I know I don’t need to say this again because it’s obvious, but all three of these backs are very talented in their own way. If I had to rank them as prospects for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, my order would be Cook, then McCaffrey, then Fournette.

I think Cook is he whole package as a runner, but he does have to get better at holding on to the ball and better in pass protection. He allows the Buccaneers to call run plays from the single back, I-formation and shotgun sets, as well as be successful in all three blocking schemes, though Zone and Gap runs seem to be his forte to get him to the outside.

McCaffrey also allows the Buccaneers to play all three blocking concepts from multiple formations, and though he is one of, if not the, best receiving back in the class, I would put him just below Cook because I do think the team would want more an x-factor in terms of strength than as a receiver. However, that could very well be flipped, and if the Buccaneers prefer to go with a more different combo of backs with McCaffrey and Rodgers as opposed to Cook and Rodgers, just know the possible gameplan in what plays they can run does not drop in terms of the running game.

Having Fournette as my third guy for the Bucs is sure to make plenty of people roll their eyes, but it’s simply because, from what I’ve seen, the Buccaneers would rather be complex than simplistic. If they draft Fournette, they’re essentially drafting the same style of player they signed with Rodgers, and would then have an uneven balance if Charles Sims were also to be involved. They could focus on the power running game more with Fournette, which would probably benefit the likes of Demar Dotson and Donovan Smith, but would also limit the amount of shot gun  and disguise plays that could be called.