Inside Zone Split

Pre snap, count the box defenders and check if the strong safety has crept down near the line, since that signals an extra run fitter against this heavy formation. Watch the Mike linebacker depth, if he is stacked tight behind the double team he is reading run fast and will try to shoot the gap. Post snap, key the playside defensive tackle, a two gap technique that holds the double team can clog both A and B gap reads for the HB. User controlled defenders flowing hard downhill from depth are the biggest threat to inside zone, look for a spy or a linebacker sitting in the window instead of firing. This play struggles against gap or man blitz fronts that cross faces at the snap, since those schemes beat zone blocking angles before the double team can climb.