NFL Wide Zone Weak

How teams are attacking wide technique of NFL defensive ends.

Just glance at the big run plays from the entire preseason and you will notice a trend: Wide Zone weak consistently creates most of the explosive plays on the ground.

As NFL defenses become increasingly focused on shutting down the passing game, defensive ends are often lining up wider to gain an advantage on their pass rush. While this approach may lead to a better pass rush, it leaves defenses vulnerable to the weak side of a formation.

This article delves into how the Wide Zone weak concept takes advantage of these overextended defenses, creating opportunities for offenses to gash them on the ground.

All 3 of these pictures show the picture most NFL offenses are getting: wide defensive ends. These examples are why the NFL has become a Wide Zone weak league. With the split of the tackle and no B gap defender, the defense has a distinct weakness.

The weak linebacker and the A gap defensive tackle are the defenders charged with stopping the play. The d-tackle can’t get reached by the center, and the linebacker can’t get out-leveraged.

Let’s look at some examples to see how it plays out.

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