After going through the Green Bay Packers’ game against the Carolina Panthers a couple of times, I’ve had a few things stand out to me. Some of those things are good, and some are bad (that’s generally the way all games go). Today, I wanted to focus on something that was of particular interest to me: the gap scheme run game.
When Matt LaFleur came to Green Bay, he was known as a wide zone guy, and that was certainly true at the time. The run game was almost entirely based on zone running schemes, with a passing game built off of that. That has changed over his time in Green Bay, as we saw him lean more into gap scheme runs.
Just a quick terminology check here, because I’ll be talking in fairly general terms. Zone scheme is when the offensive line works by blocking a zone/area. Offensive coaching legend Howard Mudd described it, simply, as “blocking whatever is in front of them.” Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Muñoz described it as blocking on a track. “Like a railroad track…if a defensive lineman or linebacker crosses onto the track, your job is to take him and move him.” (Quotes taken from Tim Layden’s excellent Blood, Sweat and Chalk).
Gap scheme is a more targeted approach. Instead of travelling on a track, you’re targeting a specific area and hammering it by pulling an offensive lineman or two. Gap scheme is a wide umbrella term with a lot of specific run concepts (Trap, Wham, Crunch, Counter, etc.), but that’s what we’re talking about here. Blocking on a track with zone or pulling linemen to attack a point.
It felt like LaFleur spent years building up to including a gap scheme package into the offensive arsenal, only to get derailed by things like injuries and fresh bodies who weren’t quite up for the challenge. Majoring in wide zone can be a nice way to live, but it can also be a bit limiting in terms of what you are offensively. Being able to be effective in the gap scheme run world can help with your overall run game, but the movement of pullers can also help sell the play action game, which opens up the middle of the field for the passing game.
In 2023 and 2024, the Packers were finally able to incorporate gap scheme runs into their offense, but that hasn’t carried over into 2025. The offensive line hasn’t been the effective, people-moving unit they had banked on it being and the gap scheme run game suffered as a result. Coming into the Panthers game, the Packers were running gap scheme runs on 14.8% of their run plays and only averaging 2.5 YPA (Yards Per Attempt).
Something changed in the Panthers game. Maybe it was a gameplan specific point (the Panthers defense is a solid defense against the run, but has struggled against gap scheme), but the Packers leaned heavier into gap scheme runs than we’ve seen them do all season. And they excelled at it. Against the Panthers, gap scheme runs made up 24% of their run plays and they averaged 9.8 YPA.
We’ll see if this is something that the Packers work into their offense a little more throughout the season or if it was simply a gameplan specific point coming into this game. Still, it was an encouraging sign in an otherwise inconsistent run game this year, and that gives me something to look forward to. I’m interested to see where this goes.
Albums listened to: Swim School - swim school; Wet Leg - moisturizer; Snocaps - Snocaps