Green Bay - Coach Mike McCarthy's commitment to the zone run scheme is well into its third season and the Green Bay Packers remain one of the poorest rushing teams in the National Football League.

The choreographed beauty of the zone scheme - as witnessed in Denver and Atlanta with its guru, Alex Gibbs, on staff - has been little more than a pipe dream under McCarthy.

Injuries are piling up for the first time in McCarthy's tenure, and the Packers find themselves in dire need of a ground game to support young quarterbacks and a depleted defense. Starting today against Atlanta, they must move the ball consistently on the ground to relieve pressure points elsewhere.

"If I felt we were schematically (poor), we would have changed already," McCarthy said at midweek. "Trust me. We don't have a scheme problem, we really don't."

Jeff Jagodzinski, McCarthy's first offensive coordinator, was given too much responsibility for the installation of the zone scheme in Green Bay two years ago. Jagodzinski did coach under Gibbs for two years in Atlanta, but don't forget, McCarthy also worked alongside Gibbs for two years in Kansas City.

I know how to do it, too, said McCarthy, who controls every aspect of offensive philosophy, teaching and game-planning.

In the NFL, ground games generally can be broken down into two types:

Zone, as used by Denver, Houston, Oakland and Detroit, among other teams. Blockers work in unison laterally, double-teaming the defensive tackle at the point of attack before one leaves to block a linebacker. It is designed to create a wave effect through which the running back makes one cut and looks for daylight.

Power, as used by Dallas, the New York Giants, Pittsburgh and Chicago, among other teams. Blockers work to create an off-tackle hole with a double-team down block at the point of attack, the outside is sealed and a guard pulls leading the back into the predetermined gap.

Through four games of McCarthys third season, the running game isnt being blocked very well and the running backs arent running it efficiently.

McCarthy is well aware of this. Twice in the past three games Ryan Grant has carried 15 times for 20 yards. Hes not happy.

But when asked to pinpoint the problem, McCarthy said it had nothing to do with what the Packers are trying to do or who they have coaching it. His point, regardless of scheme, is that coaches must find the best angles for their offensive linemen. Then it comes down to them making the block.

Watch the feet, the pad level, their knee bend, he said. Last week they were under us all day. I told the coaches that. Weve got to get it out of them.

Our guys are just young. Trust me. Ive been around some great run teams, particularly early in my career. The common thread about them is the maturity of the three inside guys. Youre talking about offensive linemen in their second or third year. Were still a young team.

Tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher are old, by NFL standards. Center Scott Wells is in his fourth year as a starter and guards Jason Spitz and Daryn Colledge are in their third years as starters. Guard Josh Sitton is a rookie but has yet to play a snap.

This is not a youthful line.

Injuries play role
[ul]McCarthy also mentioned problems with continuity, notably Grants lingering hamstring problem and Wells back problem.

But every team must deal with injuries.

While McCarthy says power is one of the four basic concepts of his running game, the Packers almost never practice it and, other than what looked like it on one snap against the Cowboys, almost never use it except in goal-line.

When defenses break down the Packers rushing attack, they see a majority of outside zone plays, often referred to as stretch plays; some inside zone plays, which incorporate elements of power and dont include back-side cutting; and a few draw plays, generally from multiple-receiver sets.

Thats it.

The Packers arent alone in their limited repertoire of runs. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has used a smattering of power in the last few years, but his bread-and-butter plays are the same as the Packers.

During Shanahans 14-year tenure, Denver has had the Rolls Royce of run games. His running backs coach, Bobby Turner, has been with him since 1995. His line coach, Rick Dennison, began working alongside Gibbs in 2001.

Almost regardless of the back, Shanahan has run the ball against everyone by finding smart, extremely disciplined linemen who limit penetration and generate long runs.[/ul]

Stale rushing game
[ul]Other than a streak in Weeks 13-17 last season when Grant got hot, McCarthys rushing game has been stale.

In 38 games, McCarthys teams have averaged 102.55 yards per game and 4.04 yards per carry. McCarthys scoring average is 22.7 points.

Under his predecessor, Mike Sherman, the Packers rushed for 115.29 yards per game and 4.23 yards per carry, and averaged 23.7 points.

McCarthy has rushed on 39.9% of his plays. Sherman rushed on 42.5%.

The way to win in the NFL is passing. Almost 65% of yards are gained in the air, and much of what McCarthy brings to the passing game has been well conceived and executed.

Months ago, when McCarthy decided that Brett Favre wouldnt be back and the ground game figured to be more important with a young quarterback, he could have switched to a power-based ground game. But he didnt, and after the first month his team is tied for 23rd in first downs and 27th in time of possession.

For the second straight year, the Packers are lousy both in short yardage and allowing seepage into the backfield. According to STATS, the Packers rank eighth in rushes for loss and are tied for 26th in rushes of 4 yards or more.

Just as the Packers got whipped up front late last season by the Cowboys and Giants, they got whipped by the Cowboys and then Buccaneers in the last two weeks.

Championship teams control the line of scrimmage. So far, the Packers line controls nothing.

The better running teams present defenses with a run-pass dilemma on third and 2. Last year, McCarthy passed on 17 of 19 chances. This year, he has passed on all three.

Back in 2006, Jagodzinski once ridiculed those teams that incorporated both zone and power in their rushing playbooks, saying, If you try to do everything, youll be good at nothing.

Since Vince Lombardi, the standard for ground games in Green Bay was set in 2003, when Jagodzinski was tight ends coach. Using a formula set forth by Sherman and offensive line coach Larry Beightol, the Packers rushed for 159.9 per game and 5.05 per carry.

And how did they do it? With a mix of runs estimated at 60% power, 40% zone.

In 03, the Packers ran their strong-side power only to the right (left guard Mike Wahle pulling) and their weak-side counter only to the left (right guard Marco Rivera pulling). Those were their signature plays, but they were run to one side only to limit assignment errors.

On the power right, the key block was the double-team by tight end Bubba Franks and Tauscher on the defensive end and the lead-through pull by Wahle.

When defenses crashed the strong-side linebacker down, the fullback would block him and Wahle would go around the horn, sometimes leading to breakout runs for Ahman Green. When Green joined Sherman in 2000, he was much more proficient running zone stretches than power plays, but over time he became dynamite at both.

Shermans zone stretch play was very similar to McCarthys, with cutting on the back side. However, Sherman at times would switch to man-to-man blocking on the play-side, with the play-side tackle blocking down and the play-side guard executing a short pull. The guard would read the integral block by Franks on the defensive end, then either lead the back through the hole or around the corner.[/ul]

McCarthys strategy
[ul]Under McCarthy, the Packers prefer to stretch the defense using strict zone principles. Its a rarity to see his guards pull.

Sherman also would run his power and zone stretch plays with three wide receivers on the field. McCarthy is less likely to try that.

The 03 team also gained significant mileage from a U-71 package featuring 340-pound tackle Kevin Barry as a tight end. McCarthys inverted wishbone set using two fullbacks has been dormant for three weeks because of Korey Halls knee injury.

Wahle and Rivera developed into Pro Bowl guards, but they were nothing at first.

The Broncos loved Colledge before the 06 draft; athletically, he often has been compared to Wahle. And Spitz has grunt-like qualities similar to Riveras.

The transition from zone scheme to power scheme (and finding bigger linemen) was made last year in Atlanta. The Falcons crashed to 26th in rushing in 2007 but now are back ranked No. 1, using a power attack that seemed to have baffled Packers defensive tackle Ryan Pickett.

Its straight-ahead but a whole bunch of different runs, Pickett said. They never do the same thing too much.

The offensive line in front of Atlanta runner Michael Turner isnt much on paper, either.

Granted, the ability to protect the quarterback must continue to be the top priority for a McCarthy-coached lineman. But the Packers will not make the Super Bowl unless they become more power-oriented and explosive up front.

McCarthy has had chances to start phasing more power and diversity into his ground game. He should have done that a long time ago.[/ul]