"Line enters the 'no-sack' zone"

Maybe it wasn't the players who made the ' 2006 offensive line so bad. Maybe it was the system.Or so it might seem after a couple of 2007 preseason games. Playing a half against both Arizona and San Francisco, the first-string Raider line allowed no sacks. None.This must have been a Dallas Cowboys jersey
revelation to QB Andrew Walter, who was decked 46 times last season. Against San Francisco, Walter went 17 straight plays in a vertical position. At this rate, his laundry bill should be cut in half.Overall, the Raiders allowed 72 sacks last season, worst in the NFL. And one of the reasons that the offense has been clicking in August, despite the absence of holdout QB JaMarcus Russell, is because new line coach Tom Cable's zone blocking system has apparently taken root.Last year, the Raider linemen mostly tried to take on the opposition one-on-one at a time. The problem with this approach is that all five blockers have to succeed on every snap, or leaks occur.Zone blocking, on the other hand, is more of a communal effort. Blockers work in tandem and follow the direction of the play. After all, if a sweep is going to the left, there's really not much need for the right tackle to engage his man.This system also involves intricate blocking angles, quickness and, yes, cut blocking. It also helps that guard Cooper Carlisle, picked up as a free agent, played the zone blocking system with Denver last season. Thus, he is able to demonstrate in the trenches what Cable draws out on the chalkboard.So far, the first-string line has been composed of tackles Barry Sims and Cornell Green and guards Carlisle and Robert Gallery working in tandem with a two-headed center, Jake Grove and Jeremy Newberry. All of them, so far, have been doing their jobs."I believe in the scheme," Carlisle told the San Jose Mercury-News4 Brett Favre White jersey
. "It gives you an opportunity to succeed on every play. It definitely was a factor in my signing with the Raiders."Zone blocking works equally well in protecting the passer and creating holes for running backs -- or so say its adherents.And if they want to point to a success story, the numbers in Oakland don't lie. At least so far.