Sorry, the question is — is that understanding correct, and can you explain what exactly Chip Long was doing last year?
Here's a brief explanation of the "pin and pull" (with a bonus cameo from Zack Martin), and
here's a good primer on zone blocking. The main difference between them is what uncovered OL do: are they
pulling playside to clear out defenders at the first and second level, or are they quickly
chipping playside before releasing to find blocks at the second level?
"Pro-style"/RPO guys like Long prefer the former because: (1) pulling guards make your misdirection/ play-action more effective; and (2) slower developing plays give your QB more time to make the correct read (as DCDomer suggested). But slow-developing run plays have some obvious downsides, with which we've all become painfully familiar.
Alternatively, spread guys like Quinn tend to prefer the latter because it's quicker and simpler, which allows you to push tempo when necessary and build in other sorts of wrinkles since uncovered OL can focus instead on finding someone to block immediately. The difference between the schemes is frequently exaggerated, and I think Kelly's comment was mostly coach speak cover for why our OL struggled more than they should have. But if last Saturday was our first attempt at running the outside zone/ stretch in several years during a live game (and against a sneaky good DL), that could plausibly explain some of our Q1 failures.
