Eagles Film Room: Concept of the Week – Iso

In addition to writing the All-22 offense and defense reviews after each Eagles game this year, I will also write this one called ‘Concept of the Week.’ I will break down a specific concept or play on offense and defense and explain the play in more detail. Hopefully, this will allow you to look out for that play in future weeks. This week, we will look at the Eagles’ use of Iso against the Browns. I expect to see this used more this year!

Iso

Well, I never thought I would be writing about this run play. In all honestly, this is a run play I’ve never done a lot of research on. So, I enjoyed digging into this concept this week. Iso is run with a fullback, so we don’t see it much around the league these days. Tight ends have replaced the role of fullbacks in the modern NFL. However, most tight ends cannot block linebackers downhill in the run game so Iso isn’t run very much anymore. It’s worth noting that some of the best run games over the past five years, such as the Ravens and the 49ers, have been very successful with a fullback. But, there are not many good fullbacks around the league!

Enter Ben VanSumeren…

This play works so well. Landon Dickerson and Jurgens double the nose tackle and they move him. Dickerson does an outstanding job climbing to the second level quickly. Tyler Steen and Lane Johnson win their one-on-ones against the defensive tackle and EDGE defender. Barkley shows good patience to let his blocks develop and explodes into the hole created. This leaves him one-on-one with the safety. An average running back gets 10 yards on this play. Barkley is not an average back. He makes the safety miss and adds another 20 or so yards.

Iso is a pretty easy play to spot. The fullback is the lead blocker on a linebacker which allows double teams from the offensive lineman at the point of attack. The name ‘Iso’ comes from the fullback being ‘isolated’ with a linebacker one-on-one. This is a tough block to make.

Let’s talk about the positives and negatives. The best thing about the play is that it gets downhill fast. Many modern NFL offenses revolve around shotgun runs where the quarterback has to read the defense, which can result in tackles for loss. This play is the opposite. The running back gets downhill so fast that it can surprise the defense and should result in at least a small gain. The offensive line can ignore one of the linebackers as the fullback blocks him, allowing them to double a big defensive tackle or get to the second level quicker.

However, there is a reason this play is not as prominent as it used to be. First, teams no longer have good fullbacks, and what you are doing can be predictable if you run the same play every time you come up with a fullback. It is tough to find a fullback who is worth a roster spot just for blocking a linebacker a few times a game. If you use a more mobile tight end for this job, which many teams do, he might not have the power to take on a linebacker at the point of attack.

NFL defenses will know what to expect when they see Ben VanSumeren on the field from now on. Now it’s time for Kellen Moore to get creative and run some plays off of Iso. Yes, I want to see VanSumeren catch a ball. The easy play to run off this is to take the handoff and have the fullback run to the flat on play action. Here are some examples.

Finally, this is a bit more psychological, but I’m a big fan of the Eagles bringing this back because it’s not a play that not many teams run. As a defense, it must be harder to go against a play you don’t see that often in practice or on game day. For example, how often has Nakobe Dean, as a MIKE linebacker, practiced taking on a fullback on the point of attack? This is not something that linebackers practice much anymore. Whereas every linebacker practices facing inside and outside zone all the time. So, I think it’s good to run a play that might surprise a defense.

Lastly, I am going to be doing the same segment on my podcast weekly, so if you want to check out a video explanation in addition to the article, you can do so here!