Football Fundamentals: Iso Primer

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT MAIZE N BREW ON OCT 3, 2013

The Iso run is a quick hitting run play that works by dominating the LOS. Creating double teams on both sides of the run lane and gaining momentum with a lead FB allows the offense to ram the football down the defense's throat. Because of it's strength at the point of attack and relative quickness in its development, it's a great play to run against quick hitting defenses (goal line situations or against a heavy blitz) because the defense must react to it quickly and defiantly, or else be caught behind the ball. In this post, we are going to go over the fundamentals of the Iso scheme.

Diagram

Video

Note here that this is a strongside Iso. The center comes off his combo block almost instantly because of the aggressive nature of Notre Dame's LBs. He is letting the LB take himself out of the play, essentially combo blocking to him without doubling at the point of attack.

Preview: OSU vs Oregon, 2015

This will be some rambling points about tonight's game. Had to pull this together quickly.

OSU Offense vs Oregon Defense

VS

Helfrich

Tim Beck: Coaching Primer

Tim Beck - Used to wearing red

I'm quite familiar with Beck so I can push this out rather quickly. This is an Interesting hire, but I like It.

In general, I liked Beck's scheme at Nebraska. It's more of a stretch zone base, rather than OSU's tight zone, but it typically utilizes more zone based tag schemes than Meyer has in the past (read: more blocking adjustments within zone scheme, or a lot more of this). It'll be interesting if some of that gets implemented into Meyer's offense, which I'm fairly certain will still be the base O as it has always been under Meyer (though he has often allowed his OCs to add wrinkles). Warriner will almost certainly be in charge of play calling now, as he's more directly familiar with Meyer's scheme and a promotion is in order to keep him around. Meyer has tended to prefer to promote from within as well.

Hit the jump for more on coaching ability, fit at OSU, and offensive wrinkles he may add.

Film Review: OSU's Split Zone and the 60 Y Curl

Previously, we talked about OSU utilizing split zone as a viable way to simplify the read option game for inexperienced QB Cardale Jones. But to move the football in the college game, you still need some semblance of a passing threat. Rather than forcing their QB to make complicated reads or fit the ball into tight windows, Urban Meyer and Tom Herman dialed up a simple play action pass concept to allow Jones and his receivers to be effective while not needing to over think. In this post, we’ll look how this “3-Verts” concept works, and more specifically, how it works as a great addition to the split zone play.

Jim Harbaugh: Coaching Primer

I'll get into more things later, but wanted to at least give a brief primer on Michigan's new Head Coach, Jim Harbaugh.

Gregory Shamus, Getty Images

Jim Harbaugh, throughout his coaching tenure, has ran a predominately West Coast Offense based offense. He prefers to be a bit more run heavy than many of the WCO predecessors, but he's willing to mix it up. He favors FBs and H-Backs and loves to utilize a variety of man blocking schemes with them to make it more difficult to key on players as a defense. Pulls, short traps, long traps, whams, leads, kicks, seals, he'll use whatever he can to give a different look to the defense.

The Key Play

Inside the Playbook: Ohio State's Split Zone Run Play

Ohio State essentially started their third different QB of the season a couple weeks ago. Most teams talking up this type of fact are on the wrong end of an unexpected season, however, in this instance it wasn’t following a disappointing season. In fact, this discussion happened before and after the Buckeyes were able to put up 31 first half points on offense against a previously stout Wisconsin Badgers defense. And this wasn’t just any regular season game, it was the conference championship game. But it wasn’t because Cardale Jones – the new starting QB for OSU – came in and played lights out with the full plethora of the playbook. Instead, the surrounding Buckeye cast stepped up their game, including the coaching staff. While receivers bailed out dubiously thrown balls, Head Coach Urban Meyer and Offensive Coordinators Tom Herman and Ed Warinner planned and called a simple, straight forward, and forgiving gameplan that allowed Jones to be productive while being protected, despite only a mediocre performance. In the next two posts, we’ll look at two plays that made up nearly half of the first half playcalls, how they work together, and how that benefitted Jones.

Film Review: Ohio State's OZ Pin and Pull BOB Read

Wisconsin utilized a one-gap 3-4 defense (and 2-4 Nickel package) this past season that forced a lot of teams to stagnate. This was done by having the three DL account for interior gaps, while keeping the inside LBs clean to crash down and scrape over the top. Meanwhile, the OLBs forced everything back inside to help. In theory this constricted the offenses the Badgers faced and forced them to play in a tighter area, which is an advantage for the defense. One of the proverbial ways teams adjust for this is by running what is known as pin and pull. The Buckeyes were well aware of that outside zone adjustment, and along with a change in the QB Read, saw them able to get to the edge of the defense for several big first half gains on the ground.