Monday November 23, 2009

UVA film review and the Isolation play

Over at STS, UVA game review along with a description of the Isolation play that Clemson runs often.

 
Also known as the greatest play in football.

Why? Because its simple. Its the 2nd play that is taught to kids learning football after the FB Dive. So then it stands to reason if its simple, its also one of the easiest to execute. I make no secret that I love I-formation running, and with a good FB and decent power RB, this play should be good for 3-4 yards on every touch.

Clemson almost never ran this play in the traditional form with Spence, although he would run it out of a Strong-I and with zone blocking. This season Napier and Swinney have brought it back, given their success in college running it at Alabama and Furman.

The I-formation is so successful, since the 1950s, because its very balanced in how it attacks. The single wing was phased out of football when the T-formation came into prominence under George Halas and the Chicago Bears in the 1940s. Later,  Tom Nugent at VMI changed the T-formation into the I-formation, and then John McKay used it successfully at USC to win national championships, and then the NFL took it and distilled it into the style we see today. But the reason why its so successful is not that its a power-formation, other 2-1-2 formations can be equally as tough to defend, its in how it can still be effective in the passing game. If it were not, the NFL would not still be using it as extensively as it is today. Both backs can be useful as receivers, or can stay in for max-protection with the TE if need be, giving you a possible total of 8 blockers. Since many teams release one or both backs from blocking, the defense must defend the flats. Teams that have a shortage of competent WRs, but that have a TE that can block or catch, along with a good blocking FB, can excel at any level with the I-formation.

Theres so much more to write about the I-formation that it has filled many books, when all we want to do is discuss the play Clemson has run considerably more this year and more effectively than perhaps since Tommy West's days.