Understanding the Run Game Problems

I think there's an understandable misconception among Eagles fans regarding the source of our team's problems running the football.  Despite a number of extremely high-profile short yardage rushing failures, the problem this year hasn't really been the first four yards.  It's been the next six.

To see what I mean, take a quick look at the official NFL rushing stats.  The first thing that will catch your eye of course is the team ranking: 24th.  The yards per carry stat is almost as bad.

But look over to the columns on the right that show the number of runs over more than 20 or 40 yards.  The Eagles have just two of the former and none of the latter (and one of those 20+ was a DeSean Jackson end around).  Last year the Eagles went 17 and 1 in those categories, giving them the third-most 20+ carries in the league. 

Another way of looking at the same numbers can be found here, on STATS Inc.'s table of "big play" rushes.  The Eagles have no one on that list. 

Finally, slide over to Football Outsiders for a minute, where their offensive line stats strip out the long runs to give a better sense of the first-level blocking.  Despite the debacles of the past couple weeks, the Eagles are actually middle of the pack on those numbers -- well above their performance in the traditional statistics.

So what's changed:

• Wide receivers -- Reggie Brown, Hank Baskett and Jason Avant are three of the toughest-blocking WRs in the league.  Curtis puts in the effort.  Brown's been out much of the year and replacements Jackson and Lewis don't have the size to really stay on guys.  This could have some effect on the margins.
• Fullback -- There's an idea that fullbacks only matter in short-yardage situations.  That's not true at all.  A good fullback can run a kick-out block on an end, which allows the tackle to either block down or immediately go to the linebackers.  On a typical lead play, the fullback can also be the one who makes the critical LB block that takes a run from a three-yard plop to an eight-yard gash.  We don't have a fullback.
• Shawn Andrews -- This is a biggie.  Andrews is bar none the best second-level blocker in the NFL.  I haven't seen anyone else around the league who is better at getting an immediate chip on a DT and then hopping to the next level to clear out the linebacker. 

So here's a quick-and-dirty sketch of how the Eagles typically would run something like this (in a play where the FB goes to an LB and only showing playside):

If the RG can't make that combo block on the MLB -- or if he makes it at, rather than past, the LOS -- and if the FB isn't strong enough to root that SLB out of the hole -- perhaps diving at his legs to chop him down but not creating space -- then everything compresses and there's much less space to break anything past the point of attack. 

Is this what we're seeing every play?  No, not at all, I just made that one up.  And you can't blame the fullback for all the plays we run out of one or split-back sets.  But there's no question that something in the run game is broken and despite a number of high-profile stuffs, it doesn't really seem to be primarily a first-level problem.