PFF Breaks Down Isaiah Crowell

Hit in the backfield most often:

• Crowell was hit in the backfield 27.7% of the time, 5th most among running backs with 70 or more carries.
• In these situations, he averaged 1.1 yards after contact.
• Interestingly, Ben Tate was 9th on this list, being hit in the backfield 25.8% of the time.
• Seeing that two of the Browns' backs showed a similar trend, this suggests that the Browns offense -- specifically the offensive line -- likely had a significant part in this.

Most often hit 3+ yards behind the line of scrimmage:

• Isaiah was hit 3+ yards behind the line of scrimmage on 9.5% of his rushing attempts, again at a 5th-highest mark.
• Crow picked up 0.6 yards after contact on these plays.
• Again, we see Ben Tate at 9th on this list as well (at 8.9%), implicating the Browns offense as a whole to some degree.

Highest percentage of runs for no gain or loss:

• 25.0% of Crowell's runs were for no gain or a loss. That was 4th most often in the NFL.
• Ben Tate was 6th most often, with 24.2% of his runs failing to yield positive yardage.

Highest percentage of 10+ yard runs:

• Crow had a 10+ yard run on 13.5% of his carries.
• 54.5% of his total yards came on these 10+ yard plays.
• PFF's Sam Monson had this to say: "Interestingly, Isaiah Crowell ranked ninth in the highest percentage of 10-plus yard runs, but also was stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage on one-quarter of his carries."

Highest attempts per missed tackle forced:

• Isaiah Crowell only made a defender miss their tackle once every 16.4 rushing attempts, the 4th worst rate in the NFL.
• Despite his reputation among some fans, Crow is not a tackle-breaking power back.
• Avoiding tacklers with vision and by making the right cut are not factored in here.

Most pre-contact rushing yards:

• On average, Crowell picked up 2.2 yards before contact on each rushing attempt. That was the 10th highest rate in the NFL last year.
• He then picked up an average 1.9 yards after contact to bring his total to 4.1 yards per carry.

Conclusions:

• The offensive line had major consistency issues last year and Crow's stats show it with him getting hit behind the line on 27.7% of his rush attempts.
• Isaiah didn't prove to be a tackle-breaker, making defenders miss their tackles only once every 16.4 rushes and averaging only 1.1 yards after contact when hit in the backfield.
• He still ripped off 10+ yard runs on 13.5% of his rush attempts.
• The Browns need improved line play to reduce the frequency of Browns running backs getting hit behind the line.
• The return of Alex Mack and additions of Cameron Erving and Michael Bowie should both boost line play significantly and improve the depth.
• Clearly Crow has some big play potential, the key is to get him to the line untouched.