Take Your Eye off the Ball: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look

If you've been watching football long enough to roll your eyes at the eejits who criticise it with ill-informed comments like "it's too slow", "I bet they don't even feel the tackles because of all the padding" or "it's easy to score when tthe other players are pushing all the tacklers away" then you are ready for this book. It will help take the casual fan up to the next level of understanding, and opens up the whole spectacle of watching a game, by making what happens in between plays just as enthralling as what happens when the ball is snapped.As a former amateur player, I spent WEEKS learning my playbooks, understanding my keys, reads and assignments, and those of the teammates to my left and right. Kirwan's book, complete with copious diagrams and written in a very accessible style, not only confirmed everything I ever suspected about the linemen being the most important players but also demonstrates how much the fan can divulge from observing the nuances of line play prior to the snap. Furthermore, several off-field aspects of the management of a football team are covered too and Kirwan's extensive knowledge lifts the lid on the drafting process and the importance of the medical and training staff.This book is absolutely worth every single penny. If someone would be good enough to sit down with Vernon Kay and at least explain the pictures to him, he might not spout so much drivel every week on the highlights show.

Really enjoyed this book cover to cover. I will be reading it again before the season as there are a lot of little details that I need and want to stay with me for the seasons to come. You need to have a few seasons of NFL viewing under your belt to get the most out of this book so don't buy this as your first introduction into the sport. There are plenty of other books or Internet offerings for complete beginners. This book comes into its own for fans who have heard the terms 4-3 and 3-4 defense, Nickel and Dime packages but maybe don't fully understand why or when teams use them. The title is very accurate and clearly explains what is happening all over the field whilst you are just watching the snap, QB and the ball. I found that it increased my knowledge to the next level and with another read and the new season coming soon I can't wait to implement my new understanding to my viewing. This is not a coaching manual and there is a whole other level of knowledge down the line for me but it's a great book and perfect for what I wanted. I can maybe understand a little bit more as to why my Minnesota Vikings were so bad last season!!

For those of us outside of the US, this book is a great view of what the weeks prior to Sunday / Monday night Football is about. The planning that goes into the weeks game by the scouts / coaches, each position is given a chapter, covering every eventuality that the player could face. Other chapters in the book discuss building up a roster, injuries, and pretty much anything else you would want to know about the NFL in general.As someone who plays in the Amateur league in the UK, it was a great insight into helping me not only on the field, but also watching the games at home. It's great that it has been written by someone who has lived inside the NFL, as it has first hand accounts, and a lot of knowledge is shared.I've watched the NFL since the late 90's, and I'm looking forward to this season even more than ever, wondering how much more I will notice now than I ever did before!

I thought I knew quite a lot about American Football, having been following it for nearly 30 years; this book was a real eye opener; some of the tips are better for live games rather than the TV, but still helps your understanding of the chess match that is play calling etc. It's quite a dry read, so I'm still reading it a section at a time, and will re-read before next season. This version has a DVD with it, note sure if R1 or not region specified as my player is multi-region. I actually just checked it played and haven't actually watched it yet; probably more helpful for people who have been watching for less time,, i.e. you're still trying to follow the ball, which leads to the title of the book... highly recommended.

Very interesting book on both on-field strategies and the off-field activities needed to run a franchise.Of particular interest were chapters that covered the rationale behind the 4-3 and 3-4 Defenses and the hard-nosed calculations involved in contract negotiations. The chapter on the draft also gave fascinating behind the scenes insight.It came with a DVD which basically summarised the chapters. Mr Kirwan has a rather shouty delivery, a bit like a Marine Gunnery Sergeant. I felt that if my attention waned he would shout out of the screen "Give me 20, Spotted Tail."

Explains the game very well, good book for those that know a little about the game first. I would recommend for anyone wishing to know a more indepth about positions, and strategy. Easy read, more of a text book that you can dip in and out of easily.

I spent the summer with a coworker who read this on our breaks. He was like me, very interested and knowledgeable on American football, but had little playing experience outside the backyard. I picked this up an anticipation of football season around August, but it got lost in my backlog until I finished it now at the midway point of the season. The book is very nicely organized and flows well from chapter to chapter. The first half is generally dedicated to the offensive side of the ball, with chapters dedicated to the quarterback, running back, receivers, and o-line. The second half covers defense, with a little side section concerning drafting players, the combine, and the future of the NFL. The author displays his knowledge of the game in a very concise and easy to digest format. He has spent time working with the Jets in the past, and definitely knows what he's talking about, but doesn't go overboard in details. There are a decent amount of easy diagrams in each chapter that also help provide a key visual breakdowns of pass routes and blocking schemes. The final chapter is also a glossary of commonly used football terminology, which is helpful for picking up certain jargon used by announcers every week. Even as a 15+ year football fan I took a whole lot out of reading this book. Every chapter not only broke down elements of the game, but also provided helpful ways to look out for this stuff the next time I watch it on TV. I have been able to spot secondary coverages and blitzes way better this season just by keeping certain points from the book in mind. This book also helped me fill in the gaps of the managerial power structure, both within a team (President, GM, Operations Management) and withing the coaching realm (Head Coach, Coordinators, Assistant Coaches) which I thought was just good information for any football fan to have. This book also helped me figure out the combine much better. I understand the variety of activities that take place, and what tests matter to what position. There are really only two downsides to this book I can think of. If you're looking for a super in depth play analysis or playbook type breakdown of the game this isn't it. Some very key widely used runs and shemes are shown, but you're not getting the differences between Green Bay's “Blitz A” and San Diego's “Zone B”. There isn't that layer of depth to this book. The other pitfall (and it's a small one), is that the final chapter on the future or evolution of the NFL feels a big tacked on and needless. It didn't really bring up much that wasn't obvious already and wasn't as cohesive with the rest of the book. It's a short chapter, and a relatively minor complaint that doesn't take away from how great this book is though. If you really love football like I do and want to seek a better understanding of the game, and perhaps take away from helpful cues to look for next Sunday afternoon then definitely go pick this book up. It's a very quick, easy, informative read for pigskin fans of all experience and dedication. I will be desperately trying to get some of my non-reading football crazy friends to read this in the months ahead.

Decisamente bello, attenzione ho scoperto solo dopo l'acquisto una nuova edizione aggiornata. In ogni caso davvero utile anche per i giocatori

My 30-something daughter asked for this book for Christmas since she and her husband are avid football fans (I am not). She was absolutely delighted with it and couldn't wait to dive right in. She was very impressed with the spiral binding that allowed pages to stay open, and also could hardly wait to watch the accompanying DVD. I wonder how many football pools she'll win this year now that she'll have an inside view of the game and how it's strategically played?Pam

"Take your eye off the ball". Dieser Titel verrät schon worum es sich bei diesem Buch handelt.Viele Fans des American Football, die vielleicht nicht in Amerika aufgewachsen sind, schauen NFL-Spiele auf eine ganz bestimmteArt und Weise: Wo ist der Quarterback ? Was macht er mit dem Ball. Erfolgt eine Übergabe an den Runningback, wird diesem ganz gespannt dabei zugesehen, wie weit er läuft. Bei Pass-Spielzügen wird der Ball fokussiert, wie er durch die Luft fliegt und letztlich (nicht) gefangen wird.Pat Kirwan zeigt auf, wie viel mehr - und die Dimensionen sind gigantisch - Football eigentlich ist, wenn man "die Augen vom Ball nimmt". Viele Schlüsselpositionen werden detailliert beschrieben und man bekommt einen ganz anderen Einblick in die Spiele der NFL und beginnt letztlich zu verstehen, warum die Dinge auf dem Feld so geschehen, wie sie es tun. Warum war ein bestimmter Run (k)ein Erfolg. Warum wurde der Quarterback gesackt.Für wen empfiehlt sich dieses Buch ? Definitiv nicht für jemanden, der von American Football keinerlei Ahnung hat. Gewisse Begrifflichkeiten werden mehr oder weniger vorausgesetzt (Positionen auf dem Spielfeld, Grundregeln des American Football). Bei diesem Buch geht es nicht darum, jemandem zu erklären wie der Sport funktioniert! Vielmehr soll es den Leuten helfen, die sich zwar mit Begeisterung American Football anschauen, jedoch irgendwie nicht wissen, wo sie hinschauen sollen.Da dieses Buch nur in Englisch erhältlich ist, sollten beim Lesen zwingend Kenntisse der Englischen Sprache über die Basics hinaus vorhanden sein, sonst hat man nicht viel Freude damit.Alles in allem ein tolles Buch, das mit sehr viel Liebe zum Sport geschrieben wurde.

Excellent livre sur un sujet peu traité par l'ensemble de la profession. Une nouvelle façon de découvrir le foot US.