Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look

Really one of the best educational books about the game that I've ever read. Pat Kirwan (a dude who's spent his entire adult life in football) does an excellent job of breaking things down and making them easy to understand. His close attention to detail is also something to behold as football is a game of endless variables and schematics. Kirwan has a chapter on each and every position along with chapters detailing the business side of the game (contracts, the draft, player trades, etc.) Diagrams pop up every few pages as he breaks down different plays and formations and really illustrates just how a play unfolds on the field. Even if you're a casual fan or have never really watched the sport, Kirwan's writing is easily digestible. Read this and change the way you watch the game.

I am a woman from South Louisiana. We love football and Women here know a good bit about the game and the personnel . My husband is envied by some guys because I am interested and have a grasp of a bit more than the obvious. Reading this book has added tremendously to my enjoyment of the game! , I know and understand a lot more. Now the guys I know are blown away by my understanding of the game and I have actually taught several of them a thing or two! . Watching and understanding who is winning the battles at the line of scrimmage is absolutely key and lots of fun! However I would think it is important to have some knowledge and feel for the game before reading this one. I would suggest starting with Football for dummies by Howie Long and a collaboration with someone else. It is a wonderful book from which to pick up the basics and then some.

This book is very informative on almost all aspects of professional football from position descriptions/strategies, to scouting, to salary cap concerns, and beyond, which is exactly what I expected and wanted when I ordered it. In that way, it is great. However, there are more than a couple very obvious mistakes that should have been picked up by an editor on review of this book. I started taking notes on the more egregious mistakes that I noticed, but there were also a few that I suspected of being wrong, but gave the benefit of the doubt and didn't note; someone who knows more about football than me could also probably pick out more than this, but here are a few: 1. "Think Randall Cobb or T.Y. Hilton or the two who have filled Welker's old role in New England, JUSTIN Edelman and Danny Amendola." (p.80) Should be JULIAN Edelman. 2. "You could maximize the image of an offensive tackle's foot, then show your defensive line THAN every time this player lines up with his foot turned out, he's setting up for a pass block." (p.198) Probably should be "then show your defensive line THAT every time this player lines up" 3. "Another owner might look at another prospect and decide, 'No way. My wife doesn't me taking a player with any connection to domestic violence issues.'" (p.246) There's an obvious word omission here. It probably should be "My wife doesn't WANT me taking a player" None of these issues ruin the content of the book for me, obviously, but it's a bit concerning to see such easily-correctable mistakes in a book that is published and sold. The grammar mistakes simply seem unprofessional, but completely botching a prominent player's name might cast doubt on the validity of other information in the book. I was able to catch that mistake because Edelman is still in the league, but it makes me wonder if there are mistakes like that on past eras of football that I'm not so familiar with. E: I'm editing this review to attach a picture of page 260, in which a paragraph is just cut off midway through a sentence. I'm not sure if I simply got a misprint or what, but I haven't really seen other reviews mentioning this.

This is a great book which breaks down the things you don't see or hear on a football broadcast. Too many fans are ball watchers and cannot appreciate offensive line footwork or defensive line hand placement. Often fans, and broadcasters, blame the running back for trying to break a run outside directly into a defensive end. This book will show you what keys to look for to tell if it was 1) a great play by the defensive end setting the edge, 2) a poor block by the offensive tackle, or 3) a poor read by the running back, or hitting the hole too late. I also enjoyed Kirwan's break down of front office dynamics, salary cap implications of signings and draft strategies. A great read for all fans but especially pertinent for beginner fans or those that want a deeper understanding of the game.

Excellent read if you want to learn more in-depth information on how an NFL team actually operates day to day and learn more detailed information on the game itself. HIGHLY recommend!!

If you want to gain a new perspective in understanding the game of football, this book is for you. Clear and concise explanations for how to watch a game. It explains each positions responsibilities and what they are looking at. Want to learn how to read a defense, read this book. Want to know what is happening on the offense, read this book. Want to know how to scout players, read this book. Really lays out how teams operate and what is going on behind the scenes. Will take your appreciation of football to the next level.

Provides a decent understanding of the game, and I do believe it can be read by someone who has watched the game only a few times. Though there are a few instances where concepts are not fully explained and can be difficult to follow if you have very little experience with football. The author is clearly very knowledgeable about the game and spends a good chunk of the text making sure you know that. I know you know what you’re talking about, I wouldn’t have bought the book if I didn’t. Spend that space explaining the game in a bit more detail or even taking a step back to explain it to people who have never sat in a locker room like myself. Finally, the NFL has changed significantly in the past 10 years since this book was written. Most of what’s provided is accurate and relevant to today’s game. But portions of the book, such as the officiating and stats sections lack modern relevance. That’s not to say that these sections aren’t worth reading, you just may have to take some time outside of the book to understand how the authors points apply today. TLDR ~ worth a read if you’re passionate about the game and are looking for a deeper understanding than what a traditional broadcast can provide.

An amazing book! I thought I knew about football until I got this book and start reading it and I don’t like to read at all but when it’s this book I love reading and I learn a lot as I read the book. The stuff I learn even works in Madden NFL 18 lol I be using the stuff I learn in the game. Thank you to the author for an amazing book and the DVD inside is also great. It’s good to hear about stuff I’ve just learned.

Exceptional book with tons of information, I knew this book is going to be informative going in and it exceeded my expectations. It’s a one stop shop where you can grow in your knowledge of football, both offensively, defensively, and some behind the scenes of how coaches and GM choose their players to shape the team. It is the type of book where you can always go back to each chapter and review the contents for more understanding. Greatly recommend it for every football fan

I came to this book thinking that I already knew pretty much all that I needed to know about the American variant of football. How wrong I was. This book took my preconceived notions, ripped them up and threw them away: in a word this book is essential. I would say that a relatively advanced knowledge is required before you tackle this book. This goes quite low level which is excellent for those wanting that detail, but not so good for a beginner. My only regret is buying the kindle version of this book. This is one book where a hard copy is essential, as you will want to make notes and flick back to certain points to refresh your knowledge. The kindle version is no way able to match the hard copy in this respect. This is, without doubt, the best book I have ever read on the greatest sport in the world.

O livro é fantástico. Assim como qualquer livro, não é perfeito, mas fornece uma visão geral, técnica e prática do futebol americano. Algo difícil de encontrar. Geralmente os materiais oscilam entre muito técnicos ou muito superficiais. Além disso, são bastante limitados em termos de propósito. O livro sacia muito a sede de quem é iniciante nos estudos do Futebol Americano.

Aunque no te explica realmente como "take your eye off the ball", sí te explica muchas cosas que a simple vista no ves. Eso sí, es bastante complejo de seguir y muy técnico.

Excelente libro, tiene muy buenos consejos para entender y disfrutar más el fútbol americano, sin importar el nivel de conocimiento que tengas del deporte lo vas a apreciar.