The Essential Smart Football

This is the perfect book to go beyond basic football cliches. It breaks down trends, formations, and schemes in a way that even the most casual fan could understand. If you every wanted to talk like a coach, but the standard X's & O's books are too heavy, this is the only book you need. Well written and well researched, it's as good as any sports book I own. Mr. Brown searches high and low to credit innovation and to breakdown what we watch on our couches.

I came to SmartFootball.com somewhat late to the game, but have been an avid reader since. When I found out that Chris Brown was putting putting out a book of "best of" combined with new material, I was very excited to see the result. I have not been disappointed. The book will be especially enjoyable to those who are unfamiliar with or new to the site. I had read only two of the older articles, but even there I found new insights after re-reading them. I suspect that even if you are familiar with all of the older content, the book is still going to be a must have based on the new content alone. My only minor complaint is that I wish some of the articles had been longer, and the older ones expanded on further. Several times I felt like I was getting into the meat of the essay only to find it ending on the next page. Despite that, I would consider this to be required reading for anyone interested in a deeper understanding of the strategy of football, at any level.

Over the last 5 years, Chris Brown's site Smartfootball.com has influenced the way I see (and coach) the game of football more than any other source...and I consult a lot of sources! I read 20+ books a year on football coaching, strategy, and management. Brown stays on top of the game, breaking down the newest strategies and noting why they emerged and where they evolved from. This book contains the best articles from his website all in one book. The best leaders and teachers are great simplifiers and Chris Brown makes the complex seem simple. I'm a high school head football coach and love studying the game. I have a lot of the cornerstone books like Bill Walsh's Finding the Winning Edge, Woody Hayes's Hotline to Victory, "Tiger" Ellison's Run & Shoot, Homer Smith's manuals, and Lou Holtz's The Grass is Greener. I recommend Chris Brown's book and site in the same sentence with those essential texts. All of them will change the way you see the game. The material on Urban Meyer and the Spread Offense traces the roots of the offense and the power of the "true" option as opposed to the "read" option. The chapter on the Patriots's use of "Joker" players like Gronkowski and Hernandez to create uncertainty in the defense with versatile players is essential reading -- it ties into Woody Hayes's idea of building your offense to beat the top 3 teams on your schedule (in this case the Jets, for Belichick). If you run the Spread and haven't read Brown's ideas on "Constraint" plays, you are missing out. The chapter on the No Huddle Offense and how it gives Tom Brady (of all QBs) simpler defensive structures to attack is also outstanding. The bottom line is that this is a fantastic football book from one of the best writers on football today. Buy this book and visit Brown's site and you'll be a better coach. He's as good as it gets.

Interesting assessment of football xs and os. I am trying to learn more about the game and this was very helpful

I'm going to review this book largely based on value - what it cost versus what it delivers. I must have been one of the unlucky customers who bought it before the price was lowered to be more in line with its value and I don't think I got my money's worth. Now that the price is lower, it's a closer match between cost and value, but I think it still needs to cost less to be worth buying. I'd say it's a $3-$4 paperback pamphlet and not much more. I heard the author on a local sports talk radio show and the way the book was described, I thought it was going to have a lot of information along the lines of why it's usually a bad idea to spike the ball to stop the clock. And, there is one brief mini-chapter on that, but there's not much else in the book along the lines of game management coaching decisions that are not well executed by most coaches. That would have been a better book. This book is a collection of very short chapters with very superficial coverage of a lot of football offensive and defensive schemes. Most of it was interesting, but I didn't come away convinced that the author really knew his material in depth like a coach might. I listen to a lot of sports radio and during football season one local station has a former NFL assistant coach on as a guest to provide commentary and analysis on the games just played. It was a revelation to me to contrast the in depth knowledge that former coach has versus the local media guys. For this book, ex coaches could have probably contributed much more meaningful chapters on these topics than this author, a media guy, did. That would have been a better book also. So, in my opinion, this is not a great pamphlet, much less a good book. I don't think I got my money's worth on the book. It has a few decent nuggets here and there, but not enough. I'd say it's a two and a half star rounded generously up to a three.

Have you ever wondered "What the hell is this coach thinking?" or "Why do they do that and why doesn't it work when it did before?" Well Chris B. Brown writer for the fantastic website smartfootball.com brings you into the x's and o's and the history of the development of some of footballs most dynamic offenses and most unbeatable defenses. But it isn't as dry a read as what you would expect from the subject matter. Brown uses his wit and engaging writing style to make this a fantastic read.

An outstanding schematic analysis of football and its various forms and styles. An absolute must-read for any budding future coach or current coach!

This review many type of offense and defense that revolutionize football that we know today. He explains how they were so successful and the magic that brings with . Well explain, but it surface all these concepts not scrutinize them. It was inspiring and very interesting to know those little that you don't necessarily see when you want the game on TV

Good book to discover some of good football strategies from the last years. Easy to understand and well write. Dont hesitate

Libro centrado en aspectos tácticos sobre el football profesional y universitario de la época moderna. Desde las complejas defensas de Bill Belichick pasando por los sistemas ofensivos de Steve Spurrier, esta recolección de artículos te gustará a poco que te interese el deporte y sus entresijos.

Very much enjoyed this book! Many good theories, and they're explained quite well that most people should understand it. Definitely gets your playbook creativity juices going!