Where can I go to understand the Xs and Os of football more? Any educational sites out there I can go to?

[Hapless Bills Fan]

13 hours ago, msw2112 said:

I highly recommend the book "Take Your Eye Off the Ball" by Pat Kirwan.  It was recommended to me, I bought it and read it and really liked it.  I played HS Football and know a lot about college and NFL football, but I still learned some new things from this book.  It is dead-on in line with what you state you are looking for in your original post.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910

 

I have purchased 4 copies of this book over the years and I can't find a one of them.  I loan them to folks and they never come back.

2 hours ago, row_33 said:

The receivers are off the screen half a second after the snap, unless you at the game

 

I think he's talking about all-22 or "coach's film"

[Hapless Bills Fan]

9 hours ago, BillyWhiteShows said:

 IMO the majority of people breaking down film are not really qualified to do so.  Many like Cover 1 are basically fans that played in high school.  That’s the extent of their background.  You’d be better off seeking for a professional that really knows what they are talking about

 

Such as?

 

[Thurman#1]

I'm no expert, but I've gotten a lot of good material in a lot of different places. One thing I've enjoyed several times over the years is this book:

 

https://www.amazon.com/New-Thinking-Mans-Guide-Football/dp/0671602764

 

The New Thinking Man's Guide to Football by Paul Zimmerman. It's from 1987, so some of it is outdated but most of the basics of football don't change much. Dr. Z knew his stuff and was a hell of a writer.

Edited December 28, 2018 by Thurman#1

[GunnerBill]

17 hours ago, thebandit27 said:

Cover 1 is great.

 

Also give Matt Bowen (former Bills' safety) a follow on twitter--he does a lot of work explaining coverages, route concepts, etc.

 

Lastly, there's just no substitute for All-22 film study. And I mean STUDY. Terminology and concepts are great starting points, but seeing for yourself how assignments play out in live action is the best way to learn.

 

Agree. When I started I had a whole lexicon of terms that I had invented for things I saw on the all-22. There was, of course, already well defined terms for what I'd seen but not having grown up immersed in the game I didn't recognise them in those terms. The matching the terms I heard to the things I was seeing came later. So a really silly example was I called the sort of cover 3, single high safety scheme that the Bills run a lot of "3D Back". That was my term for it based on what I was seeing before I was able to say "ahh okay here is what that look is actually called".

 

So I'd say to the OP worry less about what the coverages are called or what route concepts are called and concentrate as Bandit says on what is happening on the field.

[Bing Bong]

18 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

There ought to be a collusion case against the school district that awarded that guy a diploma.

it's where I get my Xs and Os

[Hapless Bills Fan]

12 hours ago, Leonhart2017 said:

Honestly just to make watching the game a little more enjoyable if I know more of what I am looking at. The same actually goes for hockey I know the sport but I think I could enjoy it more if I understood the strategy behind it.

 

I find it so.  The more I know, the more I enjoy watching football.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Agree. When I started I had a whole lexicon of terms that I had invented for things I saw on the all-22. There was, of course, already well defined terms for what I'd seen but not having grown up immersed in the game I didn't recognise them in those terms. The matching the terms I heard to the things I was seeing came later. So a really silly example was I called the sort of cover 3, single high safety scheme that the Bills run a lot of "3D Back". That was my term for it based on what I was seeing before I was able to say "ahh okay here is what that look is actually called".

 

So I'd say to the OP worry less about what the coverages are called or what route concepts are called and concentrate as Bandit says on what is happening on the field.

 

I did this too.  Just a lot of watching film and figuring out who was supposed to do what and how they were trying to misdirect the opposition.

 

That said, my learning curve got faster when I started trying harder to match the terms to what I was seeing, because then I could watch film breakdowns and know what the commentator meant when they said "this is a wheel concept.  the D shows cover 3" or whatever and understand what they meant, then go back to film.

 

 

[row_33]

9 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I find it so.  The more I know, the more I enjoy watching football.

 

The more I know the more it hurts to watch my teams failing to set up the most fundamental plays and execute them.

 

Juice claimed his best game was against the Steelers because they were in textbook position on D on every play, allowing him to counter that for a big day.

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

3 minutes ago, row_33 said:

The more I know the more it hurts to watch my teams failing to set up the most fundamental plays and execute them.

 

Ah, yes, well, there is that. 

I do find myself gravitating towards watching good teams in real time, and watching the Bills when the all-22 comes out and I can be more detached about it and see more what worked and what didn't.

[row_33]

Just now, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Ah, yes, well, there is that. 

I do find myself gravitating towards watching good teams in real time, and watching the Bills when the all-22 comes out and I can be more detached about it and see more what worked and what didn't.

 

Sometimes I wish I could have it that way...

 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Just now, row_33 said:

Sometimes I wish I could have it that way...

 

Living out of the area helps a lot here.

To stream a Bills game and watch it live requires a certain amount of work for me since I only stream from a linux box or virtual linux partition.

To watch a good football team, I usually just settle into a LR chair and pick up the clicker.

 

[row_33]

Just now, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Living out of the area helps a lot here.

To stream a Bills game and watch it live requires a certain amount of work for me since I only stream from a linux box or virtual linux partition.

To watch a good football team, I usually just settle into a LR chair and pick up the clicker.

 

 

I salute your dedication.

 

not sure if I would continue if I was out of normal watching range; the daily reports from    Buffalo TV affiliates is a big part of it for me.

 

 

[Moulds_80]

23 hours ago, LSHMEAB said:

It's really tough if you never actually played.

 

I played every major sport other than hockey but really only excelled at kickball. I was 2x All State as Pitcher in High School and rolled 7 consecutive no kickers in 1999.

 

The Madden suggestion is probably a good one.

I hope you dont roll in the rochester kickball leagues, but if you do I have probably kicked against you

[LSHMEAB]

1 minute ago, Moulds_80 said:

I hope you dont roll in the rochester kickball leagues, but if you do I have probably kicked against you

Nah. I retired after High School. When you've reached the apex of your career, there's nowhere to go but down. It's been said I had the greatest breaking ball of all time. Kind of like the Mariano Rivera cutter but sustained through an entire game. Other team knew it was coming and still couldn't do anything with it. Ball wouldn't hit the surface until the last second rendering the opposing kicker useless.

[wiskibreth]

On 12/27/2018 at 11:24 AM, msw2112 said:

I highly recommend the book "Take Your Eye Off the Ball" by Pat Kirwan.  It was recommended to me, I bought it and read it and really liked it.  I played HS Football and know a lot about college and NFL football, but I still learned some new things from this book.  It is dead-on in line with what you state you are looking for in your original post.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1600783910

 

23 hours ago, freddyjj said:

So here's an easy read with play diagrams, formations and makes it easy to see play calls as they happen.  I have given it as a gift to some football fans.  Pat Kirwan is co-host of Moving the Chains on Sirius NFL 3-7 weekdays.  Former Jet Asst GM, Director pro personnel

https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball-ebook/dp/B015M9SQC2

 

22 hours ago, dollars 2 donuts said:

 

I have a friend who read this book who couldn't agree more.

 

Debated on getting it in the last year.

 

11 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I have purchased 4 copies of this book over the years and I can't find a one of them.  I loan them to folks and they never come back.

 

I think he's talking about all-22 or "coach's film"

I couldn't agree more.  I've played lots of ball in my younger days, and my old man was a coach.  I already knew quite a bit about the game,  or so I thought... I read this book twice.  It's fantastic football education -especially at the NFL level.

Edited December 28, 2018 by wiskibreth

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

LOL!

 

When I first read the title, thought it said " and emotional sites out there" Was thinking you can't get much more emotional that this place!

[Gugny]

2 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

I find it so.  The more I know, the more I enjoy watching football.

 

Absolutely and I think it goes for any/all sports.  I am still a novice when it comes to football, but I know a lot more about it now than I did, say, 15 years ago.  Far more enjoyable.

 

I'm sure baseball can be boring to someone who doesn't understand how much strategy goes into it (especially in the NL) and how cerebral the game is.

 

Hockey bores me to DEATH, as does soccer.  I know next to nothing about the rules of either sport and I'm sure that's why they're so boring to me.

[row_33]

Just know the name of the officials in charge of the sport and whine about them the whole game, seems to work for most of the fans I know.

 

Football officials are apparently called refs, every one of them on the field is called a referee according to 98 percent of football fans here and elsewhere

 

 

[TigerJ]

On 12/27/2018 at 12:19 PM, whatdrought said:

Just spend a ton of time on TBD. You’ll find a lot of realistic and helpful football insights from the compilation of great minds here. 

 

 

 

But how do you discern which posts are from the great minds, and which are from the many nut cases who also post here?

[vincec]

On 12/27/2018 at 12:07 PM, boater said:

Books from the American Football Coaches Association.

 

https://www.amazon.com/American-Football-Coaches-Association/e/B000APOUJ2

These are great. Even if you have played the game you are usually only intimately familiar with one or two positions or parts of the game. These books give you an overview and understanding of strategies and aspects in other areas.