#16 in Reference books
Reddit mentions of Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look
Sentiment score: 15
Reddit mentions: 35
We found 35 Reddit mentions of Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look. Here are the top ones.
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There's a good book called Take Your Eye Off the Ball: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look. I read the first edition, but I link the latest one I could find. It's the book I recommend to people if they want to learn about the nuts and bolts of football. And it's been my experience, the more you know about the sport you're watching the better the overall experience is.
Edit: Thank you for the gold anonymous redditor
This is what your looking for: https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1629371696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466245848&sr=8-1&keywords=take+your+eye+off+the+ball
It's a book called "Take Your Eye off the Ball", and it will comnpletely change football for you forever (in a good way)!
Comes with experience. It's probably the most complex team sport there is, with games being more chess matches than anything.
You can accelerate your learning by reading books like Take Your Eye off the Ball if you're really invested in learning more, but even something like getting into the Madden games can help a lot. Plenty of online resources as well for concepts and formations and whatnot.
While you'll learn plenty just by watching, without a bit of background on the fundamentals, a lot of stuff is gonna be lost on the average viewer.
If I were hiring for this position and you had a strong resume, I would be nervous about your lack of domain knowledge -- but that's something that software engineers are expected to pick up! So I would go in with:
Now, you can also cram. Read this Wikipedia article to learn the names of the positions and formations. Make flash cards! Study hard! Then dive into any of the following books:
A reasonable bar for a non-casual fan would be to be able to answer questions like:
Also... if the team you're applying to is the Ravens, I'll be happy to help you get up to speed.
Everytime someone asks this I always recommend this book: "Take Your Eye Off The Ball" ~ Pat Kirwan
Explains a bit of everything you could ever want to know.
Read Keep Your Eye off the Ball. Read The Essential Smart Football. Pay for NFL GamePass. Watch the Coach's Film (All-22). They've archives going back to 2011. It's especially helpful if you watch a game (or series of plays) you're already familiar with. Get pen and paper out and take notes. Watch what each player is doing, both before and after the snap, and be ready to rewind over and over and over and over.
There's a lot of good analysis on YouTube too, if you are a learn-by-watching type.
>Start here, on Brett Kollman's channel. He's a former NFL Network production assistant. Most of his videos are story heavy and analysis light, but that video is about how to watch film.
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>Sam's Film Room, with Samuel Gold, a writer for the Athletic. Good for beginners. I think he started out at r/nfl.
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>The QB School, with former Patriots QB, JT O'Sullivan. Focuses on quarterback play, both good and bad.
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>Dan Orlovski's Twitter has a bunch of quick analysis videos, usually focusing on QB play.
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>Peyton Manning's Detail is wonderful show, but is stuck behind a paywall at ESPN.com. There are two short videos free on YouTube. Resourceful people can find it elsewhere as well.
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>Strong Opinion Sports, with Division III NCAA QB Zac Shomler. He has a lot of football video podcasts, but also a QB film analysis playlist.
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>Baldy Breakdowns, with former Cowboys OLineman and current NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger. No true focus, but has great insight into offensive line play.
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>Gamepass Film Sessions. NFL Players and coaches analyze their own plays. The full version is on NFL Gamepass. I'm a particular fan of the one with Joe Thomas.
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>Voch Lombardi. Focuses on talent evaluation and line play. Funny as fuck.
>
>The New England Patriots YouTube channel has Belichick Breakdown and Coffee with the Coach. Breakdown is the more analysis focused of the two.
If you're REALLY interested, the resources are out there. Good hunting.
Not exactly what you asked for, but I got Keep Your Eyes Off the Ball off Amazon for just a few bucks a couple years ago, and it really helped me a lot with this very thing. The spiral bound "playbook edition" comes with a three hour DVD as well. The spiral version isn't dinky/flimsy so don't be scared.
Before that book, I never knew where I was supposed to be looking and missed out on a lot. Problem solved.
Edit to Add: There is an updated/newer version now, but Amazon reviewers are unclear about whether it has a DVD, if that matters to you--I think the book is pretty clear on its own.
If you're new to football then I couldn't recommend this book more. Once you get a basics for the rules and general flow of the game, this will take your knowledge of schemes and ability to see the on-field strategic battle in real-time to an entirely new level. Even longtime NFL fans should read it if they haven't as everyone can still learn more.
https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1629371696
Take Your Eye Off The Ball is pretty much the go to literature on this.
Keep your eye off the ball NFL edition is good
Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look https://www.amazon.com/dp/1629371696/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i.vWAbRA5EMJN
Also the art of smart football
The Art of Smart Football https://www.amazon.com/dp/069244825X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_qawWAb8X0RP9W
If you're a new fan (like me) then this one I would say is definitely worth it to get a better understanding of the nitty gritty that goes on during games.
Apart from that, I have seen numerous recommendations for Fan Notes (That I haven't read yet) as a good intro to football culture at large. This is currently on my reading list (About 3rd at the moment).
Here is a list of books by NFL's Chris Weaselling that you might find useful. I hope that is a useful enough introduction, and happy reading.
Pat Kirwan's Take your eye off the ball is amazing.
Worth every penny.
Small correction, but I think you mean "Take Your Eye off the Ball"
https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1629371696/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536642049&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=Keep+Your+Eye+Off+the+Ball+2.0
This book. Take Your Eye Off the Ball, by Pat Kirwin.
https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1629371696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503432953&sr=8-1&keywords=pat+kirwan
Read one of my favorite books, Take your eye off the ball
This book is amazing. It taught me almost everything when I read the first version. I was so into it I read it in one sitting.
This may be just what you're looking for
For the most basic and easy to understand introduction, I highly suggest the book Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look by Pat Kirwan.
Youtube channels -
Samuel Gold
Brett Kollmann like /u/browntown6969 pointed out as well
Blog -
Smart Football (also his books) along with the other blogs linked to on that website
All of those are really great and helped me when I first starting learning about football on a deeper level.
I would recommend, in order:
Take Your Eye Off the Ball by Pat Kirwan
The Essential Smart Football by Chris Brown
The Art of Smart Football by Chris Brown
Blood, Sweat, and Chalk by Tim Layden
Got a PM asking about books, might as well share what I've read/enjoyed:
Most people recommend Pat Kirwan's Take Your Eye Off the Ball. Some bits of it can be simplistic, but based off what you told me it should be a good read. It basically breaks down each position group chapter by chapter, and has some extra details about coaching, front offices, scouting, etc.
https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1629371696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472878540&sr=8-1&keywords=take+your+eye+off+the+ball
Next I'd put SI's Blood, Sweat, and Chalk. It's a great balance between storytelling and technical detail. It basically chronicles significant advances in tactics on offense and defense over the decades. For example, offensive chapters start with the single wing, then goes on to the wing T, wishbone/flexbone, Air Croyell, west coast offense, spread, etc. (and many more)
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Sweat-Chalk-Ultimate-Football/dp/1603200614/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472878672&sr=8-1&keywords=blood%2C+sweat+and+chalk
Lastly I'd recommend Chris B Browns two books (and his blog) - The Essential Smart Football and The Art of Smart Football. These are similar to Blood, Sweat, and Chalk but more detailed and less about story. Still great reads.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=chris+b+brown
For web reading, I loved Matt Bowen's Football 101 series on BleacherReport.com. Unfortunately he works for ESPN now, but he has two years worth of excellent beginner articles on B-R.com He breaks down tons of big picture concepts which can really help fill in details.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2024638-nfl-101-introducing-the-basic-route-combinations
They've recently updated the book.
[Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1629371696/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_gAPIwbWTQKDJ8)
Also Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0. It's NFL-centered, but has a bunch of stuff about O-line and D-line formations, reads, blocking, secondary coverage schemes, route design, etc. Really a lot of X's and O's stuff if you skip past the NFL-centric parts.
It's really changed how I watch a game... if I'm not drinking. If I am, I end up just watching the ball haha
> "Take your eye off the ball" is a great book for learning about the game, positions, systems, the draft, training and everything else.
I've heard this said as well but haven't bought it ever -- amazon us link is here...
These are some books I bought a few months back as a recommendation from someone on this sub and they're fantastic.
[Take Your Eye off the Ball 2.0] (http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1629371696/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1453326704&sr=8-4&keywords=smart+football)
[The Art of Smart Football] (http://www.amazon.com/Art-Smart-Football-Chris-Brown/dp/069244825X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453326704&sr=8-1&keywords=smart+football)
[The Essential Smart Football] (http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Smart-Football-Chris-Brown/dp/1470125595/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1453326704&sr=8-2&keywords=smart+football)
This book really helped me.
EDIT: Here's the UK link
This book by the late Dr. Z is one of the best football books I've read. I also like Take Your Eye Off the Ball.
The speed of the game and athletic ability of the players goes up 10-fold.
NFL defenses are fast. D-linemen and edge rushers get to the QBs quickly. DBs cover the field better. Offensive schemes are usually more complex and most successful college QBs simply can't adapt.
Although I have a home team that I root for I love watching any good team play. Unless it's your thing I wouldn't get caught up in any of the drama which is what most mainstream media headlines will contain. It ruins it for me.
Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look https://www.amazon.com/dp/1629371696/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_mfpDybGTMBM85
You can start there and once you're finished with it I can send you some more resources.
Has anyone read any football strategy books? I'm interested in this one but I want to know if it's even interesting
My apologies that is the link to the old version, here is the more updated one.
Book!
I'd start buying this book
Guessing plays is only possible by a limited basis, cause thats what football is all about.
If you wanna guess you must
a) know formations
b) know tendencies teams use in regards to personnel on the field, down & distance and also vs the clock
c) know strengths & weaknesses of the opponent, also in conjunction with b)
football is all about matchups, who blocks whom and who can win his matchup against whom
where are weak areas of the defense, can the offense read them and can they attack them
so it all starts with personnel on the field and what formation it is
the linked book helped me tremendously understanding these basics and how to read them on the fly (as good as it gets)
By reading books like this...
Take Your Eye Off the Ball
https://www.amazon.ca/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1629371696/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51pLTOLGs1L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_&refRID=1YNHY8PQNQGHFT5KBJKH
This is a pretty good book, doesn't go over the head of people who don't know about football and still teaches those who do without seeming dumbed down.
I'm making plenty of changes to how I'm living my life; some small, some larger. One thing is I've wanted to get back into reading; I'm slowly working through it, but I have so much I want to go through. Should I stick to one book at a time, or can I juggle back and forth between multiple?
For those who are curious, this is what I'm working on right now, and I'm about 1/5 of my way through the first read (because I know I'll come back to reference it all the time).
Not a film, but this is a great place to start.
https://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Eye-Off-Ball/dp/1629371696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473064556&sr=8-1&keywords=take+your+eye+off+the+ball+2.0
I guess you watched the game? Because nothing whatsoever gets explained in this video. If you really want to know why things happen, read Take Your Eye off the Ball.