Offensive Football Strategies [Paperback]

American Football Coaches Association (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 1999

Use strategies straight from many of football's all-time greatest coaches! Offensive Football Strategies offers you special access to the sharpest football minds in the game's history. Pick and choose portions to use to optimize your game plan each season.

Offensive Football Strategies is the most comprehensive and detailed book of its kind, containing the most popular and effective offensive philosophies, systems, formations, and plays over the past 40 years. This extensive collection includes 73 articles written by many of the greatest coaching strategists in football history, including Bob Devaney, Bear Bryant, John McKay, Joe Paterno, Tom Osborne, Marv Levy, Hayden Fry, LaVell Edwards, Steve Spurrier, and many more.

The articles are organized into the following sections:

- Developing a System
- Attacking the Defense
- Building Backfield Excellence
- Running the Wing-T
- Running From the I
- Running the Wishbone
- Running the Veer
- Running an Option Offense
- Establishing a Passing Scheme
- Passing From Sets and Formations
- Keeping the Defense on Edge
- Incorporating Play-Action
- Creating Quality Quarterback Play
- Protecting the Passer
- Gaining Key Yardage
- Dominating the Red Zone

Developed in cooperation with the American Football Coaches Association, Offensive Football Strategies is loaded with instructional points, experienced insights, and more than 700 X-and-O diagrams. Whether you are seeking another option for your running or passing attack, or looking for that sure-fire scoring play in the red zone, this book offers a wealth of winning strategies for your game plan.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

“Since entering the coaching profession in 1972, I’ve gained a great deal of insight from many different coaches to form my strategic approach to the game, Now one of the very best collections of offensive football wisdom is available in one book from the American Football Coaches Association. Offensive Football Strategies features the schemes, formations and plays that have been producing points, wins, and championships for the past 40 years. It doesn’t matter if you’re a high school or college coach, or what offensive philosophy you have, this book provides a wealth of information for a more successful scoring attack.”

Phillip Fulmer

About the Author

Since its establishment in 1922, the American Football Coaches Association has striven to provide a forum for the discussion and study of all matters pertaining to football and coaching and to maintain the highest possible standards in football and the coaching profession. These objectives, first declared by founders Alonzo Stagg, John Heisman, and others, have been instrumental in the AFCA's becoming the effective and highly respected organization it is today.

The AFCA now has more than 10,000 members, including coaches from Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan, and Russia. Through annual publications and several newsletters, the Association keeps members informed of the most current rules changes and proposals, proper coaching methods, innovations in techniques, insights in coaching philosophy, and business conducted by the board of trustees and AFCA committees. A convention is held each January to give members a special opportunity to exchange ideas and recognize outstanding achievement.

The Association promotes safety in the sport and establishes strong ethical and moral codes that govern all aspects of football coaching. In addition, the AFCA is involved in numerous programs that ensure the integrity of the coaching profession and enhance the development of the game. It works closely with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the National Football League, the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, Pop Warner, and other organizations involved in the game of football. Indeed, one of the goals of the Association is to build a strong coalition—TEAM AFCA—of football coaches who will speak out with a unified voice on issues that affect the sport and profession.

The AFCA is the team of the football coaching profession. All current and former football coaches or administrators involved with football are encouraged to join. For more information about becoming a member of the American Football Coaches Association, please log on to the AFCA Web site (www.afca.com) or contact them at

American Football Coaches Association
100 Legends Lane
Waco, TX 76706
[phone]

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics (December 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736001395
• ISBN-13: 978-0736001397
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Coaching > Football (American)
  • #73 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Football (American)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the Most Comprehensive Guides to Offensive Football, April 7, 2000

By 

Lee Weber (Hays, Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Offensive Football Strategies (Paperback)

This book is one of the most comprehensive guides to offense that I have ever encountered. It includes almost 750 diagrammed plays from some of the top names in football including Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne, as well as many other college and high school football coaches. This text would be a valuable addition to any coaches library. It will definitely add variety to any offense and add many new twists and schemes to any offense whether you have an option team or a passing based offense. I think it would be a very wise investment.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strategic is right, June 1, 2001

By 

G Kenmore (BC, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Offensive Football Strategies (Paperback)

I've read quite a few books on the game of football. Not being a coach, I don't think most people would want to pick this up, but for those who love the game itself will find this an indispensible reference. The book is composed of short articles by college coaches which deal with one small apspect of offence or a certain type of attack at a time. Although the college game is much simpler than the NFL, the insights I've picked up by reading this book have completely changed the way I watch football, be it college, CFL, or NFL. If I move to a different location where I can join a high school coaching team, this book will be soon find the pages being worn out. Absolutely excellent!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Aid For Intermediate Coaches, November 30, 2002

By 

Edmond E. Seay III (Brussels, Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Offensive Football Strategies (Paperback)

AFCA and Human Kinetics have produced a gem of a book which will be of most help to intermediate coaches -- that is, those who have a few years' experience under their belts, and are looking for new ideas in offensive systems, or for new plays to run from within their favorite offensive system.

While the age of some of the articles may seem troubling, it can in fact be a real advantage. Football offenses are so subject to trends and cycles that anything which is not current can be successful because it comes as a surprise. A defensive analogy would be the 5-2 defense -- "America's defense" throughout the 70's and much of the 80's, but almost unknown in some regions today, and thus a valuable surprise weapon.

The same holds true on offense, and the riches this book displays are a real treasure trove -- the triple option (from the wishbone, I formation and split-back veer); the Wing-T; and various pass-oriented spread and one-back systems are all covered by some of the most prominent names in coaching from the last three decades.

This isn't the best place to start for beginning coaches, nor the modern state of the art for cutting-edge types, but for the rest of us it is an excellent place to begin the next stage of our never-ending quest for football knowledge.