Take Your Eye Off the Ball: How to Watch Football by Knowing Where to Look [Paperback]

Pat Kirwan (Author), David Seigerman (Author), Pete Carroll (Foreword), Bill Cowher (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2010

Today's NFL fans have more viewing options than ever before. Each and every week, football addicts plant themselves in front of big-screen, high-definition TVs and watch the game they love unfold via slow-motion replays and multiple camera angles, pausing and fast-forwarding the action on their DVRs as they please.







Yet while more and more football fans are watching the NFL each week, many of them don't know exactly what they should be watching. What does the offense's formation tell you about the play that's about to be run? When a quarterback throws a pass toward the sideline and the wide receiver cuts inside, which player is to blame? Why does a defensive end look like a Hall of Famer one week and a candidate for the practice squad the next?





These are the questions football fans ask during every game they watch, and for too long, they've lacked the kind of insight and information that courses through coaches' offices, locker rooms, and meetings throughout the NFL. Football fans are starving to learn more about the game they love, to appreciate the intricacies of their sport the way baseball fans do theirs. Now Pat Kirwan, popular analyst for NFL.com and Sirius NFL Radio and a veteran front office executive, and co-author David Seigerman present Take Your Eye Off the Ball, a book that takes you inside a coach's mind as he builds a roster or constructs a game plan, to the line of scrimmage with the quarterback, and deep into the perpetual chess match between offense and defense.



Take Your Eye Off the Ball is not a beginner's introduction to football, nor is it a technical manual for only the most studious of fans. Instead, it clearly and simply explains the intricacies and nuances that affect the outcomes of every NFL game. No more passively watching the action unfold with only the TV analyst's clichés to guide you, no more wondering why one player is on the field and not another. Take Your Eye Off the Ball:







* Explains the pros and cons of different personnel groups

* Tells you what to look for when projecting a college quarterback's success in the NFL

* Gives fans a simple, easy-to-remember checklist to help them understand the action on the field





Baseball claims to be America's national pastime, but football is its passion. Take Your Eye Off the Ball will make fans feel like they've got their own personal head coach by their side each and every Sunday, enhancing the fan experience by making football more accessible, colorful, and compelling than ever before.

Editorial Reviews

Review

To have coached at the highest level and then moved into the administrative and management realm and know what you're talking about in both is relatively unique. Pat can 'talk the talk' to players but still speak the language of contracts and deals. Pat boils even the most complicated nuances of football down to the base elements so that everyone can understand it



Brad Childress --Head coach, Minnesota Vikings

I wish I had been coached as a player the way I've been coached by Pat as an analyst. He's expanded my knowledge and understanding of the big picture of the game. He's schooled at every position on both sides of the ball, and not just in terms of how to play the position; he also explains to you why things need to be done a certain way



Tim Ryan --Co-host, Movin' the Chains, Sirius NFL Radio

I wish I had been coached as a player the way I've been coached by Pat as an analyst. He's expanded my knowledge and understanding of the big picture of the game. He's schooled at every position on both sides of the ball, and not just in terms of how to play the position; he also explains to you why things need to be done a certain way



Tim Ryan --Co-host, Movin' the Chains, Sirius NFL Radio

About the Author

Pat Kirwan, one of the nation's most well-respected and popular NFL analysts, is the co-host of Movin' the Chains on Sirius NFL Radio and a featured columnist on NFL.com. Since 2003 he has been an editorial contributor to the NFL Today on CBS and makes frequent appearances on TV and radio programs across the country, including ESPN, the NFL Network, and Sporting News Radio. Prior to joining CNN/SI in 1998, Pat spent 25 years working in football, coaching at the high school and college levels before joining the New York Jets' staff as a defensive assistant coach. He eventually moved into the front office, becoming the team's Director of Player Administration. The father of three grown children, Pat lives in the New York area with his wife Janet.







David Seigerman is a veteran sports journalist whose writing career began in newspapers (Newsday, Jackson Sun) and moved on to magazines (College Sports Magazine). In 1996 he moved from print to broadcast media, becoming a field producer for CNN/SI and eventually the managing editor at College Sports Television. Since 2003, he has been a freelance writer and producer, and co-wrote and co-produced the feature-length documentary, The Warrior Ethos: The Experience and Tradition of Boxing at West Point. He lives in Larchmont, New York, with his wife Elizabeth and their two children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (August 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600783910
• ISBN-13: 978-1600783913
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Football (American)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Succinct and very informative September 2, 2010

By Todd Sharp

Format:Paperback

So glad that I got this book. I never played football myself, being the proverbial 80 lb weakling. But, I love football and try to find cost effective matierials like this whenever I can.

The author assumes that the reader is a somewhat proficient student of the game and doesn't waste time with simplistic explanations of what the positions are called or what the rules of football are. This book is aimed at fans familiar with the game.

'Eye Off The Ball' gives some of the best descriptions of position strategies, player responsibilities, why responsibilities developed the way they did and what attributes are important in the player for a given position. It explains the coaches eye for the game, how fans can misinterpret what is happening on the field and what they should consider as alternative points of view.

Pat is amazingly succinct and there are times that you'll find yourself wishing he had spent more time on a subject. Otherwise, the book is very quickly paced, well organized and will be easy to refer to later.

I feel like I gained some football acumen with this one. It's the best book on football I've read, not to dry and not biographical. I'll be looking for other stuff by Pat in the future.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pro football for the layman September 5, 2010

By D. Roberts VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

While I have never played a down of organized football myself, I still like to think of myself as a Hall Of Fame armchair quarterback. Not sure there are too many people I could convince on the veracity of that objective, but that's beside the point.

Over the past few years, I've listened to the Sirius Radio NFL channel quite a bit. Pat Kirwan is a co-host of the Sirius show called MOVING THE CHAINS. I've been impressed by his football intellect as well as his understanding of the business side of the game of professional football. As a former NFL GM, he was kind of the anti-Matt Millen in the scope of his football erudition.

It's for that reason that I was intrigued to buy this book, and it did not disappoint. While I fully understand the basics of football, Kirwan helped me to see how all the Chess pieces on the field fit together on both the offensive & defensive sides of the ball.

There is a significant gap in the terminology of the game between what the players know & what spectators understand. I will admit that I've learned quite a bit from playing NCAA Football 09 {football video games are WAY more complex and authentic these days than when the 1st MADDEN games came out in the early 90s}. Kirwan's book has augmented my understanding of the terminology to the extent that if I heard Payton Manning spout out a play call I might be able to decipher(!) at least part of what he's saying.

For myself, college football is my game & Michigan State is my team. Pro football uses a great many more sophisticated schemes ~ I get that. Nevertheless, I've found that this book has helped me appreciate the complexity of the college game as well as the NFL.... After all, at the end of the day, football is football be it high school, college or pro.

The book also delves into how NFL prospects are rated & why some players are a much better "fit" for one system than another. I used to think that a cover corner was a cover corner until I read this book. Kirwan has illuminated to me that many of my preconceptions were way off the mark.

Reading this book is kind of like listening to your favorite symphony with Leonard Bernstein sitting on your couch pointing out to you all the nuances of the chord changes & musical phrases. Pat Kirwan has done for the football spectator what Carl Sagan did for the layman science enthusiast. Just as Sagan opened up the frontiers of science for all of us to comprehend & appreciate, so too has Kirwan laid bare the nuts & bolts of what epitomizes the game of football. Well done. Read more ›

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Book for the Football Purist July 26, 2010

By Phil Hartley

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a fantastic book if you're a football fan and you want to know more details of how the game is played. I've been interested in football (I love the game) for more than 20 years and was itching to get a better picture of what goes on inside teams. For example, how they prepare for games, what are the responsibilities of the different coaches, etc. This book opens up a whole new level of understanding presented by someone who is clearly an expert and who has the resume to prove it. It has some great tips on just how to watch the game. I highly recommend this book!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but Kindle version is missing diagrams, etc. January 23, 2011

By tb0nezz

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have this book in paperback, and I would recommend it (probably 4 stars). But the diagrams and illustrations that are very important to the book are not included in the Kindle version. Get the book in printed format; skip the Kindle version.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Complete tour around the game November 24, 2010

By TF

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Having read Pat Kirwan's articles on NFL.com for a number of years, I wasn't surprised that this book was both an easy, entertaining and educating read.

In a nutshell, Pat takes the reader on a tour through all the positions on the field (except, sadly, the kickers, but that's always been the orphaned part of football). He explains the demands, intricacies and details that may have been lost on the monday morning quarterback, and it really has changed the way I personally watch the game on TV.

While some of the insights really aren't (if the offensive line is standing up, it's gonna be a pass play - duh), most of the book more than scratches the surface of what's really going on on the field, on both sides of the ball, as well as off the field in terms of preparation for a game, a season, how the scouting department does its job, why the play sheet of the coaches aren't restaurant menus and what the guys in the press boxes are really doing.

The last chapter (a look ahead) was sometimes too far out for my taste, and seemed to me like it was filled up with "we-gotta-get-more-pages-with-stunning-predictions" type issues, but as a whole, this is an awesome read for people who have a general understanding of the game - it may be a lot of old news for college coaches, and a little too much information for someone looking for a book to get into the game initially.