Defensive Football Strategies (American Football Coaches Association) (Paperback)

~ American Football Coaches Association (Author) "The correct and efficient use of personnel in any phase of a football game is a great concern to coaches at all levels..." (more)
Key Phrases: Summer Manual, Red Left, Split Eagle (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Now you can build the kind of defense that wins championships with Defensive Football Strategies. This complete collection of tactics, teachings, and insights comes from many of the games best defensive minds from over the past 40 years.

Inside you’ll find winning strategies from 90 top coaches, including Jerry Sandusky of Penn State, Charlie McBride of the University of Nebraska, R.C. Slocum of Texas A & M., and Bo Schembechler of the University of Michigan. With the help of more than 600 X-and-O diagrams, they show you how to counter common offensive formations and attacks, stop the running game and passing game, make down-and-distance decisions, and defend the goal line.

Defensive Football Strategies was developed in cooperation with the American Football Coaches Association. It’s a one-of-a-kind resource for building a defense that can win it all.

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

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics (August 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736001425
• ISBN-13: 978-0736001427
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #29,935 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than Average, March 5, 2003

By A Customer

Strengths: The book broadly covers most of the elements of defensive football strategy. Most defensive approaches that have been attempted successfully in the last 40 years are reviewed and explained. Football coaches, especially at the HS level where the athletes' practice time is limited, will appreciate the book's simplicity and its ability to convey the essence of a particular defensive approach. Do these philosophies work? They have, in various forms, for decades.

Weaknesses: The strength of the book is also its primary weakness. It covers so much material that nothing is covered in detail, and coaches seeking the finer points of a particular defensive scheme may have to look elsewhere for assistance. Some of the newer defensive philosophies, especially the incredibly specialized schemes used in the pro ranks (defensive ends dropping off into coverage in short zones, linebackers who only play in running situations, or cornerbacks involved in intricate blitz schemes) are not covered. HS coaches will probably not have the time or athletic talent to indulge in that level of detail anyway.

As for the critique that defensive schemes designed to stop offenses from the 1960s don't belong in the book, I would beg to differ. In many areas of the country, especially the deep south, HS football coaches still employ the offensive systems in which they themselves played in decades before. Perhaps the most prominent example is the use of the triple-option out of a wishbone formation, once a staple of college football (Oklahoma and Alabama in the 1970s), never used in the pro ranks and abandoned by almost all college teams except the Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy. It was not unusual to find Tennessee HS football teams still running this offense through the 1990s. In this regard, the book's coverage of defenses designed to stop antiquated offensive game plans is a strength at the HS level.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Average book, January 20, 2009

By	C. Bradley - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After buying it and reading it, I can see both reviewer's points. The concepts of playing defense are included in this book, but it does include alot of stuff about defenses that are not played as much today (60, 76, 5-2, 5-3, etc.) in higher levels.

This book is not geared to stop newer offenses, like the West Coast, spread-styles, or pro-style pass oriented attacks. It is essentially combined from articles written in the '60s-'80s, when teams were more run-oriented. As such, the examples shown are good for playing run defense against option offenses like the veer, Wing-T, and various forms of the Bone and other pro-sets (2-backs).

In the lower levels, this book would be very useful, but its application to newer passing offenses is limited and not very helpful. One would need to supplement the information here with books geared to defending these offenses.

26 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Defenses of the 60s in a book that comes out in 2000??, October 20, 2000

By A Customer

Aww come on! This is the best the AFCA could do? Lets call it what it really is THE BEST OF THE AFCA MANUALS (DEFENSE). Now granted some techniques and fundamentals are ageless, but the AFCA has members at every major college and most professional teams. This is not the best it could do.