Watching Football: Discovering The Game Within The Game Paperback – Illustrated, 1 September 2005

I undoubtedly had some unrealistic expectations, or at least hopes, going into this book. I've always marveled at how a John Madden can watch a play, in real time, and then immediately turn around and explain the particular play that it was, and the one player who blew his assignment. To achieve that, I'm sure, takes years of watching plays, day in and day out I expect -- getting your brain trained in the visual pattern recognition.After reading "Watching Football" I understand more of what to watch for, but alas -- no miracle -- I still can't both watch the football, and keep track of what everbody else on the field is doing. ;)This book is a bit of a strange beast. You definitely have to be goal-oriented in reading, as it's not an especially fun read. It's structure is more like a how-to book. I was a bit surprised to find liberal doses of personal reminiscing sprinkled throughout the book, and especially at the beginning. Certainly, some anecdotes were used to illustrate points, but on balance, it seemed an odd cross of autobiography and how to.As for the actual didactic value, I did get some better understanding from reading the book, but still it lacked the depth I would hope for. The beginning starts out simply enough, explaining the very basics that anybody who already watches football would know. But by the time you get to zone coverages, there's just a single diagram with some arrows for each variation, and not enough explanation, at least for me to understand the essence of how the players would actually move in order to execute the coverages.In the end, though, I do understand more of what to look for. If you endeavor to better understand the game, this book is probably a reasonable first step in your process of learning.

I was thrilled to see this book come out by the great Daryl "Moose" Johnston. I followed his career all the years he was with the Cowboys. It is an interesting book to read! Thanks DJ!