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Professional football in the last half century has been a sport marked by relentless innovation. For fans determined to keep up with the changes that have transformed the game, close examination of the coaching footage is a must. In The Games That Changed the Game, Ron Jaworski—pro football’s #1 game-tape guru—breaks down the film from seven of the most momentous contests of the last fifty years, giving readers a drive-by-drive, play-by-play guide to the evolutionary leaps that define the modern NFL.
From Sid Gillman’s development of the Vertical Stretch, which launched the era of wide-open passing offenses, to Bill Belichick’s daring defensive game plan in Super Bowl XXXVI, which enabled his outgunned squad to upset the heavily favored St. Louis Rams and usher in the New England Patriots dynasty, the most cutting-edge concepts come alive again through the recollections of nearly seventy coaches and players. You’ll never watch NFL football the same way again.
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12 reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
If you're no pigskin geek, wait for a reasonable price
10 Nov 2010
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Being a huge fan of the game itself, I truly enjoyed this book. "Jaws" takes you through 7 historic NFL games that had a lasting impact on the way the professional game was/is played - because these games introduced new coaching schemes or even ideologies that can still be felt in today's game: the grandfathers of the modern passing game, Gillman, Coryell and Walsh; defensive contributions like the Cover-2 and Dick LeBeau's Zone Blitz. Each of these schemes or concepts is demonstrated by analysis of a specific game.
The reader is taken through each game quarter by quarter describing in detail relevant plays, their impact on the game specifically and in general, including a few play diagrams. Now, if this sounds very geeky to you - then you're right. Don't get me wrong - the book is no play-by-play box score compilation. Jaworski and his co-authors focus exclusively on one team and the decisions made by that team's coach or coordinator and how each play figured into the overall scheme of that coach.
The book is fun and easy to read, a huge ensemble cast of former and current players and coaches get to have their say, and depending on your age, you either get to gain some insights of the NFL before you were born (Sid Gillman's Chargers and the Steel Curtain were before my time), too young (I only knew about Don Coryell, Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow Sr. from highlight reels), or you get to re-experience great games that you may have seen but not thought about for some time.
What I really like was the back and forth between offensive and defensive innovations - it demonstrates the arms race in the NFL very well. The offense starts to air it out - the defense catches up. The offense creates ever more complex formations and plays - the defense overloads and blitzes unexpectedly, and so on. The book also offers some refreshingly raw language that you'd expect from players and coaches in football, instead of the highly polished "speaking but not saying anything" in today's media-centric league.
The reason that I'm giving it only 4 stars is that the chapter titles are somewhat confusing sometimes - Sid Gillman's Vertical Stretch, for example is showcased in a game where the Chargers won by relying on their running attack. Which they could do only because the defense expected them to air it out, but still. The Air Coryell chapter is is actually more about Winslow's breakout game, and the begin of the receiving tight ends of the modern era.
But these minor inconsistencies didn't really bother me. The price did. Now, unless you're a die-hard NFL geek looking for something meaningful to do while ESPN is showing skateboarding or oval car races, wait until the price drops. Oherwise - read this book.
The reader is taken through each game quarter by quarter describing in detail relevant plays, their impact on the game specifically and in general, including a few play diagrams. Now, if this sounds very geeky to you - then you're right. Don't get me wrong - the book is no play-by-play box score compilation. Jaworski and his co-authors focus exclusively on one team and the decisions made by that team's coach or coordinator and how each play figured into the overall scheme of that coach.
The book is fun and easy to read, a huge ensemble cast of former and current players and coaches get to have their say, and depending on your age, you either get to gain some insights of the NFL before you were born (Sid Gillman's Chargers and the Steel Curtain were before my time), too young (I only knew about Don Coryell, Dan Fouts and Kellen Winslow Sr. from highlight reels), or you get to re-experience great games that you may have seen but not thought about for some time.
What I really like was the back and forth between offensive and defensive innovations - it demonstrates the arms race in the NFL very well. The offense starts to air it out - the defense catches up. The offense creates ever more complex formations and plays - the defense overloads and blitzes unexpectedly, and so on. The book also offers some refreshingly raw language that you'd expect from players and coaches in football, instead of the highly polished "speaking but not saying anything" in today's media-centric league.
The reason that I'm giving it only 4 stars is that the chapter titles are somewhat confusing sometimes - Sid Gillman's Vertical Stretch, for example is showcased in a game where the Chargers won by relying on their running attack. Which they could do only because the defense expected them to air it out, but still. The Air Coryell chapter is is actually more about Winslow's breakout game, and the begin of the receiving tight ends of the modern era.
But these minor inconsistencies didn't really bother me. The price did. Now, unless you're a die-hard NFL geek looking for something meaningful to do while ESPN is showing skateboarding or oval car races, wait until the price drops. Oherwise - read this book.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
For Football Fans having or wanting Technical Knowledge
9 Jan 2011
Format:Hardcover
Games that changed the Game is an intriguing look at what RJ identify as significant developments in football that transformed the way games are played in the NFL. Each chapter starts with an informative narrative about the history of the coaches and the traditional views of the game during the time period. Readers will like the back stories of these innovative coaches and players, especially if the persons are people you grew up watching. The authors do an excellent job of bringing these people into your room, and making them accessible.
The final third of each chapter focuses on a nearly drive by drive account of the highlighted team in their breakout game. This section reads very technical. I enjoy the game but felt lost at times in understanding the strategies and techniques used in the game. I might have rated this book 3 stars, but that would not fairly reflect the quality of the lectures. I understood enough to still appreciate these sections. Those of you more knowledgeable will find these sections quite insightful and stir your own thinking.
Whether a casual or hard core fan, this book is worth reading for the commentary and research that's provided. Also, if your favorite team is included, you won't be disappointed.
The final third of each chapter focuses on a nearly drive by drive account of the highlighted team in their breakout game. This section reads very technical. I enjoy the game but felt lost at times in understanding the strategies and techniques used in the game. I might have rated this book 3 stars, but that would not fairly reflect the quality of the lectures. I understood enough to still appreciate these sections. Those of you more knowledgeable will find these sections quite insightful and stir your own thinking.
Whether a casual or hard core fan, this book is worth reading for the commentary and research that's provided. Also, if your favorite team is included, you won't be disappointed.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Thoughtful and detailed but not for everybody
30 Mar 2011
Format:Hardcover
Ron Jaworski, former Eagles QB and ESPN analyst dissects 7 games that sees that permanently changed football strategies. If you're a diehard fan like me you'll love the detail. For example, one chapter explains how the Steelers defense in the 1970s was so good the league had to change its rules (the restriction on bumping after 5 yards was actually known as the Mel Blount rule).Jaworski explains in detail the contribution to the NFL by innovators such as Buddy Ryan, Bud Carson,Dick LeBeau, Bill Belichick, Bill Walsh and others. For knowledgable and passionate football fans, this is well worth reading.
However, I should point out this isn't the book for very casual fans. For instance,if you don't know what a tight end does, save your money and buy a football for dummies book. It will become tedious very quickly.
However, I should point out this isn't the book for very casual fans. For instance,if you don't know what a tight end does, save your money and buy a football for dummies book. It will become tedious very quickly.
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