Avail Yourself More Than A Game: The Glorious Present--and The Uncertain Future--of The NFL Conceived By Brian Billick Displayed As Copy

terrific book written by someone who knows the in's and out's of the NFL Brian Billick does a great job of walking the reader thru what the behind the scenes look like for an NFL franchise As a former coach for Balti as well as working for SF and Minnesota he covers such topics as salary cap teams have a Capologist drafting contract incentives evaluating talent especially B's the mystery behind the cryptic play terminology GM's owners and the league in general Billick has proven to be a winning coach won a Super Bowl a football broadcaster and now a very competent writer He uses lots of anecdotes uotes and insider info to look into the current NFL Rarely if ever does he personally attack players coaches or other league officials he chooses rather to use positive examples instead This is not a tell all memoir rather an informative collection of NFL thoughts I definitely recommend this for all NFL fans both the rabid and casual as it will enhance your football knowledge helping you enjoy Sunday afternoons without giving you to be disappointed in concerning professional sports Nicely done Mr Bellick Picture yourself in one of the top spots of the largest sports network getting paid millions of dollars Crazy right And not just that Coaching aboutplayers and in charge of many other coaches and coordinators Brian Billick formeryear Balti Ravens Head Coach describes his fun yet tough years in the NFL This autobiography was actually pretty challenging If you are not a football fan I recommend you look for something else There are many tough parts in the book that could reuire you to go back and reread Brian Billick is basically talking about how his career was in the NFL so if you like first person books this could be a good book for you Brian Billick never gave up even when things were tough He always had his teams back as well This is pretty much the theme of the book never giving up even when times are tough In general I thought the book was pretty good I love football so that basically contributed to the fact I like sports books I also love reading about real stories that happened Fictional stories arent my thing so this being true was a big factor as well I love how Brian wasnt afraid to tell his story even though he was let down and had tough times now and then This is definitely a high uality book because of the detail and first person perspective I would encourage those sports and autobiography lovers to check this book out Now that this book is out there it is definitely than a game Another whole career for Brian has approached him “ I was reminded of how much I love the game of professional football” What do you get when you combine one of the most respected offensive minds in the game with one of the top sports authors working today An engaging whirlwind tour of the modern NFL combined with keen insights into it's possible future It's a must read for every fan of the game Given that the book is short no subject is covered in depth but the book is well crafted to disguise this fact and you'll feel as if you've really learned something by the end of each chapter Every football fan from NFL neophyte to hard core fanatic will get something from this book Coach Billick does a fine job of explaining how all aspects of the NFL must work together owners coaches players media etc This is a great book This book was written by someone that really enjoys the game of football and understands If you like then NFL this is a great book since it talks about the current state of NFL teams and the history of NFL This book gives a excellent view on what happens behind the scenes of a football team This book has excellent information on being a football coach since it talks about all the aspects of a football coach Brian Billick was the head coach of the Balti Ravens for nine years and his team won Super Bowl XXXV thanks mostly to its great defense Prior to that he was the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings at the time one of the most prolific offenses in league historyHaving stepped away from the game for a while Billick has written a nice little monograph on todays game This is not a biography of Billick or the inside scoop of what its like to be a head coach in the National Football League although a little bit of that is in here Instead is a topical “conversation” about issues facing the National Football League todayBillick does a nice job explaining some of the modern day offensive and defensive schemes proliferating around the NFL and gives a nice synopsis of the progression of the now pass oriented game of professional football and how that has changed the modern game He also briefly discusses the “wildcat” offense where the running back takes the snap directly and can either pass or throw the ball Billick does not think the “wildcat” offense will be around too long as defenses are likely to catch up with it The most concerning part of the book is where Billick discusses the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the National Football League Players Association NFLPA the players union If an agreement is not reached there could be a lock out and no football in the near future Hopefully it will not come to that as professional football has been able to avoid the damaging play stoppage that has plagued other leagues most notably the National Hockey League which has yet to recover from its lost seasonThere are many other tidbits of football knowledge in this book and it is well worth a read by fans of the National Football League Good not great football book It had some fun insight like looking into each day of a regular week during the football season but I was looking for stories from players and coaches There was very little of that and most of the uotes in there were uite bland Billick did share a couple opinions but I was just hoping that since he is part of the NFL fraternity he might get better info The last chapter focusing on the possibility of an upcoming strike and the effects that technology might have on the game were solid too Excellent look at football behind the scenes Billick goes over almost every aspect of what's involved in coaching an NFL franchise as well as valuable insights about how different GM's run their teams It goes far beyond the X and O's though there's plenty of breakdowns of common defensive TampaCoverdefenses zone blitzing etc and offensive spread offense power running game etc philosophies He delves into the issues surrounding the end of the current CBA the book

was written two years ago wish it would've come out sooner and been reuired reading for owners and players and offers solutions how he thinks they could be resolvedBillick also goes into great lengths about the future of the game offering up different scenarios of what could happen as long as the NFL keeps running and avoids the total breakdown that would be caused by a work stoppage The book is a must read for any NFL fan serious or casual I am enough of a football fan to like the book despite its weaknesses It does not really deliver on its promise to show you a behind the scenes look at offenses defenses etcThe interesting parts were his comments of the evolution of the game and its future Clearly the NFL is king but just as clearly there are potentially rocky times ahead Because I am a nerd in some ways the NFL reminds of the Roman empire Among the potential problemsJust as the empire expanded under Augustus at a time when consolidation was called for so too the NFL has pushed new stadiums that increase the debt load of many teams This done at a time when labor negotiations will be at their most precarious in thanyearsMonetizing the game if for the owners it becomes 'less than a game' and a money making venture primarily they will suander their connection with fans and players ie new stadium experiences for fans which are alienating thegame season for players Again during the empire one gets a sense of expansion for expansions sakeAs the stakes get higher and there is to lose for both sides the danger is that change will have to be managed and the NFL will be managed by bureaucrats and less by 'sportsmen' One thinks of the army of administrators under some of thend century AD emperors that controlled and harnessed all information Few organizations are as control oriented as the NFL witness the fines for wearing wrong shoes coaches can only wear league gear etcNone of these are death sentences but extricating themselves from this will reuire some creative leadership Does this current situation allow for creative action Will Godell and the Union have it in them Will they play chicken If so the loser will be embarrassed and seek revenge later In this book Brian Billick discusses the history of the NFL the current state including details about the lockout of the NFL and where the NFL is headed He talks about major changes in the industry and how they have positively and negatively affected the owners coaches players and even the fans Every aspect of the industry is reviewed in great detail From filthy rich owners who could afford all the expensive changes the National Football League was facing at the time this book was written from greedy players to unualified coaches this book covers every bit of information you wouldn't expect to be going on behind the scenes Brian Billick was the former coach of the Balti Ravens whom he led to a Superbowl victory before he became a sport analyst for ESPN These positions help him to describe what's really going on with the industry He holds inside information along with a different perspective that really does allow fans to understand why football is than a game Billick also goes into great detail about the NFL's past and how it got started He even uotes many old coaches who made the game what it is today and includes details about ex players and scores on noteworthy games fromyears ago This valuable knowledge helped me as a fan realize so much about the game It made me realize why people paint their whole bodies and lose their inhibitions on game day why you hear about coaches and players losing sleep and losing their mind when a season starts to fall apart and why owners even want to buy a professional football team in the first place I rated the book four out of five because although it was very insightful at times the numbers and statistics could get a little dry As a fan I am interested in the excitement of game day rather than all the business behind it I'm happy I read it and improved my football knowledge though The author made me understand so much about the game An inside look at how the battle off the field affects the competition on the field of americas most popular sportâ”from one of the Nfls most successful and respected head coachesFresh off the sidelines from a nine year stint as one of the most successful leaders in pro football Super Bowlâ“winning head coach Brian Billick has written a book about the sport he knows and loves giving readers a fresh perspective on Americas Game Combining his own experiences with a wealth of new interviews gained through his unsurpassed access to pro footballs most influential figures Billick has written a vibrant compelling account of the true state of the game today and the dangers that it faces in the near future The National Football League stands as perhaps Americas last great mass entertainment the rare enterprise that brings together a broad cross section of our increasingly niche driven marketplace But even as the game has grown popular so has the financial pressure and stakes for all concerned In this taut lucid breakdown of the games inner workings Billick shows how dynasties are built and teams assembled and he explains in detail how the economic pressures of the modern NFL can affect coaches and players alike Billick welcomes fans into the locker rooms and the boardrooms for a revealing portrait of pro football and a penetrating look at the forces that will vie for control of Americas most popular game in the future.