Product Description
A handy, concise and informative source book. Expertly organized and full of statistics, schedules, rankings and projections. This reference book is a must for anyone involved in fantasy football. Your single source for preparing for the fantasy football season.

Includes: * Past draft data * Free agent and coaching changes * Offensive line and strength-of-schedule (SOS) analysis * Team predictions* Team evaluations* Depth charts * 250+ player projections * Cheat Sheets for 5 different leagues; auction values for 3 leagues * Rankings for TD-only, performance and performance plus leagues * 2009 player and team statistics * IDP, rookie and keeper rankings* Draft tips* Q+A section * And much more ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Huge improvement over last year's model
This is a great reference tool for those who rely more on their own analysis and less on the yearly magazines.Hendricks addressed many of the complaints about previous editions and delivers a better designed version for 2010.In particular he gets major props for doing what almost nobody out there does -- acknowledge which of his prior predictions were wrong, as well as listing the ones that were right.

My only complaint is that I wish he'd engage in a little more discussion about why he's picking particular players to bust out or progress further, and why he made particular right (or wrong) choices the year before.I've said in other reviews of his other books that he's the only guy out there writing at a high level, and in good faith, about FF.More of his discussion would always be welcome.

Not that Useful
Unless you're into auction Fantasy Football, you will likely be disappointed with this publication.Save your money.

One source Almanac
Let's say you've got a friend or family member interested in fantasy football and you want to give them a gift. Do you buy a magazine and wrap it up? Do you send them an email with a link to a website so they can look up their own stats? No and no.

This almanac certainly isn't the "end all" "be all" in fantasy football, but it doesn't pretend to be. It's a comprehensive book of detailed statistics and projections that any fantasy football participant would find useful and helpful on draft day. And for guys like me who sometimes attend drafts outside... it won't blow away in a strong wind!!!

I like that the author takes some chances and risks with his projections and I'd like this book more if it offered his insight as to how he came to rank different from "the experts" on some of these websites. His opening section lists both his correct and incorrect predictions from the previous season and I admire that greatly... and his correct predictions would help give a fantasy football owner some valuable information!

Stephen Prosapio, Author of Dream War

Exactly what I wanted. A great reference book for FF.
I bought Fantasy Football Basics for a friend who is playing Fantasy Football for the first time this year and Fantasy Football Almanac 2010 for me.After looking at Fantasy Football Basics (Fantasy Football Basics: The Ultimate "How-to" Guide for Beginners), I think one of the other reviewers wanted that book and not the 2010 FF Almanac. I have most of his other books and they have the FF Strategies.

I liked Fantasy Football Almanac 2010 because:
1) It is the first printed material (Book/magazine) with cheat sheets after the NFL draft. I used it again this year for a Memorial Day draft. Nothing else is available by then unless I wanted to spend over $25 on a pay website.

2) It is a book, not a magazine. I like the solid feel of a book.

3) No advertisements. I do not want my six year old seeing some of the "ads" in the FF magazines.

4) Mr. Hendricks is not afraid to point out his mistakes. Not too many "experts" point out their misses. He admits to thinking Tom Brady would not be a Top 5 QB in 2009, he was wrong and admits that. I don't know what he was thinking with that prediction but I like that he does not follow the herd all the time.

5) I like the large print for the schedule. I may be getting too old.

6) I love that the price is lower this year. I think it is a huge improvement on the 2009 Almanac. Thanks for the Tiers!

What I did not like:
1) Give me more analysis. I loved Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football (2nd Edition) and Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win Through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting. Get back to that format more.

Great almanac to get ready for the fantasy football season
I like this year's version of the Fantasy Football Almanac for the following reasons:

1) Lower Price! I like a bargain and we can all use a discount in this recession.

2) More text and analysis. I really like the Q & A section too. Practical questions with real advice answers.

3) Earlier availability- you have to wait until July for most ff magazines to come out.

4) Consistency and durability - this book stands up to the day-to-day spills and mishaps much better than any other ff magazine I have purchased in the past.

5) Better editing and formatting. Hendricks is paying attention to the details and I appreciate that.

6) Wealth of information all in one place- I don't have to spend my valuable free time searching all over the web for this info - it is right at my fingertips when I need it - that alone makes it worth the price.

If you play fantasy football, buy this book so you can be prepared before your competitors and maybe get an edge before the season starts.
... Read more

Product Description
How to play, enjoy and win Fantasy Football.
A book every beginner will enjoy!

Answers these questions:
- Why play fantasy football?
- Where do I start?
- How do I pick the right league?
- How do I score points?
- Who do I start each week?

Includes:
- Explanation of NFL and fantasy football rules
- Draft tips
- Vital resources to help
- Foreword by Emil Kadlec, Co-Founder of the World Championship of Fantasy Football (WCOFF) and owner of Fantasy Sports Publications
- And much more!

Finally, an easy and straightforward way to learn how to play fantasy football. Learn the easy way. Everything you need to play. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great book for learning the basics of fantasy football!
For every beginner out there who is floundering in your league and doesn't have a clue what the different league types are or what the rules are for ff, buy this book! It will help you learn the basics, enjoy the games more, and it might actually help you win this year...I will just add that it is about time that this type of fantasy football "how-to guide" was published! This would make a great gift for all those novices in your league too.

Finally a fantasy football book for beginners!
If you've ever wondered what FF is, why people are playing it, and how to get started yourself - this is the book for you! Sam Hendricks has taken the "basics" of fantasy football and broken it down into easy to understand chapters that are fun to read. He covers everything from the NFL and FF rules to draft tips and also includes important resources for help. This is a great book to learn how to play ff and should be required reading for the beginners in your league.

Perfect book for anyone starting to play Fantasy Football for first time!
I bought this as a gift for a friend who is playing FF for the first time this year. I skimmed through it myself and read many parts of it. I wish there was a book like this when I started playing. It has everything a beginner needs to play and play well. It really is the perfect gift for someone who wants to learn the easy way to play Fantasy football

The chapters on scoring systems, how do I prepare for the draft and who do I start each week are priceless. Those three chapters alone will prevent 90% of the rookie mistakes many people make when learning to play FF.

One note: if you already play FF you may get a few tips from this book but you are better off getting one of the authors other books (I have all of them). Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win Through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting is great and anyone can learn from it. Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football (2nd Edition) is for the advanced FFer.
... Read more

Product Description
The definitive National Football League book of information and statistics features everything fans want to know about the 1995 schedule, game-by-game summaries of the 1994 season, 1994 team and individual statistics, all-time NFL individual and team records, and much more. Original. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Non Fiction
This is the 1995 edition of the record and fact book for the National Football League. (NFL).It lists all the players on team rosters, giving biographies and likely roles, as well as team histories and other interesting statistics of note, for various awards and records.

It goes into more detail for the playoffs, and gives the stats leaders for the season.
... Read more

Product Description
Multiple formation and motion offenses of the modern football era present many defensive challenges. Football's Eagle & Stack Defenses will prepare teams and individual players to not only defend but also attack and dominate whatever offensive tactics an opponent might employ.

Author Ron Vanderlinden has been coach and architect of several of the most formidable defensive teams in the past 20 seasons. From the University of Colorado's national champions in 1990 to Northwestern's Big Ten title-winning team in 1995 to the revitalized, high-pursuit Penn State attack, Vanderlinden's well-drilled defensive players and units have enjoyed tremendous success.

Now, in this book, you can learn all the details of the defensive tactics and techniques as well as the coaching points that can make these two defenses so effective. No other book combines these fronts, and there is no one better equipped than Vanderlinden to put them together in a variety of game situations that will allow your defense to control your opponent's offense. Football's Eagle & Stack Defenses will be your best defensive co-coordinator for this season and many seasons to come. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Not up to expectations
I've been a defensive coordinator at the high school level for five years and coaching varsity football for ten. I have used the 4-3 defense every year and wanted to find something to put us over the top or add a new dimension to our defense.I really thought that in reading this book I would learn something new, but it was not up to expectations.

I would however recommend this book to any coach that is new to the 4-3.It covers the basics of this defense in great detail.For any coach wanting to build off the 4-3 or add a dimension to your defense this book is not a good purchase. It does not provide a great deal of blitzes or coverages.Again, there was nothing that set this book apart or made me want to talk about it with my coaching staff.

Essential Read for Football Coaches
I've always leaned toward offensive drill and theory books, and I have dabbled with reading special teams books as well.This off-season I have dedicated to learning a little more about football from the "bad guys'" perspective and bought "Football's Eagle & Stack Defenses" by Ron Vanderlinden.

Well I must say, I'm close to wrapping the book up and it is one of the BEST FOOTBALL BOOKS PERIOD.It is EXTREMELY THOROUGH, and covers everything about the Eagle & stack fronts, Coverage adjustments, Stunts, and run fits vs. popular runs.

There are also sections describing in detail the characteristics required to play the positons, game planning, individual read/drills by position, fundamental techniques for all 11, and goal line modifications.

Many diagrams but no filler pages.Literally 229 pages of great information.

The biggest advantage this book has over many books I've read is that it delves into the theroy; the reason behind the calls, stunts, adjutments IN DETAIL.If you want to learn about a solid defensive system, this book is necessary.

I now consider this book a must read, and possibly held in "FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE BIBLE" status.

And I'm not even a Penn State fan...

Best Defensive Book I've Ever Read
This book is by far the best defensive oriented book that I have ever read. I am a JV defensive line coach, and even though we run a completely different scheme, we applied several of these concepts successfully to our team and it worked incredibly well.

This book is seriously something you grab and review from time to time as your Co-Defensive Coordinator.If you don't want to rely on the offense to dictate your strength of formation all the time and want something that has proven to be successful, I would highly, highly recommend this book.

Must read for defensive coaches of all levels
I purchased this book on the eagle and stack defenses and found it to be very informative. It reads easily and I will be using alot of the schemes in this book in my defensive package.

Good Addition to your Defensive Library
Coach Vanderlinden describes his Eagle and Stack concepts in great detail in a book that is both entertaining and informative.I found this to be an easy to read description of solid defensive concepts that could be applicable to almost all levels of football.The book gives thorough descriptions of each positions responsibilities including alignment and assigment.There are numerous helpful diagrams and illustrations that round out each chapter.Coach Vanderlinden does a decent job of explaining the process of how he pairs coverages with his fronts and pressures.It is possible that this book could be used as a stand alone playbook for a high school football team. ... Read more

Product Description
An inspiring story by a two-time Edgar Award-winning writer of how a six-man football team united a school and a town

Down Farm Road 308, an hour's drive south of Dallas, amidst sprawling fields of cotton lies a small community--Penelope, Texas (population 211). Here, where the only thriving businesses are the granary and the post office, unless you count the soft-drink machine in front of the fire station, two-time Edgar Award-winning writer Carlton Stowers discovered a special town that came together, not only to support their six-man highschool football team--the Penelope Wolverines--through thick and a lot of thin, but also, and more importantly, each other.

Where Dreams Die Hard is a warm and revealing portrait of the American heartland--and of one small town's love affair with the team that unites it.

"Through his unforgettable depiction of innocence, goodness, loyalty, and friendship...Carlton Stowers gives us a moving portrait of a community that, in the words of one of the Penelope faithful, is like 'stepping into a Norman Rockwell painting.'" (Billie Letts, author of Where the Heart Is)

"High school football in Texas is both sport and religion, and Stowers brilliantly brings this to light in Where Dreams Die Hard." (Jim Dent, author of The Junction Boys) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Inspirational and Peacefull Book
I thought this book was excellent and an incredible effort from an author that has only written non-fiction about violent crimes before. This is the kind of book that rekindles your faith in America and makes you realize there is another and maybe better way of life than how most of us live. While I felt like I escaped to a simpler place and time the book showed that even in a rural, slow paced, simpler lifestyle problems still exist. I didn't want the book to end not because of any special intrigue or what the final outcome was but just because it was such a good read. This is a book where the journey was better than the end result.

Good Book
I played six-man and eight-man football in high school, so this book was very interesting to me.It realistically shows some of the life in small towns.

Small town Texas in "Where Dreams Die Hard"
Having chronicled so much disaster, destruction and unspeakable horror committed by people against other people during his extensive writing career, Texas author Carlton Stowers was looking for something simpler in the wake of the 911 tragedy.As he writes in the preface of the non fiction book "Where Dreams Die Hard" on page XIV:

"When a young editor argued that what those of us under her charge had to provide readers was more `red meat,' more hard-hitting, finger-pointing controversy, I rolled my eyes and began considering my leave-taking. Though fully aware that there were endless fakes and frauds needing exposure and countless crimes begging courthouse justice, such tasks no longer interested me. It was time to let someone else try to sort reason from the unreasonable, spend days in the company of devastated victims, and chronicle the social ills for which there seemed no cure."

His quest was for a Norman Rockwall type America if it still existed. Where folks still cared about each other regardless of political or religious affiliation. Where crime was not a problem and where red meat referred to what was on the grill and not something literary.

He found what he was looking for in the small town of Penelope, Texas located about an hour south of Dallas.Penelope has a population of 211 and eagerly and actively supports their six man football team the Penelope Wolverines.As sports fans may know, six man football has seen a revival the last few years in a number of states including Texas. Much of the book covers one season in the life of the town both for the players, their families, and the surrounding community.

While he chronicles the struggles of the 2004 team, author Carlton Stowers does much more than that.Writing about the months before and after the season as well, the town of Penelope and its citizens are brought alive for the reader.Mr. Stowers' folksy style works wonders in this regard as the words flow and skip from point to point much like in regular conversation.Along the way he touches on the history of six mean football, the economy of small town Texas and such basic fundamentals as how to impart responsibility to today's youth among other topics. This is not a lecturing or antiseptic read but more of a good friend talking about life as he sits next to you on your front porch.

The result is an excellent 205 page read that provides a look at basically slightly more than a year in the life of a small Texas town and its citizens.The bad, the good, and everything in between are covered.At the same time it becomes uplifting as one knows no matter how bad the world news gets, folks that live in Penelope, Texas and thousands of other places are taking it one day at a time, prospering in their own way, and helping each other everyday.A little of that attitude goes a long way and Mr. Stowers book is a very refreshing and enjoyable read.

Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2006

Six Men From Now
What do kids do who want to play football and the town's too small to field a football team in the high school?More importantly, what do their moms and dads do, especially in a state like Texas where everything is football when you're a teenager.He can join the Penelope Wolverines and their brand of rural, thin population "six-man football," designed for school with 99 or fewer students!If you liked FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, you'll appreciate the even bigger sacrifices made by the boys in this book.

Stowers tells the perhaps apochryphal story of a country in west Texas where one man refused to give up his farm and move to the next county, even though a prominent oilman dangled him a job with a salary far beyond anything he would ever be making if he stayed home.The oilman, you seem had designs on the farmer's son.No, not sexual designs, but he figured if he could get that boy enrolled in the high school of his own county, the boy was talented enough to score enough touchdowns to make the difference in the season.But his dad kept saying no, we're staying put.The oilman didn't understand the meaning of the word no and one night, while the family was away, their entire house was moved, lock, stock and housecat, to the oilman's county.The dad figured he might as well join em at this point.Because he would have to pay the cost of airlifting his house back to its original cellar and that he couldn't afford.So the boy joined the high school team and, sure enough, justified the oilman's belief in his nascent talents.

Why, I had never so much as heard of "six-man football" before picking up the latest effort of Carlton Stowers, a true crime expert whose own family was touched by tragedy some mite back.

Now I know plenty.His down home style goes down smoother than a Texas mojito.You'll crack up at another anecdote, in which Penelope plays its rival, Abbott.Now there's a town so proud it has erected a giant billboard with a grinning, full color image of musician Willie Nelson, who they say was born in Abbott.Town pride in Nelson has never diminished, but the fool billboard got too much for the "rebel" singer-songwriter, who one night, got pretty drunk I guess and tried to burn down the darn thing.The billboard remains, half-torched, a visual memory of people's mixed feelings about the little towns from which we fled but to which we return with smiles and tears all mixed up.

A friendlier "Friday Night Lights"

As the August breezes begin to pick up, the days start to become shorter and thoughts return to fall, the end of the summer season brings about the start of another season, the high school football season.
Thousands of players will have participated in two-a-day practices throughout the dog days of August, all in the hopes of winning games, setting records and pursuing championships.
The only difference between most of the squads competing in the United States and the 112 public high school teams competing throughout Texas, is that they do it a little differently. For those smaller Lone Star Schools, whose student enrollment falls below 100, they play under their own Friday Night lights in the glorious game of six-man football.
Author Carlton Stowers became tired of his own newspaper's front pages, dedicated to the misdoings of others, bombings and mayhem he had seen from a news reporter's eyes. He made the decision to turn his reporter pen and pad towards a quieter town, in a quieter portion of Texas and follow the world of six-man football for a season.
His travels took him to the small town of Penelope and it's populous of 211 residents and the Wolverines six-man football team.
The railroad had left Penelope in 1960 and so went with it the cotton commerce that brought people to it. In 1963 the high school made the decision to abandon its football program. In 1999 a student, Marvin Hill, prodded by his classmates asked the superintendent requesting that football be re-instated in the Wolverines fall season.
The game of six-man football was established in the late 1930's as a sport for the small rural schools. It involves three lineman, three backs and a quarterback. Traditionally it is played on an 80-yard field, 15-yards are needed for a first down, 10-minute quarters are played and all players are eligible to receive a pass. Also included would be a 45-point mercy rule after the first half was complete.
With the help of the superintendent and an open board of education, donations flowed in to field a team that first season. As the interest continued year after year, a playing field, all two-acres of it, was purchased, grass planted and goalposts were acquired when a neighboring school moved up in class, they too were sent to Penelope.
It would be Hill who made history, scoring the first-ever touchdown for the Wolverines that first season.
Fast forward to 2004 when Penelope is led by coach Corey McAdams, the former state championship quarterback and college star at Hardin-Simmons University. It would be his job to bring the Wolverines back on a winning track, turning the tide on the squad's current 1 win, 31 loss record.
Stowers takes the reader onto the practice field, into the hallways of Penelope High and into the homes of the players, their families and their lives.
It is a different type of life in the small towns in Texas, something that many suburban readers may have a hard time comprehending.
When the entire town turns out for a football contest, they may not fill most local high school auditoriums, the coaches drive the bus to away games, that is if his players show up on time after they finish building a sheep fence.
"Where Dreams Die Hard" is not as hard hitting as the best selling "Friday Night Lights", but Stowers stills delves into issues that would make any towns population uneasy. It is the picture that Stowers paints of the small towns in Texas, the wins and the losses by the Penelope High Wolverines squad that make the book so enjoyable.
The length of "Where Dreams Die Hard," is also agreeable to the reader with its 201 pages, fitting for a sport which boasts just 12 players on the gridiron compared to the traditional 22. Stower's work has intrigue, history, heartwarming stories about the players, their families as well as the author's own relationship with his dying father.
While they may host smaller lineups, play in front of smaller crowds, the characters in "Where Dreams Die Hard" are focused on success every Friday evening under the Texas sky, proving that things in Texas are bigger, especially the hearts of those playing six-man football.
... Read more

Product Description
A book which covers the rules, regulations and techniques for training youngsters in the team sport of Flag Football. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not a Flag Football Book IMO
The reason I bought this book was because I wanted a book that tought me things unique to flag football. There are plenty of books about coaching youth football, some of them very good. But I wanted a book that would give me the tools to SIMPLIFY football for children playing FLAG football. Most flag football leagues in the U.S. today are based on the NFL Flag Football rules and guidelines. That is, 5-on-5 with no blocking. I have played in adult flag football leagues, in a whole other part of the country, and the rules were consistent with the NFL Flag Football rules and guidelines. This book is completely about 8-on-8 football WITH BLOCKING. In fact, the book is repleat with plays and drills that are so complicated and blocking-heavy that it will not be very useful for coaching in most flag football leagues.

Not Much Use
If you don't know the rules, are new to football, etc., this book might have value.

The book is about 150 pages.The first 50 pages is dross, unless you are an absolute newbie.If you know the game at a basic level and want depth to help your flag team win some games, look elsewhere.
... Read more

Product Description
Walsh takes a comprehensive view of over a century of controversy in America's college football national champions, breaking teams down into one of three categories: perennial powers, contenders, and former greats. He then details the ten most controversial championships, suggests candidates for the best overall football program, and concludes with some thoughts on the future of the BCS along with a complete appendix listing national champions since 1869. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Who's #1?: 100-Plus Years of Controversial National Champions in College Football

A good book. It has a lot of information which you won't find anywhere eelse, that I've seen, in one book, such as the First team All-American picks for each school, and the Hall of Fame inductees (players and coaches). However, I was a little misled by the summary of this book before I bought it. I thought there would be much more detail on the 10 most controversial decisions on the National Champions.

... Read more

Product Description
Walter Payton was arguably the greatest running back in the history of professional football. A star for the Chicago Bears from 1974 to 1987, Payton rushed for a National Football League career record of 16,726 yards. Known to football fans everywhere as "Sweetness," he helped lead the Bears to a Super Bowl victory following the 1985 season and over the years established himself as one of the sports world's most popular and personable role models. Payton was beloved by his teammates, idolized by his fans, and embraced by business partners. He captured the heart of the Windy City with a graciousness complimented by a spirit of humility and a wonderful sense of humor.

Millions mourned in early November 1999 when Payton, a youthful 45, succumbed to cancer after a nearly year-long battle with various health problems. Even in his dying days, however, Payton maintained his dignity, a spirit of community charity, and a legendary ability to pull off practical jokes that would send friends and family reeling with laughter. Before he passed away, he reportedly also renewed his commitment to his Christian faith. His death on November 1 coincided with the day known as All Saints Day in many Christian quarters.

In Walter Payton, dozens of his contemporaries, former teammates, coaches, childhood and college chums, business partners, fans, and friends offer in their own words their favorite memories and anecdotes of this man they loved so much. Walter Payton is a warm, entertaining, and inspiring book about a man whose fame transcended the sport in which he competed into the widest realms of life itself. ... Read more

Product Description
"Considered the bible of scouting techniques" according to the Los Angeles Times, Football Scouting Methods explains the basic scouting strategies and insights of author Steve Belichick. He was widely viewed as the ablest football scout of his time and coached at the U.S. Naval Academy for 33 years; his son is New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a three-time Super Bowl winner.

When Steve Belichick died in November 2005, the New York Times headline cited him as "Coach Who Wrote the Book on Scouting," and quoted Houston Texans General Manager Charley Casserly calling Football Scouting Methods "the best book on scouting he had ever read." Joe Bellino, Navy's Heisman Trophy winner in 1960, told the Times that Steve Belichick "was a genius. On Monday nights, he would give us his scouting reports, and even though we were playing powerhouses, I always felt we were prepared because he found a way for us to win."

In recent years Football Scouting Methods has been one of the top ten most sought out-of-print books; used copies have been quite scarce. This reissue edition makes the original 1962 text available once again in exact facsimile.

The book covers how to scout opponents, recognize defenses, analyze offenses, discover "tip-offs" that reveal the opponent's plays, compose a useful report, self-scout, and conduct postgame analysis.

"Steve Belichick taught many younger men how to scout and how to watch film and how to prepare their teams for the next week's game," David Halberstam noted in the Washington Post, and his best student was his own son Bill Belichick, "one of whose greatest skills as a coach to this day remains his ability to analyze other teams, figuring out both their strengths and their vulnerabilities, and shrewdly deciding how to take away from them that which they most want to do."

When CBS asked Bill Belichick to name his favorite book, he replied "Well, I've got to go with my dad's. Football Scouting Methods. I'd have to go with that." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Football Scouting Methods - Review
This is excellent. I was just in awe because, in addition to having somewhat of an ability to relate to Coach Steve Belichick because he was a coach at my alma mater (USNA), but because of how well his son, Bill, and his lifelong friend, Ernie, have utilized the basic methodology to create one of the greatest franchises of our time. It is interesting to know that Ozzie Newsome, GM of the Baltimore Ravens, is a disciple of many of Steve's methodologies. The two franchises, the Patriots and Ravens, interesting to note, have two of the best home records this decade. Only the Indianapolis Colts rival such a record over the past 10 years. And Bill Polian, the Colts president? Very, very good friends with Steve.

Methodsof Scouting
wonderful book ,Iwould recommendit to any coach as a foundation for scouting at any level

EXCELLENT RESOURCE
This is a very good resource for an often overlooked part of coaching at the lower levels especially, scouting. Explains clearly what can be done to be more prepared for an opponent.

Football Scouting Methods
This book caused quite a stir back in 2004 or 2005 when it was mentioned in the media.The author is Steve Belichick the father of Bill Belichick the head coach of the New England Patriots.Steve was a noted scout and coach in his own right back several decades ago.This book was one of the first that I know of that attempted to codify some of the thinking and thought processes that go into scouting football.

Originally teams were allowed a certain number of visits in order to scout the opposition.Steve Belichick was a master at this skill and always found small ways to give his teams an advantage.His skills were passed onto his son Bill who developed an even keener eye for scouting opponents tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses.

Today teams of course exchange game film, input data into a computer database and study that content instead ofexchanging visits.The basic things they watch for however are still the same although the exact formations and play types change every decade of course.None the less the original questions and points of study that are outlined in this book were influential in their hey day and still of relevance today in concept.

Since the media mentioned this book it has become a hard to find commodity and has become something of a collectors item.I have an old copy that I keep in my football library.The schemes and diagrams are somewhat outdated (e.g. defense examples include a wide tackle six, split six, stacked 6-2, 5-3, and an eagle 5-4 type of alignment. Offense examples include T formations and Winged T alignments) but the basic thought process is still relevant even today.

Reading this book will give you a good sense of the details that coaches zeroed in on back then and what Steve probably taught Bill as a young man many years ago.

EDIT NOTE Nov. 2008

Since I wrote this review I see the book has fortunately been re-published and is now available for a reasonable price. I see I also accidentally referred to Steve's son Bill as "Brian" in one location but correctly as Bill in two other locations. A senior moment to which some of you can probably relate...I corrected it above.

Here is the table of contents for those interested:

1. A case for specialization in scouting
2. Preparations for scouting
3. What is expected of the scout
4. Worksheet forms and terminology
5. How to recognize the defense
6. Scouting the defense
7. Defensive analysis
8. Scouting the offense
9. Offensive analysis
10. The final report
11. Self-scouting and post game analysis
12. Tip offs

Two other older books I am aware of on scouting are George Allen's work "How to Scout Football" published in 1953 when he was still with Whittier College and Robert MacKenzie's book "Football Scouting" from 1955.

Keep in mind the terminology and examples in all these books are dated now by four or five decades. ... Read more

Product Description
When people ask the question, "What makes a football weekend at Notre Dame so special?" members of the Notre Dame family know that it could take an entire book to give the whole answer. This is that book. It tells the gameday story with over one hundred color photographs that bring the experience alive from the perspectives of many different groups, and its words add a context that is rich in the traditions, community connections, values, and spirit that make Notre Dame unique.

Writer Bill Schmitt and photographer Lou Sabo approached the question with the kind of wide-ranging curiosity that goes beyond sports books, guidebooks, and history books. Their work reveals that the answer comes from many sources and primarily from the people who share the experience. The book focuses on students, many of whom have no involvement on the field; Catholics and believers of all faiths; alumni; visitors from around the country and the world; South Bend neighbors and business owners; athletes; and the coaches.

The reader will enjoy deeper insights into Notre Dame football's connections to all sorts of traditions--some profound, some trivial, but always bringing people closer to each other and to the past, present, and future. As seen in chapters that explore the acts of faith, hope, and charity that surround the football program and reflect the nature and mission of the university, there is a real sense in which, regardless of the tally on the scoreboard, everyone who participates emerges from a Notre Dame football weekend as a winner. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Football Weekends at Notre Dame
Anyone who has ever attended a Notre Dame home football game will LOVE this book!The pictures and commentary reflect the excitement and awe-inspiring weekends you've ever spent on campus!We are ND! ... Read more

Product Description
Experience the thoughts and strategies of a highly successful former professional athletic coach and college athletic administrator with this excellent new source for defensive football strategies. In Arnsparger's Coaching Defensive Football, Bill Arnsparger shares his know-how, personal philosophies, and the essential details that make up a winning team, including:oBasic informationoRun defenseoPass coverage, including zone, man, and blitzoShort yardageoGoal lineoThe substitution package of five, six, and seven defensive backsoAnd much more!Special situations are covered as well-two minutes, offensive group formations, last play call, and unbalanced line adjustments. In addition to the technical aspects of the defense strategy, the mental aspects-the attitude, discipline, and motivation behind a winning defense-are presented. This is a complete defensive football coaching course packed into a single, hands-on reference. Students and athletes will learn from a master-and fans will find out what's behind the moves. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Arnsbarger's Coaching Defensive Football
This is a very good book on position reads,techniques and defensive strategies.The Position reads are all diagramed and explained in detail. He also has a section on defending the Shotgun, which I'm going to re-read to try to learn how to better defend the Spread Offenses that are in vogue today; I'm sure there is something in the chapter that I can use. Overall,one of the best books on defensive football I have read. The other that I highly recommend is Fritz Shumur's " Coaching Team Defense; Second Edition. " I have the first edition also and they are both great books. My High School coach played for Fritz and everthing I was taught about defense in High School is in this book. Schemes may change but good fundamentals will never go out of style and that's what both of these coaches are about and the reason that they are in the Hall of Fame.

A good book for any defensive coach
I bought this book when I was just starting my coaching career.As a new coach who was football literate but not extremely well versed in the finer points of the game, it was a very frustrating read.Also, if you coach a team that does not run the 3-4 scheme, it is difficult to apply many of the concepts in the book.However, as I advanced in my career, I found this book invaluable as a resource. If there was a concept I was not familiar with, more often than not it is at least touched upon somewhere in the book. The aspect of the book that most coaches (offensive or defensive) will find helpful are the chapters that deal with pass coverage.The book is very thorough in all aspects of zone, man, and substituted pass coverages (nickle and dime). Since every defense incorporates some or all of these principles, this alone makes the book worth buying.

Arnsparger Makes It Happen
Without a doubt, Coach Arns is one of the greatest defensive coordinators ever lived. He opens up his "almost" whole system in this book and explains his specific schemes really well and how and where to run them. This book is a MUST for any defensive coach from any level.

Coach Arns also included his views, comments and memories of his successful years from 1A to NFL. I recommend this book to everyone, who plays or coaches defense. If you have never been involved into these "nuts and guts" of football, I'd say; forget it, it would be too much. But if you did, do not think and BUY IT. You won't regret.

Great book... but needs study.
I consider myself to be a student of the game of football. This belief was put to the test when I purchased this book last year. I consider it a mark of achievement that after a year of study, I finally understand MOST of the concepts within the book.

Unfortunately, that's also a mark of the complexity of those concepts.

The book has incalculable worth to any defensive coach, or any coach interested in developing or improving his current defense. From position-specific techniques and drills to schemes for confusing and attacking the offense, the book covers all aspects of defensive football in exhaustive detail. Unfortunately, much of the knowledge is buried under jargon incomprehensible to the average coach. This is the sole reason I give the book a four of five possible stars.

For the youth coach, this book is going to be a difficult and laborious read. Its value will also be lessened because most of your players just won't be ready for the concepts in it. High school coaches will fare better, but the book is really designed for the junior college to college level, and it is on that level that the principles discussed in it can best be taken advantage of. It goes without saying that the professional coach will also glean much from this text.

I am glad I purchased it, and I do recommend it for all levels of coaches, but be prepared to do some hard thinking as you study the book.

Good luck,

"Coach" Wade

Too scheme specific
I found this book to be way too specific to Coach Arnsbarger's scheme.That is great if you are starting a defense from scratch or want to revamp your system.We already have an effective scheme and a successful defense.I was looking for something that would just make us better.I did not find it in this book.Just my two cents. ... Read more

Product Description
Foreword by Doug Flutie; includes audio cd

No matter if your favorite colors on autumn Saturdays are maize andblue or crimson and cream...or you're quite at-home in Happy Valley orin the House That Rockne Built...if you are a college football fan,you will thrill to this book.Fellow fan and author Ted Mandell hasselected 100 of the greatest college game finishes spanning the lastthree decades. Each game comes alive as the author sets the scene,recounts the drama of the decisive play, and captures all thepost-play emotion and impact. Making these memories even more vivid, acompanion CD offers the actual broadcasts of 64 of the astounding,heart-wrenching, nail-biting, nerve-wracking plays that turnedimpending defeat into victory for one team and snatched it from thegrasp of the other.

The teams appearing here come from the East Coast to the West Coast,the North to the South, Division IA to Division III, largeuniversities and small colleges. Here are the famous: the StanfordBand game, Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass that defeated mighty Miami,Harry Oliver's 51-yard field goal as time ran out that lifted NotreDame over favored Michigan. Equally exciting, less publicized, but noless dramatic are Thomas More College's victory over Defiance and thePrincipia Indians' 48-yeard touchdown pass that capped one of the mostbizarre endings of all time and sent a stunned Illinois College squadto a last second defeat.

Turn up the audio CD and enjoy some of college football's greatestplay calls. You'll hear broadcast professionals (and no-soprofessional) lose all composure as the player who could "go all theway" actually does in the final seconds or the potential game-winningfield-goal kick "isss...goooooooood!" With each track, you'll feel thevibration of the stands, hear the roar of the crowd, and sense thepandemonium and passion of the moment.

These are the times that make college football the great game it is --for players and fans; these are the games where spirit, grit and maybea little magic determine the outcome. This collection of collegiatefootball finishes retold will still bring tingles to fans of thewinners and chills to those whose favorites fell one play short ofvictory.Heart Stoppers and Hail Marys: the book that redefines "thethrill of victory and the agony of defeat" 100 times over. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Might stop your heart!
As the Tampa Tribune observed, "If college football is the greatest sport -- and it is -- then HEART STOPPERS AND HAIL MARYS is one of the greatest books on the subject." I found this to be an understatement; HS&HM is more than that, it's a testimonial to indomitable human spirit --you know, "never-say-die."

Some examples: the 1982 U Cal - Stanford game (where the contest came down to perhaps the craziest final four seconds in history).Some of you may remember... Down 19-17, QB John Elway led his Stanford team into field goal range and Mark Harmon booted it to give Stanford a 20-19 lead with FOUR SECONDS left.The Cardinal celebrated and the band poured onto the field.Get the book to see and hear those final, lateral-filled seconds and the Bears' winning touchdown [or was it?!]

My son-in-law ["Syracuse Forever!!"] will glory in another of Ted's Heart Stoppers: It's 1998 at the Carrier Dome.Virginia Tech and Syracuse battle for a Big East championship and major Bowl possibility.Tech leads 21-6 at the half, but the Orange battle back to within four points (22-26).There, however, Tech's great Defense holds and Syracuse is down to five seconds, 13 yards to go for a TD.QB Donovan McNabb has vomited three times, how can he overcome that and this Tech defense (No. 5 in the country)?Hey, get Ted's book and find out...

Oh, heck, McNabb found TE Stephen Brominski in the end zone and somehow completed the pass that toppled Tech, helped Syracuse to eventually win the Big East title and a date in the '98 Orange Bowl.McNabb is the only player ever to be named Big East player of the year three times.

Ok, that's just two of 116 incredible stories, what a book!

Scintillating Finales
This book is a great compilation of late game heroics in college football.The writer sets the stage for each scintillating finale with a few pages then cuts to describing the play itself.The beauty of the book is the included CD which contains the radio calls from these game defining plays.I am an LSU fan and there are two LSU games (both wins thank goodness) in the book and on the CD.I was at one of the games and being able to listen and relieve the moment is a treat.Anyone who loves a fantastic finish should get this book.

For every college football fan!
Hi. I just wanted to tell you this is an awsome college football book I just got.The audio cd takes you back to the game and makes you feel like your really there.Another cool thing that I thought was so interesting about this book was how it doesn't just inclued the play but it tells the before,the aftermath, and the stats of each play.This includes things like how these teams ended up doing for that season and what the players did after college.I enjoyed a whole lot. I hope that other college football fans can get to read so that they can dont miss out on the enjoyment that I had getting caught up in the plays especailly by listening to them on the audio cd. It is also cool how the book doesn't just include division 1 teams but teams that only people from the teams area have heard of! I loved it! ... Read more

Product Description
Understanding this popular sport is easy with Football Made Simple: A Spectator's Guide.

This easy-to-read guide, filled with illustrations and action photographs, contains everything for the fan and non-fan alike to understand and enjoy the sport of football, including:

* The rules of football simplified
* What to look for during play
* NFL teams and playoffs
* College football rules and bowl games
* Introduction of fantasy leagues
* Stars and great teams - past and present

Each section stands alone, so it can be used as a handy reference guide. Discover why football is America's most popular team sport!

A complete glossary and index makes finding information a snap Makes a great gift Pocket-sized - take it to the game ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Football made simple: a spectators guide
Wonderful...easy to understand.Perfect for the high schoolers mom who still has trouble "getting it."

FOOTBALL Made Simple
Good Book for those that have a hard time figuring out the game of Football! It has helped me along the way many times and I use it for a quick reference during the games! I am very happy with this book!

Great service
Football Made Simple: A Spectator's Guide (4th Edition) (Spectator Guide Series)

Ordered this book. It arrived as promised. It is a great book for any age. I am 67 and have watched football all my life and I wish I had ordered one for me. I got this book for a neighbor who was turning 9 years old. I think he liked it, if not he has 3 younger brotheres who might enjoy it, I hope.

Bought as a gift, recipient was pleased.
We bought this as a gift for a friend who wanted to learn more about football in general.She seemed pleased with it at the time but i haven't asked about it since. It seemed like a nice primer when I glanced through it before it was wrapped.

Excellent but Out-of-Date
This is a little book that is packed with information that helps a beginner get oriented and understand the basics of the game.It's the best thing of that type that I've been able to find.I just wish the publisher or the author would update the book, which is a 2006 reprint of a 2002 edition. ... Read more

Product Description
In Pigskin, Robert W. Peterson presents a lively and informative overview of the early years of pro football--from the late 1880s to the beginning of the television era. He describes the colorful beginnings of the pro game and its outstanding teams and profiles some of the most famous players of the era. Peterson also takes us back to the roots of the pro game, showing how professionalism began when some stars for Yale, Harvard, and Princeton took money for their services to alma mater.

After the NFL formed in 1920, pro football's popularity grew gradually but steadily. It burst into national prominence with the Chicago Bears-Washington Redskins championship game of 1940. As one sportswriter put it: "The weather was perfect. So were the Bears." The final score was 73-0. Peterson shows how, after World War II, the newly-created All America Football Conference challenged the NFL, which never viewed the new teams as much of a threat. That is, not until 1950 when the two leagues merged, bringing about the Cleveland Browns-Philadelphia Eagles game in which the Browns buried the Eagles 35-10.

An elegy to a time when, for many players, the game was at least as important as the money it brought them, Pigskin takes readers up to the 1958 championship game when the Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants in overtime. By that time, the great popularity of the game had moved from newspapers and radio to television, and pro football had finally arrived as a major sport.Amazon.com Review
While baseball's pastoral pace never lets us forget its past,football's martial-like essence seems forever fixed in thepresent. Yet, borne on the broad backs of men like Pudge Heffelfinger,Jim Thorpe, George Halas, Red Grange, Sammy Baugh, and BroncoNagurski, football's history is filled with a legend, color, andpersonality as intriguing and all-American as that usually ascribed tobaseball. Like a good offensive guard, Pigskin does yeoman-likework in the trenches, opening the right holes for football'sbarnstorming, step-child past to rush through. Thoroughly researchedand authoritatively written, it helps resuscitate a sporting era--fromthe late 19th century to the dawn of saturation TV--when the passionfor playing the game was far more alluring than all those soullessnumbers on the business end of the dollar sign. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Great history of the early years of football
Does a really good job of covering it from the turn of the century through till the 1958 Colts-Giants championship game.

A really interesting read if you're into the history of football and the rule and tactic changes over the years.

Review of Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football
Pigskin is a history of professional football from its origins in the late 1800's through the 1950's.It details the state of professional football early in the century when football was really dominated by colleges, particularly the Ivy League schools.At that time professional football was more like semi-pro ball, and was relatively disorganized with club teams going on barnstorming tours.The book does a good job of chronicling how professional football evolved, becoming more and more organized and structured over time up to the creation of a professional league with Jim Thorpe, the most famous athlete of the time, as president and player.Once World War II came about professional football, while not in its heyday, was finally taking over college football in fan interest but the war was rough on professional sports as many of the greatest athletes went into the service.After the war football continued to grow in fan interest and really hit it big with the invention of television."The Greatest Game Ever Played" - the 1958 overtime championship game where the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants 23-17, which was televised and watched by millions, launched the NFL into the mainstream and it hasn't slowed down since.

Overall this book has a lot of good information and is well organized.The drawback is that the writing style is not very exiting so it makes this monograph a bit on the boring side.For those only mildly interested in the history of professional football, I would not recommend it.

Fascinating book about the early history of Pro Football
This was a book that surprised me when I read it because it has so much great information about the early days of pro football. The struggles of football at the professional level to become a "respected" game was one of the surprises in the book along with the fact that, for example, the "draw play" that is used today was discovered completely by accident years ago (read the book to find out why). The book is a great look back at the early years of the game, the subtle changes to the game over the first few decades and the changes that brought the game to the status it has today in our society. This is a great read about the early history of football in our nation.

Solid Pro Football History
What I most like about this book is the author's dedication to historical accuracy.It was apparent that the author weighed the reliability of different accounts of what happened in order to give a true picture of pro football's past.Often this meant discarding some of the more colorful but dubious stories frequently repeated in other books.

I was impressed with the sources used for the book.Sources included research of the Professional Researchers Association, other respected books and authors, and original interviews of star and more ordinary former players as well as coaches.

The book spans the era of pro football from the late 1800's to the 1958 NFL championship game.Roughly the first third of the book is devoted to the pre-NFL days of pro football prior to 1920.There are 16 pages of photos.The quality of these photos- even considering that they are old- is not good, unlike the cover photo, which is very good.

I did not find the book difficult to read.This is a book I would recommend to anyone of high school age or older who wants a good foundation on the history of pro football.This book delivers a solid, straight-forward account of how pro football developed.

Pigskin lacks the moves to score a touchdown
While this book contains lots of interesting historical facts and little known tidbits of information on pro football's rise in America, it is written in such a way as to have readers wishing the sport had died at birth.
As I said above, there is very good information on the sport here, but once I read the particular nugget I don't need it given to me again on the next page, or the next, or the next. The author is very repetative and some of the chapters go on forever with really no new facts given.
The second thing you might notice is that the author likes to play with seldom used "big words" from the English language. Not a problem if used in moderation, but here they are so frequent as to disrupt the flow of the story and makes the book difficult to read.
The final penalty here is the bad editing. There are either numerous mispellings, or he is using words I never learned in school. There are also several spots in the book where [] appear around letters or whole words. I'm not sure what those are there for, but someone must have thought they needed to be there I guess. Alo, many of the chapters are badly arranged, bits of story seemingly thrown in wherever there was room.
In conclusion I found this book hard to read and only finished it because i'm a die-hard football fan. Makes a good read if you're an insomniac though. ... Read more

Product Description
The first authoritative book on collecting football cards -- the hottest hobby in America today/ It offers valuable get-started advice for both beginners and seasoned card collectors. It answers such questions as: What to collect; how to collect; which players are generally valued more or less than others; why there are variations in football cards; why variation card values can rise and fall sharply. ... Read more

Product Description
How to Play, Enjoy and Win your Fantasy Football League Every Year! A handy, concise and informative source book. Expertly organized and full of hard facts, helpful tips and valuable strategies. This guidebook is for the novice or the expert who wants to learn more about how to play and win fantasy football. It is your single source for every strategy, tip, rule or league variation available. It is the best book of its kind. Includes: - The history and administration of Fantasy Football - Types of leagues, scoring systems and drafts - How to rank players - Draft day tips, theories and advanced strategies - Roster Management skills (trades, add/drops, start/bench decisions) - Auction, Keeper and IDP leagues - Interview with Lenny Pappano (co-founder World Championship of Fantasy Football and draftsharks.com) - Psychology of Fantasy Football - Injuries - And much more! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Not a book for beginners!
Look, the author seems to really know his stuff, and from what I've scanned it looks like he's put it all in a pretty cogent format.But, and I suppose this is my fault, I bought this book because I wanted to *start* playing fantasy football.While the guide is, as it says, quite comprehensive, even for an experienced student like myself (I hold a doctorate) the sheer amount of detailed material squished in from cover to cover put me off even starting to read it.Maybe, someday, when I am an experienced fantasy football fanatic, I may want to read something this in depth.But I'm just looking to get started here, and Mr. Hendricks has written a textbook, not a fun guidebook.I'm going to return it and get Fantasy Football for Dummies, instead.I'm no dummy, but I can always count on the "For Dummies" format to make learning a new subject fun.If you want to know everything there is to know about fantasy football, this guide's for you. If you're just trying to grasp the basics you need to get started, I'd go for something a bit lighter.No offense, Mr. Hendricks -- I did keep your Fantasy Football Tips!Fantasy Football For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies))

The perfect Fantasy Football book.
For years I have been looking for a "Comprehensive" book on fantasy football. This 400 page book has it all. It has a great layout starting with the basics, history and progression of the hobby and then it dives into the types of leagues and drafts. After that the meat of the book is about strategies and tips of what to do and not to do in drafts and managing your team week in and week out. The last few chapters cover injuries, refererence materials and drum roll.......an entire chapter on rules that other leagues use. That alone is a great reference for anyone in a FF league that is getting boring.

It is a well thought out and well written book that wastes no space with silly drawings or blank pages. It is jam packed with tons of stuff. I have a few other FF books but most are TOO basic with lots of empty space or ads for websites. This one is by far the best!

I only wish there was an index so that I could reference the topics more easily when I go back to it from time to time.

I bought the hardback for $24 and a quarter (amazon sell 10% off) and it is great, but another buddy of mine got the paperback for $17.95 (again 10% off) and it seems pretty neat so I might go with the paperback next time when I get it for a friend for Christmas or his Birthday. I guess it depends on what they like either HB or PB.

Probably the best fantasy football book yet written
I ordered this and his F.F. 2009 Almanac at the same time.The Almanac came first.That's about all that can said in its favour.So I was more than a little suprised at the quality of this book.It's comprehensive, well-organized, professionally laid out, reads very easily, and in multiple aspects has advice that is a level beyond the titles that will come up in the "People Who Bought This Book Also Bought..." windows.

Let's face it, the fantasy football canon doesn't need another "it's a good idea to wait until late to pick your kicker" kind of book.This one covers the bases of types of leagues, types of scoring systems, and so forth in a couple of chapters, and then gets on to the main entree.

His chapter on ranking players tells some hard truths and gives the reader a solid foundation for doing (or not doing) his or her own research.The rest of the book deals thoroughly with the strategy and tactics involved in being in a league, from the draft through to trades, choosing your lineup, and other areas, in greater detail than is offered in any other source.

Really, the only other book that has anything useful beyond what's here is Zarzycki's "Drafting to Win".Zarzycki has a couple of good ideas in his book, as well as a whole lot of terrible ones, and it has to be recognized that he has the most highly evolved understanding of how strategies have to be fluid during the course of the draft.But Hendricks has summarized Zarzycki's positive contributions in a few pages, which is probably as much as any fantasy football player needs to see.

All in all, a great book, and a stunningly good bargain at $19.95.

How to win at Fantasy Football
Here's a staggering number: 30,000,000 - that's how many users worldwide are estimated to have played fantasy football this year. So you can be forgiven if you didn't win your league, unless, of course, you were an owner in half a dozen leagues or more, in which case you have no excuse for not winning at least one.

The popularity of online fantasy sports continues to grow, especially for football.

And with that popularity the number of competitive leagues offering huge prizes is soaring as well - which explains why so many of us now watch the NFL with one eye on the big screen, one eye on the computer monitor, and one hand on the mouse, repeatedly clicking the refresh button even though our real-time stats load automatically.

Here's another staggering number: $150,000,000 - that's the estimated cost of Tom Brady's season-ending injury to owners playing for a share of $500,000,000 in fantasy prizes (Darren Rovell, cited in an article on nfl.fanhouse.com).

With that much on the line, fantasy owners need all the help they can get - especially owners who failed in their primary mission this season: winning.

So here is what you need to do now that the fantasy season is over, buy this book: Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football, by Sam Hendricks.

And the emphasis here should really be on comprehensive - because that is exactly what the author provides, a complete and careful examination of fantasy football from its historical roots to drafting best-practices to dealing with Brady-like injuries to the psychology of the game.

Yes, that's right - the psychology of fantasy football.

And don't think for a moment that the psychology of fantasy football isn't a relevant topic - not when there are 30,000,000 owners worldwide.

In terms of qualifications, Sam Hendricks is a legendary figure in fantasy football, having won virtually everything there is to win over the past two decades. Hendricks frequently is invited to speak about fantasy football, offering seminars to people eager to learn firsthand time-tested strategies for winning on the virtual playing field, and he also participates yearly in the World Championship of Fantasy Football.

Hendricks says that playing fantasy football will make you a better NFL fan. I totally agree. And something else, too - using this guidebook that Hendricks created will make you a better fantasy football player.

Great Book For Any and All FF Owners, Regardless of Experience!
This is a super book.Sam's simplified tiering system makes ranking players easy for the beginner or the veteran.There are techniques for getting the best team on draft day and tips to guide you through the entire season.An added bonus are the detailed descriptions on the types of leagues that are out there and how all the scoring systems work.Get and read this book and you can be a champion in any league!

JK ... Read more

Product Description
The author of The Football Abstract recalls a golden age of professional football during the 1960s, when the sport was dominated by the heroics of Namath, Meredith, Unitas, Hornung, and Lombardi. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Nice history lesson
This is a nice chronological encapsulation of the ten pro football seasons from 1960 through 1969.It's not terribly in-depth, but that didn't seem to be the author's intention.

Each of the ten seasons are summarized (both NFL and AFL), and at the end of the book is a nice table of year-by-year standings, playoff results and all-pro teams for both leagues.The player interviews at the end of each chapter are interesting, too.

Unlike the earlier reviewer, the book includes some tidbits that were new to me, such as the 1964 death of Bears star running back Willie Gallimore in an auto accident, and the "missing fourth down" that cost the Rams a chance to pull out a last-second victory late in the 1968 season.

I didn't care for the frequent smart-aleck side comments made by the author to drive home his points; they are distracting.But overall it's a pretty good review of the ten seasons during which pro football grew from playing second fiddle to baseball (in terms of popularity), to far and away the nation's most popular sport.

It's a good history lesson for fans that want to learn more about professional football in the 1960s.

Great theme, limited execution
The 1960s are, as Carroll suggests, pro football's best decade, but this book doesn't quite bring that assertion to life. It's written rather functionally and relies rather too heavily on facts instead of anecdotes or the author's own assertions. It recites too many stories that the devoted fan already knows, and doesn't quite manage to tell them in an interesting new way. There are interviews with players, some of which are mildly enlightening, and some photographs, most of which I'd seen before.

I was hoping for something which would tell me more about this period of the game which I didn't already know, and less about things I could have looked up in a reference book.

Would give this a marginal recommendation, with a heartier one to those who know little about the decade in question. For those who do, I'd suggest Daly and O'Donnell's "Pro Football Chronicle."

I want to get out my old football cards!
If you are in your 40's and loved pro football as a kid in the 1960's, then this is the book to read!It brought back so many wonderful childhood memories of the NFL and AFL that I wanted to weep.I remember some of these game in the 60's better than I do games of a couple years ago.And the author provides much insight into the players and games that I was never aware of.
The early struggles of the AFL are particularly interesting to read about.As I watch the often boring world of the NFL today, I yearn for when pro football was a much more simple game.This book satisfies that longing. ... Read more

Product Description
The key to winning fantasy football is strategy. Learn the game, drafting and management strategies, and what tools are available with this guide, by a leading competitor and based on hard facts. Get maximum value from every decision, and win. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Pretty, but useless
This is a very good looking book, well-written in the sense of being very readable, but there's really very little in it.It doesn't have enough basic stuff to be useful for beginners, and doesn't have anything advanced in it to separate it from the pack.All in all, there are two or three magazines published every year that offer all the same stuff and much, much more.

The chapters are all very, very short, some as short as a two pages.Some of his key theories are palpably absurd.My favorite:load up on rookie running backs, ANY rookie running backs, because "it may not pay off every season, but when it does the dividends can be astronomical."He then helpfully adds that this strategy is particularly good in a keeper league.(It's almost like that commercial that airs from time to time where the guy tells the rookie, "don't worry about top running backs, they'll be there later on, and don't be afraid to grab your kicker early.")

Another one of his grand theories is to "beware of free agent wide receivers".He gives a list of examples that didn't work out, while acknowledging two that did (Joe Horn, Jerry Rice in Oakland).One of his points in this chapter is on Andre Rison.He strongly suggests, without actually saying, that Rison's success in Atlanta was due to the run-and-shoot offence, and not because he was an elite talent.His conclusion is based on the fact that when he left Atlanta for Cleveland, he tanked.

More compelling in my view is the fact that despite seven different starting QB's, and two different head coaches, Rison had a five year stretch that is better than anybody in the Hall of Fame (with the possible exception of Lance Alworth).That, and his four consecutive all-pro selections suggests to me at least that maybe he WAS a pretty talented player.

When things like this are combined with his muddled chapters on draft stragety, it makes me think that Mr. Schimanski really doesn't know very much about either real football or fantasy football.At the same time, there are some ideas here worth exploring; he just grossly simplifies EVERYTHING.Even his caution of FA wideouts has some merit, if he were to just look at it in a bit more depth.Eg, there is a difference between someone cut because he's too old (Tim Brown), someone cut because of cap problems (Keenan McCardell), someone whose contract expires and goes somewhere where he's a better fit (Joe Horn), and someone whose contract expires and goes somewhere where he's a horrible fit (Alvin Harper, Az Hakim, and a cast of thousands).

But, until a book with that level of analysis gets written, stay away from this one and stick to the magazines.

Highly Recommended
The book says: "strategy, not cheat sheets win championships".It is so true.You need to have STRATEGY for how you draft your team and how you manage it during the season and this book delivers on both. ... Read more

Product Description
From the award winning author of Fantasy Football Guidebook (and three other fantasy football books) comes the ultimate step by step guide to success; including methods of drafting, ranking players, creating cheat sheets and drafting like an expert. Finally, an easy to use and understand book, with tips on how to win your fantasy football league every year, is available at a great price. With over 200 winning ways, from how to pick a fantasy league to roster management tools, Fantasy Football Tips provides the key techniques to make you a consistent fantasy football owner. Written for all fantasy football players (whether a beginner or expert), Fantasy Football Tips is your ticket to this years League Championship. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Fantasy football
The Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win Through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting book is an excellent book to use in setting up your fantasy football team. It has helpful ideas for picking players and playing the game.

Another Winner from Hendricks
For the most part there are two kinds of Fantasy Football books out there.The first is the basic, introductory "draft RBs before kickers" kind of book.The second is the goofball theory book -- books that, while far from comprensive overall, describe in great detail the brilliant, wonderful theory that made the author the best fantasy football player in his league two years out of the last ten.The optimist in me thinks the authors of the latter group are people who got lucky, and haven't really subjected their theories to much scrutiny, whether by peer review, computer simulations, or just looking at data.The cynic in me thinks these authors are deliberately peddling crappy ideas, using their (cough) name to cash in without revealing any "real" secrets of the trade.The realist in me suspects that probably there's a some of both going on in most of those books.

In my view Sam Hendricks is the only author out there who is both writing at a high level, and writing honestly about his approach to winning at fantasy football.This book is a gold mine of information, containing valuable tips that you aren't going to see anywhere else.In addition, he isn't shy about calling out some of the nonsense that passes for accepted wisdom in fantasy football canon, and when he does, he backs it up with a solid logical argument.Tip #64, for example, blows away one of the central theses of Randy Giminez's "Dominate Fantasy Football" in less than 400 words, and after reading both, I'm basically ready to use Giminez for kindling.He's wrong, Hendricks is right, it's that simple.

I think a handful of his tips are questionable, but so many of them are so on the money that it makes this book worth far, far more than what he's charging for it.Sure, he could use some help in the editing department -- I grate my teeth every time I read "Jay Cutler or P. Manning", or "ARZ WR Larry Fitzgerald" in a paragraph of prose.Spell 'em out, bro, it doesn't cost you anything and, as you say often enough, consistency is a good thing.

Why this guy doesn't get more credit is beyond me, but a BIG part of me is glad that nobody's reading his stuff.The last thing I need is for my opponents to get better.

Now if he could just clean up his yearly Almanac....

A choice pick for those who love fantasy football
Fantasy football is a game of understanding the potential of players. "Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win Through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets, and Better Drafting" is a guide for those who want to improve their planning and choices when dealing with the game of fantasy football. With advice on better understanding football, seeing who is going to have the better season, and more, Sam Hendricks will give readers a leg up on their competition. "Fantasy Football Tips" is a choice pick for those who love fantasy football.

Outstanding!
Very insightful! There are hundreds of tips to improve your fantasy team at the draft, and techniques to ensure the strength of your team throughout the fantasy season. Sam has considered draft techniques that nobody else has thought of. And, his personal style makes it fun to read. Great book.

First the Fantasy Football Guidebook, now this little gem!
Sam Hendricks hits the bull's eye yet again with another great book not only on how to win at Fantasy Football, but how to better enjoy it as well.

Sam has competed in several high stakes leagues over the years including the World Championship of Fantasy Football and the Fantasy Football Players Championship.He shares the methods he himself has used to win since he began playing.Fantasy Football Tips is a quick and easy read, but it's comprehensive and detailed enough to guide you through the entire season.Sam's winning experience can be yours as he offers tips on drafting for your specific type of league and scoring system, techniques to help you pick the rookies destined to shine and how to spot the most likely breakout players.Sam even mentions weather and field conditions and how it will affect your team, something I rarely if ever thought about.There's also advice on trading and even an appendix with tools to help you stick with your plan on draft day.No FF player, veteran or novice should be without this book.Get it, read it, WIN!

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