Football is our least understood sport. That's one of the reasons its so fascinating, fun, and humbling to write about.
I often cringe while reading someone that doesn't know what they don't know. (Sometimes it's my own stuff.) Most of us writing about the sport -- if we are honest -- don't know much. Not about the x's and o's. Not about all the details that go into making every play happen.
Chris Brown of SmartFootball.com knows a lot. I've learned a ton from reading him over the years, so was thrilled when his book The Essential Smart Footballarrived in the mail.
I devoured it in a day. Brown's writing is great online, but it makes more sense on the printed page. (If that makes any sense.) It deserves to be read on the couch without tweets and instant messages popping up on the side of your screen.
The topics range from the evolution of Urban Meyer's spread offense to the difference between one gap and two gap defenses to what made Alex Gibbs's zone running attack so effective. (To start, it's foundation is the "outside zone" rather than the more common inside zone.)
Watching football is a never-ending learning process for those of us that truly love the game. Brown is a great guy to read if you want to know more.
