The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays

Jaworski, Ron with Greg Cosell and David Plaut

ISBN 10: 0345517954 / ISBN 13: 9780345517951

Published by ESPN Books / Ballantine Books, New York, 2010

About this Item

First edition, stated; first printing, full number line. Signed by the author on the front endpaper: "Ron Jaworski." Jaworski was a below-average NFL quarterback before becoming an above-average ESPN analyst. The book is square and unmarked; corners sharp, tail of spine bumped. The dust jacket is not price-clipped (original price $26.00); edgewear at spine ends and corners; Brodart protected. Seller Inventory # 016220

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Games That Changed the Game: The ...

Publisher: ESPN Books / Ballantine Books, New York

Publication Date: 2010

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Near Fine

Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

From the advent of the vertical passing game to the development of ever-more-sophisticated blitzing schemes on defense, 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 words of Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary, “The film does not lie.”

In The Games That Changed the Game, Ron Jaworski, a one-time NFL MVP turned Monday Night Football analyst and pro football’s #1 game-tape guru, breaks down the film from seven of the most momentous contests of the last fifty years. With an eye toward the brilliant game plans and seminal strategic breakthroughs that revolutionized play on both sides of the ball, Jaworski offers readers a drive-by-drive, play-by-play guide to the evolutionary leaps that now define the modern NFL, as well as portraits of the seven men who exhibited both creativity and courage in bucking established strategies. From Sid Gillman’s development of the Vertical Stretch, which culminated in the San Diego Chargers’ victory in the 1963 AFL Championship Game and 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 interviewed for this book.

Writing with the same vivid, passionate, and accessible style that has made him television’s go-to X’s and O’s maven, Jaworski fills in the blanks for fans who aren’t satisfied with merely dropping the terms “West Coast offense” or “46 defense” into conversation, but want to understand them fully, in context, as they were experienced by the men who played the game. You’ll never watch the NFL the same way again.
Foreword by Steve Sabol, president, NFL Films

Review:

"[A] must-read book."--The Boston Globe

"If you want to understand the strategic and cerebral part of this very physical sport, this most fascinating football book of the season is for you."--Library Journal (starred review)

"Even the die-hard Sunday fans will learn a lot from this book, and rookies will come away with a greater appreciation and understanding of the game."--Houston Chronicle

"Intelligent, detailed, and enthusiastic."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"One of the best of the season . . . Football wonks are going to love this book."--The Star-Ledger