The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays
*Starred Review* Jaworski, a self-described football wonk, former NFL quarterback with the Philadelphia Eagles, and Monday Night Football analyst, picks seven games he feels are benchmarks in the ever-evolving tactical strategy that defines the way pro football is played. In a wonderfully accessible format—even for less wonky fans—he provides the lineage of the coaching philosophy that provides the basis for each selection, describes in glorious detail how it was applied in the landmark game, and then adds a postscript describing how the strategy affected the game in subsequent years. This is crazy good football info. The game accounts are great, but even better are Jaworski’s analysis of coaching philosophy. Among those he profiles are Don Coryell, the father of the wide-open, “go-deep” passing blitzkrieg that still has active coaching descendants, and Bill Walsh, who led the 49ers to multiple Super Bowl wins and developed the West Coast offense—still a staple today—in the 1980s. On the other side of the ball, Jaworski notes that while Buddy Ryan’s 46 defense, which propelled the Chicago Bears to the 1985 Super Bowl title, is considered the all-time dominant defense, it wouldn’t quite work in today’s NFL. Filled with anecdotes, player recollections, and other wonderful details, this should be the most popular football book of the season. Terrific reading. --Wes Lukowsky--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.