Overall rating: (3.6 of 5.0 possible)

Available through: www.amazon.com

The first time I read this book I remember thinking, "This book is a waste of time." I'm glad I do these book reviews, because otherwise I might not have bothered to pick it up again, and I learned a few things.

The author is the legendary Bud Wilkinson, head coach at the University of Oklahoma and member of the Football Hall of Fame. He's the inventor of the Oklahoma 5-4, which he developed to stop the triple option attack, and an expert on the game of football.

Coach Wilkinson opens this book with a discussion on the balance between offense and defense in football. It is this balance that keeps either side from completely dominating the game. As an example, the defense is allows to line up in virtually unlimited fashion, but the offense knows the snap count and point of attack. These two items help to provide the basic balance that is the great game of football.

Chapter two begins with one of the most true statements I have ever read:

"The most common misconception concerning football is that it is a game of size and strength. It is also a game of speed and reaction." (Pg. 19)

I find this to be a most accurate statement closely in line with my personal feelings about the sport.

Continuing chapter two, Coach Wilkinson goes into some detail about the types and manner of conditioning football players need in order to perform at peak on game day. It is unfortunate that he chooses to leave this chapter appearing to be half complete, and ends without discussing more than the most rudimentary workouts and stretching exercises. I would strongly caution coaches reading this book not to base their entire conditioning and stretching regimen on these four pages of material.

Chapter three briefly describes the components of offensive football, the down linemen, the offensive backfield, etc. and also includes a very accurate description of "hitting position", also called "linebacker stance". This is one of the most important physical skills necessary for the defensive backfield, and every coach should have this precise definition in their notes. Chapter three concludes with the importance of good vision on the playing field.

Chapter four discusses offensive line play, beginning with rudimentary footwork, and carefully describing several responsibilities of the offensive lineman, such as pulling to lead block (pg 38) and trap blocking (pg 36). Coach Wilkinson also goes into detail in different types of blocks, such as the shoulder block and the scramble block. More importantly, this book contains one of the few, the very few accurate descriptions of the double team block I have ever seen written down (pg 40). The responsibilities of the center are also well described, and serve to help remind the inexperienced coach that center is one of the most important positions on your team. Tight end blocking is also covered well in this chapter.

Chapter five covers the responsibilities and skills necessary for the receiver positions, beginning with the evolution of the receiver position through football. Coach Wilkinson covers proper stances, downfield blocks, and even releasing from the line against bump and run coverage.

I do not particularly care for Coach Wilkinson's passing tree, which features nine pass routes and yet leaves out the fly or streak, the slant, and all patterns that involve more than one cut. More annoyingly, on page 63, Coach Wilkinson actually describes the slant pattern in some detail.

One good thing the book has going for it is a section in this chapter on combining pass routes into patterns. A pass route is the path of a single receiver on a pass play. A pattern is the integrated result of several routes that place one or two defenders in a conflict of coverage. This chapter also contains a few drills for developing receiver concentration that I find intriguing, if somewhat impractical.

Chapter six is for the running backs, and starts with the most important aspect of being a back: blocking. Several types of blocks are covered, including the all-important isolation block, typically performed on blast and lead plays by a fullback on a linebacker left 'isolated' by a double team block on the defensive tackles. Receiving the ball is also covered carefully, with a great description of the correct way to handle a hand-off, and how to properly carry the ball. The importance of proper faking is also well stressed.

I am not pleased that Coach Wilkinson chose to include the dangerous and largely ineffective stiff arm in his descriptions of correct running back play in this chapter, but he at least does a good job of describing how to safely teach this difficult technique.

Chapter seven is given over to the quarterback and the myriad of skills this player must have at the high school and college level. I do not particularly agree that the quarterback is 'the key player on the offensive team.' (pg 93), but I respect Coach Wilkinson's opinion.

Beginning with the snap, Coach Wilkinson describes the responsibilities of the quarterback in some detail. One of my favorite points is, "After handing the ball off, the quarterback must never let his eyes follow the ball carrier. Instead, he should carry out the continuing play fake." (Pg. 98)

Chapter eight begins to describe the basic offensive formations, but Coach Wilkinson neglects to describe how to integrate formations together into a cohesive system. As a result, an "open" set (split backs) is followed immediately by a one back set, with no discussion of which plays would likely be successful in both formations. Moreover, Coach Wilkinson makes a grave misjudgment of the Single Wing when he claims, on page 116, that:

"In the single wing, the ball must be thrown back from the center to the Fullback or Tailback. While the ball is in flight, the defense knows exactly where it is. This gives the defensive linemen a chance to hit and control their opponents while they still know the exact location of the ball. The time it takes for the ball to get from the center to the tailback is short, but the defensive players moving with the snap of the ball have time to start controlling their opponents before the pattern of play has formed."

In the first place, I think Coach Wilkinson is completely in error to describe the defense as ever knowing where the ball is against a singe wing offense. The single wing is characterized by a multi-cycle snap, which means any one of three different backfield players is in prime position to take the snap and execute a play, as opposed to a single quarterback who always takes the snap in a normal indirect snap offense. Second, the single wing is also famous for misdirection, something Coach Wilkinson forgot to mention.

In all his discussions of different formations, Coach Wilkinson also forgot to mention the lines of force, even by any other name. He does not talk about the effectiveness of the I-formation being limited outside the tackles, or the ability of the Wing-T to attack the weak side by using the split end as a crack back blocker.

One thing the book does do well, however, is describe the veer and wishbone triple option, covered in detail on page 122 through 127.

The remainder of the book is devoted to the offensive special teams, including the punt, punt return, kickoff return, and field goals. Several detailed fakes are discussed, including a fake field goal screen pass that I'm going to try to install next season. Formulating an offensive game plan is also discussed in chapter eleven, but it is designed mostly for teams with multiple offensive plays. Since most youth football teams with competent coaching have a sharply reduced playlist, a game plan is generally not especially necessary.

The second time around I found that I got much more out of this book than I did at first read. If there was one thing I wish I could do, however, it is ask Coach Wilkinson to flesh out some of the lesser-detailed chapters. It is frustrating to find little information beneath the surface of some of the important aspects of offensive football, such as the use of offensive formations in your overall system.

I was extremely irritated with the lack of an index, but even more frustrated that many of the page numbers were missing! On top of that, when there were page numbers, they were scattered across the pages at random. For example, page 20 lists the page number in the upper left corner, but page 31 lists the page number at the bottom of the page in the middle in what looks to be a continuation of the last paragraph on the page. Then page 32 through 38 are not numbered at all. This made the book extremely difficult to navigate.

I was also disappointed that with all of the great offensive football knowledge possessed by Coach Wilkinson, the book contains nothing that could really be called a playbook. I really felt that the author tried to do too much, and ended up only barely accomplishing his major goal, which was to educate us all about football.

I give the book the following scores:

Readability: 4

The book was written on an easy to understand level with very few assumptions made about the reader's knowledge of football. Coach Wilkinson did an excellent job of describing things we already know without making us feel like were were being talked down to. The book was a quick read, taking about two hours to get through.

Usefulness: 3

Coach Wilkinson's drills are only of average usability. An example is the receiver drill he recommends that requires the coach to write a number on the end of the football. The receiver then calls the number out as he looks the ball into his hands.

In theory this sounds like a great idea, but in practice, this would be a pain to implement without a ton of footballs and a great deal of time. Other drills are more practical, and probably more effective.

Practicality: 4

Coach Wilkinson's practice planning is great, moving right along and not wasting much time at all, and his descriptions of various offenses and offensive plays are important if for no other reason than to help you understand the devices your opposition might use against you. I can't give the book five stars, though, because of the lack of an organized playbook, and some scattering of information throughout the pages.

Overall score: 3.6

I recommend this book to any coach who wants to expand his knowledge of offensive football. I think it will help you on both sides of the ball, because you're understanding of your opponents will be increased as well. It will help you organize your practices, and also aid in making sure that your players are in the right positions.

Give it a shot.

Good luck.

~D.