You aren't reading this book to learn about clock management best practices or the finer points of keeping a team out of field goal range. So I won't go too deeply into those kinds of specifics.
...actually, Bill--that's exactly why I'm reading this! Why would I want white-collar slop!?
Revelation: textbook on coaching full of technicalities but constantly interspersed with illustrated anecdotes from real NFL games, written by a household name in coaching. Despite their being so much money in knowing the secrets of NFL coaching, the author lets loose, because they're retired and want future generations to enjoy great football.
ReplyDeleteAlso, textbook on pocket passing, by Peyton Manning
I think Bill's motivation is very much:
DeleteHow can I share my successful habits so you (any old schmuck) can adopt them?
He could have done that while maintaining the technical veneer. Like if he strictly describes his role as leader of a football team, and what that entails. And similarly for others who are part of team: staff and players. While he does do this, it is interspersed with cubicle aphorisms that add nothing and literally repeat the concept he described in football context in a middle-school-how-can-I-apply-this-to-my-life way.
The book also has no structure. It's a sequence of and-thens.
And it doesn't go into the level of detail I wanted. I don't think I want play diagrams. But there should be a chapter on how to tackle. Describe situations, scenario types (Big guy tackles little guy, vice versa). It also could've been great if it went over specific defensive schemes used in X era, then how they fell out of favor, and which new schemes replaced them--stuff like that.
A lot of my complaints are "I wish this book was X not Y," which is partly on me, I admit. But my other problem with the book is just that it sucks. There's a scenario where it didn't go into the technical stuff like I wanted, but it found something else interesting to develop (literally anything).
A Manning book could be interesting. I liked watching the ManningCast, but ended up quitting because they'd always bring on a 3rd person to destroy Eli and Peyton's chemistry. Only rarely would the 3rd person add something (e.g. Favre).