In order to see the future, we must first view the past. The second book by author Cody Alexander dives into the evolution of the modern defense. From Bill Arnsparger's hybrid 3-4 to the three-safety defenses found in the pass-happy Big 12, Alexander details the path taken to get to where we are today. One primary element in all modern defenses is the use of hybrid players and the move towards a more position-less game. Coach Alexander explains how modern defenses are taking from the past to recreate what we are seeing today on the field. Defensive football is under attack by the proliferation of the Spread offense through all levels of football. The NFL currently is under attack by young coordinators turning to Spread schemes to destroy NFL defenses. Alexander creates a pathway in which fan or coach can clearly see the evolution to where the game is today and gives suggestions on what the future might look like. One thing is clear, concepts and techniques much more important that rigid positions. The use of multiple fronts and pattern-matching coverages are the key to unlocking what future defenses might look like. Coach Alexander's latest book, Hybrids: The Making of a Modern Defense, illustrates the recycling of ideas and gives you the HOW and WHY many of the top defensive minds are choosing to coach defense.

From 1953 to 1959, professional football’s offensive and defensive tactics were in a transitional phase. As teams developed innovative strategies to attack the 5-2-4 defense, passing efficiency improved. In an attempt to counter this newfound passing success, the 4-3-4 defense evolved. This crucial shift in strategies is often overlooked in histories of the NFL, yet its impact on the game is still seen today. The Birth of Football’s Modern 4-3 Defense: The Seven Seasons That Changed the NFL chronicles this key development in professional football. In this comprehensive review and analysis, T. J. Troup provides a year-by-year breakdown of these seven seasons. Each team has a separate entry for every season that includes: The coaching staff Player personnel An analysis of the stats Summation of the team’s season Outlook for the following season As Troup compiled this detailed volume, he had unprecedented access to coaches and players from this era, as well as extensive game footage. Drawing upon these resources, Troup scrutinized each team’s success or failure and re-created the key game of the season for each team—bringing the action, intensity, and importance of the game to life. Including an exclusive interview with Joe Schmidt of the Detroit Lions, this book will entertain and inform all fans and historians of professional football, especially those interested in the early development of the modern defense.

Biographies of defensive linemen of professional ball, including the "Fearsome Foursome" of the Los Angeles Rams, "Purple People Eaters" of the Minnesota Vikings, and "Orange Crush" of the Denver Broncos.

Winning strategies from 90 top football coaches in the nation comprise this collection of knowledge and insights from many of the best defensive minds of the game. Illustrations.

A full football season of facts, history, and nostalgia, this book will tell you the date the record for passes attempted was broken (94 on 11/1/53) as well as the game in which a defensive tackle lined up as a tight end to make the only touchdown reception of his career (William Perry, Chicago Bears, 11/3/85), and much, much more.

"Considered the bible of scouting techniques" according to the Los Angeles Times, Football Scouting Methods explains the basic scouting strategies and insights of author Steve Belichick. He was widely viewed as the ablest football scout of his time and coached at the U.S. Naval Academy for 33 years; his son is New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a three-time Super Bowl winner. When Steve Belichick died in November 2005, the New York Times headline cited him as "Coach Who Wrote the Book on Scouting," and quoted Houston Texans General Manager Charley Casserly calling Football Scouting Methods "the best book on scouting he had ever read." Joe Bellino, Navy's Heisman Trophy winner in 1960, told the Times that Steve Belichick "was a genius. On Monday nights, he would give us his scouting reports, and even though we were playing powerhouses, I always felt we were prepared because he found a way for us to win." In recent years Football Scouting Methods has been one of the top ten most sought out-of-print books; used copies have been quite scarce. This reissue edition makes the original 1962 text available once again in exact facsimile. The book covers how to scout opponents, recognize defenses, analyze offenses, discover "tip-offs" that reveal the opponent's plays, compose a useful report, self-scout, and conduct postgame analysis. "Steve Belichick taught many younger men how to scout and how to watch film and how to prepare their teams for the next week's game," David Halberstam noted in the Washington Post, and his best student was his own son Bill Belichick, "one of whose greatest skills as a coach to this day remains his ability to analyze other teams, figuring out both their strengths and their vulnerabilities, and shrewdly deciding how to take away from them that which they most want to do." When CBS asked Bill Belichick to name his favorite book, he replied "Well, I've got to go with my dad's. Football Scouting Methods. I'd have to go with that."