Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The New Football Encyclopedia


Just a quick note about the second edition of the ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia. We're wrapping up our work on updates and have added a number of new features. One of those is a new chapter I've written on the evolution of football strategy, looking at how playing styles have changed over the past ninety years. From the single wing offense of the 1920s to the modern day Cover-2, I tried to cover all of the major systems that have been used, what innovations they offered, and how successful they ultimately were. Football isn't like any of the other major sports because the game has changed so much. In order to have a context for understanding the players and the teams of the past, I think you need to understand those changes.

I'll have future updates on other features and changes for the book. ESPN analyst and former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski is writing a foreword for this edition, and it looks like Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning will grace our cover. We're still in the final stages of making decisions about the content between the covers, but I'll keep you posted.