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One Knee Equals Two Feet
Explains the game of football, position, from the fundamentals to the fine points
263 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 12, 1986
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118 people want to read
About the author
John Madden
71 books13 followersThere is more than one author with this name in the database. Not all books may belong to the same person.
John Madden was a former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts. He won the Super Bowl with the Raiders in 1977. In 2006, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his coaching career. He is also widely known for the long-running Madden NFL video game series he endorsed and fronted since 1988.
John Madden was a former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts. He won the Super Bowl with the Raiders in 1977. In 2006, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his coaching career. He is also widely known for the long-running Madden NFL video game series he endorsed and fronted since 1988.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 6, 2018
Boom. Speed kills. How about Brett Favre? For those of you youngsters who don’t know, John Madden isn’t just some fat old guy with his name on a video game. If you’re my age, you remember him most not for Sunday Night Football alongside Al Michaels on NBC, but beside Pat Summerall on Fox. Older football fans remember the dynamic duo on CBS. They also remember the days before he stepped into the broadcast booth to clutch a microphone in his ham fist like a turkey leg. He roamed the sidelines as the Oakland Raiders head coach for 10 seasons when the Raiders were the collective “bad boys” of the NFL. He kept them under control to win Super Bowl XI. The man knows football, and in 1986’s One Knee Equals Two Feet (And Everything Else You Need to Know About Football), he tries to impart some of his knowledge...
To read the rest of this review go to https://drewmartinwrites.wordpress.co...
To read the rest of this review go to https://drewmartinwrites.wordpress.co...
December 3, 2012
John Madden is no fan of my beloved Broncos (being a Raider for 10 years will do that to you), but I have always found him so very amusing. I remember watching a Thanksgiving game he was announcing and they had a turkey in the studio -- it had 6 legs. He circled each leg and counted them for the audience....it was just very funny.
As I do love watching football but am not really knowledgeable in it at all, I thought I would read this book when I ran across it at the library book sale.
Not sure this is "everything you need to know about football" -- I suppose if you had a good understanding already (like what the positions are and where they line up on the field) this might be good. I would have liked more drawings (John Madden?? The king of drawing on the screen doesn't have any pictures of the line up??) Anyway, that being said -- I did enjoy reading about some of the heroes from the 70's and 80's. Would love to hear what he has to say about the stars of today.
As I do love watching football but am not really knowledgeable in it at all, I thought I would read this book when I ran across it at the library book sale.
Not sure this is "everything you need to know about football" -- I suppose if you had a good understanding already (like what the positions are and where they line up on the field) this might be good. I would have liked more drawings (John Madden?? The king of drawing on the screen doesn't have any pictures of the line up??) Anyway, that being said -- I did enjoy reading about some of the heroes from the 70's and 80's. Would love to hear what he has to say about the stars of today.
August 22, 2012
This book was an awesome read! My friend found it in a pile of trash and gave it to me as a joke, since I have no interest in sports. But I read the whole thing, and found it very accessible. Best of all, it has made football more watchable.
February 23, 2023
A wonderful look back at what the world of NFL football was like in the mid 1980s. Coach Madden shares stories of his favorite players, coaches, and teams as he breaks down each position group with each chapter. Hardcore football fans will love this book, especially those who grew up listening to John Madden in the broadcast booth. Casual and non-football fans might have a bit lost in translation here and there, but Coach Madden’s personality shines through each anecdote and life lesson enough to keep anyone interested.
One of the more interesting aspects of this work is how similar most of Madden’s gripes and observations with the NFL are still talked about today. Sections where he mentions how the league favors offense too much, how those offenses are too pass heavy, and how players are becoming specialists instead of being talented all-around read like they were written within the last couple years, not in the 1980’s.
It’s a must-read for any John Madden fan and a great addition to the shelves of any sports fan out there.
One of the more interesting aspects of this work is how similar most of Madden’s gripes and observations with the NFL are still talked about today. Sections where he mentions how the league favors offense too much, how those offenses are too pass heavy, and how players are becoming specialists instead of being talented all-around read like they were written within the last couple years, not in the 1980’s.
It’s a must-read for any John Madden fan and a great addition to the shelves of any sports fan out there.
November 15, 2023
I haven't read John Madden's other books. I didn't watch him coach the Raiders. I didn't listen to him announcing games. All of that was before my time (I'm a youngin, and started watching football later in life to boot). But I know who John Madden is, and I know the impact he has made to football. And how quotable he was.
And this book really solidifies all of that. The book explores a lot of complex topics about football and manages to simplify it enough for a casual fan to enjoy. And it is surprising how much of the book is still relevant to the game today. Yes, there is less of an emphasis on the run game, more on speed, and who even knows what a full back is anymore. But a lot of the concepts, especially defensively, is still pretty spot on.
Not to mention how much he humanizes the players. And while I can't fully appreciate that aspect of the book, since all I know of the players he talks about are watching highlights of them, its not too far of a stretch to see similarities between the players he talks about and the players now.
And this book really solidifies all of that. The book explores a lot of complex topics about football and manages to simplify it enough for a casual fan to enjoy. And it is surprising how much of the book is still relevant to the game today. Yes, there is less of an emphasis on the run game, more on speed, and who even knows what a full back is anymore. But a lot of the concepts, especially defensively, is still pretty spot on.
Not to mention how much he humanizes the players. And while I can't fully appreciate that aspect of the book, since all I know of the players he talks about are watching highlights of them, its not too far of a stretch to see similarities between the players he talks about and the players now.
October 11, 2022
I read this as someone with no intrinsic interest in football hoping that I would be able to get a different sort of takeaway, but it left me as unmoved as I am when I normally look blankly over the gray nothingness of the sports pages. Mainly it seemed every so often Madden informs that a good football prospect is a guy with a big butt. Okay. Perhaps someday in a life-and-death situation, that intel will be the key to my survival: guy with a big butt = good football potential. Otherwise I am afraid I have no memories of reading it. Perhaps I should give it another try. Or maybe I'm just not hip (see the pun there?)
May 7, 2019
There wasn't as many interesting stories as Hey wait a minute, I wrote a book and I noticed some repetition from that book as well. But overall still enjoyed it and I'm going to read the next book as well. Some very good knowledge for an aspiring football coach.
January 13, 2022
Skip the last chapter, the rest is awesome
January 15, 2026
I give it 5 stars because my Grandmother gave it to me as a gift. A pretty good book too. Feels like Madden is speaking when you read it.
January 9, 2012
This book by John Madden is really more about the sport of history than about John Madden. He tries to break down each of the positions and explain what each one does, some strategy about the kind of guy you need to play the position, and then chooses his 'best of all time' at the position.
I've only been following football much in the last few years, and now that I root for one team and can put a face to a position, I've started to make more sense of the game. But there's still stuff I just don't SEE when I watch the game, or jargon that I've never been able to follow. This book makes more sense of some of my confusion while listening to commentators. In particular I appreciated the explanation of 3:4, 4:3, nickel, dime defenses, etc. These are terms I'd heard, but never had a clue what they meant or when a particular one would be relevant. I still couldn't tell you when they're using one versus another on the field, but I at least know what the announcers mean when they do. I also learned more about what audibles are, and how the snap count works. I'm sure anyone who knows much about football thinks I'm an idiot, but I'm happy to have learned more about the sport I'm watching.
The book is obviously quite dated, the players Madden gushes over are long gone and to a non-football nut, mostly unfamiliar. Some of the rule changes Madden suggests have been made in recent years, and there are other tidbits I remember reading and thinking 'wait, what?' only to figure out that things have changed in the almost 30 years since this was written.
But I still found the book enjoyable, Madden is able to make a book about football as much about the people and players he's known and put the "face" on football that I need to make sense of it.
I've only been following football much in the last few years, and now that I root for one team and can put a face to a position, I've started to make more sense of the game. But there's still stuff I just don't SEE when I watch the game, or jargon that I've never been able to follow. This book makes more sense of some of my confusion while listening to commentators. In particular I appreciated the explanation of 3:4, 4:3, nickel, dime defenses, etc. These are terms I'd heard, but never had a clue what they meant or when a particular one would be relevant. I still couldn't tell you when they're using one versus another on the field, but I at least know what the announcers mean when they do. I also learned more about what audibles are, and how the snap count works. I'm sure anyone who knows much about football thinks I'm an idiot, but I'm happy to have learned more about the sport I'm watching.
The book is obviously quite dated, the players Madden gushes over are long gone and to a non-football nut, mostly unfamiliar. Some of the rule changes Madden suggests have been made in recent years, and there are other tidbits I remember reading and thinking 'wait, what?' only to figure out that things have changed in the almost 30 years since this was written.
But I still found the book enjoyable, Madden is able to make a book about football as much about the people and players he's known and put the "face" on football that I need to make sense of it.
July 30, 2016
Once again, the average rating on Good Reads is spot-on. I upgraded to 4 stars because the last couple of chapters were so good, where he talks about his style of coaching. I was fascinated because Leadership in general is so fabulously interesting--what works, what doesn't, personality of the Leader.
Most of this book, however, was like panning for gold, an occasional nugget with a whole lot of silt and water to sift through. Rambling, laundry lists of names of 1980's Football players, tangents.
Suffice it to say that I liked the book and would like to read Madden's first book someday, and my husband was so excited about my comments as I read this one that he is now reading it.
Do NOT read this book if you don't love American Football.
Most of this book, however, was like panning for gold, an occasional nugget with a whole lot of silt and water to sift through. Rambling, laundry lists of names of 1980's Football players, tangents.
Suffice it to say that I liked the book and would like to read Madden's first book someday, and my husband was so excited about my comments as I read this one that he is now reading it.
Do NOT read this book if you don't love American Football.
May 7, 2011
A quote on the back of this book says "Spectacular! It reads like Madden speaks!" I certainly agree with one part of that quote.
The writing in this book would earn an A in my Freshman writing class, but if you have read any Freshman english papers lately, you might recognize this as the famed 'faint praise' with which snarky folks 'damn.' Even so, if you're a football fan, you'd probably like this book.
The writing in this book would earn an A in my Freshman writing class, but if you have read any Freshman english papers lately, you might recognize this as the famed 'faint praise' with which snarky folks 'damn.' Even so, if you're a football fan, you'd probably like this book.
January 21, 2013
I enjoyed listening to John Madden as an announcer, and the writing style is basically in the same voice. I like the fact that he only talks about players he either coached against or has seen a few times as an announcer, even if that does mean some of the greats of his time are left unmentioned in the book.
I think I like Frank Caliendo's John Madden even more than the real thing.
I think I like Frank Caliendo's John Madden even more than the real thing.
Want to read
June 22, 2009i hope to learn the fundamentals to football and basic life style of john madden himself
May 15, 2013
Great book that shows the reasons to love American Football. Insightful
January 5, 2014
Madden before he became a one man industry. Almost as good as The Thinking Man's Guide To Pro Football.
April 17, 2014
As much as I love reading Madden on football, there are a lot of repeated anecdotes here from earlier books. Hence the average rating.
September 30, 2008
Everybody has an opinion. I expected more.
May 23, 2011
A fun book for football fans of old.....
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews