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Blood, Sweat & Chalk: How the Geniuses of Football Created America's Favorite Game
The modern game of football is filled with plays and formations with names like the Counter Trey, the Wildcat, the Zone Blitz and the Cover Two. They have become part of the sport's vernacular, and yet for many fans they remain just names, often confusing ones. To rectify that, Tim Layden has drilled deep into the core of the game to reveal not only how these chalkboard X's and O's really work on the field, but also where they came from and who dreamed them up. These playbook schemes, many of them illuminated by diagrams, bear the insignia of some of the game's great innovators, men like Vince Lombardi, Don Coryell, Tom Osborne, Bill Walsh, Tony Dungy and Buddy Ryan. But football has also been radically altered by the ingenious work of men with more obscure names, like Tiger Ellison, Emory Bellard and Mouse Davis. In Blood, Sweat and Chalk, Layden takes readers into the meeting rooms-and in some cases the living rooms-where the game's most significant ideas were hatched. He goes to the coaches and to the players who inspired them, and lets them tell their stories. In candid conversations with some of football's most intriguing characters, Layden provides a fascinating guide to the game, helping fans to better see the subtleties of America's favorite sport.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 3, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
June 6, 2012
Depressingly content-free. Too much time was spent on the history of the coaches who developed these systems, and not enough on the actual principles of the system. The coaching hierarchy is mildly interesting, but the reason I wanted to read this book was not to learn about coaching, but to enrich my understanding of strategic principles of football.
As an engaged football fan, I knew most of the limited playbook strategy discussion that was present, and even had a passing familiarity with a great many of the coaches. And I found the discussion pretty boring. I can't help but think that a more novice football fan would still find the book boring, but would also find it confusing. So who's the book for? The people who can follow the book already know the information, and the people who can't follow the book won't get through it.
Definitely skip this one.
As an engaged football fan, I knew most of the limited playbook strategy discussion that was present, and even had a passing familiarity with a great many of the coaches. And I found the discussion pretty boring. I can't help but think that a more novice football fan would still find the book boring, but would also find it confusing. So who's the book for? The people who can follow the book already know the information, and the people who can't follow the book won't get through it.
Definitely skip this one.
March 23, 2016
Detailed history of the evolution of both offensive and defensive American football.
February 12, 2019
a great compilation of vignettes about/cultural histories of football's offensive and defensive geniuses, though the emphasis is very much on the former and the work seems to weaken considerably by the end. a lot of this content was re-purposed from elsewhere, but it fits together well enough in the context of the book.
January 10, 2011
A look at the evolution of the football playbook. Layden looks at different coaches, and the innovations they created, borrow, stole. While the focus is primarily on the offensive side of the ball, he does spend some time looking some innovations on the defensive side.
I had two criticisms of the book--the first is that the organization seems a bit odd--it starts chronologically, but then jumps back and forth a bit. I suspect that's a limitation because so many of the innovations occurred concurrently, and are continuing to evolve. The other criticism is that I wanted more from the book--more descriptions of individual plays, more diagrams, more examples.
I had two criticisms of the book--the first is that the organization seems a bit odd--it starts chronologically, but then jumps back and forth a bit. I suspect that's a limitation because so many of the innovations occurred concurrently, and are continuing to evolve. The other criticism is that I wanted more from the book--more descriptions of individual plays, more diagrams, more examples.
October 18, 2012
I read this book to get excited for the coming football season. This book is really well written, fantastic stories that tell the history and development of the game of modern NFL football. For serious Football nerds.
October 14, 2017
Fantasy football sucks. It takes everything that is good and true and beautiful about the ultimate *team* sport and reduces it to stat-chasing for individual players. No matter what math you use, adding up Larry Fitzgerald's receiving yards and LeVeon Bell's rushing TD's makes no sense.
While I love rooting for the Packers, I decided a few years ago that I wasn't getting enough out of the time I spent following the team and watching the games. I was simply rooting for outcomes rather than understanding the sport. So I set out to learn some of the X's and O's. And it worked. I enjoy the game more now, and - even if the Packers lose - I feel like I haven't lost an afternoon.
Layden's book is a bit formulaic. Each chapter is organized around the story of one coach who made a particular innovation. But the formula is an effective one if you want to learn the strategy within a human context. Each chapter also opens with a classic play from the scheme in question, diagrammed like chalk on a chalkboard.
If you want to be an educated NFL fan, quit your fantasy leagues, subscribe to the MMQB podcast....and read this book.
If you don't care about pro football, then don't read this book.
While I love rooting for the Packers, I decided a few years ago that I wasn't getting enough out of the time I spent following the team and watching the games. I was simply rooting for outcomes rather than understanding the sport. So I set out to learn some of the X's and O's. And it worked. I enjoy the game more now, and - even if the Packers lose - I feel like I haven't lost an afternoon.
Layden's book is a bit formulaic. Each chapter is organized around the story of one coach who made a particular innovation. But the formula is an effective one if you want to learn the strategy within a human context. Each chapter also opens with a classic play from the scheme in question, diagrammed like chalk on a chalkboard.
If you want to be an educated NFL fan, quit your fantasy leagues, subscribe to the MMQB podcast....and read this book.
If you don't care about pro football, then don't read this book.
April 20, 2022
If you love football, then this is truly the book to go to. Whilst it won’t teach you how to coach, it will show you the century of groundwork that has been laid by coaches of different generations to get us to what we see every given Sunday.
The book can be a bit complex if you do not understand play art and occasionally play names. But Tim Layden plus the coaches in the book give as good an explanation as possible.
If you intend to read these book as an intro to coaching, then I recommend to read something else. If you’re reading this because you can’t get enough football, you’ll love it like I did.
The book can be a bit complex if you do not understand play art and occasionally play names. But Tim Layden plus the coaches in the book give as good an explanation as possible.
If you intend to read these book as an intro to coaching, then I recommend to read something else. If you’re reading this because you can’t get enough football, you’ll love it like I did.
August 3, 2020
An insightful book that details the history of certain concepts we see today. It's cool to hear the context behind some of the major terms we here today, but I think it could've been better if the author went in a little bit better of chronological order. For example, it would've been good to hear about how offenses or defenses built off of each other as time went along; instead, it felt like we were just jumping around history. It's also hard to sometimes visualize a lot of the plays so having images could've helped the readers more.
December 2, 2017
Fun book! Originally I got this book for my son but it was so interesting (and not really for nine year olds) that I read it myself. It is a history of all the major plays that shaped football. It has increased my love and respect for the game. And it proves the wisdom of Solomon again “there is nothing new under the sun.” Highly recommended
January 18, 2022
For it's over 100 years of existence, football has been ever evolving progressive sport. Tim does a fantastic job of illuminating this through the evolution of the Football playbook. From the Single Wing, Spread offense, Cover 2, Zone Blitz. He covers the history and development of each of these. Most read for any football fans.
March 23, 2019
This is a bit more ‘history’ of the plays rather than a ‘how-to’ coaches guide which is a little disappointing because I wanted a slightly better tactical understanding of the plays. A worthwhile read all the same.
February 1, 2023
Required fan reading
This was a fantastic book! I’ve watched football for decades without really understanding what I was seeing and hearing from the commentators. This book lined it out in a captivating and interesting read. Highly recommend!
This was a fantastic book! I’ve watched football for decades without really understanding what I was seeing and hearing from the commentators. This book lined it out in a captivating and interesting read. Highly recommend!
January 29, 2025
Painfully awful. I did not finish this book but I am finished with this book. I was hoping to gain insight on Football/ it’s essentially an educational piece of the pigskin taught in the most boring way.
November 11, 2025
Are you a football fan who wants to learn more about the tactics of the game? Read this book.
It's basically an explanation of all the great names in football history, and how/ why they are the great names in football history.
It's basically an explanation of all the great names in football history, and how/ why they are the great names in football history.
January 10, 2019
Simultaneously easy to read and filled with detail, Layden does a better job explaining the philosophies behind offensive and defensive schemes than most of my coaches ever did.
February 3, 2021
Great stuff for avid football fans. So man anecdotes about how so much of today's game came to be. From the WCO to O-Line blocking schemes. Easy read and highly recommended.
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November 7, 2021An interesting look at the development of several strategies in football.
August 23, 2022
Great book. After reading this, I feel like I have a much deeper understanding of many football plays.
September 13, 2022
This is a fantastic fan friendly read about the various types of offenses and defenses used in college and the NFL and how they evolved and affected the game.
November 4, 2022
Pretty dry but gives good high level of offensive and defensive philosophies through 2000s
December 15, 2024
The best football book that I have ever read that combines both in depth schematics and history
December 11, 2017
Friday night I finished reading “Blood, Sweat and Chalk” by Tim Layden (2010). I saw an advance article about it in Sports Illustrated and the book was also highly recommended by Peter King (a columnist with SI).
I was hoping for some insight into the game I grew-up loving – American Football. Not your usual personality piece so common today. Sorry, that’s EXACTLY what this book is and it offers almost nothing else. It’s basically a history of a number of main schemes without explaining the scheme, why it works, what it doesn’t work against and why it may be different from any other scheme. If you want to know about when a general idea (wishbone, split-t, I formation, etc) was thought up, and by whom, the book is barely adequate. If you want to know which coaches had direct influence on others (because they worked together on the same team), this is the book for you.
I found the writing dull (a surprise for Tim Layden, who is normally pretty good in SI); the scheme selection adequate; the scheme descriptions poor (at best); and, for me at least, fairly useless in terms of better understanding the game at any level Pop Warner, high school, college or professional. All in all, a major disappointment which I (stupidly) paid full price for.
I was hoping for some insight into the game I grew-up loving – American Football. Not your usual personality piece so common today. Sorry, that’s EXACTLY what this book is and it offers almost nothing else. It’s basically a history of a number of main schemes without explaining the scheme, why it works, what it doesn’t work against and why it may be different from any other scheme. If you want to know about when a general idea (wishbone, split-t, I formation, etc) was thought up, and by whom, the book is barely adequate. If you want to know which coaches had direct influence on others (because they worked together on the same team), this is the book for you.
I found the writing dull (a surprise for Tim Layden, who is normally pretty good in SI); the scheme selection adequate; the scheme descriptions poor (at best); and, for me at least, fairly useless in terms of better understanding the game at any level Pop Warner, high school, college or professional. All in all, a major disappointment which I (stupidly) paid full price for.
March 8, 2011
A really good book about predominate offenses and defenses in football history written in a good magazine style. It's a good, fast, educational read and I definitely recommend it to any football fan. I loved the easter egg dust cover: there's a diagram on the inside of the dust cover showing how all the famous coaches are connected to each other.
I do have a few criticisms. The author several times refers to someone by their last name only after having not referred to them recently in the current chapter, making for a few confusing points. There is no index. And for all it's excellent information still could have explained some things in more depth and dealt with some topics barely addressed or not addressed at all such as:
double wing
defenses with 5 lineman and the shift away from them in the NFL but their continued prevalence in lower levels of football
the big shift in the NFL from the 4-3 to the 3-4 in the late 70s then the big shift back to the 4-3 in the 90s
more variations of the 4-3 including Landry's Flex defense, the NT/UT vs even DT alignment, and the different LB alignments
I do have a few criticisms. The author several times refers to someone by their last name only after having not referred to them recently in the current chapter, making for a few confusing points. There is no index. And for all it's excellent information still could have explained some things in more depth and dealt with some topics barely addressed or not addressed at all such as:
double wing
defenses with 5 lineman and the shift away from them in the NFL but their continued prevalence in lower levels of football
the big shift in the NFL from the 4-3 to the 3-4 in the late 70s then the big shift back to the 4-3 in the 90s
more variations of the 4-3 including Landry's Flex defense, the NT/UT vs even DT alignment, and the different LB alignments
October 29, 2011
Tim Layden gets some things a little wrong and piles up name after name after name in bewildering mounds, but mostly gets things right in characterizing the nuances of football innovation. Unusually, he doesn't slight high school and small college innovators who brought us the 3-3-5 defense (adapted against the spread), hosts of single-wing (Wildcat) type attacks, spread offense, the veer-wishbone-triple option, zone blocking schemes (which Leyden doens't really do a particularly good job explaining), and more - all of which find their ways into the NFL.
I wish, however, that the book had had better x's-and-o's diagrams, that the paper edition reproduced "The Web of Coaches" diagram found on the inside jacket of the hardcover (the paper edition does, however, reproduce the reference to "see inside jacket for 'The Web of Coaches'"!), and that, with all the names and formations and recurring themes, interviewees, and innovators, that Layden or SI had taken the time to prepare an index - any index, even an inadequate one. Instead, nada.
Still, a useful volume that spreads deserved credit around in a business in which everyone is loath to take it.
I wish, however, that the book had had better x's-and-o's diagrams, that the paper edition reproduced "The Web of Coaches" diagram found on the inside jacket of the hardcover (the paper edition does, however, reproduce the reference to "see inside jacket for 'The Web of Coaches'"!), and that, with all the names and formations and recurring themes, interviewees, and innovators, that Layden or SI had taken the time to prepare an index - any index, even an inadequate one. Instead, nada.
Still, a useful volume that spreads deserved credit around in a business in which everyone is loath to take it.
August 20, 2019
Beginning with Pop Warner in the 1890's and the single wing, the author chronicles the evolution of football offensive (and a few defensive) strategies and formations through the decades. I began playing organized football and watching games with my dad in 1960 and have been an avid fan (my wife would say "sinfully avid") ever since. For this reason I was very familiar with most of the personalities, teams, games, and terms used in the book. But I still learned a lot and really enjoyed all the backstories about how the game has progressed. I can hardly wait for the season to begin again so I can be more observant about some of the things I've learned. The book only has two major drawbacks, the worst of which is no index in the back. With modern technology there is no excuse for books not to have a comprehensive index. If I need a quick reference while watching a game, navigating the content is going to be difficult. The book could also do with a lot more diagrams of plays. All in all, a GREAT book. I should give it 5 stars, but I don't want my wife to think I'm too much of a fanatic.
January 19, 2021
My brother gave me this book some years back (10?) having enjoyed reading it. Not sure if he remembered playing ball in the neighbors' adjoining yards (and many other yards around the 'hood) or if he recalled watching every Sunday early as a Packers fan and later as a lasting Steelers fan. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Taught me more about the relationships amongst coaches and teams that I only understand at a surface level with specific lineages: Paul Brown's, Vince Lombardi's specifically. Only this year, after some recent waning of interest, did I spend some time watching the season. Was it the Patriots' lack of success or the Dolphins' success that brought me back? Maybe a little of both. I am rooting for the Pack for my father, though he could not explain over the holidays why we had Chicago Bears ball caps when we were wee.
Read this a learn how history and time is a thread connecting the minds of coaches and that, like everything, we each stand on the shoulders of giants (just not necessarily the ones from NYC).
Read this a learn how history and time is a thread connecting the minds of coaches and that, like everything, we each stand on the shoulders of giants (just not necessarily the ones from NYC).
July 31, 2013
Really enjoyed this book. It gives brief "technical" overviews of the path breaking formations, but the more interesting part to me is the history about how and why each formation emerged. As a long-time football fan, I also enjoyed hearing players' and coaches' names that I hadn't thought about in a while. Learning more about the coaching culture was interesting. Everybody seems to copy everybody else ("NFL is a copy cat league"), but coaches seem to sharing willingly. At one point the book quotes Barry Switzer during his college years saying a team would beat you on Saturday then tell you how they did it on Sunday. There's also a story of Darrell Royal, the U Texas coach, sending his playbook for the successful wishbone offense to the coach at U Oklahoma "to help him keep his job." Highly recommended for even the casual football fan.
January 8, 2011
This was probably the most enjoyable technical football book possible. It's not a playbook and does a good job focusing on the people who developed a lot of the tactics and ideas behind the buzzwords you hear when football is covered. Chris Brown at smartfootball.com took issue with some of the explanations being incomplete and play diagrams being slightly off, but as someone who just wanted a deeper understand of the concepts and not to install any of these systems with the football teams I don't coach, it was perfect. Plus who doesn't love any and all references to the Coryell route tree and "Student Body Right."
August 23, 2010
For a casual-to-serious American football fan, this book gets into the nitty-gritty of some of the offensive and defensive formations that have changed the way the game was played. When I started the book, I thought I knew football pretty well, but I didn't understand the difference between a 46 defense and a Cover 2. (And I had no idea what an A-11 was.)
Now I know, and I was really entertained as I read this book. Layden has clearly done some exhaustive research, and the insights that many of the interviewees have are really outstanding. I think anyone who has ever wondered about football strategy would enjoy this book immensely.
Now I know, and I was really entertained as I read this book. Layden has clearly done some exhaustive research, and the insights that many of the interviewees have are really outstanding. I think anyone who has ever wondered about football strategy would enjoy this book immensely.
May 8, 2011
Book Review: Blood Sweat and Chalk - The key to Blood, Sweat and Chalk is that Tim Layden is a terrific storyteller. In his book, Tim explores the origins of various football plays and formations. If you've ever wondered about the Tampa Two or the Wishbone Tim shows not just what they are but where they came from and how they've evolved. Blood Sweat and Chalk goes behind the plays to make heroes out of desperate coaches with undersized teams who were forced to innovate. In the process it also provides an interesting look at coaches still calling the plays on Saturday and Sunday. Tim's storytelling style does a nice job of bringing the history of the game to life.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews