Appendix B — Printable PDFs

Each chapter is also available as its own PDF, with dense margins and no code, made for printing. Animations appear as frame strips (snapshots at chosen moments).

Foundations

• The Game in Fifteen Minutes
• Downs, Distance, and Field Position
• The Twenty-Two
• What a Play Really Is
• The Pre-Snap Phase
• How to Watch a Broadcast Like You Mean It

Personnel And Formations

• Personnel: Who’s on the Field Before Anything Else
• Formation Rules and the Language of Alignment
• Classic Formations: I, Power I, Pro Set, Singleback, and Their Ancestors
• Spread Formations: 2x2, Trips, Bunch, Empty, and the Condensed Revolution
• A First Look at Defense
• Motion and Shifts as Weapons

The Run Game

• The Language of the Run Game: Gaps, Techniques, and Blocks
• Zone Running: Inside Zone, Outside Zone, Split Zone, and the Cutback
• Gap Schemes: Power, Counter, Duo, Trap, Wham, Iso, and the Draw
• Option Football: Reading Defenders Instead of Blocking Them
• Perimeter Runs and Misdirection: Jet Sweeps, Reverses, and the Wing-T’s Children

The Passing Game

• Passing Game Fundamentals: Routes, Timing, and Reads
• Pass Protection: Slides, Man Schemes, and Who Blocks the Extra Guy
• The Quick Game: Slant-Flat, Stick, Snag, Quick Screens, and Beating Press
• Dropback Concepts: Smash, Flood, Mesh, Levels, Dagger, and Four Verticals
• Play-Action, Bootlegs, and Screens
• Run-Pass Options: Plays That Are Two Plays
• Quarterback Play: Progressions, the Pocket, and Off-Script Football
• Offensive Systems and Play-Calling Languages

Defensive Fronts And Run Defense

• Defensive Line Play: Techniques, One-Gap and Two-Gap
• Even Fronts: 4-3 Over, Under, Wide-9, and the 46 Bear
• Odd and Hybrid Fronts: 3-4, Okie, Tite, and Modern Nickel Fronts
• Linebackers: Keys, Flow, Tackling, and the Hardest Job on the Field
• Run Fits: Gap Integrity, Force, Spill, and Box Math

Pass Coverage

• Coverage Fundamentals: Zones, Leverage, and Reading the Shell
• Man Coverage: Cover 0, Cover 1, Robbers, and Brackets
• Cover 3: Sky, Buzz, Cloud, and Seattle’s Match Version
• Cover 2 and Tampa 2
• Quarters and the Two-High Match Family: Cover 4, Cover 6, Palms
• Disguise, Rotation, and Split-Field Coverage

Pressure

• The Pass Rush: Moves, Stunts, and Why Pressure Beats Sacks
• Blitzing: Numbers, Overloads, A-Gap Mugs, and Cover 0
• Zone Blitzes, Fire Zones, and Simulated Pressure

The Chess Match

• What Beats What: Reading Coverage and Pass Concepts Versus Coverages
• Constraint Theory: How Plays Talk to Each Other
• The Game Plan: A Week Inside an NFL Building
• In-Game Adjustments, Tempo, and the Sideline Battle

Special Teams And The Rules That Shape Strategy

• Field Goals, Extra Points, and the Punting Game
• Kickoffs, Returns, and the Dynamic Kickoff
• Contact Rules and Penalties as Strategy
• Officiating, Replay, and the Rules of the Ball

Situational Football

• Early Downs and Field Zones: How Situation Shapes the Call
• Third Down: The Money Down
• Red Zone, Goal Line, Two-Point Plays, and Short Yardage (Including the Tush Push)
• The Clock, the Two-Minute Drill, and Fourth Down

History

• From the Single Wing to the 1970s Scoring Drought (1906–1977)
• 1978 and the Passing Revolution (1978–1999)
• The College Laboratory: Wing-T, Wishbone, Air Raid, Spread Option, and the RPO
• Dynasties and Counterpunches (2000-2016)
• The Modern Era: McVay, Mahomes, Two-High, and the Under-Center Comeback (2017-2025)

Case Studies

• Case Study: Bill Walsh’s 49ers and the West Coast Offense
• Case Study: Belichick and Game-Plan Football
• Case Study: The Shanahan Tree
• Case Study: Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs
• Case Study: The Ravens’ Option Run Game with Lamar Jackson (2019–2025)
• Case Study: The Eagles — Trenches, RPOs, and the Tush Push
• Case Study: The Lions — Ben Johnson’s Offense and Dan Campbell’s Aggression
• Case Study: Fangio’s Two-High Revolution and Macdonald’s Answer

Analytics And Data

• Working with nflverse Data in Python
• Expected Points, EPA, and Success Rate: The Model, the Noise, and the Broadcast Metrics
• Win Probability and Decision Analysis: Fourth Downs, Two-Pointers, Timeouts
• Tendencies: PROE, Personnel, Motion, and Coverage from Charting Data
• Tracking Data and the Big Data Bowl

The Business Of Scheme

• Building a Roster: Positional Value, the Cap, Free Agency, and the Draft
• Scheme and Fantasy: Reading Usage, Not Box Scores

Capstone

• Watching Live: The Master Checklist and Anticipation
• Film Study: All-22, Charting a Game, and Scoring Yourself