Football Outsiders Almanac 2009: The Essential Guide to the 2009 NFL and College Football Seasons

This is the third year in a row I have bought Football outsiders Almanac (formerly Football Prospectus), and these books just keep getting better and better. More stats, more look into fantasy projections (which have been a HUGE help to me this year), and a much more in-depth look into college football. Overall, a great read, that makes feel like a much more informed fan when watching football. Also, if you are a first time reader of these books, the Football Outsiders guys do a great job of explaining all of their stats, what they mean, and how they come about them. This gives you a great understanding of what they are trying to accomplish, and makes it easy for the reader to understand. Again, as always, a much read for all football fans that want to know more about the game.

This is the third consecutive edition I've purchased, and as always, it's informative and an excellent read. I particularly enjoyed some of the humour, and the content is solid as always. There doesn't appear to be quite as many research essays this year as in previous years, but they've added college football content. You really do need to spend the time to read about how they calculate their advanced statistics for much of the content to make sense, but this book really helped me get a deeper understanding of football and why certain players are effective. Unlike some books, the endorsements on the front and back covers are a true representation of how good this book is!

It would be a bold statement to suggest that insights from this book would help you understand football strategy better than even a professional NFL coach. That's exactly what this book can boast. For over a decade the researchers behind this book have collected stats with much finer detail than usually seen. Then, stats are analyzed contextually; did a team's offense gain yards against inferior defenses? Is a running-back's yards per carry low because he's involved in a disproportionate number of 3rd or 4th down runs, or goal-line runs? Using their statistical models, they evaluate every player in the NFL based on defense-adjusted and situational-adjusted stats, to provide a clearer picture of which individuals are exceptional. Often, the insights fly in the face of traditional dogma. And occasionally, even coaches are fighting the statistical evidence. While the FO Almanac is an excellent source for anyone interested in fantasy football, it provides a lot of other interesting and anecdotal information. Even casual fans who are not stat-heads or fantasy sports enthusiasts can enjoy it. Besides individual and team projections, there's a section on great quotes, brief essays on every team's prior year performance and current year's outlook, a summary of strategic misconceptions and truths, and a section on college football.

Formerly called the Football Prospectus, the Football Outsiders Almanac is the best annual guide for professional and college football. The college football coverage was added with the 2009 edition of the guide. This tome is especially valuable for a numbers junkie. It gives numerical values for almost every aspect of the game including offensive lines and defensive players. The book also has excellent narrative covering every NFL team, most position players, and the top college football teams. It is the probably the most expensive annual football guide, but it is worth every penny.

There might have been a name change but still great, I ordered the PDF version off the football outsider website but still great in the book form as I bought it the last 2 years. The explanations for all the teams are much more detailed this year, love it.