Download or read book Football Done Right written by Michael Lombardi and published by Running Press Adult. This book was released on 2023-09-05 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Former NFL general manager and three-time Super Bowl winner Michael Lombardi takes readers on the ultimate journey through the NFL's history to present his calls on the greatest players and coaches the sport has ever seen. From Monday Night Football to Super Bowl Sunday, the NFL is a dominating force in the lives of millions of fans who tune in and passionately cheer for their favorite teams. And when the games are over, the conversation is just getting started. Who's the greatest player of all time? Which coaches truly shaped the game we known and love today? What was the most unforgettable game? Why is professional football such an undeniable part of our culture? Three-time Super Bowl winner Michael Lombardi has done it all—from scout to executive to coach—and now he sets the record straight on these questions and more. With Football Done Right, Lombardi tackles all aspects of the sport, discussing the best of the best. He channels his 35+ years of experience with the NFL into an all-encompassing celebration of the game. More than just ranking the giants of the league, Lombardi shows how and why each affected the game. Mixing first-person, in-the-locker-room experience with little known history and hard stats, Lombardi makes a definitive case for the most influential coaches and the best players, and also offers an insider look to how drafts and trades operate behind the scenes and honoring the sportscasters who played an essential role in popularizing the sport. Both a full history of the sport and a comprehensive re-imagining of the Football Hall of Fame to honor every deserving athlete and coach, Football Done Right will change the way you watch, discuss, and debate the gridiron.
Download or read book Gridiron Genius written by Michael Lombardi and published by Crown. This book was released on 2018-09-11 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Former NFL general manager and three-time Super Bowl winner Michael Lombardi reveals what makes football organizations tick at the championship level. From personnel to practice to game-day decisions that win titles, Lombardi shares what he learned working with coaching legends Bill Walsh of the 49ers, Al Davis of the Raiders, and Bill Belichick of the Patriots, among others, during his three decades in football. Why do some NFL franchises dominate year after year while others can never crack the code of success? For 30 years Michael Lombardi had a front-row seat and full access as three titans--Bill Walsh, Al Davis, and Bill Belichick--reinvented the game, turning it into a national obsession while piling up Super Bowl trophies. Now, in Gridiron Genius, Lombardi provides the blueprint that makes a successful organization click and win--and the mistakes unsuccessful organizations make that keep them on the losing side time and again. In reality, very few coaches understand the philosophies, attention to detail, and massive commitment that defined NFL juggernauts like the 49ers and the Patriots. The best organizations are not just employing players, they are building something bigger. Gridiron Genius will explain how the best leaders evaluate, acquire, and utilize personnel in ways other professional minds, football and otherwise, won't even contemplate. How do you know when to trade a player? How do you create a positive atmosphere when everyone is out to maximize his own paycheck? And why is the tight end like the knight on a chessboard? To some, game planning consists only of designing an attack for the next opponent. But Lombardi explains how the smartest leaders script everything: from an afternoon's special-teams practice to a season's playoff run to a decade-long organizational blueprint. Readers will delight in the Lombardi tour of an NFL weekend, including what really goes on during the game on and off the field and inside the headset. First stop: Belichick's Saturday night staff meeting, where he announces how the game will go the next day. Spoiler alert: He always nails it. Football dynasties are built through massive attention to detail and unwavering commitment. From how to build a team, to how to watch a game, to understanding the essential qualities of great leaders, Gridiron Genius gives football fans the knowledge to be the smartest person in the room every Sunday.
Download or read book Under Pressure written by Ray Lucas and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2014-09-01 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Under Pressure, Ray Lucas provides fans with a timely, uncensored look at pro football's play-at-all-costs culture. Overcoming questions about his size and skills as a quarterback, Lucas persevered and went on to play seven seasons in the NFL. His professional football career, however, came to a sudden end at age 30, when a neck injury caused him to collapse on the sideline during training camp. Instructed by NFL doctors that surgery wasn't an option, Lucas turned to painkillers for relief, but as his tolerance for medication escalated and his NFL insurance coverage expired, he began to plan his suicide. Just days before he planned to take his life, Lucas was put in touch with a group of doctors who agreed to perform neck surgery free of charge. In this tell-all, Lucas shares how—in a league without guaranteed contracts and careers that average just a few seasons long—players in the training room are perceived to lack the toughness necessary to succeed on the field. He discusses how this prevailing attitude leads to widespread abuse of painkillers and leaves many former players unable to lead a normal life once their playing career ends while also sharing details on how he overcame his drug addiction and turned his own life around.
Download or read book When Football was Football written by Joe Ziemba and published by Triumph Books (IL). This book was released on 1999 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique, entertaining look at the early days of football and one of its proudest franchises. When Football was Football captures an era in sports history and brings to life its personalities, rivalries, triumphs, and tragedies.
Download or read book Advancing the Ball written by N. Jeremi Duru and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-01-07 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following the NFL's desegregation in 1946, opportunities became increasingly plentiful for African American players--but not African American coaches. Although Major League Baseball and the NBA made progress in this regard over the years, the NFL's head coaches were almost exclusively white up until the mid-1990s. Advancing the Ball chronicles the campaign of former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman John Wooten to right this wrong and undo decades of discriminatory head coach hiring practices--an initiative that finally bore fruit when he joined forces with attorneys Cyrus Mehri and Johnnie Cochran. Together with a few allies, the triumvirate galvanized the NFL's African American assistant coaches to stand together for equal opportunity and convinced the league to enact the "Rooney Rule," which stipulates that every team must interview at least one minority candidate when searching for a new head coach. In doing so, they spurred a movement that would substantially impact the NFL and, potentially, the nation. Featuring an impassioned foreword by Coach Tony Dungy, Advancing the Ball offers an eye-opening, first-hand look at how a few committed individuals initiated a sea change in America's most popular sport and added an extraordinary new chapter to the civil rights story.
Download or read book Building a Champion written by Bill Walsh and published by St Martins Press. This book was released on 1991-10 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The celebrated coach shares his philosophy of football, profiles players he has coached, and recounts key moments in his career
Download or read book Football Genius with Bonus Material written by Tim Green and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-08-09 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For a limited time, the "New York Times" bestselling "Football Genius" by former NFL star player Tim Green is available for FREE. This special promo ebook includes an excerpt of "Deep Zone," the companion to "Football Genius, " as well as excerpts of "Football Hero, Football Champ, " and "The Big Time" as well as each of the Baseball Great novels ("Baseball Great, Rivals," and" Best of the Best"). In addition, Tim has written a piece exclusively for the promo ebook about his first game in the NFL; it's not to be missed! Troy White can predict any football play before it happens. And when his single mom gets a job with the Atlanta Falcons, Troy knows it's his big chance to help them out of their slump--and finally prove his football genius. But unless Troy can convince star linebacker Seth Halloway that he's telling the truth, the Falcons' championship--and Troy's mom's job--are in serious jeopardy.
Download or read book The Real All Americans written by Sally Jenkins and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2007-05-08 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sally Jenkins, bestselling co-author of It's Not About the Bike, revives a forgotten piece of history in The Real All Americans. In doing so, she has crafted a truly inspirational story about a Native American football team that is as much about football as Lance Armstrong's book was about a bike. If you’d guess that Yale or Harvard ruled the college gridiron in 1911 and 1912, you’d be wrong. The most popular team belonged to an institution called the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Its story begins with Lt. Col. Richard Henry Pratt, a fierce abolitionist who believed that Native Americans deserved a place in American society. In 1879, Pratt made a treacherous journey to the Dakota Territory to recruit Carlisle’s first students. Years later, three students approached Pratt with the notion of forming a football team. Pratt liked the idea, and in less than twenty years the Carlisle football team was defeating their Ivy League opponents and in the process changing the way the game was played. Sally Jenkins gives this story of unlikely champions a breathtaking immediacy. We see the legendary Jim Thorpe kicking a winning field goal, watch an injured Dwight D. Eisenhower limping off the field, and follow the glorious rise of Coach Glenn “Pop” Warner as well as his unexpected fall from grace. The Real All Americans is about the end of a culture and the birth of a game that has thrilled Americans for generations. It is an inspiring reminder of the extraordinary things that can be achieved when we set aside our differences and embrace a common purpose.
Download or read book Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2 0 written by Pat Kirwan and published by Triumph Books. This book was released on 2015-09-15 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Renowned NFL analysts' tips to make football more accessible, colorful, and compelling than ever before More and more football fans are watching the NFL each week, but many of them don't know exactly what they should be watching. What does the offense's formation tell you about the play that's about to be run? When a quarterback throws a pass toward the sideline and the wide receiver cuts inside, which player is to blame? Why does a defensive end look like a Hall of Famer one week and a candidate for the practice squad the next? These questions and more are addressed in Take Your Eye Off the Ball 2.0, a book that takes readers deep inside the perpetual chess match between offense and defense. This book provides clear and simple explanations to the intricacies and nuances that affect the outcomes of every NFL game. This updated edition contains recent innovations from the 2015 NFL season.
Download or read book Paper Lion written by George Plimpton and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2016-04-26 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book that made a legend -- and captures America's sport in detail that's never been matched, featuring a foreword by Nicholas Dawidoff and never-before-seen content from the Plimpton Archives. George Plimpton was perhaps best known for Paper Lion, the book that set the bar for participatory sports journalism. With his characteristic wit, Plimpton recounts his experiences in talking his way into training camp with the Detroit Lions, practicing with the team, and taking snaps behind center. His breezy style captures the pressures and tensions rookies confront, the hijinks that pervade when sixty high-strung guys live together in close quarters, and a host of football rites and rituals. One of the funniest and most insightful books ever written on football, Paper Lion is a classic look at the gridiron game and a book The Wall Street Journal calls "a continuous feast...The best book ever about football -- or anything!"
Download or read book Turning the Thing Around written by Jimmy Johnson and published by Hyperion. This book was released on 1994-10-01 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the subhead An NCAA Championship and Two Super Bowl Wins--Now Will You Leave Me Alone Jimmy Johnson's outspoken football autobiography has been revised and updated to include the 1993-94 season. The ultimate insider's look at football--from one of the true masters of the sport. 16-page photo insert.
Download or read book The Perfect Pass written by S. C. Gwynne and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-09-20 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An “excellent sports history” (Publishers Weekly) in the tradition of Michael Lewis’s Moneyball, award-winning historian S.C. Gwynne tells the incredible story of how two unknown coaches revolutionized American football at every level, from high school to the NFL. Hal Mumme spent fourteen mostly losing seasons coaching football before inventing a potent passing offense that would soon shock players, delight fans, and terrify opposing coaches. It all began at a tiny, overlooked college called Iowa Wesleyan, where Mumme was head coach and Mike Leach, a lawyer who had never played college football, was hired as his offensive line coach. In the cornfields of Iowa these two mad inventors, drawn together by a shared disregard for conventionalism and a love for Jimmy Buffett, began to engineer the purest, most extreme passing game in the 145-year history of football. Implementing their “Air Raid” offense, their teams—at Iowa Wesleyan and later at Valdosta State and the University of Kentucky—played blazingly fast—faster than any team ever had before, and they routinely beat teams with far more talented athletes. And Mumme and Leach did it all without even a playbook. “A superb treat for all gridiron fans” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), The Perfect Pass S.C. Gwynne explores Mumme’s leading role in changing football from a run-dominated sport to a pass-dominated one, the game that tens of millions of Americans now watch every fall weekend. Whether you’re a casual or ravenous football fan, this is “a rousing tale of innovation” (Booklist), and “Gwynne’s book ably relates the story of that innovation and the successes of the man who devised it” (New York Journal of Books).
Download or read book Mind of the Demon written by Larry Linkogle and published by Running Press. This book was released on 2013-06-25 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Larry Linkogle was a child-prodigy motocross racer who turned pro at age 15. A daredevil and rebel from the start, he quit the sport in spectacular fashion during a major national event and went home to create a new extreme sport—Freestyle Motocross (FMX)—marked by high-flying stunts and death-defying action. From there, the ride just got wilder. On a lark, he and a friend created The Metal Mulisha—now a top brand in FMX—and he was on a fast track to the good life. But after a near-fatal accident, “Link”made a series of decisions that almost finished him off for good—getting involved in prescription drugs, drug and gun running, underground fistfighting, and other behavior that compromised his health, his relationships, and his career. After hitting rock bottom and experiencing a moment of clarity, Link began to turn things around, salvaging and strengthening the things that mattered most. Now an icon to millions of extreme sports fans, Link is well on the road to a happy ending.
Download or read book The New Thinking Man s Guide to Professional Football written by Paul Zimmerman and published by Echo Point Books & Media, LLC. This book was released on 2018-12-11 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During his nearly 30 years at Sports Illustrated, Paul Zimmerman—known to readers as “Dr. Z”—rose to fame as one of the top writers in football history. The follow up to Zimmerman’s 1971 classic The Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football, The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football builds on the timeless insights of his original work. Filled with personal anecdotes from Zimmerman’s years covering football, this book offers a fascinating insight into the sport that will appeal to any fan that wants a deeper understanding and appreciation for the game. More than a generation later, Zimmerman’s work is as applicable today as when the updated edition came out in the late 1980s. This widely-acclaimed guide covers: Positions Tactics Football scouting Broadcasting Minor leagues Time strategies Great players and top moments
Download or read book The King of Sports written by Gregg Easterbrook and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2013-09-24 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Gregg Easterbrook is one of the country's best-known football commentators, having analyzed football on-air for ESPN and the NFL Network. MSNBC calls his ESPN blog "the best and most compelling football column anywhere." The King of Sports takes an expansive look at our biggest sport. Easterbrook explores these and many other topics: The real harm done by concussions (It's not to NFL players) The real way in which college football players are exploited (It's not by not being paid) The reason football helps American colleges to be great institutions (It's not bowl revenue.) The way football has aided the revival of American cities (It's not Super Bowl trophies) The hidden scandal of the NFL (You'll have to read the book) Using his year-long exclusive insider access to the Virginia Tech football program, where Frank Beamer has compiled the most victories of any active NFL or college head coach, Easterbrook shows how VT does things right. Then he reports on all the things wrong with football and moves to examples of how the sport can be reformed to keep it just as popular and exciting, but not as notorious. Rich with reporting details from interviews with current and former college and pro football players and coaches. The King of Sports promises to be the most provocative and best-read sports book of the year"--
Download or read book My Football Book written by Gail Gibbons and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2000-08-22 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Football is fun--let's play! Find all the basics in this lively guide. The markings on a football field What football players wear The positions, from quarterback to wide receiver The excitement of the kickoff The thrill of scoring a touchdown All these and more are included with a useful glossary at the end.
Download or read book Underdogs written by Zach Berman and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2018-10-30 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following a season with incredible highs and heartbreaking lows, the Philadelphia Eagles went on to do what fans had all but written off as impossible: for the first time in the franchise's history, Philly won a Super Bowl. Philadelphia Inquirer Eagles beat reporter Zach Berman takes fans on a journey through the action-packed season -- from the preseason and midseason player pickups that shaped a championship team to the gut-wrenching injury of star quarterback Carson Wentz through to the bold play calling and nail-biting moments in Super Bowl LII, in which the Eagles bested the favored-to-win New England Patriots. A book unique in its scope and insight thanks to Berman's on-the-ground reporting, Underdogs will detail the unlikely story that captured national attention; explain how the team resonated among a desperate fan base that waited 57 years for a championship; and even delve into the players' social activism during a particularly political NFL season. With a foreword by beloved Philadelphia radio announcer Merrill Reese and an 8-page full-color photo insert, it's the perfect keepsake item for anyone who bleeds green. During his six years covering the Birds, Berman has developed relationships with some of the most notable characters that led the team to Super Bowl victory. In Underdogs, he'll explain why Nick Foles contemplated retirement on his way to winning Super Bowl MVP. He'll detail Howie Roseman's journey to NFL executive of the year after being cast aside by former coach Chip Kelly. He'll show Malcolm Jenkins' journey to team captain, how Chris Long's life changed in a Tanzania hotel bar, why Eagles kicker Jake Elliott didn't consider football until he was chosen at random at a high school pep rally, and where Carson Wentz ate dinner the night before he left for the NFL Draft. These more obscure stories offer incredible context and depth to an already fascinating story of success against the odds.
