Title/Author:
“Quarterback: Inside the
Most Important Position in the National Football League” by John Feinstein
Tags:
Football (American), biography,
professional
Publish
date:
November
13, 2018
Length:
368 pages
Rating:
4 of 5
stars (very good)
Review:
No position or player in any sport is considered as responsible for his
team’s success or failure as the quarterback for a National Football League
(NFL) team. His every move and every action taken by a team regarding its
quarterbacks is scrutinized, analyzed and debated in the media. These men, especially those who are the
starting quarterbacks for each team, are heard in numerous interviews and press
conferences every day. The lives lived by NFL quarterbacks, from stars to
journeymen, are chronicled in this book by award-winning sportswriter John
Feinstein.
Five quarterbacks – four currently playing and one retired quarterback
who currently works in the front office of the Washington Redskins – are profiled
and each of them has a different story.
Alex Smith entered the league as the #1 pick in the draft by the San
Francisco 49ers and has had both great moments and low points. He is currently starting for the Washington
Redskins after enjoying his best seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was signed by Doug Williams, the former Redskins
quarterback who became the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, leading
Washington to victory in Super Bowl XXII.
Williams is included in the book not so much because of his current job
with Washington, but to illustrate what it was like during his playing career
to be a black quarterback. At that time,
many black quarterbacks were considered to not possess every skill needed to
excel at the position.
The other three quarterbacks all have other interesting stories of their
own. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has been primarily a back-up but because of the “Fitzpatrick
jinx” that seems to affect the starter for every team that signs Fitzpatrick,
he gets his chances to start and he performs well enough that he has enjoyed a
sixteen year career in the NFL – not bad for a kid from Harvard. Joe Flacco tasted early success when he led
the Baltimore Ravens to victory in Super Bowl XLVII and while he and the Ravens
haven’t been able to match that season, they have been perennial playoff
contenders and his story, more than any other, illustrates how the quarterback
will get an inordinate amount of credit when the team does well and blame when
the team doesn’t perform well. The last
quarterback featured in the book, Andrew Luck, has had injury problems that has
forced him to miss most of the last two seasons and his story is as much one of
perseverance in order to get back into the game as well as that illustrated by
Smith and Flacco of the ups and downs of actually playing the game.
There is plenty of discussion about the position as a whole in the league
as well, with names from Aaron Rodgers to Johnny Manziel to Colin Kaepernick getting
mentioned. The insight provided to the reader in the locker room, on the field,
in the draft “war room” and the front office when it comes to the quarterback
position is excellent, which is typical for a book by Feinstein. He also isn’t
afraid to share his opinions on topics such as Kaepernick’s protests, the
response by politicians and the plight of black quarterbacks yesterday and
today. This may turn some readers off, but it does reflect the opinion of the
author and is relevant to the subject of the book, so it doesn’t detract from
the main topic. The book is not a quick
read as it will require concentration to absorb all the information presented. This is a different style than other books by
this author that I have read but this too is fine given this topic and the
message presented.
Fans of Feinstein and the NFL will enjoy this book on quarterbacks who
have had various amounts of success and stardom in their careers. It is recommended for these readers.
I wish to thank Doubleday Books for providing a copy of the book via
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Book Format
Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying Links:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/quarterback-john-feinstein/1129054861?ean=9780385545068#/
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