Review: The Ultimate Super Bowl Book

 

 

If you’re scrambling around, trying to find the perfect gift for the pro football nut on your list, I have a suggestion.

I was recently provided a review copy of the following book, which may be the most comprehensive tome on the subject of the Super Bowl.

The Ultimate Super Bowl Book is as complete a history of professional sports’ biggest annual event as you could ever hope to find (until Super Bowl XLIV is played this coming February…at which point I presume it will be amended).

Each chapter is presented mostly through the journalistic eye of author and long-time Green Bay Packers writer Bob McGinn with some occasion for editorializing. However, 99 percentage of the book is “just the facts, ma’am.”

And facts there are.

Each of the 43 chapters (one for each of the Super Bowls played to date) describes each score in a page-turning narrative format (though often non-chronological), gives credit to those who made otherwise thankless blocks on key plays, and explains who made critical errors that cost their team points.

Those literary depictions alone would be worth the purchase price.

The true treasures, however, are the in-chapter tables that provide complete team and individual statistics, the rosters for both teams and all of the coaches. McGinn credits the compilation these tables to his wife. These tables elevate this piece of work from “enlightening” to “important.”

In addition, the appendix at the end of the book reveals just about every current Super Bowl record, including what team gained the most total yards in a Super Bowl and which two teams combined for the most passing first downs. I’d reveal those facts myself, but then I’d be giving things away.

McGinn also deftly interlaces quotations from coaches, players, and front office officials into his narratives. Some of those words were spoken shortly after the game in question was concluded. Others were said in interviews years later, giving the reader the added perspective of time, and how some people on the losing end of the contests saw the game after the heat of the moment had long passed.

He also takes the time to compile a few top 10 lists, including “Top Ten Hits,” “Top Ten Plays by a Wide Receiver,” and “Top Ten Super Bowl Upsets.” Feel free to agree or disagree.

As someone who did not watch a Super Bowl until the Chicago Bears drubbed the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX, and didn’t really understand the game until somewhere around XXIX, when the San Francisco 49ers proved they were more than a match for the San Diego Chargers, I found the accounts of the earlier Super Bowls extremely informative. For instance, perhaps the MVP of the New York Jets over the Baltimore Colts should have been running back Matt Snell (121 rushing yards on 30 attempts and the only touchdown for New York) against the vaunted Colts defense.

The later Super Bowls (XXX through XLIII) were more like a refresher course, with the added insight of why some of the teams employed the offensive or defensive strategies they did, or why players ended up committing key mistakes.

Why did Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Neil O’Donnell throw two balls into the stomach of the Dallas Cowboys’ Larry Brown in Super Bowl XXX?

How were the Denver Broncos able to contain the explosive Brett Favre-led Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII?

Same for the New England Patriots against Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” in XXXVI?

Finally, McGinn’s work does not reflect any apparent bias, either on his part, or on the part of the media. While he mentions the New England Patriots’ “Spygate” scandal, it is not until Chapter XLII, when they were defeated by the New York Giants. “Spygate” is not referenced in any of the teams’ victories over St. Louis, Carolina, or Philadelphia. There is also no word from McGinn himself as to whether he thinks that gave New England an unfair advantage. He steers clear, offering only a quote from Hall of Fame coach Don Shula on the subject.

He recognizes the controversy surrounding Super Bowl XL’s officiating, offering many quotes from Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren throughout the chapter, but otherwise accurately portrays the game as an unspectacular contest decided by three big plays by the Pittsburgh Steelers and questionable clock management and untimely injuries suffered by the Seahawks.

This is an inspired piece of work.

Now, to the admittedly picky criticisms.

This first gripe is really something I don’t think could have been helped. There are just so many people involved in each game, literally over 100 total.  Over the course of a chapter, many of the names become confusing, especially if you are not a follower of either of the teams involved. Sometimes I found myself reading a quote or a depiction of a play, then thinking, “Wait, who was ‘Smith’ again? I’m sure he was introduced earlier in the chapter, but after Jones and Kendall and Brady and Mack, I’m not sure I remember…”

It’s almost certainly a casualty of the absolute saturation of info, but occasionally it does affect the flow of reading if you like to get all of the details straight.

The second “complaint” is that sometimes the chapters in general have an odd flow to them. As mentioned previously, most of the chapters do not proceed in chronological order. Often, they will focus on the most exciting or pivotal points of the game first (something the readers will be more likely to recognize, such as Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Santonio Holmes’s fingertip catch and toe-tip drag to help his team take the lead for good in XLIII). Then, after focusing on the play itself or the drive that led up to the play, the narrative will bounce to another part of the game that made the pivotal play necessary.

I realize that to have given an introductory paragraph highlighting the dramatics, then immediately starting at the beginning of the game and working through to the end would have made for a very dry read. Still, trying to follow the plethora of surnames while striving to recognize the chronology can stir the brain a little much at times.

Again, I don’t think this is something that could be fixed without damaging another equally (or more) important facet of the book. Nevertheless, it exists. I am sure that McGinn and the publisher, MVP Books, talked about these things throughout the process.

And, finally, this book is only available in softcover. Perhaps it is because the book will be somewhat outdated in a year’s time (another Super Bowl will have been played).  Still, I feel this first printing should have also been available in hardcover as more of a collector’s item.

Considering the scope of this project, the relative brevity and precision of his game-by-game dissections, the mountains of statistics and the extensive bibliography, all in under 400 pages, the aforementioned critiques cannot take anything significant away from this work.

Five out of Five Stars.

The Ultimate Super Bowl Book is available at most bookstores and online booksellers, or through MVPBooks.com .

 

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Head-Hunting: Steeler Fans Calling For Changes at the Top

 

 

Pittsburgh Steeler fans are at once the greatest backers in sports and the sorest of losers.

With Thursday night’s 13-6 loss (to the Cleveland Browns, of all teams), the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately facet of Steel City fandom has emerged with a vengeance.

Message boards on the websites of local and national news outlets, as well as independently-run fan sites, are almost unanimously calling for head coach Mike Tomlin to lose his job.

Last year everything was rosy, and Tomlin was the man, someone who had a gift for pushing the right buttons.

Now, the battle cry is that he was only riding former coach Bill Cowher’s coattails.

Yes, that’s how things work in Pittsburgh, especially when it comes to a football season in which a playoff appearance is almost certainly no longer possible.

Hindsight isn’t always 20/20.

Fans wanted Cowher fired after a couple of dismal seasons in the late 1990s and early 2000s before he finally was able to capture Number Five. 

Had the Rooney family let him go when the public demanded it, it is possible that the “One for the Thumb” would have come sooner than Super Bowl XL, but it’s also possible the Steelers would still be looking up at Dallas and San Francisco in the all-time number of rings.

If Steeler fans want someone on the staff to take the fall for this season’s failures, they need to concentrate their energies toward one of two possible candidates (or maybe both).

1) Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians

The list of sins is long, but these are a couple of the lowlights.

– During the ill-fated Cleveland game, with time winding down toward halftime, Pittsburgh went into the no-huddle offense for the first time and was able to drive into the red zone in short order. They didn’t have quite enough time to score a touchdown, but the team was able to move the ball for the first time in the game. The no-huddle never reappeared.

– Arians seemed content to keep trying to run the ball both last season and early this year with oft-ineffective Willie Parker. Now that a far more viable running back (at least for this offensive line) is in the backfield in Rashard Mendenhall (whose yards-per-carry average is consistently better than his predecessor’s), Arians seems unwilling to use him. This is a poor appraisal of your own talent.

2) Director of Operations Kevin Colbert

Follow this link and look at the draft choices since 2000 (the beginning of Colbert’s tenure).

The Steelers, historically, don’t go out and raid the free agent market. Their supposed claim to fame is building through the draft.

First-round choices are usually pretty easy, but after that, Colbert’s record is spotty at best.

How many players taken after the first round are making a positive impact with the team today? How many of them are making positive impacts with other teams?

How many are out of the league?

Genius (or lack thereof) in the draft is measured in later-round value. There has been precious little in 10 drafts.

To date, Tomlin has had two successful seasons versus one that was not. He should still be young enough to learn from the multitude of mistakes he’s made since training camp, and set things straight in 2010, or, at the very least, not repeat the same ones.

For better or for worse, Steeler fans are going to have Mike Tomlin leading their team for the foreseeable future. The Rooneys do not fire head coaches after a rough patch like other organizations. 

So, unless Tomlin himself decides that he’s in over his head and resigns, fans need to use their breath more productively.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Twenty Questions With Pittsburgh Steelers Linebacker James Harrison

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison, who celebrated his 31st birthday earlier this month, has had a tumultuous year.

He was able to trump his own breakout 2007 season by winning the 2008 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year honor and by recording the longest play in Superbowl history with a pivotal 100-yard interception return for a touchdown in February.

The Steeler known as “Silverback” has also been in the spotlight for issues not pertaining to his prowess on the field and subsequent rise to his place among pro football’s elite.

Who is the man behind Number 92?  The following 20 questions will attempt to paint a complete picture.

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1)  First of all, Mr. Harrison, tell us a little bit about your upbringing.  You are the youngest of 14 children.  How much, if at all, did having to fend off 13 siblings contribute to your development as a person and as a player?

2)  Growing up in Akron, Ohio, you were kind of in no-man’s land with regard to the great Steelers/Browns rivalry, but certainly geographically closer to Cleveland.  Were you a fan of either club?  If not, where did your football loyalties lie?  And if you were a Browns fan, has it been odd playing for the Steelers or playing for a brief stint in the Ravens organization?

3)  You’ve worked your way from an undrafted free agent in 2002 to one of the more recognizable names in professional football.  What were some of the keys to your transformation?  Did anyone specifically encourage you?  Did you make changes to your workout regimen?

4)  It must have been discouraging to have been cut several times in your early career.  There have been articles saying that had football not panned out for you, you might have become a truck driver, or pursued a career as a veterinarian.  What or who helped you keep your focus on football to go the extra distance?

5)  Who would you say have been your biggest influences?  Which, if any, NFL players did you try to model yourself after?  Who in your family inspired you to strive for more?

6)  You’ve been a Steeler now for five full seasons, but you didn’t get a chance to start regularly until 2007.  If you had been able to start in 2004, 2005, and 2006, do you think you would have been as dominant then as you’ve been these past two season?  Or were there still some things you were learning?

7)  You became a starter the same year that Mike Tomlin became head coach.  Did he bring anything to the table that helped you gain an extra edge that maybe you didn’t have under Bill Cowher?

8)  Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is a legend from another era who seems to be able to adapt to the league rather than hold to more traditional styles of football.  What’s it like studying under a man old enough to be your grandfather, but so young at heart? 

9)  What have you been up to this off-season in terms of staying in shape, getting stronger, and staying focused?

10) Having already won a Superbowl in 2005, then experiencing a considerable letdown in 2006, what do you think the coaching staff and your fellow teammates will do to keep the Steelers from experiencing a similar drop-off in 2009?

11) Your nickname “Silverback” comes from a name given to an adult male gorilla.  When did your teammates start calling you that?  Do you know who came up with it first?  What caused them to make the correlation?

12) How much easier would you say your job has been with LaMarr Woodley patrolling the other side of the line?  How much credit is he due for your success?

13) Who do you feel was the overall greatest mentor in your development as a player?

14)  Are there any younger Steelers that you’ve taken under your wing, or younger players that seem to seek you out regularly for advice and pointers?

15)  By what, if any, philosophy do you try to live your life?  Do you play football with the same philosophy?

16)  There was in incident during this past year’s Superbowl where replays showed you striking Aaron Francisco of the Arizona Cardinals during a special teams play.  Announcers and fans say it was an offense worthy of ejection from the game.  In your own words, tell us what the cameras didn’t show or the broadcast didn’t focus on.  Was it a lapse in judgement on your part, or is there more to the story than is publicly discussed?

17)  With regard to your refusal to attend the White House reception last week, a good many media outlets and fans feel it wasn’t so much disrespecting the President, but more of an insult to Dan Rooney, a man who awarded you a hefty contract earlier this off-season.  Have you spoken with Mr. Rooney about it, either before or after it was made public? 

18)  What has been your favorite individual moment in the NFL?  What has been your most embarrassing?

19)  Now that you’ve established yourself in the league, are there any specific goals you have set for your career?  Sack leader?  Superbowl MVP?  First-ballot Hall of Famer?

20)  When the time comes to hang up the cleats, what do you envision yourself doing? Do you plan to stay in football as a coach (be it at the collegiate or professional level)?  Perhaps pursue training in the veterinary field?  Or just sit back and rest?

Examining The Unstable AFC North

Since the NFL’s most recent realignment in 2002, the AFC North did not have a repeat champion until the Pittsburgh Steelers accomplished the feat in 2007 and 2008.

The division is so erratic that whichever team the experts prophesy will claim the crown, often, ends up underachieving.

Superbowl XL champion Pittsburgh was expected to follow up its fifth championship with a division title in 2006, but it missed the playoffs altogether.

In 2007, the Baltimore Ravens were lauded as the next juggernaut and were projected to repeat their 2006 performance.  They won only five games.

The Cleveland Browns just missed out on winning the division in ’07 due to a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Steelers, and they were the choice of many to supplant Pittsburgh in ’08.  Instead, injury and ineptitude culminated in a four-win campaign.

Much of the talk before this season’s training camp indicates another two-horse race between the Steelers and the Ravens in 2009.

The NFL has averaged roughly six new teams to the 16-team playoff field every season since the realignment.  The ’08 season saw a one-win team from the previous year become a division champion (the Miami Dolphins). 

Is it truly a stretch to envision either of Ohio’s professional football teams in the AFC North’s top spot at the beginning of January?

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The Pittsburgh Steelers are the champions.

While they will vie for their third consecutive division championship without the services of starting inside linebacker Larry Foote (who was signed by Detroit) and cornerback Bryant McFadden (Arizona), it appears that third-year pros Lawrence Timmons and William Gay are more than capable of taking their respective places.

Star linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, and All-Pro strong safety Troy Polamalu will return, and the defense should be its usual, dominant self under coordinator Dick LeBeau.  Even the defensive line is not so old that it cannot still wreak havoc.  First-round draft choice Evander “Ziggy” Hood will learn much from Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel this season, and he will be ready for regular duty in 2010.

As it has been the last few years, Pittsburgh’s success will hinge on the health of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. 

The questions surrounding his offensive line are as numerous as the sacks it has collectively allowed.

Two offensive linemen were taken in the 2009 draft, and only one, second-round pick Kraig Urbik, is widely considered a challenger for the right guard position.  A.Q. Shipley, center out of Penn State, is a long shot to challenge Justin Hartwig this season.

The Steelers also re-signed tackles Max Starks and Willie Colon, as well as guard Chris Kemoeatu and backup lineman Trai Essex.  It seems the team’s front office is satisfied with a Superbowl title, and less concerned with allowing the fourth-most sacks in the league (49) and boasting the fourth-worst rushing attack in terms of yards per carry (3.7).

As long as Roethlisberger is upright, the Steelers will always have a shot to win a game, a division, or a title, but even a large quarterback can only take so many hits.

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The Baltimore Ravens are hungry.

Last season, they fell just short of winning the division title (the tip of a football) and advancing to the Superbowl (Troy Polamalu’s interception ultimately denied them).

Quarterback Joe Flacco does not figure to experience a “sophomore slump”, just as another popular AFC North QB a few seasons ago, and second-year coach John Harbaugh knows anything is possible.

At first glance, it seems like the Ravens are pretty much intact.  Pulling back a layer, however, reveals that this team looks poised to take a step back.

Baltimore eventually re-signed linebacker Ray Lewis, but one of these seasons will be the one he falls from the tier of the elite.  And, as Lewis had expressed great interest in going to another team this off-season, there may also be a small, but noticeable loss of respect for a player who has long been the “heart” of the defense.

The franchise-tagging of outside linebacker Terrell Suggs was a good move, but the loss of inside linebacker Bart Scott and defensive coordinator Rex Ryan (to the Jets) may disrupt the chaotic harmony of the Ravens’ defensive front seven.

Running back Le’Ron McClain could constitute Baltimore’s “Weapon X” in 2009, but Flacco will have to maintain his 6.9 yards per pass average to keep the opposing defenses from keying on McClain, and he’ll have to exceed it to keep the the team a championship contender.  The health of Todd Heap will factor into Flacco’s success.

Draft-wise, there is no player that screams “instant impact”, but offensive lineman Michael Oher and defensive end Paul Kruger will help keep their respective units from falling too far when age catches up to Baltimore’s present starters.

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The Cincinnati Bengals are optimistic.

They spent most of last season without an experienced quarterback.  Carson Palmer was injured most of the season, playing in only three games and throwing only four touchdowns.  His replacement, Ryan Fitzpatrick (now in Buffalo) played in 13 games and threw only eight touchdowns against nine interceptions.

The Bengals’ scoring output in 2008 was the lowest in all of pro football, and it was barely half of what they amassed in 2007 (204 versus 380).

Defensively, Cincinnati allowed the most points in the division (364), but that number was better than any team in the NFC West.  In terms of total yards allowed, they were in the league’s top half.

Palmer has told the press that he likes his team’s chances, but that will rest squarely on him.  The off-season claimed prolific wide receiver T.J Houshmanzadeh (Seattle).  The acquisition of Laveranues Coles, while a decent receiver, does not provide a replacement.  Chad “Johnson” Ochocinco is is not only volatile on the field, but also in his own locker room.

The most significant keys to Cincy’s success depend on the defense continuing to build on last season and Carson Palmer improving his fourth quarter efficiency from 2007.  That season, Palmer’s QB rating in the fourth quarter was roughly 65.  A tired defense and an inefficient quarterback spells certain doom in close contests.

The Bengals did have eleven draft picks, but the first few were not at the so-called “skill” positions.  It will also be interesting to see how strong safety Roy Williams and defensive tackle Tank Johnson contribute to the evolution of the Bengal ‘D’. 

There are still too many issues in the Queen City to believe that it will be able to challenge Pittsburgh if the defending champs stay healthy.

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The Cleveland Browns are adrift.

By season’s end, injuries had riddled them so much at the quarterback position that Bruce Gradkowski started the final game, playing in an offense he had just started to learn on an emergency basis.

Perhaps the number of quarterback injuries and an ineffective rushing attack (3.9 yards per rush average) prompted the powers-that-be to make sure they drafted a prominent offensive lineman (Alex Mack), but they traded down to get him.

Cleveland’s front office brought in Eric Mangini to replace Romeo Crennel.  It is unclear where Mangini’s priorities lie.  The Browns have several needs to be filled, and instead of focusing on making one or two positions deep and dominant, he appears to be trying to affix band-aids to all of them at once.

The Browns need a reliable backup for tailback Jamal Lewis, but they drafted a running back in the final round (with the 195th pick), and signed untested free agent Noah Herron.

The Browns need to make sure that whichever quarterback is healthy at the moment has someone to catch his passes.  They lost tight end Kellen Winslow, Jr. to Tampa Bay and possibly wide receiver Donte Stallworth to a charge of vehicular manslaughter while DUI. 

The solution, for now, has been to sign second- or third-tier WRs in David Patten and Mike Furrey (and so-so tight end Robert Royal), draft promising wideout Brian Robiskie, and gamble on receiver Mohamed Massaquoi.  Braylon Edwards, coming off a miserable season in 2008, and Joshua Cribbs are the only receivers who have any real rapport with quarterbacks Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn.

It is unlikely that Mangini’s new offense (which he will no doubt have) will be effective at first.

While Cleveland’s pass defense was in the middle of the heap, its run-stopping unit was near the bottom.  This is where Mangini may have done the best job.  Signing former Jet Eric Barton, and linebackers David Bowens and Bo Ruud may help plug up the middle.

Between the two teams from the Buckeye State, the Cleveland Browns have the better shot at surprising the division.  They have enough question marks that, if they mostly answer “yes”, could produce a winner.

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