From Publishers Weekly
Former New York Giants quarterback Simms draws on his outstanding NFL career and his current role as a CBS analyst to gamely dissect TV's overly simple, glib analyses—including Simms's own. Written with NFL.com national editor Carucci, the book uses the same recipe that has made Simms one of the NFL's top broadcasters: an easy, conversational tone with a healthy dose of insight from Simms's experience. Are "mobile quarterbacks" always better? What's a "player's coach"? What's the "West Coast offense"? These are just a few of the subjects Simms explores, as he both explains and lets the air out of some of the most popular made-for-TV football clichés. What sets the book apart, however, are the many personal anecdotes Simms offers, in which he shares his unique perspective on key moments of great games and some of the NFL's most intriguing personalities, such as coaches Bill Parcells and Bill Belichik. The iconic Parcells, Simms's coach in New York, with whom Simms won two championships, gets a whole chapter, and the book brims with examples of Parcells's impact on Simms, as a quarterback, an analyst and a person. Another chapter helps readers see the difference between good and great. This is a good book from a great football mind. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Book Description

An in-depth and surprising look at the game, Sunday Morning Quarterback will dramatically change the way you watch football.

You've heard all the football clichés: "Their offense is too predictable," or "They've got to win the turnover battle," or "They didn't make any halftime adjustments." Perhaps you've heard them so often that you've come to see them as obvious truths. Phil Simms, after an illustrious career as a Super Bowl–winning quarterback and a broadcaster, is here to tell you that these -- and many other blanket statements taken as gospel -- are all myths, and whoever says them has no idea of what they're talking about.

Drilling deep into the core of football, Simms also shows the hidden signs that players look for that can determine the outcome of a game. Whether it's discovering how a linebacker positions his feet before he blitzes or how to react if the safety is eight or nine yards from the line of scrimmage, knowing these "dirty little secrets" gives players and their coaches a tremendous advantage.

In addition, Simms shares his insights into the enormous challenges coaches face in today's game, evaluating the top coaches and what makes them successful. He takes a look at some of the greatest players he's played with and against, and what he misses most about the game -- waking up Monday mornings feeling beat up and sore. He looks at the next generation of football players -- his son, Tampa Bay's Chris Simms, among them.

Through it all, Simms shares stories from his playing days with Bill Parcells and the New York Giants, and the inside access he's had as an announcer for one of the top NFL broadcasting teams in football.

Fun and lively, Sunday Morning Quarterback should be required reading for anyone who loves football.

Download Description
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An in-depth and surprising look at the game, Sunday Morning Quarterback will dramatically change the way you watch football.

You've heard all the football clichés: ""Their offense is too predictable,"" or ""They've got to win the turnover battle,"" or ""They didn't make any halftime adjustments."" Perhaps you've heard them so often that you've come to see them as obvious truths. Phil Simms, after an illustrious career as a Super Bowl–winning quarterback and a broadcaster, is here to tell you that these -- and many other blanket statements taken as gospel -- are all myths, and whoever says them has no idea of what they're talking about.

Drilling deep into the core of football, Simms also shows the hidden signs that players look for that can determine the outcome of a game. Whether it's discovering how a linebacker positions his feet before he blitzes or how to react if the safety is eight or nine yards from the line of scrimmage, knowing these ""dirty little secrets"" gives players and their coaches a tremendous advantage.

In addition, Simms shares his insights into the enormous challenges coaches face in today's game, evaluating the top coaches and what makes them successful. He takes a look at some of the greatest players he's played with and against, and what he misses most about the game -- waking up Monday mornings feeling beat up and sore. He looks at the next generation of football players -- his son, Tampa Bay's Chris Simms, among them.

Through it all, Simms shares stories from his playing days with Bill Parcells and the New York Giants, and the inside access he's had as an announcer for one of the top NFL broadcasting teams in football.

Fun and lively, Sunday Morning Quarterback should be required reading for anyone who loves football."

FROM OUR EDITORS

Have you ever watched a televised NFL game and wondered what you weren't seeing? Average fans know how to follow the ball but often miss the strategies that make the play a first down or a bust. Former New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms knows how to see the game beneath the Xs and Os. As the chief NFL analyst for CBS, he's made a career dissecting changing game strategies and player roles. Sunday Morning Quarterback is designed as a reader-friendly tutorial for reading formations and midgame adjustments. A behind-the-scenes, beyond-the-statistics look at an adrenaline-fueled game.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This is a chance for NFL fans to pull up a seat in the broadcast booth next to one of the most respected and popular TV analysts in the game. With Phils Simms' guidance, readers can watch the game the way an expert does. Not only does he reveal the many crucial details within a single play that the average follow-the-ball-wherever-it-goes viewer is bound to miss; he also shows how -- through reading formations and recognizing tendencies -- one can anticipate what the next play will be. Readers also accompany Simms as he analyzes game film of the teams whose game he is diligently preparing to call. They gain rare access to the weekly production meetings that he attends on the eve of each game, to gain exclusive background information from participating coaches and key players.

With material gathered from throughout a long an illustrious career as a broadcaster and Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the New York Giants, Simms shows readers what a coach is trying to achieve through play-calling (beyond the obvious goal of scoring a touchdown); different styles and strategies that NFL coaches employ (with emphasis on the 2003 season, so it will serve as a useful guide in the fall of '04); how to develop a better appreciation for the trends and buzzwords that define the modern game; the top 15 players in the league today; what the interaction is like between the quarterback and his receivers; what it's like to have a son follow in his father's quarterbacking footsteps; and much more.

Simms shows that there is much more to football than square-ins, screen passes, and X's and O's, from one of the brightest game analysts on television. Simms is able to evaluate a play seconds after it happens, and using relevant detail, he spits it out in easily digestible packages. This technique and folksy style that appeals to a wide cross-section of fans translates into a dynamic and popular behind-the-plays and beyond-the-statistics book that every football fan will want to bring home.

SYNOPSIS

A behind-the-plays and beyond-the-statistics look at football, from CBS NFL analyst and former football star Phil Simms.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly