Rating: 
Summary: A Serious Look At The Game
Review: Tim Green is a former defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons. His autobiography of what he went through, saw, and felt in the National Football League is eye-opening.Most of the information in here is a well known fact, or has been thought to happen by many hard core fans and players. Mr. Green's confirmation of these facts make it all the more chilling. Some of the stories in here are quite amazing. One part of the book describes how players escaped the detection of steroid abuse. This novel is the most important, and best football book in my collection.
Rating: 
Summary: The war expressed in words
Review: Tim Green is effective in conveying his views on what many only see as two groups of men battling every Sunday in the fall. Naturally he goes beyond what transpires on the field and delves into the backgrounds of all aspects of the NFL, something many players won't or can't do because they are afraid of what people might think. This is a unique look at football, neither overtly positive nor overtly negative. It inspires thought in the reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining
Review: Tim Green is without doubt a suberb writer on America's most beloved game: Pro Football. However, his promise to provide insight into the 'Dark Side of the Game' goes mostly unfulfilled. While most chapters are entertaining, they do not give the reader a 'behind closed doors' vantage of any subject. Most football fans will be mildy disappointed, but it still provides for a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: The View from the Broadcasting Booth by an Ex-NFLer
Review: Tim Green was an unusual defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons. He read books in the locker room and during team meetings. He went to law school in his spare time. He had a hard time gaining weight and keeping it on. He left the game with his body and his brain relatively unscrambled (despite many concussions and stingers), and took up a new career as a broadcaster for Fox. His book is a series of mini-essays on everything you always wanted to know about pro football, but never wanted to experience. It is a gripping tale of pain, broken bodies, shattered lives, and electric moments that will remain with you for the rest of your life. I would have graded the book higher, but he did seem to skirt some of the obvious problems that professional football players experience such as groupies and deliberate attempt to maim. On the other hand, I found the book more revealing and better balanced than the "hero" biographies and the "broken life" tales that pro players usually produce. It is the most enjoyable book I have read by a retired NFLer. If Mr. Green had also been retired from broadcasting when he wrote this, he probably could have been more candid. Perhaps an updated version will appear in the future. For those who are interested in Deion Sanders, the book has a very interesting portrait of the man which will add to your appreciation of his remarkable career and his character. Many of the most valuable parts of the book describe all of the things that teams do that create failure. Correctly, Mr. Green pinpoints the ultimate cause of these problems as being the owner. You have to have a coach and a general manager who want to have the same style of play. Only the owner can ensure that will happen. Two things were very new to me. First, the players find the game far more exciting than I would have ever imagined. Some of the descriptions are very vivid. Going into the stadium during the introductions is apparently way beyond an adrenaline rush. It is a feeling that most of us will never experience in our lives. Second, I was surprised by how much pain permeates the lives of the players. There's even a section encouraging you not to squeeze a player's or ex-player's hand hard in a handshake, because of the on-going pain they have from hand injuries. On television, the players all seem to unaffected by pain. That's apparently an act. In reality, they wallow in pain. Because the book is broken up into different topics, you can skip to the subjects that interest you. But check out some that don't sound very interesting as well. Mr. Green has many valuable things to say. He is both intelligent and articulate. He also cares about improving the game. If you have sons, read the section about whether or not you should encourage them to play football. I don't buy his argument, however, that soccer causes more injuries than football. My experience as a soccer coach was just the opposite with the children and teenagers I knew. He obviously sympathizes with the players, which most fans do also. But he praises the praiseworthy wherever he finds them, and attacks many of the villains. After you read this book, I suggest that you think about how you could change your work to make it more exciting and valuable. If you don't like things as they are, change them!
Rating:
Summary: The View from the Broadcasting Booth by an Ex-NFLer
Review: Tim Green was an unusual defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons. He read books in the locker room and during team meetings. He went to law school in his spare time. He had a hard time gaining weight and keeping it on. He left the game with his body and his brain relatively unscrambled (despite many concussions and stingers), and took up a new career as a broadcaster for Fox. His book is a series of mini-essays on everything you always wanted to know about pro football, but never wanted to experience. It is a gripping tale of pain, broken bodies, shattered lives, and electric moments that will remain with you for the rest of your life. I would have graded the book higher, but he did seem to skirt some of the obvious problems that professional football players experience such as groupies and deliberate attempt to maim. On the other hand, I found the book more revealing and better balanced than the "hero" biographies and the "broken life" tales that pro players usually produce. It is the most enjoyable book I have read by a retired NFLer. If Mr. Green had also been retired from broadcasting when he wrote this, he probably could have been more candid. Perhaps an updated version will appear in the future.
For those who are interested in Deion Sanders, the book has a very interesting portrait of the man which will add to your appreciation of his remarkable career and his character. Many of the most valuable parts of the book describe all of the things that teams do that create failure. Correctly, Mr. Green pinpoints the ultimate cause of these problems as being the owner. You have to have a coach and a general manager who want to have the same style of play. Only the owner can ensure that will happen. Two things were very new to me. First, the players find the game far more exciting than I would have ever imagined. Some of the descriptions are very vivid. Going into the stadium during the introductions is apparently way beyond an adrenaline rush. It is a feeling that most of us will never experience in our lives. Second, I was surprised by how much pain permeates the lives of the players. There's even a section encouraging you not to squeeze a player's or ex-player's hand hard in a handshake, because of the on-going pain they have from hand injuries. On television, the players all seem to unaffected by pain. That's apparently an act. In reality, they wallow in pain. Because the book is broken up into different topics, you can skip to the subjects that interest you. But check out some that don't sound very interesting as well. Mr. Green has many valuable things to say. He is both intelligent and articulate. He also cares about improving the game. If you have sons, read the section about whether or not you should encourage them to play football. I don't buy his argument, however, that soccer causes more injuries than football. My experience as a soccer coach was just the opposite with the children and teenagers I knew. He obviously sympathizes with the players, which most fans do also. But he praises the praiseworthy wherever he finds them, and attacks many of the villains. After you read this book, I suggest that you think about how you could change your work to make it more exciting and valuable. If you don't like things as they are, change them!
Rating:
Summary: Dark Side of the Game, is a major disappointment
Review: Tim Green's "Dark Side of the Game" is a major letdown to those fans expecting a journey through the many unchartered waters of the NFL. Green dangles his unquestioned NFL experience and insights, without ever letting his audience devour his wealth of knowledge. After reading his book I expected to have black and blue bruises from having shared in his past battles in the trenches. I expected to leave with scores of untold stories about NFL life that only a veteran as Green could tell. However, I left as exactly as I came, a diehard fan still curious about the Dark Side of the Game.
Rating:
Summary: An anti-romantic, insider's point of view
Review: Very refreshing. Not the rah-rah, market-driven NFL mythology that you get from so many other commentators. Green takes a very matter-of-fact, no-nonsense approach. The Steve-Young-vs-Joe-Montana essay alone is worth the price of admission.
Rating: 
Summary: The biggest waste of [$$$] ever
Review: Want to know about a players life in the NFL? I'm talking about the real lowdown, all the dirt, the stuff you don't see on TV. So do I. Unfortunately, it's not in this book. This book would be just as interesting if all the pages were blank. It doesn't really tell you anything, not to mention it reads like a junior high book report. You'll get so bored of it, you probably won't finish. I left a few chapters unread, only after I forced myself to keep reading for a month (yeah, it took that long because this book is real easy to put down). It just ... . It doesn't draw you in...ever. Maybe if this was written by Emmitt, or someone who has actually accomplished something, it would be a little better. At least you could read about some great moments and carry something away from it. This was written by a guy who was basically the waterboy. It's a dud from start to.....well, whenever you quit. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: I don't feel like I've "been there" vicariously
Review: When I bought "The Dark Side Of The Game" I expected to read a book about... (ready?) the dark side of the game. I expected to smell, taste, and feel what it's like to be a player in the NFL. I expected to hear all about the unrelenting schedules, the practices without pity, the meaness of coaches, and the ficklness of fans.
Instead, what What Tim Green supplies us is collection of unrelated short articles that seem to be saying, in summary, that football is hard and all season season the players are constantly sore. Thanks, Tim, for that blinding glimpse of the obvious. Don't get me wrong: I didn't DISlike this book. It was a fast, easy, and relatively fun read. But after reading the book, I don't feel like I know what it feels like to play in the NFL. Heck, I don't even REALLY understand why the title says this book is about the DARK side... So go ahead and buy the book. Read it in a couple or three nights. Just don't expect to feel like you've "been there" vicariously. At least I didn't.
Rating:
Summary: I don't feel like I've "been there" vicariously
Review: When I bought "The Dark Side Of The Game" I expected to read a book about... (ready?) the dark side of the game. I expected to smell, taste, and feel what it's like to be a player in the NFL. I expected to hear all about the unrelenting schedules, the practices without pity, the meaness of coaches, and the ficklness of fans. Instead, what What Tim Green supplies us is collection of unrelated short articles that seem to be saying, in summary, that football is hard and all season season the players are constantly sore. Thanks, Tim, for that blinding glimpse of the obvious. Don't get me wrong: I didn't DISlike this book. It was a fast, easy, and relatively fun read. But after reading the book, I don't feel like I know what it feels like to play in the NFL. Heck, I don't even REALLY understand why the title says this book is about the DARK side... So go ahead and buy the book. Read it in a couple or three nights. Just don't expect to feel like you've "been there" vicariously. At least I didn't.
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