Rating: 
Summary: Won for All: The Inside Story of the New England Patriots'
Review: Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!!! Definitely a must read.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic look inside the world of the NFL
Review: Even if you are not a fan of the New England Patriots, this book has a lot to offer. I am biased, being a season ticket holder and fan, but if you are looking to find out about being a coach in the NFL, this is the book for you. Pepper Johnson has been there as a player and as a coach, and he fills the pages of this book with stories from both his playing career and his time as a coach with the Patriots. Obviously this book focuses on the incredible run to the Super Bowl that that Patriots made in 2001, but more than that it talks about the inner workings of a team, motivation, and the importance of teamwork. Teamwork was the key to the Super Bowl victory and by reading this book, you can see that it was much more important than some might have thought. This Patriots team had to overcome many obstacles during the season to win it all, and this book describes how the team came together and won as a unit. Pepper Johnson also describes the rigors of being a coach in the NFL, the long hours (5am to midnight or longer) and hours of watching game tape. If you have ever wondered what NFL coaches do to game plan, you can find out right here. Pepper also talks about the importance of the scout team, something that I think many people over look. All in all this is a great football book, not only for Patriot fans, but for all football fans.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic look inside the world of the NFL
Review: Even if you are not a fan of the New England Patriots, this book has a lot to offer. I am biased, being a season ticket holder and fan, but if you are looking to find out about being a coach in the NFL, this is the book for you. Pepper Johnson has been there as a player and as a coach, and he fills the pages of this book with stories from both his playing career and his time as a coach with the Patriots. Obviously this book focuses on the incredible run to the Super Bowl that that Patriots made in 2001, but more than that it talks about the inner workings of a team, motivation, and the importance of teamwork. Teamwork was the key to the Super Bowl victory and by reading this book, you can see that it was much more important than some might have thought. This Patriots team had to overcome many obstacles during the season to win it all, and this book describes how the team came together and won as a unit. Pepper Johnson also describes the rigors of being a coach in the NFL, the long hours (5am to midnight or longer) and hours of watching game tape. If you have ever wondered what NFL coaches do to game plan, you can find out right here. Pepper also talks about the importance of the scout team, something that I think many people over look. All in all this is a great football book, not only for Patriot fans, but for all football fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Reliving the 2001 PATS
Review: First let me say I am a New England Patriot fan. Overall, this book was a disappointment. Nevertheless, any Patriot fan will find reading the book interesting and essential to get the inside story of the 2001 New England Patriots. Starting with the book's shortcomings: 1. Very little attention is paid to most intriguing element of the 2001 team - the ultimate replacement of Drew Bledsoe with Tom Brady. Johnson gives very, very short shrift to this key story of the team. Maybe, being a coach on the team he was afraid of going into the kind of detail that appears in journalists' account of the relationship between Bledsoe, Brady, Belichik and the team. 2. There's too much I I I in the book. I didn't want to hear about Johnson's coaching philosophy or incidents that occurred specifically to him. I wanted to hear about the team. 3. It does a poor job of building drama and excitement. It has a very bland and unadorned writing style. 4. Not necessarily a shortcoming, but there are very few X's and O's talking about plays and play calling, as well as in-depth coaching philosophies. Now why you should read it: 1. The book does a good job of walking the reader through the entire season in segments and has even greater detail on the playoffs and Super Bowl and preparations leading up to them. 2. It clearly demonstrates the importance of teamwork and less high profile players on the team for this particular squad to make the playoffs and win the Super Bowl. 3. It gives the reader a glimpse into the day-to-day life of NFL coaches. 4. It allows fans to re-live the 2001 season.
Rating:
Summary: Reliving the 2001 PATS
Review: First let me say I am a New England Patriot fan. Overall, this book was a disappointment. Nevertheless, any Patriot fan will find reading the book interesting and essential to get the inside story of the 2001 New England Patriots. Starting with the book's shortcomings: 1. Very little attention is paid to most intriguing element of the 2001 team - the ultimate replacement of Drew Bledsoe with Tom Brady. Johnson gives very, very short shrift to this key story of the team. Maybe, being a coach on the team he was afraid of going into the kind of detail that appears in journalists' account of the relationship between Bledsoe, Brady, Belichik and the team. 2. There's too much I I I in the book. I didn't want to hear about Johnson's coaching philosophy or incidents that occurred specifically to him. I wanted to hear about the team. 3. It does a poor job of building drama and excitement. It has a very bland and unadorned writing style. 4. Not necessarily a shortcoming, but there are very few X's and O's talking about plays and play calling, as well as in-depth coaching philosophies. Now why you should read it: 1. The book does a good job of walking the reader through the entire season in segments and has even greater detail on the playoffs and Super Bowl and preparations leading up to them. 2. It clearly demonstrates the importance of teamwork and less high profile players on the team for this particular squad to make the playoffs and win the Super Bowl. 3. It gives the reader a glimpse into the day-to-day life of NFL coaches. 4. It allows fans to re-live the 2001 season.
Rating: 
Summary: If you love the 2001 Patriots, read this book!
Review: I agree with both Michael Pearsall's 5-star review and C Baker's 3-star review. Like Pearsall, "I loved this book." Like C Baker, however, I too believe "It does a poor job of building drama and excitement."
If you're a Patriots fan, you will definitely enjoy this book for its many revealing stories about your (and my) favorite team. But the book doesn't quite tell the team's miraculous story (which is so incredible that Hollywood would have rejected a script based on it as unbelievable) in a way that draws in readers who are not already fans of Belichick's Patriots.
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre writing style sometimes gets in the way of story
Review: I am a dyed in the wool New England Patriots and NFL fan, and I really wanted to LOVE this book. But the writing style, paragraph structure and grammar in this book leave a lot to be desired. The writing (and I mean no offense in any way, shape or form to Mr. Pepper Johnson) is maybe junior high school level. I know, I know, some will say "So Pepper Johnson isn't an English teacher. Get over it" - I reply that the poor writing style and paragraph structure is so much of a problem, it sometimes gets in Pepper Johnson's way of effectively telling the incredible success story of the New England Patriots, particularly in the early going of the book. Even if you are OK with his conversational style of writing, Johnson occassionally meanders, going off on a tangent back to his playing days on the Super Bowl champion NY Giants. No one will question Pepper Johnson's love for football or his expertise in, and dedication to, the finer points of the game that many other coaches will never fully understand. But he is definitely not a writer. This is the type of problem that a seasoned "co-author" is supposed to take care of, but there is no evidence of any such meaningful editing work by Bill Gutman. With a solid rewrite, Pepper Johnson's unique insight could be very effectively conveyed, and this book would earn a 5-star rating. Even in its current state, you will still enjoy Johnson's insider view and perspective for the most part.
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre writing style sometimes gets in the way of story
Review: I am a dyed in the wool New England Patriots and NFL fan, and I really wanted to LOVE this book. But the writing style, paragraph structure and grammar in this book leave a lot to be desired. The writing (and I mean no offense in any way, shape or form to Mr. Pepper Johnson) is maybe junior high school level. I know, I know, some will say "So Pepper Johnson isn't an English teacher. Get over it" - I reply that the poor writing style and paragraph structure is so much of a problem, it sometimes gets in Pepper Johnson's way of effectively telling the incredible success story of the New England Patriots, particularly in the early going of the book. Even if you are OK with his conversational style of writing, Johnson occassionally meanders, going off on a tangent back to his playing days on the Super Bowl champion NY Giants. No one will question Pepper Johnson's love for football or his expertise in, and dedication to, the finer points of the game that many other coaches will never fully understand. But he is definitely not a writer. This is the type of problem that a seasoned "co-author" is supposed to take care of, but there is no evidence of any such meaningful editing work by Bill Gutman. With a solid rewrite, Pepper Johnson's unique insight could be very effectively conveyed, and this book would earn a 5-star rating. Even in its current state, you will still enjoy Johnson's insider view and perspective for the most part.
Rating:
Summary: Won for all
Review: I loved this book. I hate to read but found that this book was just what I was looking for. I have never been more excited to read a book in my life. I am a big New England fan and so wanted a book to bring the whole champion experience out for me. If you are a hige Patriots fan this bookk is for you!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Won for all
Review: I loved this book. I hate to read but found that this book was just what I was looking for. I have never been more excited to read a book in my life. I am a big New England fan and so wanted a book to bring the whole champion experience out for me. If you are a hige Patriots fan this bookk is for you!!!!
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