The Paolantonio Report: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players, Teams, Coaches, and Moments in NFL History [Hardcover]

Sal Paolantonio (Author), Reuben Frank (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2007

In The Paolantonio Report – The Most Overrated and Underrated Players, Teams, Coaches and Moments in NFL History, ESPN national correspondent Sal Paolantonio, who reports for SportsCenter, Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Football’s Kick-Off Show, examines the legends, the myths and over-hyped moments of America’s most popular game. With award-winning football writer Reuben Frank, who appears regularly on SI.com, Paolantonio goes behind the highlights, the drama and the numbers to set some things straight – once and for all – about the game we all watch on Sunday and Monday night, then debate every waking moment until the next kickoff. Call it “Monday Morning Quarterbacking, Extreme Edition”. For example: The Catch – Joe Montana to Dwight Clark – overrated. Not even in the top ten moments in NFL history. And Chuck Bednarik, the Eagles linebacker who knocked out Frank Gifford? He wasn’t that fearsome, and was considered slow and not a very good tackler.The Paolantonio Report includes chapters analyzing the most underrated and overrated quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, defensive backs, defensive linemen, offensive linemen, linebackers and specialists. Also look for chapters on the most underrated and overrated coaches, teams, offensive and defensive units, Hall of Famers, Super Bowls and some of the most underrated and overrated moments in the sport’s storied history -- with plenty of fun sidebars peppered throughout the book. Using an analytical approach that considers decades of stats, trends and historical data, The Paolantonio Report is certain to settle many arguments. It’s just as certain to start many more. Let the Monday Morning Quarterbacking begin!

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

As the football season gets underway, so does the outpouring of lists, as sports commentators, radio hosts, and pundits offer their takes on who ranks where in every category imaginable. Paolantonio's spin on list-making is to assess the most overrated and underrated teams and players in various categories from Super Bowl teams to tight ends. Naturally, it's the overrated picks that will fire up the most heated responses: Are the 1985 Chicago Bears truly the most overrated Super Bowl team? Don't make that claim in a Chicago sports bar. Fans across the country will enjoy debating both overs and unders (Is Deion Sanders underrated as a defensive back?), and of course, that's the whole point. Each category lists a single most overrated and underrated entry and a few runners-up for each. Witty postscripts to many sections show Paolantonio second-guessing his own choices or commenting on the potential for certain picks to generate controversy. This little gem offers something for every football fan. Wilkens, Mary Frances

From the Inside Flap

When the New England Patriots pulled the shocking draft-day trade for Randy Moss, they got one of the most overrated wide receivers in NFL history. Yes, that's right--overrated. The record-setting 1985 Chicago Bears, one of the most celebrated collections of superstars and oddballs in all of American sports, is one of the most overrated Super Bowl teams of all time. The worst Super Bowl ever? That would be Super Bowl XLI, played in rain-soaked Miami in February 2007. Welcome to The Paolantonio Report. Enter at your own risk. Written by award-winning writer and broadcaster Sal Paolantonio--a national correspondent at ESPN who covers pro football for SportsCenter and Sunday and Monday NFL Countdown--The Paolantonio Report is guaranteed to challenge some of your long-held beliefs about America's most popular game. In collaboration with award-winning writer Reuben Frank, who appears regularly on SI.com, Paolantonio pulls back the curtain to reveal a new perspective on the most over-hyped aspects of the greatest sports empire on the planet. In this book, nothing is sacred. Read the tale of two quarterbacks-- one a Hall of Famer who is the eternal poster child for the modern game, the other who will be enshrined in Canton soon after retirement. Both have been outrageously deified and vastly overrated. You want blasphemy? It's here. Len Dawson is compared to Joe Montana. Michael Vick to Brett Favre. Maybe Marv Levy shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. Certainly not Dan Fouts. And why not Bob Hayes? This is Monday Morning Quarterbacking: Extreme Edition. But much more. You want unique insight? It's here. It was an often-overlooked interception return for a touchdown by a defensive end that kick-started a pro football renaissance in New York in the 1980s. Why did the Minnesota Vikings lose all those Super Bowls with all that talent? Tom Brady didn't start the championship dynasty in New England--a field goal did. You want a fresh look at certain indelible, cinematic moments in NFL history? That's here, too. Dwight Clark's "Catch": it's overrated and misnamed. And don't blame Scott Norwood for losing Super Bowl XXV; it wasn't his fault. One of the most underrated and overlooked moments in NFL history? The day Vince Lombardi was allowed to leave the team he always wanted to coach in the town he truly loved. The Paolantonio Report includes chapters analyzing the most underrated and overrated quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, defensive backs, defensive linemen, offensive linemen, linebackers, and specialists. There are also chapters about the most underrated and overrated coaches, teams, offensive and defensive units, Hall of Famers, and Super Bowls. The Paolantonio Report considers decades of stats, trends, and historical data. And fantasy football freaks, don't put this book back on the shelf. There is plenty of statistical analysis here to keep you engaged and, hopefully, outraged. The Paolantonio Report is certain to start many arguments and settle many more. Let the debate begin.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Triumph Books (September 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600780253
• ISBN-13: 978-1600780257
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #946,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Effort, August 7, 2008

By 

Mickey (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Paolantonio Report: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players, Teams, Coaches, and Moments in NFL History (Hardcover)

I picked this book up because I recognized Paolantonio from ESPN and liked his work. I hope that others won't make the same mistake.

Paolantonio offers up his opinion on a variety of topics, and at times it seems as if he's throwing out wild ideas just to get attention. He can't seriously believe some of the stuff he writes here, like saying that Barry Sanders was overrated and much of his success was due to playing indoors. Paolantonio argues that playing in warm weather makes it easier for running backs to rack up yards. Of course, that argument is weakened by the fact that the Hall of Fame is overflowing with backs who played in cold weather climates.... Jim Brown, Walter Payton, OJ Simpson, Jimmy Taylor, Marion Motley, Franco Harris, Thurman Thomas, etc, etc.

The book is overflowing with these kinds of dubious arguments. As a reader, you have to wonder whether he just doesn't know anything about football, or whether he simply made these arguments off the top of his head without thinking about them. Either way, this is a terribly disappointing book.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Box Score Analyst, November 18, 2007

By 

Mr. Samuel B. R. Monson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Paolantonio Report: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players, Teams, Coaches, and Moments in NFL History (Hardcover)

This book has an interesting premise, but its content is shallw, ill researched, and clearly written by a guy who analyses stats rather than actual game-play.

Some of the players in his lists are just foolish suggestions, backed up by little more than flawed statistical analysis. He often contradicts himself or misses obvious alternative causes for the stats he uses, and has clearly written the book just to promote controversy and get a quick buck.

Nothing in here you won't find on your average NFL internet forum, but this guy expects you to pay for the privilege of reading it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Some glaring factual errors, July 6, 2011

By 

Matthew Sanborn "Monsterfashion" (Arkham, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Paolantonio Report: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players, Teams, Coaches, and Moments in NFL History (Hardcover)

A book such as this always opens itself up to controversy; it is primarily the main focus. However, when there are glaring factual errors, the book begins to take a tailspin. Case in point - Sal argues against Marv Levy's coaching acumen, stating he was out-manuvered by Barry Switzer in Super Bowl 28. The problem here is that Jimmy Johnson was the coach of the opposing Cowboys that day not Switzer, who would come in the next year. Making arguments against incorrect facts sets the book's entire integrity in question, and places otherwise interesting arguments in jeopardy as this book was obviously not fact checked at all.