Customer Reviews

Won for All : The Inside Story of the New England Patriots' Improbable Run to The Super Bowl

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pepper Johnson's book about the New England Patriots' improbable run to championship glory in the 2001 NFL football season is a bit of a disappointment. Nevertheless, any Patriots fan will find the book interesting and essential to understanding the inside story of the 2001 New England Patriots.

This book does a good job of walking the reader through the entire 2001 season. Johnson divides the season into four game segments and provides great detail on the actual games, as well as the development and improvement of the team over the season. He provides even greater depth on the playoffs and Super Bowl, and the team's preparation leading up to the big games.

Probably the key theme to the book is it clearly demonstrates the importance of teamwork and the performance of less high profile players on the success of the entire team. Johnson stresses, time and again, the importance of each man on the team doing their job and doing it well for this particular squad to make the playoffs and win the Super Bowl.

Johnson also does a nice job of giving the reader a glimpse into the day-to-day life of NFL coaches, from the hours they work, the tape they study, their interaction with the players, and how the entire coaching staff is important to any team's overall success on the field.
The best thing about the book is allows Patriots fans to once again relive the 2001 season.

Unfortunately, the book has many drawbacks as well. First, there is very little attention paid to the most intriguing element of the 2001 season - the ultimate replacement of Drew Bledsoe with Tom Brady. Johnson gives very, very short shrift to this key controversy that could have torn the team apart. Maybe being a coach on the team he was afraid of going into the kind of detail that appears in journalists' accounts of the relationship between Bledsoe, Brady, Belichick, and the team.

Second, there is a little too much "I, I, I" in the book. I didn't want to hear about Johnson's coaching philosophy or incidences that occurred specifically to him. I wanted to hear about the team. There's a bit too much of Johnson in the book.

Third, the book does a poor job of building drama and excitement. It has a very bland and unadorned writing style. While the book is certainly very readable, it could have been better.

Finally, while not necessarily a shortcoming, there are very few X's and O's talking about plays, play calling, or in-depth game plan and football philosophies. It would have been nice to see more of this in the book as well.

Nevertheless, any Patriots fan, like me, will definitely enjoy the book and get a lot out of reading a coach's account of the 2001 New England Patriots.

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.

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.

Owning a hotel and sports pub a 1/2 mile from the patriots stadium , I thought I knew all about the game.. Pepper johnson`s account of the Patriots Superbowl season taught me more about the games behind the scenes stratigies, theories and work ethics . The endless hours of films , meetings , practice and planning that are a daily part of a coaches life. And ofcourse the players... Pepper johnson played the game with intensity , pride and spirit, when he wrote this book he did the same....

Jim Meade Owner
End Zone Motel and Sports Pub

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!!! Definitely a must read.

The book was interesting and informative. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes information on players and it was great to relive all the games leading up to and including the SB during that year. If you're a Pats fan you'll enjoy it!

An insiders look at the goings and comings and issues surrounding the best team in sports.

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.

Pepper Johnson does a great job of letting you see the makings of a Superbowl champ as well as giving you a look at what really goes on Monday-Saturday in preparation for Sunday. You also get an interesting feel on the difference between what it took to win his first Superbowl rings as a player (1986 and 1990) and this Superbowl ring as a coach in (2001)......This is a must read for any sports fan.

This book is well-written and highly informative and gives an excellent behind the scenes look at the day to day going on of a coaches life. A MUST READ!!!