Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback: A fully caffeinated guide to everything you need to know about the NFL

by Peter King

More than two million people a week rush to SI.com to read Peter King's column, Monday Morning Quarterback. There they find a potent mix of analysis, opinion, humor and inside-the-NFL locker- room information delivered as no one else can. In this book, King, the award-winning Sports Illustrated pro football writer, brings the same blend of wit and wisdom, ranging from his famous "10 Things I Think I Think" to his Top 100 player rankings; from the football clichés he hates to the coaching hires he loves; from Brett Favre's golf game to Peyton Manning's comedic skills. And all freshly flavored with King's inimitable observations on the best hotels, the worst airports, the greatest traditions-and coffee, coffee, coffee. There is no journalist better connected to the NFL's players, coaches, general managers and owners, and no writer renders the inside information as entertainingly as Peter King.

Genres: Sports, Football, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Born in Springfield, Mass., and raised in Enfield, CT., where he was the captain of his high school baseball and soccer teams, King earned a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from Ohio University in 1979.

King has written six books, the most recent being Monday Morning Quarterback: A Fully Caffeinated Guide to Everything You Need to Know About the NFL. Prior to that King authored Inside the Helmet: A Player's-Eye View of Pro Football, which examines the inner lives and jobs of some of the NFL's biggest names, and Football: A History of the Professional Game, which profiles the teams, players and events of the NFL's first 75 years.

King lives in Boston with his wife, Ann. The couple has two adult daughters, Laura and Mary Beth.

Reviews

[Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter King is where productivity goes to die. Every Monday, the wheels of global commerce slow to a crawl as the male half of the American workforce pauses to read Monday Morning Quarterback.

So why would we want to re-read these columns in a book? Oh, I don't know. For one thing, King has his priorities straight, and it's fun to traverse the ups and downs of the last decade with him. I'd forgotten, already, about George Martin's walk across America to benefit 9/11 responders with health problems. It was good to be reminded.

This is not fine literature, but King writes honestly and well, and of course has incredible access across the NFL. Reading it is like spending a few hours with a good guy who knows a lot about football.

There are worse ways to spend your time.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a great book because it told you really interesting stories that I enjoyed. I liked the part when it told you about the top 100 active players and the part when it showed the top 100 players of all time.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the title would indicate that this book is solely about the NFL, that is not the case. Topics as divergent as high school sports and the emotions of having to put your pet down are the subject of essays. Peter King is an amazing talent as an observer of the world as well as his ability to articulate those points.
Over his career, King has been given deep access to the figures in the sports world. The subjects of the short essays are generally not the events of the big games, but of the actions and positions of the specific players. The focus and dedication that got them there.
The most moving essays deal with personal events. His description of a long high school softball game where his daughter is playing is a classic of sports short stories. The intensity of the extra inning contest is clearly enunciated. “Goodbye Woody” covers his actions and feelings when he has his dog put down and could appear in any publication and would move readers of any background. Whether they cared about sports or not.
Good writing can make even the subjects that you find least interesting tug at your mind and force you to pay attention. Even though it is segmented into short essays, this book is hard to put down.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Peter King announced his retirement from his position as a senior N.F.L. correspondent at Sports Illustrated last week, I moved this up in my reading queue.
Peter is a kind man, natural in his manner and this drew players and team executives to him.
This always showed in his writing as he obviously knew beforehand, the things that were about to happen around the league. He earned that kind of trust that made him a true "insider".
This book is a bit dated, taking us back to about 1999 when S.I. was just launching its website.
Monday Morning Quarterback was his online column and this book covers some of his best work during that time.
Enjoy your retirement Peter. We will miss you and you can never be replaced by the A.I. "bots' that S.I. has already been experimenting with.

[Jeff Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of some of the author's columns from when he wrote the Monday Morning Quarterback entry on the Sports Illustrated internet site. I used to read him pretty religiously when this was up and active and so this compendium was fun to re-read. The best column, in my opinion, is the one where he describes his daughter's softball team's playoff game --- it is an absolutely compelling read. Sports are a great escape for many of us and this book will help you to escape if just for a brief while.

[Kalli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but mainly just a re-hash of articles throughout the years. Very little original material.

[Adam Murfet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like going through a time warp. Really enjoyable read with many great anecdotes. Reads as well now as I bet it did during the time. Thanks for the trip down memory lane

[Craig Wodecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you miss football after the Super Bowl, this will keep your interest going.

[Jonathan Bechtel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought it at Ollies for a dollar. It was worth it, I guess.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Collection of his columns from the SI website. I don't read him regularly and was only a little familiar with him from his appearances on Football Night in America. I'm sure he knows his stuff, but the book is slight and amply illustrates the besetting vice of column writers: self-indulgence (list of my favorite movies, least favorite airports, etc.).

If you're going to put yourself in the foreground so much, it would help to become likable first. I have no idea why he chosen to reprint as a "classic" the column about using his clout as a well-known writer to ace out a 7-year old in claiming a foul ball at a major league game, while trashing the kid's character in print. I can't do it justice -- really obnoxious, and he doubles down by printing angry emails he got about it and then just saying he still thinks he was right.

Most of it is lighter than that, but someone should have intervened to tell him that even a couple of years ago when this was published "boy, there's a Starbucks on every corner, and, hey, how 'bout those people who order specialty drinks there that take forever to describe?" was not fresh observational humor anymore.

Collecting ephemera like this did serve one purpose for me as a reader -- I'm contemplating applying my "no speculation" rule of political reading (saving my limited brain space for trying to remember what has actually happened, I no longer read Wx Post stories about conjecture re what Congress or the Supreme Court might do) to sports. Why bother reading rumors about free agent signings etc.? I'll have to think about this before making drastic changes.

[Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A fully caffeinated guide to everything you need to know about the NFL"

Well...sort of. The title reads as if it was almost a NFL for dummies, but it's not. I've been reading Peter King's MMQB articles on SI.com for about a year now. If you've been a follower of the MMQB for a good part of this decade then a lot of this book may seem familiar. That's because more than half of the book are some of Peter King's favorite stories. The parts of the book that I found most interesting were King's list of Top 100 current players, as well as a list of Top 100 All-Time players. Although I did have some issues with some of the players on the list, as well as his reasoning for putting them up there. For example he list Jay Cutler on his top 100 list (#27 I think) and his reasoning behind the selection was that he threw for 4,000 yards with diabetes. True, but he also threw for 18 picks. All in all outside of some very obvious editorial errors Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback: A fully caffeinated guide to everything you need to know about the NFL is a very quick and good read for any NFL fanatic, but what made the book for me was finding out that Jerry Jones is the NFL's contradictory king. Read it and you'll find out what I mean.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to imagine a book that is easier to read in better bite-sized chunks than this one. As a fellow reviewer noted, this book is essentially the epitome of a bathroom reader. I have been a pretty consistent reader of Peter King's "Monday Morning Quarterback" column on cnnsi for quite some time. Sometimes I find his column infuriating, but I always find him worthwhile reading. For a long time I held a real grudge against him for a perceived pro-Giants (and anti-Redskins) bias, but few covering the game today are better insiders. Aside from all the great football observations, a lot of other really good stuff like his love of his daughter's high school softball team and his appreciation for our armed forces. Ever since Peter King voted for Art Monk for the Hall of Fame, I have made my peace with him, I am glad I did.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

HILARIOUS. This is one of those books where you can flip to any page and just dig in...King has lots of snippets in the margins that are funny, freaky, and interesting. But it's the wonderful collection of articles covering everything from the NFL Draft to contract negotiation to crappy accomodations to the county's best sports bars that grab your attention, and he has the BEST interview with the guy who just can't take GO for an answer, Brett Favre, I've ever read.

[Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

As lead NFL columnist for SI, King is probably the most influential football writer today. His Monday morning column is a go to read. This book is basically a rehash of those columns. There are some new lists (everyone loves lists!) and observations, but generally nothing new going on. One of those books you keep around and glance at between reading other books.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not an SI reader, but I do love Peter King's Sunday Night Football reports. I guess SI readers are annoyed when he writes about town softball games, but I loved those columns in this collection. When else would a local high school team get such a well written, dramatic and emotional write up, complete with coach/player/fan reactions. Keep it up, I say.

[Jbussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it twice. 5 or 6 years apart. It's still a fun BR Reader. It's good to remember and re-read a story if that story is that good. Seriously. How many books were so good that you read it more than once? Reference books don't count. And I like PK. He's honest and warm. He's got a style I enjoy. If you read a few colums and like them, read the rest of the book. If not, oh well oh well.

[Ichael Otley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love Peter King's weekly column, but does not deliver as a book. There's some cool articles and funny facts, but it's just not a good book. Better read in little bits or if you're looking something up.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Peter King, if you enjoy his Monday Morning Quarterback columns on si.com, then you will like this book. He lends insight to the teams and the players in the NFL, and thanks to great access, he brings readers behind the scenes. That said, parts of the book left me wanting more.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was OK, although I didn't enjoy it as much as I do King's MMQB columns. Maybe it's because the book has a higher ratio of Peter King to football, and while I'm interested in what he says about football, I have the sneaking feeling that I might not like to hang out with him as a person.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always liked his columns and enjoy reading what he wrote about during events of the past. There are some non-football stories that are here and there (daughter's softball/lacrosse games) but there's also a riveting one (soldier in Afghanistan) that make it a solid, varied read.

[Scott Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting complilation of Peter King's best works. I do enjoy reading his column weekly, especially during the NFL season. It was a good light-hearted read, but nothing more epic than that