TV-PG, 45 min.
Featuring: Chuck Klosterman,
Boomer Esiason, Bill Walsh, Joe Namath, Steve Young
Narrator: Josh Charles
I’ve now reviewed three of
NFL Network’s episodes of “A Football Life”. The first two I did out of my
fanaticism for everything involving the New York Football Giants. This one I do
out of love for the game, and this one seemed to be the most informative of any
of the documentaries I’ve seen from the NFL. I actually learned a thing or two
about football watching this doc.
One thing that I learned is
that Chuck Klosterman—the man who wrote the rock filled memoirs “Fargo Rock
City” and “Killing Yourself To Live”, which mirrored my own experiences with
rock music growing up in the same generation—is a huge football fan. He’s one
of the most prominent talking heads in this doc and displays a passion for the
passing game that goes beyond logic. His prediction that one day there will be
a team that doesn’t run the ball at all defies any logic, but then he admits
that the coach of that first team to only throw the ball will be thought of as
crazy until everyone is doing it. This theory ignores that fact that a passing
game cannot exist successfully without a running game. I suppose time will tell
on our differing opinions there.
Anyway, there’s a great deal
of football history to be gleaned from “The Forward Pass”. From the details
behind how Teddy Roosevelt saved football as a national past time to how
passing removed the “foot” from the game of football to the arguable point that
Bill Walsh single-handedly created the West Coast Offense, a passing-based game
plan that dominates professional football today, the film is a great place to
glean an overview of the passing game and a general history of the National
Football League itself. Former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason
appears to test a number of official league footballs throughout its years in
terms of how well they can be thrown. I wonder why they didn’t get a younger
quarterback for this.
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