Editorial Reviews:
|
When Bill Belichick arrived in New England, the Patriots were a laughingstock, an organization with a losing record, spiraling morale, salary cap problems, and a bloated payroll filled with a who's who of underperforming players. Belichick was supposed to change all that. But there were many questions: Could he turn it around? Could he win without Bill Parcells? He is smart, certainly, some would say a genius, but could he inspire and motivate a team to win it all? After his mediocre run as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and the strange end to his relationship with Parcells and the New York Jets, what kind of head coach could he be? Four years later, he has two Lombardi trophies in his hands, and the Patriots organization has become the gold standard in professional football. How did they do it? With unprecedented access granted by Belichick and his staff, author Michael Holley takes us deep inside the heart of a champion. A fly on the wall for two years, Holley captures Belichick at his most candid in team, coaches, and production meetings. What emerges is a portrait of a complicated man who is cerebral, yes, but also tough, demanding, stubborn, funny, profane, and a master strategist. With his brain trust -- Scott Pioli, Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis, and Ernie Adams -- Belichick has imposed a winning system and painstakingly selected players who thrive in that system. Holley provides, for the first time, insights into how Belichick and his coaching Cabinet prepare for opponents, evaluate talent, run the draft, and how they design their offensive and defensive schemes. Readers will also learn the real stories behind the controversial Drew Bledsoe trade and the cutting ofLawyer Milloy, and how Belichick fought to keep the team together. Frank, uncompromising, and stunning, Patriot Reign is required reading for football fans who want to understand what makes a champion tick.
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:  
Summary: Great book for the serious Patriot fan
Comment: If you love the Patriots, tou should read this book. Very good insight into their system, and organization.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Top read and inspirational
Comment: I am a Steelers fan but am open to reading about any football team. This book looks at a couple of years in the life of the New England Patriots. How did they become a NFL jugganaut?
This book pushes the idea that it was the coach Bill Belichick who through his great coaching ability was able to mold the team into a football powerhouse.
It is a quick and easy read and one in which I enjoyed.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Comment: The author does a great job of bringing the reader into the locker room in what would become one of the greatest franchises in sports history. He obviously was given quite a bit of access into normally closed door meetings and areas. The book describes the games, players and coaches to an extent that grips the reader. Highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: More Hyperbole Than Substance
Comment: In purchasing Patriot Reign, I was hoping for a thoughtful insight into modern-day, post salary-cap NFL, a la Moneyball. All in all I found the book to lack in insight. The book provided more of a description of, rather than my sought after Belicheckian rationalizations for, the ingenious roster moves and overall management of the Patriots.
Further, Patriot Reign was directed at a mass market audience, both in its writing style and its editing; the book jumped from thought to thought, and lacked Holley's regularly-displayed cogent thought process prominent in the author's Dale and Holley sports radio show.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Must own if you are a Pats Fan
Comment: I enjoyed this book. Holley is a great writer. Good perspective of what went on behind the scenes from the football management perspective.
|
|
