NFL Network's "A Football Life" Series

[Van Everyman]

Who's watching this? Surprised to not see a thread on this, as I find myself fairly addicted to it. Some episodes are better than others, but there are some amazing ones -- a few that come to mind include Paul Brown, Mean Joe Greene, Steve Largent, John Riggins, and, obviously, the Belichick one (which may have started it all? I can't remember).

What I love the most about this series is that it doesn't shy away from the dark side of the game -- the violence, the steroids, the early deaths, etc. And that's just the Lyle Alzado episode! Lots of guys motivated by terrible, abusive fathers. A credit to the legacy of NFL Films and the Sabols, as it seems that it continues to be separate and distinct from the Baghdad Bobification that is the rest of NFL-sponsored media.

 

[Oil Can Dan]

I'm late to the series but I'm watching now too. Watched the Terrell Owens one last night. I think they do a great job and I love these. I agree that the Belichick one was the first one and that one was great to see. I think this series is on the America's Game level of quality.

 

[Vinho Tinto]

The Warren Sapp edition showed that they will skip a lot of a subject's shitty history to tell a hour long story.

 

[JimD]

They need to do a sequel to the Belichick one, featuring scenes of the coach trying to figure out that Snapface thingie on his phone.

 

[mauf]

The Warren Sapp edition showed that they will skip a lot of a subject's shitty history to tell a hour long story.

It's a good show if you're willing to accept that whatever issues the player has that don't affect his football career will be addressed only incidentally. If that bothers you, then you should probably skip episodes where the subject is someone who you think is a shitty human being.

As an example, I thought the Warren Moon episode struck a nice balance between not glossing over allegations of serious misconduct, but also not making those the focal point of a show. The episode gave an appropriate level of attention to the domestic violence allegations Moon faced in the 1990s, and also didn't talk much about the positive off-field activities that won him the NFL Man of the Year award a few years prior to the domestic incident.

 

[bankshot1]

I just saw the Bruce Arians chapter. He's very likable, charismatic, and a very good coach and its easy to understand the loyalty and respect he has earned. Its a good watch.

 

[grsharky7]

Very good show, I really enjoyed the Kenny Stabler one. The ones on Belichick were so enlightening, even the Steeler fans I'm surrounded by enjoyed it.