Author: Bruce Arians
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 0316432253
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 198
Book Description
What is an elite NFL QB and what separates that player from the others? One answer is the coach they share. In the recent history of the biggest game on earth, one man is the common thread that connects several of the very best in the sport: Peyton Manning; Ben Roethlisberger; Andrew Luck; and the resurgent Carson Palmer. That coach is Bruce Arians. A larger than life visionary who trained under the tutelage of Bear Bryant, Arians has had a major impact on the development and success of each of these players. For proof beyond the stats, go to the sources. "Bruce is gonna love you when you need some loving, but he's gonna jump on you when you're not doing right." -- Peyton Manning "He coaches the way players want to be coached." -- Ben Roethlisberger "He made players comfortable around him and let everybody have their own personality. He didn't force anybody to be someone they weren't. It may sound a little corny or cheesy, but there's merit to that. I felt comfortable being myself and I felt he had my back." -- Andrew Luck "We're a resilient group. It trickles down from the head coach. I think good teams, really good teams, and hopefully great teams take on their coach's mentality. I think that's what B.A. brings . . . " -- Carson Palmer Known around the game as the 'quarterback whisperer', Arians has an uncanny ability to both personally connect with his quarterbacks and to locate what the individual triggers are for that player to succeed. No two quarterbacks are the same. And yet with Arians they always share success. In this book Arians will explain how he does it.
The Quarterback Whisperer
The QB
Author: Bruce Feldman
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0553418467
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
With unparalleled access to Heisman Trophy-winning phenom Johnny Manziel, Bruce Feldman has written a modern-day tale about the making of the next superstars in football's most important position: the quarterback. In the world of modern football, with NFL teams worth more than a billion dollars, no position defines a franchise like the quarterback. The QB is the story of a year in the making of those star players, and of the most significant year in QB development in sport’s history… with the meteoric rise of various quarterback gurus finally coming to light. George Whitfield, profiled in the New Yorker and called the “Quarterback Whisperer,” gets a regular spot on ESPN’s College GameDay, Trent Dilfer, former Super Bowl quarterback, starts his own qb business, Steve Clarkson, another qb maker, gets profiled on 60 minutes, among many others. It is also the year 5’10” Russell Wilson wins the Super Bowl and for the first time in over 60 years a sub-6-foot QB, Johnny Manziel, gets drafted in the first round, forcing NFL power brokers to re-examine how they look at the position—and the game. To tell the story of all that goes on to create the perfect quarterback, bestselling author Bruce Feldman gained unique access to "Johnny Football" (that's Johnny Manziel), George Whitfield and many other players in what has become a specialized and high-stakes business. In the past decade the boom of the private quarterback-coach business, with its pageant-world-for-boys vibe, has changed the position and the game. The QB tells the story of the interlocking paths of the most fascinating characters involved in this secretive world, examining how advanced analysis has taken root in football. Manziel’s portrait is the most intimate look at him yet, detailing all his talents and antics. His guru is a man who has come to be known for making QBs--George Whitfield, unparalleled in the business. And then there is Trent Dilfer, the quarterback who never could get to the superstar level, despite winning the Super Bowl. He is the Salieri to Manziel's Mozart. There is the computer/brain analysis company trying to quantify how playmakers think, the biomechanics expert who saved Drew Brees’s career, and many more fascinating behind-the-scenes looks into this world. Never before has the game so relied on the development of the quarterback. In The QB, the stories of these men illustrate how high the stakes of the quarterback’s game really are, taking readers on a compelling journey into the heart of America's beloved game.
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0553418467
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
With unparalleled access to Heisman Trophy-winning phenom Johnny Manziel, Bruce Feldman has written a modern-day tale about the making of the next superstars in football's most important position: the quarterback. In the world of modern football, with NFL teams worth more than a billion dollars, no position defines a franchise like the quarterback. The QB is the story of a year in the making of those star players, and of the most significant year in QB development in sport’s history… with the meteoric rise of various quarterback gurus finally coming to light. George Whitfield, profiled in the New Yorker and called the “Quarterback Whisperer,” gets a regular spot on ESPN’s College GameDay, Trent Dilfer, former Super Bowl quarterback, starts his own qb business, Steve Clarkson, another qb maker, gets profiled on 60 minutes, among many others. It is also the year 5’10” Russell Wilson wins the Super Bowl and for the first time in over 60 years a sub-6-foot QB, Johnny Manziel, gets drafted in the first round, forcing NFL power brokers to re-examine how they look at the position—and the game. To tell the story of all that goes on to create the perfect quarterback, bestselling author Bruce Feldman gained unique access to "Johnny Football" (that's Johnny Manziel), George Whitfield and many other players in what has become a specialized and high-stakes business. In the past decade the boom of the private quarterback-coach business, with its pageant-world-for-boys vibe, has changed the position and the game. The QB tells the story of the interlocking paths of the most fascinating characters involved in this secretive world, examining how advanced analysis has taken root in football. Manziel’s portrait is the most intimate look at him yet, detailing all his talents and antics. His guru is a man who has come to be known for making QBs--George Whitfield, unparalleled in the business. And then there is Trent Dilfer, the quarterback who never could get to the superstar level, despite winning the Super Bowl. He is the Salieri to Manziel's Mozart. There is the computer/brain analysis company trying to quantify how playmakers think, the biomechanics expert who saved Drew Brees’s career, and many more fascinating behind-the-scenes looks into this world. Never before has the game so relied on the development of the quarterback. In The QB, the stories of these men illustrate how high the stakes of the quarterback’s game really are, taking readers on a compelling journey into the heart of America's beloved game.
How to Grow a Winning Quarterback
Author: Jerry Rhome
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 9781930604971
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Explains the importance of the quarterback to a football team, and provides specific advice and directions for developing one's skills.
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 9781930604971
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Explains the importance of the quarterback to a football team, and provides specific advice and directions for developing one's skills.
A Season in the Sun
Author: Lars Anderson
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0063160226
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 298
Book Description
WITH A FOREWORD BY COACH BRUCE ARIANS The extraordinary behind-the-scenes story of how Coach Bruce Arians, Tom Brady, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came together to deliver one of the most improbable Super Bowl victories in NFL history. The pursuit was so shrouded in secrecy that it was referred to within the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ organization by codename: Operation Shoeless Joe Jackson. Indeed, the prospect of Tom Brady, six-time Super Bowl champion and widely-acknowledged greatest football player ever, joining the Bucs, a historically hapless franchise that hadn’t made the playoffs in more than a decade, seemed about as likely as Jackson emerging out of an Iowa cornfield in the movie Field of Dreams. But come Brady did. At age forty-three, pushing the boundaries of football mortality and without Bill Belichick by his side for the first time in his NFL career, this would be the ultimate test for the ultimate football legacy. Brady’s new coach, Bruce Arians, also had much to prove. One of the great offensive minds of his generation, Arians returned to coaching in 2018, at the age of 65, in search of the one achievement that had eluded him throughout his illustrious career: a Super Bowl championship. Together, like so many aged snowbirds, Brady and Arians had decamped to Florida to make the most of their remaining years. Renowned sports journalist Lars Anderson was granted extraordinary access to the inner workings of the Bucs’ organization. The result is a remarkable work of sports journalism, peppered with wild inside stories and new insights into Brady, Arians, and the Bucs. From the practice facility to the team plane, from the garage where Brady treats his footballs to the huddle on gameday, Anderson captures the rhythms of perhaps the strangest NFL season ever, turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. In his telling, the Bucs’ quest for one glorious season in the sun becomes a riveting sports epic.
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0063160226
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 298
Book Description
WITH A FOREWORD BY COACH BRUCE ARIANS The extraordinary behind-the-scenes story of how Coach Bruce Arians, Tom Brady, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came together to deliver one of the most improbable Super Bowl victories in NFL history. The pursuit was so shrouded in secrecy that it was referred to within the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ organization by codename: Operation Shoeless Joe Jackson. Indeed, the prospect of Tom Brady, six-time Super Bowl champion and widely-acknowledged greatest football player ever, joining the Bucs, a historically hapless franchise that hadn’t made the playoffs in more than a decade, seemed about as likely as Jackson emerging out of an Iowa cornfield in the movie Field of Dreams. But come Brady did. At age forty-three, pushing the boundaries of football mortality and without Bill Belichick by his side for the first time in his NFL career, this would be the ultimate test for the ultimate football legacy. Brady’s new coach, Bruce Arians, also had much to prove. One of the great offensive minds of his generation, Arians returned to coaching in 2018, at the age of 65, in search of the one achievement that had eluded him throughout his illustrious career: a Super Bowl championship. Together, like so many aged snowbirds, Brady and Arians had decamped to Florida to make the most of their remaining years. Renowned sports journalist Lars Anderson was granted extraordinary access to the inner workings of the Bucs’ organization. The result is a remarkable work of sports journalism, peppered with wild inside stories and new insights into Brady, Arians, and the Bucs. From the practice facility to the team plane, from the garage where Brady treats his footballs to the huddle on gameday, Anderson captures the rhythms of perhaps the strangest NFL season ever, turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. In his telling, the Bucs’ quest for one glorious season in the sun becomes a riveting sports epic.
Mindful Quarterbacking
Author: Marcus A. Mayo
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781606793756
Category : Football
Languages : en
Pages : 130
Book Description
This book is about the mental game of Quarterbacking. It is written so that any Quarterback or coach at any level can understand and utilize its content. The purpose of this book is to assist the Quarterback in maximizing the mental state of mind so that he can maximize his performance on the field. This playbook is categorized into several different parts. The foundation of this playbook is structured on the three elements of mindfulness: intention, attention, and attitude. You will read about each of the M-QB principles, how they are grouped (Core Mindfulness Principles, Ps of Preparation, and Cs of Competition) and will also learn how to utilize each of the principles within the three elements of mindfulness. Each M-QB principle will cover how and why the principle relates to Quarterbacking. As this playbook progresses, there will be “M-QB Situation” readings, where the Quarterback can read about some things that he might encounter (or have previously encountered) as a Quarterback. The Quarterback will then be asked to digest everything he’s read, write about how he would usually handle such situations, and also what M-QB principles he can apply to better handle the situation better or differently. In this playbook, the Quarterback will also be provided meditations, guided imagery exercises, as well as reminders and solutions that he can apply to help maximize focus and always take back the present moment and effectively handle anything that arises throughout their journey. This playbook will also act as a journal and will have sections where the Quarterback can write, reflect, and evaluate his progress becoming a Mindful Quarterback. In the appendix, there are meditations for pre-practice for each day of the week, goal setting charts, and a weekly/daily reflection log. The appendix will also provide a guide for approaching game time and will provide weekly game time goal setting charts, pre-game meditations, pre-game routine, along with handling in-game situations while in action and on the sideline. The approaching game time area also acts as a journal and will have sections for the Quarterback to write, reflect on, and evaluate his performance as a Mindful Quarterback. In the extras section of the appendix, you will find M-QB guided imagery as well as ways for the Quarterback to handle dealing with pain and unwelcoming weather conditions.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781606793756
Category : Football
Languages : en
Pages : 130
Book Description
This book is about the mental game of Quarterbacking. It is written so that any Quarterback or coach at any level can understand and utilize its content. The purpose of this book is to assist the Quarterback in maximizing the mental state of mind so that he can maximize his performance on the field. This playbook is categorized into several different parts. The foundation of this playbook is structured on the three elements of mindfulness: intention, attention, and attitude. You will read about each of the M-QB principles, how they are grouped (Core Mindfulness Principles, Ps of Preparation, and Cs of Competition) and will also learn how to utilize each of the principles within the three elements of mindfulness. Each M-QB principle will cover how and why the principle relates to Quarterbacking. As this playbook progresses, there will be “M-QB Situation” readings, where the Quarterback can read about some things that he might encounter (or have previously encountered) as a Quarterback. The Quarterback will then be asked to digest everything he’s read, write about how he would usually handle such situations, and also what M-QB principles he can apply to better handle the situation better or differently. In this playbook, the Quarterback will also be provided meditations, guided imagery exercises, as well as reminders and solutions that he can apply to help maximize focus and always take back the present moment and effectively handle anything that arises throughout their journey. This playbook will also act as a journal and will have sections where the Quarterback can write, reflect, and evaluate his progress becoming a Mindful Quarterback. In the appendix, there are meditations for pre-practice for each day of the week, goal setting charts, and a weekly/daily reflection log. The appendix will also provide a guide for approaching game time and will provide weekly game time goal setting charts, pre-game meditations, pre-game routine, along with handling in-game situations while in action and on the sideline. The approaching game time area also acts as a journal and will have sections for the Quarterback to write, reflect on, and evaluate his performance as a Mindful Quarterback. In the extras section of the appendix, you will find M-QB guided imagery as well as ways for the Quarterback to handle dealing with pain and unwelcoming weather conditions.
The QB
Author: Bruce Feldman
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0553418475
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
With unparalleled access to the recruits, coaches, and gurus shaping football’s future, Bruce Feldman has written a modern-day tale about the making of the next superstars in the game’s most important position: the quarterback. In the world of modern football, with NFL teams worth more than a billion dollars, no position defines a franchise like the quarterback. The QB is the story of a year in the making of those star players, and of the most significant year in QB development in sport’s history… with the meteoric rise of various quarterback gurus finally coming to light. George Whitfield, profiled in the New Yorker and called the “Quarterback Whisperer,” gets a regular spot on ESPN’s College GameDay, Trent Dilfer, former Super Bowl quarterback, starts his own qb business, Steve Clarkson, another qb maker, gets profiled on 60 minutes, among many others. It is also the year 5’10” Russell Wilson wins the Super Bowl and for the first time in over 60 years a sub-6-foot QB, Johnny Manziel, gets drafted in the first round, forcing NFL power brokers to re-examine how they look at the position—and the game. To tell the story of all that goes on to create the perfect quarterback, bestselling author Bruce Feldman gained unique access to "Johnny Football" (that's Johnny Manziel), George Whitfield and many other players in what has become a specialized and high-stakes business. In the past decade the boom of the private quarterback-coach business, with its pageant-world-for-boys vibe, has changed the position and the game. The QB tells the story of the interlocking paths of the most fascinating characters involved in this secretive world, examining how advanced analysis has taken root in football. Manziel’s portrait is the most intimate look at him yet, detailing all his talents and antics. His guru is a man who has come to be known for making QBs--George Whitfield, unparalleled in the business. And then there is Trent Dilfer, the quarterback who never could get to the superstar level, despite winning the Super Bowl. He is the Salieri to Manziel's Mozart. There is the computer/brain analysis company trying to quantify how playmakers think, the biomechanics expert who saved Drew Brees’s career, and many more fascinating behind-the-scenes looks into this world. Never before has the game so relied on the development of the quarterback. In The QB, the stories of these men illustrate how high the stakes of the quarterback’s game really are, taking readers on a compelling journey into the heart of America's beloved game.
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0553418475
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
With unparalleled access to the recruits, coaches, and gurus shaping football’s future, Bruce Feldman has written a modern-day tale about the making of the next superstars in the game’s most important position: the quarterback. In the world of modern football, with NFL teams worth more than a billion dollars, no position defines a franchise like the quarterback. The QB is the story of a year in the making of those star players, and of the most significant year in QB development in sport’s history… with the meteoric rise of various quarterback gurus finally coming to light. George Whitfield, profiled in the New Yorker and called the “Quarterback Whisperer,” gets a regular spot on ESPN’s College GameDay, Trent Dilfer, former Super Bowl quarterback, starts his own qb business, Steve Clarkson, another qb maker, gets profiled on 60 minutes, among many others. It is also the year 5’10” Russell Wilson wins the Super Bowl and for the first time in over 60 years a sub-6-foot QB, Johnny Manziel, gets drafted in the first round, forcing NFL power brokers to re-examine how they look at the position—and the game. To tell the story of all that goes on to create the perfect quarterback, bestselling author Bruce Feldman gained unique access to "Johnny Football" (that's Johnny Manziel), George Whitfield and many other players in what has become a specialized and high-stakes business. In the past decade the boom of the private quarterback-coach business, with its pageant-world-for-boys vibe, has changed the position and the game. The QB tells the story of the interlocking paths of the most fascinating characters involved in this secretive world, examining how advanced analysis has taken root in football. Manziel’s portrait is the most intimate look at him yet, detailing all his talents and antics. His guru is a man who has come to be known for making QBs--George Whitfield, unparalleled in the business. And then there is Trent Dilfer, the quarterback who never could get to the superstar level, despite winning the Super Bowl. He is the Salieri to Manziel's Mozart. There is the computer/brain analysis company trying to quantify how playmakers think, the biomechanics expert who saved Drew Brees’s career, and many more fascinating behind-the-scenes looks into this world. Never before has the game so relied on the development of the quarterback. In The QB, the stories of these men illustrate how high the stakes of the quarterback’s game really are, taking readers on a compelling journey into the heart of America's beloved game.
The Q Factor
Author: Brian Billick
Publisher: Twelve
ISBN: 1538749912
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Brian Billick, Super Bowl-winning coach and current analyst for the NFL network, takes on the 2018 draft class of quarterbacks and follows them for two years, identifying the tangibles and intangibles of success, in search of the key to better predicting who will make it as a top-ranked NFL franchise QB. There are elite athletes in every sport -- people who possess tangible and intangible qualities that allow them to overcome daunting odds, spot opportunity in the midst of adversity, and turn defeat into victory. No position embodies this dynamic more than football quarterbacks, and nothing is a greater test of performance than the NFL. The tangibles -- metrics, stats, ratings, bowl games, championships -- are critical to evaluation. But they're not enough. Every year, highly rated college quarterbacks are analyzed, critiqued, hyped up and/or doubted, and those who manage to survive the scrutiny are drafted early. Some of those early picks make it to the top, some end up journeymen, and some just wash out. Why? What separates the elites from the pack? In THE Q FACTOR, former NFL coach Brian Billick takes the highly promising 2018 NFL quarterback Draft class -- the most touted class since 2004 (Manning, Roethlisberger, Rivers) and 1983 (Elway, Kelly, Marino) -- and measures the top five quarterback picks to gauge how, why, and if they succeed. They are all first rounders, all with sterling college credentials, all talented athletes, all taken by teams betting their futures. One or maybe two could go on to greatness. But which ones, and why? Could the prediction process be better? Are the "experts" looking at the wrong factors? How do we find the best of the best? That's what THE Q FACTOR explores...and finally explains.
Publisher: Twelve
ISBN: 1538749912
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Brian Billick, Super Bowl-winning coach and current analyst for the NFL network, takes on the 2018 draft class of quarterbacks and follows them for two years, identifying the tangibles and intangibles of success, in search of the key to better predicting who will make it as a top-ranked NFL franchise QB. There are elite athletes in every sport -- people who possess tangible and intangible qualities that allow them to overcome daunting odds, spot opportunity in the midst of adversity, and turn defeat into victory. No position embodies this dynamic more than football quarterbacks, and nothing is a greater test of performance than the NFL. The tangibles -- metrics, stats, ratings, bowl games, championships -- are critical to evaluation. But they're not enough. Every year, highly rated college quarterbacks are analyzed, critiqued, hyped up and/or doubted, and those who manage to survive the scrutiny are drafted early. Some of those early picks make it to the top, some end up journeymen, and some just wash out. Why? What separates the elites from the pack? In THE Q FACTOR, former NFL coach Brian Billick takes the highly promising 2018 NFL quarterback Draft class -- the most touted class since 2004 (Manning, Roethlisberger, Rivers) and 1983 (Elway, Kelly, Marino) -- and measures the top five quarterback picks to gauge how, why, and if they succeed. They are all first rounders, all with sterling college credentials, all talented athletes, all taken by teams betting their futures. One or maybe two could go on to greatness. But which ones, and why? Could the prediction process be better? Are the "experts" looking at the wrong factors? How do we find the best of the best? That's what THE Q FACTOR explores...and finally explains.
Kingdom
Author: Adam Teicher
Publisher: Triumph Books
ISBN: 1641255536
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 182
Book Description
After 50 years of waiting, Kansas City Chiefs fans were hungry for a return to Super Bowl glory. In 2020, their patience was rewarded in dramatic, exuberant fashion with a second-half comeback for the ages against the San Francisco 49ers. ESPN's Adam Teicher expertly retraces the team's unforgettable championship season as well as the moves and moments that made it all possible—the hiring of head coach Andy Reid in 2013, drafting future-MVP Patrick Mahomes, the heart-wrenching AFC Championship loss to the Patriots in 2019 that lingered in the mind of every player, and more. Teicher captures the mood of the team week by week, every step of the way, profiling numerous players, coaches, and key figures.
Publisher: Triumph Books
ISBN: 1641255536
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 182
Book Description
After 50 years of waiting, Kansas City Chiefs fans were hungry for a return to Super Bowl glory. In 2020, their patience was rewarded in dramatic, exuberant fashion with a second-half comeback for the ages against the San Francisco 49ers. ESPN's Adam Teicher expertly retraces the team's unforgettable championship season as well as the moves and moments that made it all possible—the hiring of head coach Andy Reid in 2013, drafting future-MVP Patrick Mahomes, the heart-wrenching AFC Championship loss to the Patriots in 2019 that lingered in the mind of every player, and more. Teicher captures the mood of the team week by week, every step of the way, profiling numerous players, coaches, and key figures.
The Science of Football
Author: Will Carroll
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1683584600
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 227
Book Description
In The Science of Football, sportswriter and injury expert Will Carroll teams up with writer and podcast host Tyler Brooke to show how understanding the science behind American football helps fans appreciate the sport even more. The authors cover topics like injuries, equipment, and analytics from all sides of the game, including offense, defense, and special teams. After reading this fascinating addition to the successful Science of series, football enthusiasts at the professional, college, and high school levels and science geeks alike will better appreciate the game--no matter which teams are playing!
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1683584600
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 227
Book Description
In The Science of Football, sportswriter and injury expert Will Carroll teams up with writer and podcast host Tyler Brooke to show how understanding the science behind American football helps fans appreciate the sport even more. The authors cover topics like injuries, equipment, and analytics from all sides of the game, including offense, defense, and special teams. After reading this fascinating addition to the successful Science of series, football enthusiasts at the professional, college, and high school levels and science geeks alike will better appreciate the game--no matter which teams are playing!
Polamalu
Author: Jim Wexell
Publisher: Triumph Books
ISBN: 1637272553
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 422
Book Description
The inspirational story of Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu Troy Polamalu was the guiding spirit behind a Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty that won two Super Bowls and led the NFL in total defense five times during his 12-year career. His explosiveness and instinct shone on the field, yet is is Polamalu's grace and character, his humility and dignity that have made the greatest impression on those closest to him. This biography, the first written on the Steelers' Hall of Famer, was over a decade in the making. Author Jim Wexell covered every step of Polamalu's career and interviewed countless family members, friends, coaches, team officials, front office executives, and teammates to produce a moving portrait of a remarkable athlete. Polamalu's days as a child in Santa Ana, California; his formative years in Tenmile, Oregon; his college days at the University of Southern California; and his glory days with the Steelers are all covered in this essential chronicle of a Pittsburgh great.
Publisher: Triumph Books
ISBN: 1637272553
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 422
Book Description
The inspirational story of Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu Troy Polamalu was the guiding spirit behind a Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty that won two Super Bowls and led the NFL in total defense five times during his 12-year career. His explosiveness and instinct shone on the field, yet is is Polamalu's grace and character, his humility and dignity that have made the greatest impression on those closest to him. This biography, the first written on the Steelers' Hall of Famer, was over a decade in the making. Author Jim Wexell covered every step of Polamalu's career and interviewed countless family members, friends, coaches, team officials, front office executives, and teammates to produce a moving portrait of a remarkable athlete. Polamalu's days as a child in Santa Ana, California; his formative years in Tenmile, Oregon; his college days at the University of Southern California; and his glory days with the Steelers are all covered in this essential chronicle of a Pittsburgh great.