For most NFL fans, Peter King's column on SI.com is a must read every Monday and Tuesday morning. Few writers take fans inside the NFL like King. He has a new book out, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: A Fully Caffeinated Guide to Everything Your Ever Wanted to Know About the NFL, which compiles his greatest columns for one great read.
No matter what team you are a fan of, this book offers great insight into how the league operates. In one story, King follows Chris Canty's agent last year during his free agent saga. This story illuminates how wild and unpredictable free agency can be. You can take the concepts learned in that tale, and wild free agent pursuits like say Bart Scott make a lot more sense.
There's a story about Peyton Manning's rehab from a knee problem last year. Manning's story shows us how hard guys like say Curtis Martin work to overcome injuries and the valuable preparation time rehab costs them even when they are suiting up.
King's breakdown of the 2004 Draft quarterback scramble makes you think things could not have been much different in 2009 when the Jets moved up for Mark Sanchez.
Like his column, some might argue there is too much emphasis put on his personal life in the book, namely his daughters in their high school sports, but also like his column, there is so much good information in there you can easily forgive him.
There are some other interesting thoughts King inserts like moving our most bitter rival, Miami, out of the AFC East. Tough to get where he's coming from on that one, especially when he says Dallas should stay in the NFC East to preserve traditional rivalries. He also lists his top 100 players of today and all-time. I get the impression some Jets would move up if the list was taken right now like Darrelle Revis. At the end of the day, even if you disagree, King is well-informed and makes you think.
There's also a really great story on how King offered advice to Mike Tannenbaum on how to get in touch with Brett Favre right before the trade. Without that inside information, Tannenbaum might have never gotten through to Favre. I won't go any deeper because I want to help out the publishers who have been really nice to me. You need to get the book to find out.
I promise you'll understand how the league works behind the scenes a lot better than you did before reading it. I recommend it.