It feels like a week cannot go by without some type of news about the National Football League (NFL) being generated. Most of the time, if the news is not about games or player accomplishments, it is usually some type of bad or controversial news. Yet, the league and the sport are more popular and making more money than ever. Mike Florio of profootballtalk.com takes a look at this seemingly contradictory phenomenon.

There isn’t an aspect about the league that Florio doesn’t cover. Whether it is the players – especially quarterbacks since they are the most important member of the team in today’s game – coaches, the draft, owners, social awareness, officials – you name it, Florio writes about it. The chapters are all very short, but packed full of not only information but well-crafted opinion and explanations on those thoughts that are just as interesting as the writing about the game itself.

One example, without giving away too much of the segments on this topic, is Florio’s observation about the NFL draft. He writes about the popularity of this event and how it is grown into an event that cities are bidding against each other to host. But Florio also is against the draft because it restricts where a player can pursue his career, a restraint that just about every other person in most other careers do not face. All of the chapters on the draft make for great reading, as does every other topic he covers.

The chapters themselves are all very short but they tie together into one good package for the topic at hand. This makes the book a very good one for readers who don’t have large segments of time to devote to a book – it can be read in small doses and one will not feel lost or have a hard time picking up where they left off. It also reads well for fans of any level. A casual fan will enjoy this book as much as a hard-core NFL fan – and neither fan will be either too confused by technical language or bored because it is too simplistic. This is highly recommended for all readers of pro football books.

I wish to thank Perseus Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

Florio is very knowledgable, but I feel like he's catering to the casual fan. He covers a lot of area, but in a series of 3 page chapters per subject. As a result, it's a lot of overview that the serious fan already knows. I sorta feel the person who's going to buy this book will already know about 80% of the things he mentions.

I received a free e-galley from Netgalley in return for this review.

Mike Florio has some opinions about the state of the National Football League, and he'd like to share them.

No, that's not right. That statement doesn't go far enough.

Mike Florio has a lot of opinions about the state of the National Football League, and he'd like to share them.

That's the premise for his book, "Playmakers." It is sort of named after the ESPN's fictional series that was an attempt to show some of the underside of football. That plan went over rather badly with the National Football League, who just happened to be one of a broadcasting partner of ESPN. The show died a relatively sudden death.

The difference is that this version of "Playmakers" is real. It's written by Florio, who is the point man of the website of Pro Football Talk (if you prefer, ProFootballTalk.com). It is done in association with NBC Sports. If you've ever seen a Sunday night broadcast, you might notice that PFT ranks every starter in the league by position ... and puts the rankings under a photo of those starters as they are quickly introduce at the start of the game.

Florio started his work life as a lawyer but moved into sports reporting. He held a job with ESPN before jumping to this venture. The question became - how could he turn the information he's collection and the opinions he's gathered into a coherent book?

It must have started with a list. Florio came up with 10 different sections of the book: the drank, free agency, quarterbacks, coaches, owners, health and safety, off-field player misconduct, major scandals, officiating, and the future. So far, so good. Then he listed at least 10 topics under each category. For example, the quarterbacks mentioned including everyone from Johnny Unitas to Tim Tebow. Each essay doesn't get a great deal of space, so think of them as quick snacks rather than large meals. It keeps the size down to a manageable 288 pages or so, based on prepublication information.

The good news is that Florio does a good job with this. It's not easy to come up with great information or opinions on this many items. For the most part, though, he comes up with some interesting, fresh thoughts that can carry the reader along. In some cases, it's a chance to revisit some old news items, while in others it's an opportunity to discuss news items of the present and possible ramifications of the future.

Is it all interesting? All is a big word. Some of the stories about player misconduct and scandals don't work overly well, at least from my viewpoint. It's more of a case of recapping a story without a whole lot of analysis. Implied in the question at the beginning of the paragraph are the words "to me." Anyone who reads a book like this is going to be a big fan of the sport. This is not the place for impassive passengers. Therefore, everything should get a spark of recognition from the contents when a book like this comes out.

And the size helps too. If something isn't too interesting to you, well, it doesn't last long. Another subject will come up along, just like the next bus. It might work better. The usual way of praising such work is along the lines of "it's good to bring into the bathroom." That's a little crude but true.

"Playmakers" comes off as a casual discussion with someone who spends his life around football and is happy to chat in an informal way. That makes it good fun without being life-changing. It should have little trouble luring in readers who will find the book worth their time.

Book overall was ok, the stories were mostly stories that would be familiar to NFL fans. Near the end it basically becomes an advertisement for gambling, and how the NFL needs to handle gambling in the future.

Excellent book. You can tell Mike really knows what he's talking about. There was no story in this book that I didn't already know about, but I now know way more about each event. This book has been able to change my view on the business side of football. This is a excellent book for those who want to get past the superficial stories you read on ESPN or see on the broadcast. I recommend this to all NFL fans.