Collision Low Crossers

By: Nicholas Dawidoff

Narrated by: David DeVries

Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

The definitive portrait of day-to-day life in the NFL, as told by the writer who was there.

We watch football every Sunday, but we don't really see it. By spending a year with the New York Jets, Nicholas Dawidoff explored the game in such an intimate way that he can now put you right inside the NFL. Collision Low Crossers is a story that is part Paper Lion and part Moneyball, part Friday Night Lights and part The Office. In this absorbing, funny, and vividly written narrative, he describes the Combine, the draft, the practices, the strategy meetings, all while thinking deeply about such fundamental truths and the nature of success and disappointment in a massive and stressful collective endeavor.

Most of what happens in today's NFL takes place at team facilities, walled off from fans and, until now, from writers. The New York Jets issued Dawidoff a security code, a locker, and a desk in the scouting department: for an entire year he lived with the team, from early-morning quarterback meetings to edgy late-night conversations. Dawidoff makes an emblematic NFL season come alive for fans and nonfans alike.

Most of what happens in today's NFL takes place at team facilities, walled off from fans and, until now, from writers. The New York Jets issued Dawidoff a security code, a locker, and a desk in the scouting department: for an entire year he lived with the team, from early-morning quarterback meetings to edgy late-night conversations. Dawidoff makes an emblematic NFL season come alive for fans and nonfans alike.

Dawidoff has written the book of depth and feeling that football has long deserved, one that will forever change the way people watch and think about the sport.

"Collision low crossers" is a phrase defensive coaches use for the act of making legal contact with any potential pass receiver within five yards of the line of scrimmage. Beyond five yards, "collisioning" someone becomes a penalty. The term also evokes the most fundamental elements of the game - speed, aggression, the interplay between space and time, and meticulously planned events that likely will not come to fruition.

©2013 Nicholas Dawidoff (P)2013 Hachette Audio

A must listen for the NFL junkie

What made the experience of listening to Collision Low Crossers the most enjoyable?

An inside look on how the NFL works, not just the Jets/Ryan. I hate the Jets/Ryan, but loved this book. I have more respect for Ryan after listening to this book (being a Pats fan, I still must loath him.)

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

If you want to REALLY learn the NFL game...

What made the experience of listening to Collision Low Crossers the most enjoyable?

I played college football and I'm an NFL fan. I thought I knew the game. I had NO IDEA what goes into getting an NFL team ready to play. I learned a LOT and it has enhanced my enjoyment of pro football

Who was your favorite character and why?

Even if you don't like the Jets, you will respect Rex Ryan - and maybe even like him.

Any additional comments?

If you really enjoy the NFL, you will enjoy it even more after learning so much of what goes on behind the scenes

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Interesting and through

What a great book, inside of the Jets organization, nothing seemed withheld. I would love to read/listen to, a book about my team, the Redskins. Somebody should do this for every team in the league, I wonder how many would be open to the idea? How much honesty and access might be allowed? I can't wait to listen again.

Probably better in book form.

Would you consider the audio edition of Collision Low Crossers to be better than the print version?

I wasn't quite sure how to rate this item. I think it was well written and well performed, but I wish I had purchased the print version rather than the Audible version. I like football, but I don't follow the Jets and I admit I had to keep repeating sections of the book to try and keep straight the individuals mentioned in the book and their roles in the organization.

Amazing and inspiring

This is one of the best books I've ever read. I am a huge Jets fan, and a huge fan of Rex Ryan, and that helped. But Nick Dawidoff is a masterful, insightful, brilliant writer who could make anyone into a Rex fan with the way this book is written. His humility and all-exposed human honesty in describing the shock, joy, respect, and sometimes embarrassment, and especially the inspiration and respect, he experienced during his year with the Jets was refreshing. Kudos, Nick, for bringing the fallible, human aspects of America's game to light in a way that reminds all of us of why we work, dream, hurt, love, heal, remember -- why we pursue greatness in life. You most certainly do not need to be, or have ever been, an athlete to love this book (but it certainly helps). I recommend this to everyone.

Great Read

This book exceeded my expectations. The writing is stellar and if you want to know what it is like behind the scenes in the NFL this is the book that does it.

Hmmmm good enough for me to listen again right now!

Great insider football book..

Before this book I wasn't a big Rex Ryan fan. I have to admit I like him quite a bit more now. It was nice being able to see the inner workings of an NFL team from the brotherhood to the cold, cruel business side.
It's still an amazing opportunity for guys that are beyond "great" athletes. It does touch on the side of "is it worth it" which I felt is a major part of the NFL these days.
Playing college football and going through all the competition, injuries, and mental toughness required made me realize how special these athletes truly are. I'm not say they're better than you or me overall, but what it takes to play and succeed in the NFL is mind boggling to me. In an athletic only point of view, these guys are gifted. They are very well compensated to play a game but the risks are nothing to sneeze at either.
Overall a great tale about what goes on with a typical NFL Team over a given year. Highly recommended!

excellent insight

excellent insight into the way the NFL really operates from the inside. The terminology is telling and raw the way you would expect it to be

An Excellent Behind the Scenes Look At the NFL

Any additional comments?

This was a really good book. My wife and I both listened to it. The narrator is top notch and the story is great as well. As a lifelong football fan, I already knew the outcome of the Jets' season, but I still found myself on the edge of my seat during the dramatic moments of the games. My favorite part was when the author got to call the defense during a preseason game and they got a pick six! Though I am a die hard member of Who Dat Nation ever since birth, I do like Rex Ryan and it was cool to get a peak at how he works. (Especially since we now have his twin brother as our Defense Coordinator in New Orleans!) I recommend this to any football fan. I don't know if it would really interest a non-fan, but certainly for the casual or full enthusiast, this book is a must!

Just OK

Great concept; great subject matter; average execution. Pales in comparison to Feinstein's Season on the Brink

0 of 3 people found this review helpful