Legends of the Game: Bob Toledo--Quarterbacks

As a back-up quarterback for our junior varsity high school football team, I sat on the bench the entire year, watching as we posted a perfect record (0-10) behind the--I thought--somewhat erratic throwing arm of our starting QB/basketball center, who, unlike me, could see over the heads of opponents and throw the long ball. The fact that I could hit a pimple on a cheerleader's butt at 15 yards, while my 6 foot-plus teammate had difficulty keeping the pigskin within state lines is a subtle point that continues to trouble both me and my therapist. Unable to resist the opportunity to rub mental salt in an old psychic wound, I cued up Bob Toledo--Quarterbacks, one of 10 titles in the Legends of the Game series featuring notable coaches sharing tips, strategies and drills in their particular area of expertise. The UCLA Bruins head coach read from a teleprompter for about 5 minutes on basic UCLA strategy, and then disappeared until the final 2 minutes, when he wrapped up with boilerplate rah-rah stuff, leading me to believe that a more accurate title might have been Al Borges--Quarterbacks, because Borges, along with quarterback Matt Walker, present about 40 of the 48 minutes on this program. While I would quibble with the arrangement of topics/drills (personally, I think hand position on the ball should have come before being flushed out of the pocket and throwing on the run), the instruction itself is rock solid. Viewers will see valuable drills on stance, handoffs, fakes, 3-5-7 step dropbacks, and the all-important center exchange (a.k.a.--the snap, where it is imperative that you become intimately familiar with the geography of another guy's backside). Off the field, Borges illustrates the tactics he's shared on the field with game film. A good introduction to the fundamentals of quarterbacking (and one that assumes basic familiarity with both the position and football terminology in general), this is recommended. Other titles in the series include: Bobby Bowden: Receivers, Joe Paterno: Linebackers, Frank Solich: Running Backs, John Cooper: Defensive Backs and Frank Beamer: Special Teams. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)