American football is brilliant, literary and violent, like the novels of Stendhal and _Perfume_ by Patrick Suskind.

I dance in this game of speed and power.

One NFL rule change that has led to the proliferation of the passing game rarely gets mentioned. This rule downsized the dimensions of the NFL ball. It is now a very streamlined projectile with a smaller diameter going around the laces. This allows the ball to be thrown more accurately, with the smaller sized football being easier to catch.

If you watch older NFL or college films you may notice that a lot of times the quarterback appears to be “shot putting” the football. The quarterback could not always grip the football tightly because of the ball's larger diameter (and perhaps combined with smaller hands).

With regards to Bill Walsh’s systemic changes to the NFL passing game, it should be noted that besides San Francisco, the only team that won a Super Bowl using a West Coast Offense was the Green Bay Packers in 1996. Certainly Walsh and his coaching successor had success in San Francisco, but more likely the success was due to the wonderful players and coaches on the team. If their success was systemic it would have been repeated more often in more places.

I look forward to reading the book. I am a long time NFL season ticket holder and a former high school lineman of limited talents. I have raised three boys to appreciate the beauty of a well placed block freeing up the marquee player to make a great run or complete a flashy pass. Indeed my favorite player of all time, John Hannah, was but a mere pulling guard who could absolutely crush defensive ends when leading sweeps.

I am eager to read the book.

I just finished Blind Side and loved it; like Scherer, I was thoroughly engaged by both the football backstory and Michael Oher's story. Lewis's writing is clear and informed, and his enthusiasm for the material is contagious.

I wondered at Scherer's criticism that Lewis did not delve into the racial dynamic in the family. While I am curious to know more about that, too, I believe that socioeconomics – as is so often the case – is the giant lurking behind the glitzier issue of race. Memphis has an established community of well-educated, wealthy African-American families, but Michael happened to land in a white family instead, so it’s tempting to think about their relationship in terms of race. It’s not useful, or particularly interesting, to ignore race when considering family or community dynamics, but it’s certainly not the only issue that matters. Most of the challenges and conflicts Lewis describes seem to stem from disparities in education, family support and structure, and material security rather than a difference in skin color.

It may be the race difference, though, that prompts such cynicism in Scherer (and even to a certain extent in Lewis) regarding the Tuohy family’s motivation in assisting Michael. But they didn’t go looking for him, he landed in their path because of a dying woman’s wish; no one had any idea of his athletic significance when the Tuohys started helping him; and if I remember correctly, Michael was already living with the Tuohys when Lemming tagged Oher as an ideal left tackle and all the attention began. Maybe neither party in this unusual relationship can be absolutely certain of the motivations of the other, but maybe they feel they can be, and that's their business.

I'll enjoy thinking of them all as the extremely decent people they most likely are, just as I'll enjoy watching Michael play for years, now that I know what on earth a left tackle does.

... that happens to contain a few distinct books in one volume. There is the story of the left tackle-- a fascinating sequel to "Moneyball." There is the story of the prodigy who nearly got lost in the ghetto. Totally distinct, and doesn't really require the backstory on football strategy to be effective. It's a bit of a mess, but it is all well-researched, lively, and thought-provoking.