Benny Friedman biography

I just finished reading "Passing Game: Benny Friedman and the Transformation of Football" by Murray Greenberg. (http://www.amazon.com/Passing-Game-Friedman-Transformation-Football/dp/…) a biography on the late Michigan football legend Benny Friedman. I'll summarize the book a little below, but there is an overarching message at the end relating to our contemporary football predicament (or crisis, depending on how neurotic you are). I recommend anyone who loves Michigan football to read this book. In case your not familiar with Benny already, he led some of Michigan's greatest teams, including the 1925 squad that outscored opponents 227-3 (Two notes: Yost claimed this to be his greatest team ever, and that lone field goal given up by the defense came in a fluke loss to Northwestern in a quagmire at Soldier Field, the team's only loss of the season). He was the original dual-threat quarterback; in addition to his passing prowess he was also a devastating runner, as most great QBs of that era were (remember, they basically never passed). He was also an outstanding defensive back and kicker, essentially playing 60 minutes a game from the time he earned the starting job midway through the 1924 season until the end of his pro career in 1934. He was tough, and he loved Michigan. The book has some awesome accounts of college football culture at the time, like how the Ivy League was the SEC of its day, incessantly trumpeting its own credentials and doubting the legitimacy of midwestern programs like M. Benny is a forgotten football legend in many respects. He was the first great forward passer, opening up a game that was traditionally a brutal, plodding affair based on bruising ground attacks and gaining favorable field position. This is all the more incredible considering the ball back then was rounder and nearly impossible to throw accurately and many of the rules in place (such as the passer being required to be five yards being the line of scrimmage when throwing a pass) were intended to restrict passing. At the time, teams only passed out of desperation, either on third-and-long or when they were behind by many points. QB's who did throw would place the ball in their palm and basically shot-put it downfield. Benny essentially invented the correct way to throw the forward pass, cocking it behind his ear and snapping his wrist during the follow-through. He joined the NFL when it was just a fledgling league that basically no one paid any attention; franchises played in blue collar tows like Portsmouth, Ohio, folded constantly, and none of the great collegiate players, save Red Grange, went on to play in it. His passing set the league on fire and greatly enhanced its popularity and exposure. His 20 TD passes in 1929 were the football equivalent of Babe Ruth's 1920 season of 54 home runs, a total so far beyond anything that had ever come before it to point of being practically inconceivable. To put it in perspective, no TEAM would amass 20 TD passes in a season UNTIL 1942. Unbelievable. Simply, Benny changed the game of football, hence the title of the book. But the real reason I recommend this book is that there are many parallels between what Benny was doing with Bennie Oosterbaan in the 1920s and what Rich Rod is doing now. People back then totally disrespected what the two Bennies and Yost were doing, disparaging their passing offense as a flashy gimmick. That is, until the played M, got stomped, and came to the sudden realization that they had no idea how to defensively game-plan against an offense featuring the forward pass as a constant, every-down threat. Benny showed that the pass could be an integral facet of the offense, particularly when you have a QB who could either pass or take off on a run at any moment. Defenses at the time were completely helpless because they'd never seen anything like it before. So, go read the book, learn about the history of Michigan football, a true Michigan legend and forgotten hero, and be patient with the new coaching staff. Perhaps Tate Forcier is the a modern-day incarnation of Benny, except he's not Jewish and doesn't play defense.