I just finished Uncommon, and you can read my full review of the book here. It is a book about Tony Dungy’s faith and worldview, and the review addresses that. If you want to discuss those issues, please use the comment section on the book review.
I want to share separately about the football aspects of the book that are of interest to Colts fans. This is NOT a football book, but there are some great pieces of insight.
- Dungy starts the book talking about Polian’s decision to draft Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf. He says it was Manning’s character that was the primary reason for that choice. Polian thought Manning would work harder than Leaf.
- The Colts have a draft status labeled DNDC. That stands for “DO NOT DRAFT-Character”. They will not take players they think have character issues. This
- Dungy speaks with sadness of the Ed Johnson (corrected) incident. He doesn’t use his name, but uses it devastating example of the destructive power of drugs.
- When asked how he keeps his team humble, he credits Manning and Harrison with setting the tone.
- He makes it clear that he was not tired of or burnt out by football. He also explains his decision to have his family live in Tampa in great detail.
- He says the hardest thing about the Tampa 2 system is teaching players to trust their assignment. In talking about the role of faith in our lives, he says that players have to believe in the system and each other for it to work. They cannot pursue the ball and overrun plays, but must protect their assigned area. He had to have Gilbert Gardner in mind.
- He says that conflicts in the Colts staff and front office were always resolvable because everyone was committed to winning more than personal agendas. He says that conflict is a good and necessary thing in life, and not to be afraid of it. The key to resolving conflict is to stay focused on the problem, and not to let fights become personal.
- He tells a great story about Jim Caldwell and his daughter, which I won’t spoil. He clearly thinks the world of him.
- He refers to Mike Tomlin several times throughout the book, and while it went to press before the Super Bowl, Tony is almost prophetic in his words about him.
Links:
If you are so inclined, view and rate my friend’s video. It’s some kind of job competition, and she needs votes. The video is 1 minute long, and fairly entertaining.
It’s Danny Granger’s world, and we are just living in it. Don’t you get the feeling like the Pacers are close to figuring things out?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
