What was the inspiration behind making a comprehensive book like this?

Sports Illustrated has legendary photography and great writers who have covered the game and know the sport as well as anyone. There has been interest in these projects for a long time, so the time was right to put the groups together. Don’t forget the list includes two writers who vote for the Hall of Fame and another (Tim Layden) who is easily among America’s greatest writers.

 
Were there any intense arguments over the rankings of certain players?

There is always discussion, but respect takes over. It wasn’t that hard to reach a consensus for most. Great players and great moments rise to the top.

 
Do you feel there were any snubs on your Top 10 list?

I think all the lists were very balanced. They are reflective of their era. The running backs list has very few current or recently retired guys because the game used to be more running oriented. Now we have have more receivers because the game is dictated by the pass. Some of the surprises were who got on the lists, like Cris Carter. He is obviously a guy who the writers have great respect for.

 
Are there any other books like this in the works?

“Steelers Pride” was a book that we also did recently just about the organization and it was very well received. You will probably see some others like that over time, and this type of book would work well in other sports. They take a great amount of time, at least a year, to plan and execute properly.

 
Do you see any current rookie making it in the Top 10 by careers end?

Way too hard to predict not just rookies, but any current player, so we shall see. These are very exclusive lists and they are a bit arbitrary, so it is hard to predict greatness.

 
Since GMenHQ is primarily a Giants website, Is there a possibility any current Giants player can sneak into the Top 10 in the future?

The transient nature of the NFL these days, and the salary cap, makes that difficult to predict. Would LT in the current system have spent is whole career in New York? You hope so, but you never know. Eli is certainly making a case, but there is a long way to go, even for Peyton Manning. That is what makes the lists so strong. Its not just about today, its about all-time. Who knows where even someone like Coach Coughlin will end up on an all-time list down the road.

I noticed that the book is also available in e-book format. Can we expect to see this for every book and was the conversion process difficult considering the beautiful images throughout the book?

That is really a tech question and there is no one better than the folks at SI to solve that. You see what is being done in the digital space with the magazine and multimedia and it is the same with books. It is where people will consume media down the line.

I would like to thank Bill Syken, Jerry Milani, and the fine folks at Sports Illustrated for taking the time to answer some questions for us here at GMenHQ. For more news, updates, and analysis…Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/ERobertsNY (@ERobertsNY)

Who Are Football’s Greatest?

Sports Illustrated’s team of experts answers the questions pro football fans have been debating since the pigskin started flying

New book sets the All-Time Top 10 in every category—from positions to teams to coaches and rivalries—with best football movies, stadiums, and uniforms mixed in as well

NEW YORK, October 16, 2012—As the NFL approaches the midpoint of the 2013 season, Sports Illustrated’s pro football experts have created the ultimate book to help settle, and probably continue, the debate for the gridiron’s best ever. FOOTBALL’S GREATEST, on sale today, names the Top 10 in more than 20 categories not just by position player, but also the best stadiums, rivalries, coaches and even trades. The book also looks at the most underrated players in the history of the NFL and includes hundreds of classic images and the storytelling that only the writers of Sports Illustrated can provide.

Edited by Bill Syken, with contributions from Peter King, Tim Layden, Don Banks, Steve Rushin, Jim Trotter, Michael Silver, Damon Hack, Roy Blount Jr. and the rest of SI’s NFL insiders past and present, FOOTBALL’S GREATEST gives fans the definitive, deftly reasoned look at the best in the NFL from across every era, ranked by the experts into an ultimate Top 10.

Is Lawrence Taylor or Dick Butkus the best linebacker? Which current coach is the only one to make the Top 10? Will Cheeseheads or the Steel City faithful be more surprised with where some of their greatest rank? Did the West Coast offense produce the biggest impact or was it Landry’s shotgun? Are the undefeated 1972 Dolphins really the best “team” in the history of the league? Was “The Greatest Game” between the Colts and Giants actually the greatest game ever played?

FOOTBALL’S GREATEST also looks at so many of the intangibles that sports fans love, and produces lists that range from the Most Underrated (Kurt Warner or Antonio Gates?) to Best Trades (“How ‘Bout Those Cowboys”) to Best Interviews (Does Neon Deon make the list?) and Best Movies (Will they “Show You The Money”?).

These are just some of the debates that will be settled, and possibly started, in the pages of this newest and greatest collection of everything football from Sports Illustrated.

FOOTBALL’S GREATEST:

Introduction by Steve Rushin

Sports Illustrated Books

Publication Date: October 16, 2012

$32.95 hardcover

For more information on Football’s Greatest, please visit si.com/footballsgreatest.

About Sports Illustrated: SI is a multimedia sports brand that takes the consumer into the heart and soul of sports.  The SI franchise is anchored by Sports Illustrated, the most respected voice in sports journalism which reaches a weekly audience of nearly 21 million adults, and SI.com, the magazine’s 24/7 sports news website that delivers more than 150 original stories to its users each week.  The SI franchise also includes Sports Illustrated Kids (sikids.com), a monthly magazine targeted to kids age 8 and up; Golf Magazine and Golf.com; FanNation.com, a social networking and sports news aggregation platform; SI Presents the magazine’s specialty publishing division; as well as SI Books, SI Pictures, SI Productions, SI Digital and SI Events. Founded in 1954, SI is a division of Time Inc., the world’s leading magazine publishing company and a subsidiary of Time Warner.

National Football Post has dropped them five points to number 11. Let’s see how they fared across the board. (more…)