QUARTERBACK ON NETFLIX GIVES A SOLID LOOK INTO THE LIFE OF THE TOUGHEST POSITION IN SPORTS

There is no position in all of sports that is harder than playing quarterback. None. It is the only position in sports where you have to know what every player knows and what they are up to on the field. They get too much credit for wins and they get too much blame for losses. When the headlines pop up, second to maybe the coach they almost always name the QB in them. Certain teams have had the best of the best at the position more than once and some are lucky to have just one of the “greatest of all time” play for them. Others have struggled to have a franchise player and have rotated through quarterbacks like a kid playing in a revolving door. If you’ve ever seen the picture of a mannequin wearing a Browns jersey with the list of quarterback names taped to the back of it reaching the floor then you get where I’m coming from. Quarterbacks are continually criticized and put on a pedestal from week to week, and that may be in the same week due to fans’ viewpoints. Both beloved and hated sometimes without any basis for either belief. So, it’s no wonder that someone decided it was time to take down a bit of curtain shrouding the position to give fans and detractors a look into what goes on in a quarterback’s world. “Quarterback” on Netflix is a sterling example of how a documentary on sports can be both entertaining and educational without too much fluff or too much technical talk.

Peyton Manning, one of the greatest to play the game at the highest level possible is the master of ceremonies pulling back that curtain. He is undeniably one of the smartest and most accurate players to ever play quarterback in the NFL. His leadership on this project is no different. The series on Netflix follows the daily life of three quarterbacks in the NFL at different points of success in their careers: Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota. These three were all drafted with the expectation that they would lead their teams to victory regardless of when they would play. Mariota and Mahomes were first round draft picks and expected to immediately vault their teams to success. Cousins was a third-round pick that was drafted to back up a guy that was supposed to lead the team to a Super Bowl. All of their careers have taken different paths. Mariota never lived up to expectations, Kirk got thrust into the starting job due to injuries and thrived but keeps coming up short, and Patrick Mahomes quickly took his team to two Super Bowl wins in his young career. They delve evenly into each of these players and their wins and losses in the 2022 season both on and off the field.

This series is a must watch for any fan of football and sports in general. Straight up. However, it does stay away from some events that the viewing public know are also part of the lives. Not only are the QBs the main subject of the series but so are their wives who provide slightly less interview time than the men in the spotlight. I give a ton of credit to Brittany Mahomes, Julie Cousins, and Kiyomi Mariota for opening themselves to this documentary as much as their husbands. Brittany has taken a lot of flak the last few years for her antics at games and on social media. While it shouldn’t be a huge issue the series never touches on that and how it affects their relationship and Patrick’s mental status. They also stay away from Patrick’s brother Jackson who has had his moments of controversy. If we’re going to talk about other things like having a baby causing stress, then why not that? If this was during the 2020 season, I would want them to talk about Cousin’s anti-vaccination stance in that same vein. Get it all out on the table. The series makes you feel for these guys when things aren’t going well. None of them are bad guys and are in fact very likable in their own ways. You feel bad for Mariota as the struggling player that eventually gets replaced. You feel bad for Cousins for not being appreciated for the great player he is by fans that only see him on the field and not the defense that failed the team when it really counted. You don’t get that connection with Mahomes because he wins the Super Bowl in the end and doesn’t really have an emotional struggle but does go through injury struggles late in the season. They are all tough player with their own vulnerabilities that the show finds without mocking them. The business side of the game is shown even more with these players. If you know someone that doesn’t understand how tough it is to be in this position and only complains about them being “overpaid” athletes, then sit them down and have them watch Quarterback to give them better perspective. It truly is one of the better shows to put a microscope on football and the guys that dominate the headlines whether they win, lose, or just do everyday activities. This is a must on the watchlist of sports fans but should be watched by anyone wanting to learn more about how it’s more than just a game for these men.