Netflix’s Quarterback is a pretty good show that could be great

Netflix’s newest sports documentary series, quarterback, suggesting that playing QB is the most difficult position anyone can play in a team sport. The filmmakers may be right. But the history and drama packed into that position is so complex that if you boil it down to a TV show, at least for the first season, you’ll miss the intricacies and details that make the position so difficult. Become.

quarterback Follow three quarterbacks — Kansas City Chiefs guard Patrick Mahomes, Minnesota Vikings guard Kirk Cousins ​​and Atlanta Falcons guard Marcus Mariota — as they progress through the 2022 NFL season. But unlike Netflix’s biggest sports series, Formula 1: Drive for Survival, the football-focused series struggles to bring out the human side of elite athletes. We see them at home with their kids, but we never understand what that means on the field.The good news is that there are many ways to fix quarterback And help it go from OK to great.

Choose more interesting players

The game is won by having the best players on the field. quarterback That’s not the case in Season 1. The show’s major coup was to acquire 27-year-old Chiefs quarterback/genius Mahomes, but the rest of the cast pales in comparison. The aggressively good Cousins ​​and Mariota, a player who lost his starting spot midway through last season, are inevitably overshadowed by Mahomes.second season of quarterback He would benefit from a more attractive, more successful cast of QBs. Also, a little bigger one. More camera-tracked players means more interwoven storylines and more opportunities for quick editing. I have one suggestion. Join Mahomes with Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills on the show to watch their ongoing AFC shootout and rivalry. Alternatively, you can follow an exciting but volatile rookie like Colts’ Anthony Richardson and track him from day one when he hits the field.

Tell the story with in-game visuals

The NFL famously protects game footage, which is very interesting. quarterback We will be using footage from last season. Unfortunately, instead of building the natural tension the game creates, the show often forcibly condenses unrelated games together into a montage and uses it as an episodic narrative underpinning. .like a doctor last dance is a good example of what can be done if given access. Don’t let the voice from the field show you the game-winning touchdown drive. Let Cousins ​​or his coach politely tell you how they made the comeback happen and point out play details we may have missed.

Let QB cook

This point is closely related to the point above, but the best moment is quarterback A production staff persuades one of the QBs to go deeper into a single game, play, or decision. Quarterbacks aren’t always the most charismatic and insightful storytellers.As the show points out, Cousins ​​has only once been interesting and emotional in public, and it was quickly became a meme — But they know football better than most people on the planet. When players talk about filthy and dirty football, they lighten up. Hearing the differences in how Kirk Cousins ​​and Patrick Mahomes approached their comeback, or hearing Marcus Mariota try to get out of a rut mid-game, is exactly what made this show just a big budget. It becomes a kind of insight that distinguishes it from fancams.

Combining these interview segments with actual NFL game footage, no matter how many ex-players are included, can potentially provide sports analysis that ESPN’s panels don’t. Moments like watching Mahomes deepen a tic, talking about what he noticed while watching his opponent on video, and how it helped him score a touchdown or win a game, are the moments that the players love. It’s an insight that only a company can provide.Even with a short QB lineup for Season 1, all subjects look fully personable and ready to offer anything quarterback I will do my best. Patrick Mahomes isn’t himself when he’s driving the camera crew. When he analyzes defensive coverage or talks about the intricacies of offensive play-calling, he is himself.

The more focus on the games also leaves more room for the show to be separated from the players’ personal lives, which is a nice color for the series, but just a few episodes can feel stale and repetitive.

Let Your Teammates Shine

Image: Netflix

As anyone who watches football would expect, quarterback In fact, it includes quite a few QB stars talking about their teammates. Receivers, tight ends, running backs, linemen, coaches, and trainers all get an important shoutout for not being on the show that makes them a little confused. Hear Justin Jefferson talk about how he ran the route to help Cousins, or Travis Kels explain how Mahomes improvises, and you’ll hear explanations of how. would have deepened. team Winning the game, and the behind-the-scenes relationships that made it all happen.

quarterback I am in a complicated position now. For all its flaws, it’s still a pretty entertaining show with some big rewarding moments for fans who only have a superficial understanding of the 2022 season. It’s fascinating to see them narrating Mahomes thrashing game-winning drives and Cousins ​​battling through a myriad of injuries. But those moments are now the exception rather than the norm.

the good news is quarterback It’s also where every NFL team aspires for promising players. Early success despite many mistakes and plenty of room to grow.