Paul Zimmerman, the longtime Sports Illustrated NFL writer, died on Nov. 1, 2018, at the age of 86. Andy Benoit wrote this appreciation of Zimmerman, gained through his reading of “The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football,” for Dr. Z Week at The MMQB in 2016.
When I was growing up, Sports Illustrated had three NFL kings: Michael Silver, master of profiles; Peter King, master of information; and Paul Zimmerman, aka Dr. Z, master of analysis. Before I ever had a real job, I would spend summers writing my own NFL preview book, trying to make my style a blend of all three—a lofty but unattainable goal.