The Blind Side

Greensboro, NC – I just finished up the latest book on my reading list, titled The Blind Side by Michael Lewis. Lewis’ name may ring a bell of yours if you’re a baseball fan because he was the pioneer of putting the concept of “moneyball” into writing. In his latest book, he digs down to the core of the reasons why the “left tackle” may be the most important position on the football field. He describes the evolution of the left tackle to the present day, using a future NFL star in Michael Oher to tell the story.

With the proliferation of football statistics through fantasy leagues, the casual fan enjoys gazing over the gaudy statistics of star running backs, wide receivers, and quarterbacks. Linemen, especially offensive linemen, have no statistics other than “games played.” To take this a step further, we frequently hear game announcers bring up the “West Coast” offense, currently being implemented by Jon Gruden’s Bucs, Mike Holgren’s ‘Hawks, and Andy Reid’s Igles, all pupils of Bill Walsh, the creator of the scheme. The West Coast offense thrives on completing short, accurate passes. But in order to execute the pass successfully, the quarterback must have enough time to step up, and make an accurate pass. In order to buy time, the left tackle must protect the quarterback’s “blind side.” Ed Note: We’re assuming it’s a right-handed quarterback. Many defenses will stack the outside linebacker on the left side of the offensive line (defensive right) to thrust pass the line and get to the quarterback. By having a massive lineman thwart the linebacker’s force, the quarterback can be assured of enough time to safely complete the pass. Bill Walsh used John Ayers to spoil the previously unstoppable Lawrence Taylor. The Washington Redskins’ starting left tackle is 5-time Pro Bowler Chris Samuels, who’s 6-5, 310 lbs. There’s a reason why he’s a top lineman, check out his size.

Michael Oher will be a junior at Ole Miss in 2007. His mother was addicted to crack, which coincided with an extremely troubled childhood. To make a long story short, Michael grew up in the ghetto of West Memphis. He didn’t attend school until he was 16, and therfore had the mind of a 1st grader at this age. He was adopted by a rich, white family from the beautiful East side of town. Subsequently, he was supplanted into the private, Evangelical school that the family’s kids were attending. By pulling a Billy Madison and learning 10 grades of school in 3 years, he was eligible to attend college by NCAA rules. After his first high school football game during his junior year, he shocked every recruiter in the nation with his skills and strength – he’s 6’5, 350 lbs. After a crazy recruiting tour, he decided to attend Ole Miss, which by serendipity or not, is the same school that his white, adopted parents attended. Tom Lenning, the Mel Kiper Jr. of high school recruiting, called Michael Oher “the greatest lineman I’ve ever seen since Orlando Pace.” Some of the stories in the book were shocking, such as, Michael had never slept in a bed before being adopted, he watched gun battles instead of attending school while living in the projects, and he scrambled for food from churches and neighbors. How does a man of his size remain so enormous if he’s only eating scraps everyday? It would be an amazing story if the book had a final chapter: Oher is the first lineman taken in the 2008 or 2009 NFL Draft -- the ultimate rags to riches story. I usually don’t root for players who are flashy and have run-in’s with the law (and that's not the case with Michael). After reading The Blind Side, I have grasped that Michael Oher is a good kid with a very troubled background. He worked very hard with tutors to make himself eligible for college. I’m pulling for him to make it.