DarrylS

Just about done "The Blind Side", by Michael Lewis (who also wrote Moneyball).. very well done, there are two stories that feed into each other.. the evolution of the left tackle and the story of Michael Oher.. The Oher story is interesting, and one of those feel good things. But the left tackle is fascinating and how this position has evolved essentially since the advent of Lawrence Taylor...

It draws from many sources, Bill Walsh seems to be a major contributor, as there is quite a bit about how SF had to change their blocking schemes and whole offense, as the OLB changed so much since LT.. no longer could you just stick a big body on the left side...

It also talks about Lawrence Taylor quite a bit, and when he came on the scene in 1981... coincidentally the LB coach for the Giants was BB in 1981... and how the Giants braintrust used LT and the game essentially changed..

This is right up there with "Education of a Coach", in terms of being well written and thought provoking... highly recommend.

BTW read along the way that Ty Warren kind of felt that Oher is a jerk as he runs his mouth too much for a rookie, there are other D lineman who have made similar comments...

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"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

Pat the Pats Fan

Well Oher is a Raven, so it's not to much of a leap for him to run his mouth and be a jerk too.... par for the course I suppose......

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A sarcastic Bill Belichick on Tom Brady's finger injury, "It's not life threatening."

bitsygirl

They've made the book into a movie. It will be released next month.

DarrylS

For sake of clarity, the part about him running his mouth, could have been left out as the part of the book that enjoyed most had to do with the impact of LT and the subsequent evolution of the Left Tackle... the Oher story was secondary.

__________________
"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

aluminum seats

The problem is that while the Oher story might have been secondary to you, it dominates the book. And that "touching" story is such a crock. Yes, the wealthy white family adopts the poor black boy.....who just happens to be a great football player! Who just happens to end up at Dad's alma mater! Brings a tear to your eye. Ugh.

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"So I'm going to throw myself against the wall...
'Cause I'd rather feel bad than not feel anything at all."

DarrylS

Was pretty clear about how I thought the part about the evolution of the Left Tackle, was clearly more important than the story about Oher...

Perhaps it dominated that way you read it, but found the other information infinitely more valuable...

__________________
"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

tombonneau

I agree. The Tohey's (sp?) come off as phony, possessive of "their" Michael, and self-serving. Nothing touching about it. I'd love to know how long Michael would have stayed with them if he were 5'6 130. The Oher story is certainly interesting from a socioeconomic perspective just to see how many breaks are tolerated within the school system for someone with athletic ability. I mean when it came to classes Oher was as dumb as dirt (through no fault of his own, he didn't exactly have a great upbringing) and the breaks didn't stop coming.

What's maybe most unenjoyable is how he is completely just thrown into the football system and displays absolutely no joy or passion for the sport (at least he doesn't come across that way.) Reminds me a lot of the movie "Sugar" if anyone saw that, about Dominican baseball players.

Anyway, the history of the LT sprinkled throughout the book is most interesting.

DarrylS

That is my contention, coupled with the evolution of the LT with lots of info from Bill Walsh makes the book enjoyable... the rest is what it is.

__________________
"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

aluminum seats

I'm not criticizing you--I was much more interested in the LT stuff too (I thought that's what the book was going to be about.) All I'm saying is that objectively the Oher stuff dominated the book--probably made up 80% of it--and Lewis (who's smart as hell, so it's strange) didn't seem at all skeptical of the motives of the family, which seem pretty blatant to me.

__________________
"So I'm going to throw myself against the wall...
'Cause I'd rather feel bad than not feel anything at all."

Synovia

Different strokes I guess.


I didn't see it that way at all. I saw it like this: