Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Blind Side (Book Review)

The true story about Michael Oher is an amazing story that is often viewed as controversial or inspirational. Regardless on your perspective of the story, you can be inspired by this story of his life.

The book is similar to the movie that won a best actress award for Sandra Bullock. There are some differences but the crux of the story remains true. When the movie came out in 2009, most critics did not like the film. They viewed aspects of the story as being stereotypical and negative. Many of the film goers loved this film especially those who enjoyed family movies or films of a spiritual nature.

The author of the book, "The Blind Side", is Michael Lewis. He wrote many sports books in football and baseball. You can see much of the football perspective in the beginning part of the book. The evolution of the position of the left tackle (which is the blind side of right-handed quarterbacks) has revolutionized the passing game of football. Why has the position of the left tackle changed the passing game? The offensive line is misconstrued as an unskilled position. In reality, all football teams need an offensive line to execute their running game or passing game. In particular, the value of the left tackle has gone up considerably. This is not a disrespect for the other offensive linemen- the center, guards, and the right tackle. The defensive linebackers (in particular, Lawrence Taylor) would attack from the blind side of the quarterback and often injure the quarterback. Everyone would accept that the quarterback is extremely valuable part of any football team. The left tackle became a sort of an asset protection for the team. Not anyone can play left tackle. You had to have the physical attributes such as long arms, huge body frame, quick feet, etc.


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