The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game

An incredible human interest story detailed further below but first.........the author of Liar's Poker and Moneyball is at it again with an offbeat interesting subject, or multiple subjects which are intertwined. This is an analysis of the evolution of the left side tackle designed to protect the quarterback's blind side, particularly from the evolution of speed rushers in the Lawrence Taylor mode. Lewis starts with an in depth analysis of Joe Theisman's famous leg break with some interesting facts even Joe didn't remember including who may really have been responsible. Separate stories are then presented of the new prototype Left Tackles like Jonathan Ogden whose investment banker father showed him that his value at Left Tackle would out way any interest in playing college basketball for his 6'9" son. This part of the book is intertwined with a historical perspective of how the passing game developed mainly through the Bill Walsh West Coast offense which downplays the significance of the quarterback. This section of the book is intertwined around the personal story to be described and while extremely interesting to football fans will have virtually NO appeal the typical female fan or other casual fans.

But what will be of greater human interest is the overlay of the story of Michael Oher, the "man/child" currently playing football at Ole Miss. Oher shows up at a predominantly white Christian school in the 9th grade with virtually no school history and horrible family background. An incredibly shy 350 pound kid struggles but ingratiates himself to faculty and staff and manages to stick around. Finally one Thanksgiving Day a volunteer assistant coach and his wife see him at a bus stop in his usual shorts and recognize that in addition to no money for food, he is traveling to the gym to watch practice just to be in a heated room. Through incredible acts of kindness and caring this young man is taken in by this wealthy Christian family who attempt to socialize and educate him for the future.

But little did they realize that at 6' 6" with an incredible frame and quick feet, football coaches would see their answer to possibly the most important position on the football field and they would relentlessly come calling. This presents many problems as Oher has virtually no chance of attending college with his past educational background. Thus begins the odyssey of the recruiting wars for this individual who by the end of high school has been called the best pro prospect even though he has played in only 15 football games.

This portion of the book dominates approximately 70% of the book. It is incredibly touching and I certainly applaud the sympathetic, caring approach by Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy. This book is not just for football fans as the issues here are much greater. How does a child get to the 9th grade with virtually no retention of knowledge or ability to function in a social setting? What can a change in culture and caring do for this young man? And other questions will also appear such as is their potential ulterior motives for selecting this student out of so many and wasn't the final steps to eligibility really inappropriate? As to my opinion I choose to believe that the Tuohy's were interested in helping another human being, and in the process, it enriched the lives of their family, this young man and the possibilities that a loving, caring environment can create.

I strongly recommend this book for football fans, sociologists, and people with interest in politics, religion, or Southern Culture as there are many issues intertwined. Once again, the weakness to this book may be that he narrowed its focus by making it a "sports book". It's not. Its main message concerns underprivileged kids and how a change in environment can produce incredible results.

As a matter of disclosure, I live in Memphis, have leased Tuohy's his plane in the past and have many mutual friends. He and his wife have exceptional reputations and I applaud their involvement in helping this man.

Like in Moneyball and Liar's Poker, Michael Lewis examines a culture, e.g., baseball, stock market, and now football, while interspersing a biography illuminating the underlying culture.

In this case, Mr. Lewis shows how the left tackle position has rose from obscurity in the 1960s into one of the highest-paid positions in the current game. The initial focus is in how specialized a person must be to play this position as the highest level (more rare than many other positions). After this description, Mr. Lewis introduces us to Michael Oher, a person who has all of the physical tools and then some but has never played organized sports and has basically been abandoned since early childhood.

The people (parents, coaches, etc.) all want to help Mr. Oher fulfill his potential. However, it doesn't come off as being completely altrusitic as all benefit whom are in his presence, e.g., coach parlays his involvement into a college coaching position. In addition, the recruiting battles for Mr. Oher's services amplify these traits.

His adoptive parents and coaches seem angelic compared to the NCAA in this story. One of the most sobering statitistics quoted in this book is that only one of five players capable of playing in the NFL ever make through the legal and educational morass that is the NCAA.

It's hard not to root for Mr. Oher and I would think we'll see his name at the top of the draft board in 2007-2008. Excellent book and highly recommended.

I picked this up after reading the excerpt in SI and thinking, "man, that would make a great book!" Well, not quite great. Then again, this wasn't that book. If you read the SI excerpt and were looking for 300 pages of economic analysis on the value of the left tackle and the allocation of payroll resources in a salary capped NFL, you'll have to settle for 50 pages of the subtitular "evolution of a game," and about 250 pages of something else. I suspect that a lot of people will feel that this distribution makes this a more important book than the one I thought I was buying. Could be, but that doesn't mean its a better one.

What is the 250 pages of something else? The story of Michael Oher, a 6'6", 350 lb. athletic freak wallowing in poverty and neglect in West Memphis' ghetto, until he is discovered, saved and adopted by a wealthy suburban family with startlingly strong ties to the college where this presumptive best-of-the-next-generation NFL left tackle (and functionally illiterate, learning disabled, sub-2.0 high school GPAer) winds up.

Lewis doesn't explicitly state it until the acknowledgements, but the connection he sees between the Oher story and the evolution of a game story is as follows: had the left tackle not evolved into an important, highly specialized and highly compensated NFL asset, who would have cared about this poor black kid? Would his near-wasted life have ever been retreived from the scrap heap? Would mainstream (white) America ever have cared? Essentially, now that the redeemable qualitites of Michael Oher seem to be embodied by his material value and his earning potential, what are we to make of this?

The connection between the stories is undoubtedly touchy-feely, not to mention a bit esoteric. I suspect he doesn't assert it until the acknowledgements because it is a pragmatic view that can't help but tarnish what I would argue were the adoptive family's altruistic (if Shelley-esque and somewhat Conradian) motives. Also, problematically for me, Lewis admits in the acknowledgements that Sean Tuohy is a lifelong friend - a fact that if revealed before the action might have enlightened the reader as to why Lewis seems to take such a cavalier and trusting approach to the Tuohy family's arguments regarding their interest in Michael, their role in the recruiting process, the very questionable means they employ to get the kid NCAA eligible, and more.

That notwithstanding, Michael's story is certainly an interesting one. My main problem with the book is that Lewis relies on the Oher story, I think because his premise is overblown and underproven. Just like the "Moneyball" philosophy.

Lewis' essential contention is that after the arrival of Lawrence Taylor (and a bevy of quick, blind side pass rushing Taylor clones), and the subsequent (or resultant) offensive shift to more quick hit, pass oriented West Coast style offenses, the NFL began to rethink the left tackle position. In so doing, left tackle became for NFl player personnel people, not just another O lineman, but the bodyguard of the QB - the man charged solely with protecting his blind side (when he is a right-handed thrower). Lewis argues somewhat convincingly that this revaluation was best evidenced by the skyrocketing left tackle salaries around the league once the NFL introduced free agency and allowed the market to operate in relative freedom.

It's a great story. And a nice argument. But, in the same way that "Moneyball" oversold the Oakland A's allegedly ingenious fiscal strategy (still waiting on that A's championship parade), this book tries to make a substantial argument out of a statistical molehill.

Early on, Lewis moves rather fluidly and enjoyably between the evolution story and the Oher story. Then, for a hundred pages at once, he leaves the evolution story behind and belabors the Oher stuff. The return to Bill Walsh and the West Coast offense is welcome, but by now its clear that Lewis has left the realm of sports economist and become more social observer. If you enjoyed "Moneyball," and for all its flaws, I did, this book is not going to be football's "Moneyball."

It winds up more comparable to David Maraniss' "Clemente," a book that uses a sport in its social context to tell one person's story. Michael Oher's story is a good one to tell, but this jigsaw puzzle was cut in too small of pieces on too large a scale. Lewis says that he stumbled across the story looking for a magazine piece to write. I think he found it and didn't realize it.

Enjoy the SI excerpt to get the best of this effort by Lewis. If from the other reviews, you find the Oher story compelling, see "Hoop Dreams."

As both an avid sports fan and reader of sports literature I found this to be by far the most outstanding sports related book I've ever read. (I've read lots of them)

Michael Lewis does a superb job of combining football statistics with human life drama as he chronicles the serendepidous coming together of the Touhy family and Michael Oher and all that follows.

If you love big time college football you'll enjoy reading about recruiting tactics of big time coaches, i.e. Fullmer, Saban, & others.

If you love NFL football you'll enjoy the statistical based reasoned explanation of how the game has evolved & changed over the past couple of decades. Throw in descriptions of personalities about prominent NFL people, i.e. Walsh, Ogden, Wallace, and others and you have a statistical based explanation with a genuine human approach.

Lewis is "Grishamesque" in his treatment of Michael Oher - I'm pulling for Michael to become an all pro left tackle.

Details of Michael's struggles, perserverance and successes brought tears to my eyes. Details of the Touhy family's care and nurturing of Michael reinforced my belief in the good of mankind. The world needs more people like them!!

Michael's final encounter with Antonio Turner caused me to jump to my feet, thrust my fist into the air and say, YES!!!!

This book is an incredible read about life, fate,big time sports and the economic value of highly skilled athletes. It is also about something more - the great economic and cultural divide in this country as evidenced by Urban America in general and Hurt Village and Dixie Homes in particular. Political leaders and public policy makers should read this book - it strikes at the heart of one of our country's greatest challenges in the 21st century - how do we close the gap between the "haves and have nots?"

I bought this book because I became a big fan of Michael Lewis after reading his acclaimed book "Moneyball." I wasn't too disappointed by "The Blind Side" but there were countless errors in the book that could have easily been sidestepped if Lewis had either done some fact-checking or the copy editors would have done their jobs. Errors include: the misspellings of names, including Bob Stoops (spelled Bob Stoopes on page 83), and Patrick Ramsey (spelled Patrick Ramsay on page 63). Minor errors, I know, but still distracting to the casual football observer. Three other errors that stood out to me: the author said in one part of the book that NFL free-agency began in 1994, but later said it began in 1993 (it actually did begin in 1993). He credited Steve Young with leading the San Francisco 49ers to two Super Bowls titles as a starting quarterback, when in actuality he led them to only one Super Bowl win as a starter (he won two other rings but was the backup to Joe Montana both times). Expanding on this topic, the author also insinuated that Montana's four victories in the Super Bowl were more a product of former 49ers coach Bill Walsh than Montana himself, pointing out that Young won two Super Bowls as a starter. The author fails to mention not only Young winning just one Super Bowl as a starter, but also that the victory came when George Seifert was the coach, and not Bill Walsh. The author also credits the 49ers first Super Bowl win as coming in January of 1981, when it came in January of 1982. This book contained a fantastic story of Michael Oher's rise to stardom as a left tackle, but too many errors brought down the overall enjoyment of this book, which is really a darn shame.

Having read Liar's Poker and Moneyball, I expected this book to be in the same genre: Exploration of a niche of an industry intertwined with profiles of a few illustrative players. This is _not_ a book about an aspect of football, but rather about people whose involvement with football is a peripheral part of this book. As other reviewers here have noted, the evolution of the offensive left tackle is only a small portion of the book - I would refer to it more as a synopsis than as an account. And a badly flawed one that indicates that the author has inconsequential knowledge of, or interest in, football. For example, in explaining Bill Walsh's system, the author is dismissive of the skills of Joe Montana, ignoring that he was widely reported as being exceptional in his ability to quickly and accurately move through "the progression" (the potential receivers) and this was critical to making Walsh's system work, as were Montana's leadership and motivational skills.

As for the individuals followed, this is not so much a story of Michael Oher, but more of the Tuohy family that take him in and plays a critical role in getting Oher past the obstacles. This is understandable: Oher is portrayed as a very difficult interview plus Sean Tuohy is a childhood friend of the author.

The promotional materials claim that the need for left tackles has percolated down from the NFL to colleges to high schools. But in this book, I saw nothing about high school preparing Oher for this position--he was used as a run blocker. And the book covers only his freshman year in college--in which he played right guard--and does NOT describe his play in any of the games (this is a sign of how much the author depended on the Tuohy's for this info).

The description of his recruiting by colleges is generic--he could have been any highly rated prospect. There is virtually no discussion of the arguments that the recruiters made--quality of opponents, quality of training, coaching, mentoring, ... There was more space spent on the inducements offered to Sean Jr.

The book feels badly padded--there is far too much repetition of biographic details--to the point that it becomes annoying.

I did NOT find this to be an uplifting story (unlike some reviewers here). A major support system arranged by the Tuohy's kept Oher from failing, but at the end of the book he still has massive deficits. It came across more as a Sisyphean effort for the Tuohy's (Camus variety--work in which there is honor).

The author portrays Oher as a sure-thing for the NFL on the basis of build and athleticism. I am skeptical--Oher has learning difficulties, is immature in many areas, and seems to need a full-time personal guidance counselor/motivator. Plus he seems to have a serious potential for self-destruction.
Update Oct 2009: Happily I was wrong: Oher was drafted in the first round (23rd) and became an immediate impact player for the Baltimore Ravens.

There is a big gap in the story that made me wonder about the rest of the account of Oher and the Tuohy's: The description of how and why Oher chose Ole Miss is fuzzy. The description of Oher's freshman year at Ole Miss makes it seem a bad choice--both for football (mediocre players and coaching staff and an untried head coach) and social/educational. My inference was that the Tuohy's believed that Oher continued to need a support system beyond that supplied by the football program (eg, his own personal tutor, the Tuohy's connections, ready access to the Tuohy's themselves) and that that was more important than the strength of the football program. I expect that portions of the story were softened out to not embarrass Oher. However, I had to wonder if the story was also being softened because Tuohy is a friend of the author.

Note: I most definitely am not criticizing the Tuohy's for providing additional support for Oher at college. Three of my high school friends were recruited to play football at major colleges (in 1960's). One made it to the NFL (high draft choice) and two dropped out during their freshman year: they went from being standouts (offense linemen) to being below average for their position (physical size) and they didn't have the support to cope with all the simultaneous changes and pressures. This situation would have made an interesting portion of this book, but is barely visible.

One of the joys of Moneyball was the accounts of the teams and managers that resisted analytical assessment and stuck with the conventional wisdom, and how the latter differed from the former. There is none of this here. The high school football coach who resisted using Oher is later praised as brilliant. The evolution of the game is treated as a pair of family trees rooted in Walsh and Parcells.

Lewis does an excellent job once again of keeping you engaged while educating your brain on a largely unnoticed phenomenon in the sports - the incredibly high value of the left tackle. All the while he is telling you a true story of the redemption of a kid with absolutely nothing from one of the poorest zip codes in the US by an affluent family with a heart big enough to love the 330 pound boy from the other side of the tracks. A must read if you like football, or live in the south, or care anything about those trapped in poverty.

The topic mentioned in the book's title probably only comprises about 20% of the book. That part is very good. The rest is a story about an up and coming football player. The problem is that there is no end to the story. It is still being written. This story could have been told in a 5 page magazine article.

As many others have noted, this book is not about the evolution of the game of football as much as it is the story of Michael Oher. As interesting as Oher's story might be, it is disappointing to expect one type of book and find yourself reading something very different. I read and enjoyed "Moneyball" and expected this book to provide the same kind of analysis that would cause me to view football in a different light, as "Moneyball" did with baseball. It did not.

It is a quick read, but I learned very little about the game of football. Most of the points made are fairly basic and pretty evident for fans of the game. If I had known beforehand what this book focused on, I would not have read it. That is why it merits two stars.

In the future, I will be more careful before selecting a Michael Lewis book.

While this is an interesting book, the only evolution that's discussed at length in the book is that of Michael Oher, not that of the left tackle position or football in general. As a character study, it works, but not as a historical perspective of the game.

The book starts promisingly enough, with a recounting of the LT hit on Joe Theisman that went a long way towards cementing the importance of a good left tackle to protect the QB's blind side. After that, though, there's very little in the book that gives a historical development of the pass game, its impact on the importance of the O-line, and how the left tackle position developed in the early game. Instead, the evolution that occurs takes place with Oher, mainly due to his interactions with the Tuohy family.

As with his other books, Lewis seems to stress certain qualities for the "characters," so that they all come off as being more exaggerated than is probably true - Michael is the lovable oaf, Sean the athlete-done-good, and Leigh Anne the hot, hip and street smart woman. It's the same thing he did with Moneyball and his non-sports books, exaggerating things to make people seem larger-than-life.

Overall, it's an interesting book, especially those sections dealing with the recruiting process. However, don't expect a treatise on the left tackle position and how it's changed the game - that book has yet to be written.