Left Tackle, Protection, and Shifting Strategy Theme Analysis

In addition to telling the story of the life of Michael Oher, The Blind Side studies the history of professional football since the 1970s—an era during which many coaches and managers began to rethink the way the game was played. The book shows how Michael Oher’s spectacular success as a left tackle reflects some major changes in football strategy in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, which resulted in a much stronger emphasis on passing and, therefore, protecting the quarterback. Beginning in the late seventies and early eighties, some football insiders, particularly Bill Walsh, the talented head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, began to challenge the conventional wisdom that football is a game only of strength and endurance. Walsh introduced elaborate plays that required the athletes to think tactically and pass the ball more efficiently than they were used to doing. Because he emphasized passes more than runs, furthermore, Walsh recognized the importance of good quarterback protection in the midst of an offensive play: without linemen to protect the quarterback, the other team would tackle the quarterback before he could throw the ball.

As The Blind Side shows, Bill Walsh’s protective, pass-heavy style of football caught on in the NFL for a number of reasons. First, and most obviously, Walsh’s style caught on because it worked: under Walsh’s leadership, the 49ers had several spectacular seasons, and their quarterback, Joe Montana, is still recognized as one of the best in NFL history. Montana was a great quarterback not simply because of his talent, but because Walsh recruited big left tackles who could protect Montana’s blind side—i.e., the area Montana couldn’t see because his body was turned in the opposite direction (for right-handed throwers, this is the area to the quarterback’s left)—and give him an extra split-second in which to pass. At the same time, the protective style, bolstered by big left tackles, caught on in the NFL because of skyrocketing player salaries. With quarterbacks in the 1990s and 2000s commanding massive, forty million-dollar salaries, the NFL needed to protect its athletes from injuries, or risk shelling out tens of millions for an athlete who could no longer play football. Thus, NFL teams began spending much more on their linemen in general and their left tackles in particular: the best way to keep the quarterback playing was to protect his blind side with a good left tackle. In all, then, Walsh’s protective strategy caught on, not only because it was the best way to win games, but because it was the smartest long-term economic decision for big NFL teams.

The changes in football strategy that occurred in the 80s and 90s had some major consequences for the way that people viewed the different players. In particular, Walsh’s style brought new importance to the position of left tackle, but—oddly—not much visibility. Among NFL insiders, the left tackle became one of the most respected positions. The new importance attached to the left tackle challenged the old belief that linemen were all equally valuable, and worked together as one team—now, left tackles were seen as soloists, defending against the other team single-handedly. At the same time, however, left tackles remained relatively obscure from the perspective of the average NFL fan: runningbacks and quarterbacks continued to get most of the attention, while left tackles remained the unsung heroes of many games. In many ways, Michael Oher embodies the contradictions inherent to the role of the contemporary left tackle: he’s big and imposing, meaning that the other players always notice him in a game, but he’s also quiet and unassuming, meaning that he’s often less popular than his teammates. Furthermore, he has extraordinarily strong protective instincts, as measured by his career aptitude tests, suggesting that he’s a natural for a protective role on the football field. In all, Lewis argues that Michael Oher didn’t become a highly sought-after football player simply because he was a great player—he attracted attention because he came along at the perfect time, when football coaches and managers realized how important big left tackles like Michael could be.