Tag: NFL

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The Blind Side: Don’t Call Him ‘Big Mike’

BlindSide

I finally got around to seeing ‘The Blind Side’ today and I can definitely say that this movie did not disappoint. It stayed very much true to the story that I had heard about and read in the 2006 New York Times piece called ‘The Ballad of Big Mike‘.

The New York Times article, the movie and the book all follow his story really well. For those that have not heard much about the story, it is about a kid named Michael Oher who was taken in by the Tuohy family at the age of 16 when he had a GPA of 0.6. A white couple with a daughter and a son at the school, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, allowed Oher to move in with them and began taking care of his needs after becoming familiar with his difficult personal circumstances. They also connected him with a tutor, who worked with him for twenty hours a week. He eventually brought his grade point average up to 2.52 which made him eligible to receive a scholarship and play Division-I football at the University of Mississippi.

I had initially read this story when it was first published some three years back and followed him somewhat during his collegiate career but it was not until the end of his junior year when he first declared for the NFL draft did I start to follow him again. He would withdraw from the draft and returned to Ole Miss for his senior year and improve on his accolades. He goes on to get drafted by the Baltimore Ravens (for those of you local fans here — it is the same team as Rutgers alum Ray Rice).

So if you get a chance, go see this movie, read the NYT article and even read the book if you get a chance.

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Does Your Coach Celebrate Like This?

After a dramatic win over NFL’s most hated team, the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos’ coach Josh McDaniels celebrates like he just won the Super Bowl. I think more coaches should celebrate like this with their fans after big wins. Certainly the season still has a long way to go but to improve to 5-0 in a season that started with so much turmoil. Well done Coach Mcdaniels and the Denver Broncos.

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That’s Not Cool, Brett Favre

If you didn’t see it for yourself on ESPN, take a look at this filthy little crackback block that Brett Favre threw at the knees of Texans safety Eugene Wilson in the third quarter of the Monday Night preseason game.

A great job by the ESPN guys on calling the play dirty right away and I probably wouldn’t expect anything more to happen since a penalty was called on the play. Just giving me more ammo to not like Brett Favre more than I already don’t.

Well Done #4.

Yahoo! Sports: Brett Favre throws a dirty block at Eugene Wilson’s knees

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Brett Favre: Committing Treason

For a very long time, Brett Favre could do no wrong in the hearts and minds of Green Bay Packers fans all across the country. That probably all changed when he flipped and flopped on a decision whether to retire or to play another season with the Packers following the great 13-3 season in which they fell a game short of the Super Bowl. When he couldn’t make up his mind whether he could play another season and he retired, the Packers finally decided to invest in their future quarterback Aaron Rodgers. A lot of fans including myself were finally able to close the greatest and longest chapter in NFL history on the arguably the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.

Although the relationship between quarterback and the Cheeseheads faithful have been rocky ever since, it probably took an irreparable turn (at least for the near future) when he stepped onto the podium yesterday wearing a #4 Purple Jersey. One will continue to wonder how the Vikings fans will treat a guy who has beaten them year in and year out in their division — will they still root for him if he struggles early? Will they root for him if he does well but can’t beat the Packers or Bears? Clearly, anything short of a Super Bowl run this year will be a disappointment and there’s nothing more that I would like than to see Brett struggle in Minnesota.

Favre got what he wanted Tuesday. He got the team he craved, the salary he could live with and the NFC North Division he knows by heart. But the nanosecond he signed that two-year, $25 million contract with the Vikings was the nanosecond he burned the last few remaining wooden bridges between him and Packers fans. He became Fredo Corleone in “The Godfather: Part II” — the one who betrays the family. Packers fans became Michael Corleone, who tells his older brother, “Fredo, you’re nothing to me now.”

Fredo got popped on a fishing boat in the middle of Lake Tahoe. Favre could get his on national television in the middle of the Metrodome. Or he could lead the team with the league’s best running back and one of the league’s best defensive lines to Super Bowl XLIV. – Gene Wojciechowski (ESPN.com)

I am hopeful that one day I will get over what he did to the Packers franchise but don’t expect it anytime soon. Hopefully by the time he has finally retired for good and is up there in Canton giving his Hall of Fame speech, I will watch him as the great quarterback he was for all these years instead of the drama queen he had become in the late stages of his career – even if that stage began in his last few seasons with Green Bay.

A great peice I quoted earlier by ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski so be sure to read it: Favre’s Left Green Bay Behind, For Good.

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Best NFL Draft Story: The Ballad of Big Mike

Here is a story that my friend Joe Sullivan showed me who knows when since the story is initially dated September of 2006 but it really takes another step today. The entire story is available through New York Times: The Ballad of Big Mike.

It is about a guy named Michael Oher who had a really tough childhood which father not being around and his mother who had cocaine addiction problems. He never really got the proper education and ended up repeating first and second grade. He also attended 11 different schools during his first nine years as a student.

His life completely changed when he was 16 years old and had gotten into a private school named Briarcrest Christian School through a person he was living with. There,  a white couple with a daughter, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy, allowed Oher to move in with them and began taking care of his needs after becoming familiar with his difficult personal circumstances

At that age of 16, Oher had a measured I.Q. of 80, which put him in mankind’s ninth percentile. An aptitude test he took in eighth grade measured his “ability to learn” and placed him in the sixth percentile. He had finished his sophomore year with a 0.9. A better performance at the back end of his junior year, when he moved into the Tuohy home, raised his cumulative average to 1.564.

The Tuohy family connected him with a tutor, who worked with him for twenty hours a week, eventually bringing his low-D performance up to a 2.05 grade point average. A series of internet-based courses from Brigham Young University served as replacements for poor marks earned earlier in his academic career, enabling him to become eligible to play football in college.

After receiving scholarship offers from the University of Tennessee, Louisiana State University, the University of Alabama, and North Carolina State University, among others, Oher ultimately decided to attend the University of Mississippi, the Tuohys’ alma mater.

Oher started in 10 games as a guard during his first season with Mississippi, becoming a first-team freshman All American. He shifted to his natural position of left tackle for the 2006 season, and was named to a variety of preseason All-Conference and All-American teams. He currently has a listed height of 6’6″ and a listed weight of 322 pounds. He was named a second-team SEC offensive lineman after his sophomore season and a first-team SEC offensive lineman after his junior season.

Last January, he declared for the NFL draft before deciding to change his mind and return to Ole Miss for his final season. He is projected to be a quality first round draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft that is starting today in about an hour.

Once again, the entire story is available through New York Times: The Ballad of Big Mike.