The following is my pesonal perspective on Michael Oher. First off- if you have never read "The Blind Side", I highly recommend doing so...if you're lazy like me, you can read the NY TIMES article on Oher's life called "The Ballad of Big Mike". http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/magazine/24football.html?ex=1316750400&en=e3741d62a638bb81&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all. Michael's life puts everything into an entirely new perspective! If you're a scout, draft guru, or simple armchair draftnik, this is a must read....as Michael's life provides clues that there is more to assessing/downgrading talent due to Combines or Senior Bowl/Week than meets the eye. It's a shame that analysts are doubting Oher. Too many people forget that there is a mental aspect involved that sometimes has nothing to do with football. All Michael has done his entire career is produce in the SEC as well as drastically improve each year. He was the #1 LT out of High School despite little experience, Frosh All American at a new position (Guard), 2nd Team SEC as Soph, 1st Team SEC as Junior, 1st Team All American as Senior, helped improve Ole Miss's ground game from 84th to 28th (2nd in SEC), and helped lead the Rebels to a victory over Texas Tech, while not allowing a sack the entire season. If this is inconsistent, I'd like to know what consistent is. The only inconstency about his game is that it is improving every year. People are dropping Oher because of his Combine and Senior week. Who cares! That's not game day performance. Michael has a history of NOT performing well out of his element or comfort zone dating back to High School. If I were a betting man, I'd say that he has a form of Social Anxiety Disorder like some of us have who are traumatized during public speaking. LOL. Looking at Michael's past gives us an undeniable reason into why he clams up in social settings. After reading "The Ballad of Big Mike" you can see that this is in fact true. Senior week and the Combine DEFINITELY qualify as "out of Oher's comfort zone". He becomes very stressed and nervous; his mind goes into overload and his natural football instincts shut down when this happens. Recall back to his "one on one" drills in High School when all eyes were on him. Fast forward to the present... running the wrong way during Senior Bowl Week doesn't provide a huge clue for this correlation? Seriously... how many times have you seen Michael run the wrong way during a game? Considering the forementioned, if you want to assess Michael correctly..... ONLY look at what he does on the field in real game situations, not in an unnatural football atmosphere where he's aware that tons of scouts/players are standing around scrutinizing his every move. Put Michael in pads, give him a few months to reach his comfort zone, and let him go to work... and he'll be your loyal rock and QB's best friend for the next 10 years!
Unlike other Tackles who wimped out of the combine or Senior Bowl, Oher at least showed up and gave 100% despite an internal fear of these very same situations. So much for Michael's desire to compete rather than trying to preserve his draft status like Jason Smith, Monroe, or Andre Smith. LOL Posted via Mobile Device
Well ToddsPhin, keep in mind the Senior Bowl and the whole process is Darwinian but not Prescient, it can show that a player performs poorly in those situations, but not on game day. But when a team is going to invest millions in a player, they want neither spot nor blemish on them meaning Oher's SAD may be an issue on game day as well, and that is why he is falling. It's all good though, he'll be fine in the NFL IMO, sometimes a player just needs to grow comfortable in their surroundings before they blossom.
Thinking about it a bit, is it possible A Smith acted flakey to avoid being taken by one of the cellar dwelling teams at 1-6? It seems possible, he may calculate that it would be better to be drafted later and still be a millionaire then suffer in Detriot or what have you. As for Oher he seems like a fine OT prospect if he slides some team will reap the benefit, maybe the Eagles at 21 comes to mind.
Thanks Padre. Glad to see you have confidence in Oher. I just see it as a fallability in the assessment process. IMO some of these mental aspects should garner as much attention as scouts place on evaluating/emphaisizing talent. As for Oher's learned or innate SAD, it doesn't affect his game... only social situations when he is out of his comfort level. I know this for a fact. LOL. Besides having a gift for understanding the human mind, I experienced SAD in this same manner. I felt udderly and uncontrollably uncomfortable in social settings.... but put me on a pitcher's mound in a live game in front of 125 pro/college scouts and I wasn't phased a bit. Now make me give an oral class report on how to properly swing a baseball bat the following day....and my mind shut down as I forgot/screwed up everything that had become second nature to me on a baseball field.
I'd rather see Oher reap the financial benefits that Andre. LOL. Although I'd have to give kudos to Andre if he masterminded that plot w/o his agent knowing he was costing him millions!! If the agent's Drew.... that picture of him finding out would be priceless!!
Showing off his jiggly body in nothing but a pair of nut-huggers could definitely be considered flakey!!!
True, but he still ran a 5.19. That is what makes me wonder a bit if he wasn't playing a role? As for SAD, it happens, Tony Munoz's wife suffered with extreme SAD and would not leave the house for years. At worst, Oher is absolutely the best Guard prospect in the draft,
I didn't know that about Tony. That's tough!!! That would be a tough blow to Michael if he had to play Guard. LOL. It would rip my heart out to be the coach responsible for telling him this after practice..... more so than any other player I'd ever have to drop that bomb on!
Worst case Toddsphins, that is what makes him such a great prospect, he can play either tackle slot or Guard. Physically there is nothing wrong with his game IMO.
His Pro Day: Dates: 03/11/09 Height: 6040 Weight: 332 40 Yrd Dash: 5.28 20 Yrd Dash: 3.01 10 Yrd Dash: 1.79 225 Lb. Bench Reps: 19 Vertical Jump: 25 Broad Jump: 07'10" 20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.93 3-Cone Drill: 7.88 Not a 5.19, but his dash times, bench and 3 cone were not that far from Monroe and Oher. I doubt that they would have looked like an Adonis either if they had run shirtless. That was really an unwise move on his part.
Good glass is half full point. I guess that you probably know where you want him to play when you draft him, so it's not that bad if you tell him from day one that this is what his position will be.
IMO he did this b/c he was proud of the effort he made to drop some weight and wanted to show everyone that he has reduced himself from the massive blob we associated him as... to now just becoming a minor blob.
If either Smith or Oher fell to 25th, I'd like to see us give them serious consideration. Put either one at RG, and it would make our line really kick butt as well as give us solid OT depth.
As badly as I want to see Barwin in Miami, I'd have to agree with you. Question: pretend Miami is as high on Barwin as I am...do you draft Connor and package picks/future picks to take Smith or Oher at 26? I would think hard about it for that kind if dominance, versatility, and insurance. That line would strike fear in every team we face! Ronnie could run backwards through it! He might even tie Emmitt Smith with the most runs without being touched for the first 5 yards. LOL
and you're point is? J/K. Miami could look at it as using Jason Taylor to acquire his replacement. LOL. If you asked me before the draft that if I could end up with Andre/Oher and Barwin as my only 2 players in the first 2 rounds, I'd say yes without any hesitation....I think. Posted via Mobile Device
If the Eagles pick him up.. omg. there are reports around the area that they're looking into boldin or edwards with one of their first rounders or if that doesn't work they have a multitude of picks and could trade up into the top 5... http://www.philly.com/philly/sports...s_will_likely_look_high_in_April_s_draft.html
