stuvian Posted July 29 Posted July 29 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/nfl/article-13649189/NFL-Willie-Anderson-blames-Blind-Hall-Fame.html he has a thought provoking argument Quote
MJS Posted July 29 Posted July 29 Just a malcontent. The book and the movie didn't change anything about the NFL. They simply highlighted the reality. 1 Quote
hondo in seattle Posted July 29 Posted July 29 1 hour ago, stuvian said: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/nfl/article-13649189/NFL-Willie-Anderson-blames-Blind-Hall-Fame.html he has a thought provoking argument He makes a fair point. Some people have a perception that the best Tackles are Left Tackles. And Right Tackles are the 2nd best Tackle on the team. So the best Right Tackle in the NFL may be the 33rd best Tackle overall. It's like saying a wideout is the best #2 in the league. Faint praise, indeed. No wonder these guys don't get into the Hall. Quote
GunnerBill Posted July 29 Posted July 29 I think people recognised LT as a premium position abd RT less so before the Blind Side came out. 2 5 1 Quote
Ethan in Cleveland Posted July 29 Posted July 29 I wonder if the same holds true for pass rushers. Are those that line up outside RT less represented in the HOF than guys like Smith who lined up outside LT most of the time. I know they can move around but I've never even thought about it in this way Quote
RoyBatty is alive Posted July 29 Posted July 29 1 hour ago, Ethan in Cleveland said: I wonder if the same holds true for pass rushers. Are those that line up outside RT less represented in the HOF than guys like Smith who lined up outside LT most of the time. I know they can move around but I've never even thought about it in this way that is an excellent question, would love to see if there are any stats. Quote
Saxum Posted July 29 Posted July 29 Article on original is not currently available maybe just to me but other alternate sites: https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/willie-anderson-thinks-the-blind-side-has-hurt-his-chances-of-making-the-hall-of-fame https://deadline.com/2024/07/the-blind-side-blamed-pro-football-hall-of-fame-exclusion-willie-anderson-1236015322/ https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/bengals-willie-anderson-blind-side-hall-fame-snub.html https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/willie-anderson-the-blind-side-hall-of-fame-b2582493.html Quote During an interview on Up & Adams on Thursday (19 July), the football star said that the film, based on a true story, glorifies the left tackle position, while he played as an offensive lineman on the opposite side of the line at right tackle. “The media had a bias because they just didn’t understand the importance of the guys we blocked over there [on the right side] were some of the best rushers of all-time,” Anderson told Adams. Quote
Bill from NYC Posted July 29 Posted July 29 (edited) He has a point to some degree, but the LT is more important than the RT because of the blind side, and playing LT does require more agility. That said, Anderson was a great player. There are other cases to point out. Erik Williams was one of the best football players that I have ever seen. He was the best blocker on one of the top two or 3 offensive lines of all time, if not THE best. He had a famous game in which he neutralized Reggie White. The man provideded with Aikman tremendous protection, ond opened up huge holes for Emmitt Smith. Erik is not in the HOF, probably due to a DUI and a domestic arrest for assault. These would seem to be very good reasons to exclude him but I for one have never seen a better RT. It was as if they had an Orlando Pace playing the right side, and he played a HUGE part in the Cowboy's success in those days. Of course, jmo. Edited July 29 by Bill from NYC 2 Quote
JP51 Posted July 29 Posted July 29 So I have a couple thoughts here... I think he truly does believe this but its probably more of a rationalization as to why he hasn't been let in yet, as well as him keeping his name out there for consideration in hopes of getting a bit of a groundswell of support in the court of public opinion... I think the movie drew attention to the blind side for sure, but definitely also drew attention to the importance of OL play as a whole. Not sure this actually hurt him. Last, I think the people who are voting for those who will be inducted would likely not be swayed in their opinion on the importance of right and left side line play based on a Sandra Bullock movie. JMO Quote
Chicken Boo Posted July 29 Posted July 29 (edited) More than a few sack artists of this era line up, mostly, against RTs. Looking at you, TJ and JJ Watt. *Even Reggie White. Edited July 29 by Chicken Boo Quote
WotAGuy Posted July 29 Posted July 29 I could see his point if it was a football documentary or something along those lines. But wasn’t Blind Side mostly a human interest story? Did people really come out of the movie saying “Gee, I never realized how much more important the left tackle is!” 1 Quote
transient Posted July 29 Posted July 29 Willie Anderson is quite the football historian. He should know that it was Lawrence Taylor who is responsible for making left tackles indispensable. Teams knew as far back as the 80's when Anthony Munoz was playing, probably even before that, that it was important to protect a QB's blind side. How the hell does Anderson think the movie got its name... moron. Quote
RangerDave Posted July 29 Posted July 29 10 hours ago, GunnerBill said: I think people recognised LT as a premium position and RT less so before the Blind Side came out. Absolutely. The movie producers did not invent the term "blind side." It had been used to refer to the left side of right-handed QB's for quite some time. Quote
Utah John Posted July 30 Posted July 30 Back when the best pass rushers lined up on the right side of the defensive line, and teams almost always put the tight end on the right side of the offensive line, the standard thinking was running teams were right handed, generally exploiting the power of an extra TE blocker and a powerful road grader right tackle. Left tackles were quicker and more athletic, not always as good at run blocking. Blocking schemes were designed to utilize these different strengths. Even right guards and left guards had different priorities. So teams started putting their best pass rusher on the left side of the defensive line (Reggie White). These defenders had to account for a more massive tackle, but they could use speed, quickness, and deception, as well as power, to be effective. This counter-trend changed the job description for right tackles. Now they still need to be massive road graders (Spencer Brown) but also good pass blockers (Spencer Brown, last year, finally). And defensive lines doing stunts and rotations can confuse a non-athletic tackle if he's not paying attention. This whole blind side thing is a little overdone. Sure, if you have a right-handed pocket passer QB who doesn't move much, the blind side issue matters, but most QBs are pretty mobile (or very mobile) and they have their eyes everywhere. Statues get broken, but moving targets survive. And sacks come from everywhere. Finally, the dominant shift in the NFL the past 15 years or so, is the ascendancy of the passing game. Pass blocking is now the most important capability an O lineman can have. Even right tackles. 1 Quote
White Linen Posted July 30 Posted July 30 RT's are becoming more important but in the era when you could blow a QB up the blind side was far and away the more important tackle. Now that they are protected, the gap isn't as big. Quote
Jauronimo Posted July 30 Posted July 30 9 hours ago, WotAGuy said: I could see his point if it was a football documentary or something along those lines. But wasn’t Blind Side mostly a human interest story? Did people really come out of the movie saying “Gee, I never realized how much more important the left tackle is!” The movie is purely a human interest story. The book deals with a decent amount of football history and how left tackle became a money position in the NFL. Lawrence Taylor was knocking QBs out of the game and overnight linemen stopped being viewed as interchangeable cogs. Anyone up to the task of handling premier edge rushers was suddenly among the highest paid players in the league. 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.