Michael Oher, "Blindside hurting my career."

[Tenacious Faulker]

Really, Big Mike?!  Really?

 

Seems to me that the rights to his life story would do a lot to take the pressure off - at least financially.  He's set for life and he's worried about what peope think?  Seems like he should pipe down, practice harder and just enjoy the ride and forget what others think.  

 

BTW - I'm NOT one who thinks he's a BUST, but I'm starting to see a whiner.

[berad]

Yeah, I remember he always used to be a leader in fan-voting for the Pro Bowl but somehow it had a negative effect? Did the spotlight shine too bright? Who knows.

[The Raven]

Lmao. He's a joke.

[Ravenseconbeast]

I'm just glad he performed well in the playoffs & @Suoerbowl. Mckinnie & Oher's best performance came just when we needed them.

[gtalk12]

It's weird

[K-Dog]

Yeah Mike. That IS the reason.

[RavensFanMania]

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. He's still making excuses for his play and now it's the movies fault.

[GrimCoconut]

Lol@ Oher

[Guest Omerta]

You know there is an issue with performance when you look to external factors to absolve you of subpar play on the field. I think that he really needs a reality check on how good he really is. He says that everybody is watching him more than others, and I think there is some truth to that. When you start a play early before anybody else moves you are naturally going to draw the eye line because our visual acuity is such that we notice movement more profoundly than we would if it were to happen in unison. 

 

The blindside should have alleviated pressure for him as it was his long term financial security in his rookie year that most rookies dont have. He was already a millionaire on top of the distinction of being drafted in the first round which not only merits esteem among your counterparts but also the financial security of people who were drafted below you have not had. He should have been able to go out there and play for fun and really enjoy the game like few others could. 

 

This is really about him playing out of position in my opinion. I said while he was here that he would have been an OK guard and still think he could have if his confidence had not been completely destroyed by his crappy play. This is the ol' quicksand reference from the movie The Replacements. He just got worse and then tried harder and got worse still. His career is all but over. It is sad though, I wish the guy the best, I just wish he would quit complaining and pointing the finger at everyone when he has had a silver spoon in his mouth since entering the league.

 

If this is going to be the measure of his worth as a player and a person he needs to enjoy his media darling status and put it to good use on Sundays either calling the game or doing the halftime shows, he is apparently too soft to make it as a player in this league ala Jonathan Martin. 

[Gordo52]

I'm not the biggest fan of Oher, and I'm not defending him here, but put yourself in his shoes and try to look at it from his perspective.

It doesn't excuse his play on the field but I think it would suck, (at least for me anyway) constantly being under a microscope because of that movie.

Being an underwhelming first round pick/kind of a disappointment doesn't help his case though neither.

Edited June 20, 2015 by Gordo52

[TXRavensFan]

I'm not the biggest fan of Oher, and I'm not defending him here, but put yourself in his shoes and try to look at it from his perspective.

It doesn't excuse his play on the field but I think it would suck, (at least for me anyway) constantly being under a microscope because of that movie.

Being an underwhelming first round pick/kind of a disappointment doesn't help his case though neither.

 

Out of all of the comments I've read on this story on various sites, you're one of the few that actually gets what Oher was saying. I'm not sure how anyone with any kind of intelligence could interpret his comments to mean "my bad play is caused by the movie," which seems to be the overwhelming conclusion here so far.

 

As I posted in the LFW thread earlier: If someone made a movie about any one of our lives (especially one that portrayed us in an inaccurate and arguably unflattering light), and that movie led to us receiving an increased level of scrutiny at our jobs, including perhaps unrealistic expectations regarding our performance, any one of us could reasonably determine that the movie has been a net negative in our lives.

[PolishRifle]

Live's tough for Oher with both, Hollywood and the NFL, throwing millions at him. Dat struggle.

[kassaiscool]

I think his false starts have done more damage then any movie. If you are a great player its very few reasons why teams wouldn't want him on their team.

[Tru11]

He means that the movie added a lot more pressure and expectations then others received.

 

He was a high profile player before he took 1 snap in the NFL.

 

lets have a look.

2010

Oher had 8 heap was closest 2nd with 4.

 

2011

Oher had 5 false starts with mckinnie having 4 birk having 3 yanda having 2

 

2012

Oher had 4 false starts and got alot of flak for it which was hilarious cause nobody was on Yanda who had 3 lol.

Heck Osemele had 6 that season yet everyone was bashing Oher.

 

Heck 2013 Yanda had 5 false starts and Oher only 3 but again Oher is labeld mister false starts....

 

2014 Yanda and daniels lead the team with 4 each.

 

There is a clear downward trend in him getting false starts called with yanda showing an increase but guess who gets labeld mister false start.....

[kassaiscool]

He means that the movie added a lot more pressure and expectations then others received.

 

He was a high profile player before he took 1 snap in the NFL.

 

lets have a look.

2010

Oher had 8 heap was closest 2nd with 4.

 

2011

Oher had 5 false starts with mckinnie having 4 birk having 3 yanda having 2

 

2012

Oher had 4 false starts and got alot of flak for it which was hilarious cause nobody was on Yanda who had 3 lol.

Heck Osemele had 6 that season yet everyone was bashing Oher.

 

Heck 2013 Yanda had 5 false starts and Oher only 3 but again Oher is labeld mister false starts....

 

2014 Yanda and daniels lead the team with 4 each.

 

There is a clear downward trend in him getting false starts called with yanda showing an increase but guess who gets labeld mister false start.....

 

Not only false starts, but also just penalties in general.

[TXRavensFan]

Not only false starts, but also just penalties in general.

 

Just so it's there for the record....

 

2010

Oher led the team with 11 total penalties. Mason, Redding and Heap were tied for 2nd with 5 each.

 

2011

Oher led the team with 11 total penalites again. Flacco, C. Williams, and Suggs were tied for 2nd with 6 each.

 

2012

Boldin led the team with 11 total penalties. Oher was 2nd with 9, and J. Smith, Pollard and Osemele had 8 each.

 

2013

Jimmy Smith led the team with 8 total penalties. Yanda and Shipley were tied for 2nd with 7 each. Oher was tied with Dumervil, Webb, Torrey Smith and Upshaw for 3rd with 6 each.

 

 

Edit: For comparison purposes, last year the penalty leaders were Suggs (8), Monroe (7), and Dumervil (6), followed by a bunch of guys with 5.

Edited June 20, 2015 by TXRavensFan

[kassaiscool]

Just so it's there for the record....

 

2010

Oher led the team with 11 total penalties. Mason, Redding and Heap were tied for 2nd with 5 each.

 

2011

Oher led the team with 11 total penalites again. Flacco, C. Williams, and Suggs were tied for 2nd with 6 each.

 

2012

Boldin led the team with 11 total penalties. Oher was 2nd with 9, and J. Smith, Pollard and Osemele had 8 each.

 

2013

Jimmy Smith led the team with 8 total penalties. Yanda and Shipley were tied for 2nd with 7 each. Oher was tied with Dumervil, Webb, Torrey Smith and Upshaw for 3rd with 6 each.

 

 

Edit: For comparison purposes, last year the penalty leaders were Suggs (8), Monroe (7), and Dumervil (6), followed by a bunch of guys with 5.

 

So basically his stay with the Ravens was filled with penalties like I said.

[Tru11]

also lets not forget this guy was switching between LT and RT quite often during the season quite often which isent an easy task for any player and never complained 1 bit.

[TXRavensFan]

So basically his stay with the Ravens was filled with penalties like I said.

 

Maybe his first two years, but you can't deny his improvement in that area.

[Tru11]

So basically his stay with the Ravens was filled with penalties like I said.

 

you was talking about false starts at first.

 

you only switched to penalties in general later on.....

[JoeyFlex5]

heres what i think, oher is a solid RT with a penalty problem, and he is being viewed as a LT because of his high draft status and a movie based on his life, NAMED after the left tackle position. in the NFL you cant just put your best blocker at LT and say the blindside is covered, its a matchup thing and michael oher does not match up favorably against top edge rushers in the NFL, but he can hold his own across the line facing the typically bigger and slower whos main job is to defend the run, we saw this from him and he always performed well at RT and struggled greatly at LT. 

 

because of the movie "the blind side" he is expected to be an elite LEFT tackle, protecting the qb's blind side, but he is just not suited for that at the nfl level, so he is constantly viewed as a LT and when he struggles there, people forget that he is naturally more of a mauling RT and they forget that he is actually solid when he changes positions. 

 

his success is pretty much hinged on him going against the grain and not playing the position that people are expecting him to play, if the world would stop letting a freaking movie dictate how they view a NFL player, and they finally saw michael oher for what he is, then things would appear differently. 

 

although none of this, has any impact on the simple fact that even if he plays exclusively at RT, his performance still doesnt justify his draft position, and his seeming lack of initiative and apparent lack of passion and hustle makes it worse. so while i somewhat understand the common misconception that michael oher is "the blind side" and he is unfairly pigeonholed, there are still factors that he DOES have control over and that is more the main reason why his career is circling the drain

Edited June 20, 2015 by JoeyFlex5

[52520Andrew]

Oher hasn't even performed well at RT these past 2 years, that has nothing to do with a movie about him.

[airconteka1]

I guess he might say having a film based on his life gave his career a false start

[GrimCoconut]

Out of all of the comments I've read on this story on various sites, you're one of the few that actually gets what Oher was saying. I'm not sure how anyone with any kind of intelligence could interpret his comments to mean "my bad play is caused by the movie," which seems to be the overwhelming conclusion here so far.

As I posted in the LFW thread earlier: If someone made a movie about any one of our lives (especially one that portrayed us in an inaccurate and arguably unflattering light), and that movie led to us receiving an increased level of scrutiny at our jobs, including perhaps unrealistic expectations regarding our performance, any one of us could reasonably determine that the movie has been a net negative in our lives.

I don't necessarily disagree with you but I don't think Oher's career was hurt by the movie. I laughed at this because it's funny to suggest to me. I personally don't buy it but I don't think he's saying he sucked at times because of the movie. That's not my interpretation.

Maybe the movie affected fan expectations, but I certainly know John Harbaugh and crew didn't give him a chance because of a movie. He started every game here. I always liked his ability to stay on the field but I don't see how the movie hurt his career but I'm open if you want to explain. No sarcasm.

[K-Dog]

I guess he might say having a film based on his life gave his career a false start

Nice.

[codizzle]

If you're looking for your sympathy, you ain't gonna find it like that

[dhstandard]

I'm not the biggest fan of Oher, and I'm not defending him here, but put yourself in his shoes and try to look at it from his perspective.

It doesn't excuse his play on the field but I think it would suck, (at least for me anyway) constantly being under a microscope because of that movie.

Being an underwhelming first round pick/kind of a disappointment doesn't help his case though neither.

 

That's the way I think. He is much better than a lot of players out there but he draws so much attention.  The movie made him out to be the next superstar and so he is unable to just be average.  He isn't a terrible right tackle.

[Gordo52]

I guess he might say having a film based on his life gave his career a false start

I appreciate posts like these. +1

[Gordo52]

I don't necessarily disagree with you but I don't think Oher's career was hurt by the movie. I laughed at this because it's funny to suggest to me. I personally don't buy it but I don't think he's saying he sucked at times because of the movie. That's not my interpretation.

Maybe the movie affected fan expectations, but I certainly know John Harbaugh and crew didn't give him a chance because of a movie. He started every game here. I always liked his ability to stay on the field but I don't see how the movie hurt his career but I'm open if you want to explain. No sarcasm.

Who knows. It could've really hurt him mentally...Just speculating, but I imagine he's had to endure extra trash talk from opponents because of all the ammo they have ready at disposal. Some players can use that as fuel but I don't think Oher is that type of player. The mental aspect of the game has always been his biggest issue....The national attention he's received is largely because of the success of that movie. The microscope on him is a lot larger because of that.... It's also probably harder for him to connect to team mates who already know his life story and a painted picture of him before they get to meet him.... Main point I'm making is the movie has made unnecessary distractions in his career compared to what other players have to go through. Constantly being reminded of my past and that movie would suck...I'm not making up excuses, just maybe some reasons??

He's done great for himself in life and I'm happy he was a Raven. He reminds me of Cary Williams with the way he gets consistently bashed.

[kassaiscool]

you was talking about false starts at first.

 

you only switched to penalties in general later on.....

 

I mean if your a Ravens fan you know he had a lot of penalties point blank period. Doesn't really matter if they were false starts holding or whatever he was a penalty machine. On top of that steadily declined from his rookie year. To hear him complain about a movie not getting him on a team is actually sad. He was a good guy for the Ravens, but don't make that type of excuse.