The Blind Side

There's a moment of orderly silence before a football play begins.

Players are in position, linemen are frozen, and anything is possible.

Almost Indian-summer weather here in mid-November.

Then, like a traffic accident, stuff begins to randomly collide.

From the snap of the ball to the snap of the first bone...

...is closer to four seconds than five.

First and 10. Riggins, flea flicker back to Theismann.

Theismann's in a lot of trouble.

One Mississippi. Joe Theismann, the Redskins' quarterback...

...takes the snap and hands off to his running back.

First and 10. Riggins-

Two Mississippi.

It's a trick play, a flea flicker...

...and the running back tosses the ball back to the quarterback.

Flea flicker back to Theismann.

Three Mississippi.

Up to now, the play's been defined by what the quarterback sees.

It’s about to be defined by what he doesn't.

Four Mississippi.

Lawrence Taylor is the best defensive player in the NFL...

...and has been from the time he stepped onto the field as a rookie.

Theismann's in a lot of trouble.

And it was Lawrence Taylor...

...who slammed Theismann to the ground at the 42-yard line. The blitz was on...

He will also change the game of football as we know it.

We'll look at it with the reverse angle one more time.

And I suggest if your stomach is weak, you just don't watch.

Legendary quarterback Joe Theismann...

...never played another down of football.

Now, y'all would guess that, more often than not...

...the highest paid player on an NFL team is a quarterback...

...and you'd be right.

But what you probably don't know is, more often than not...

...the second highest paid player is, thanks to Lawrence Taylor, a left tackle.

Because as every housewife knows, the first check you write is for the mortgage...

...but the second is for the insurance.

And the left tackle's job is to protect the quarterback from what he can't see coming.

To protect his blind side.

The ideal left tackle is big, but a lot of people are big.

He's wide in the butt and massive in the thighs.

He has long arms, giant hands and feet as quick as a hiccup.

This is a rare and expensive combination...

...the need for which can be traced to that Monday night game and Lawrence Taylor.

For on that day, he not only altered Joe Theismann's life...

...but mine as well.

Mr. Oher.

Mr. Oher.

Do you understand? Do you know why I'm here?

To investigate?

Yes. To investigate.

I'm here to investigate your odd... predicament.

Do you find it odd, your predicament?

Michael?

I don't know.

- Can I-? Can I leave now? - No, you can’t.

Where's Coach Cotton's office?

Thanks, man.

They said you were the coach.

Bert Cotton.

Tony Hamilton, but everybody just calls me Big Tony.

Hey, Big Mike, check it out.

Not even locked.

White people are crazy.

I promised my ma, Boo, on her deathbed...

...that I'd get my son, Steven, out of public school and into a church school.

I appreciate that, Tony, but I'm not involved with admissions.

I just figured maybe I can come talk to you...

...seeing as though you might need some players.

- What kind of sport does he play? - Anything with a ball. The boy's good too.

Classes start in a week. It'd have to be for next semester.

I know what you're thinking, coach.

But look here, I got money, all right?

See, I'm a mechanic at Wilson’s Auto, the other side of town.

Well, look, what if somebody drops out or moves? Could they get in then?

"They"? You only mentioned one son.

That’s right, Steven. But there's another boy.

- Heh. Another boy? - Yeah.

Big Mike. Sleeps on my couch from time to time.

It's a bad deal. You know, his mom's on that crack pipe.

He ain't got nobody else. He just wanted to come along for the ride.

- They're here? - Yeah.

Now, the little one, that’s Steven...

...and the big one...

Big Mike.

Swish!

Big Mike! Ha-ha.

Come on.

Mother of God.

Steven Hamilton's paperwork looks acceptable to me...

...and I believe he'll do fine. But this other kid...

- Big Mike. - Michael Oher...

...gives us no reason to believe that...

...based on his records, that he would be successful here.

Well, how bad could it be?

We're not exactly sure how old he is, due to his lack of records.

He has a measured IQ of 80, which is sixth percentile.

His grade-point average begins with zero, 0.6.

Everyone passed him along.

They gave him D's so they could hand their problem off to the next school.

He's a brave kid.

For wanting to come here, for wanting a quality education.

An education denied him by the poor quality of schools he's attended.

Most kids with his background wouldn’t come within 200 miles of this place.

Coach Cotton, we understand your interest in this young man’s athletic abilities.

He wouldn’t be able to play sports until he got his grades up.

Forget sports.

Look at the wall.

"Christian. " We either take that seriously or we paint over it.

You don't admit Michael Oher because of sports.

You admit him because it's the right thing to do.

Class, this is Mike Oher...

...and he's new here so I expect you all to make him feel welcome.

Mike, just take any empty seat.

This is a quiz based on the information...

...you learned last year in your science curriculum.

Don't worry, it's not gonna be graded.

I just wanna see how much information we need to hit again.

Just answer whatever you know.

Thank you.

- Can I leave now? - Yeah.

Take your book.

I'm tired of having someone always in our home.

I'm tired of him eating all the food.

Look, man, you gotta be Christian about this thing.

Let somebody else be Christian about this thing.

Dee, come on, I can’t kick him out on the street like he's some dog.

Let somebody else take the responsibility.

What, you want me to go to Beale Street and drop him off?

When do I have time just to be with you?

All right, all right. Whatever. You win. I'll take care of it.

I don't care if Patrick Ramsey approved the chair.

He's an NFL quarterback, not Martha fricking Stewart.

Because there is a difference between Bunny Williams and a La-Z-Boy.

No, see, when MTV Cribs comes to his house...

...he’ll be showing off his home theater.

AII I'm gonna see is a brown Barcalounger.

No, listen to me, I'm the designer, my name is on it.

Deliver what I ordered, all right? Thank you.

Yeah!

What’d I miss? - Collins just got a dig.

It's girls' volleyball, Mom. You didn't miss anything.

Oh!

- Come on, Collins, move your feet. Good job, Collins.

Go.

We'll wait for you outside.

Don't double condition in the shower, you have homework.

I'm going to Cannon’s to study.

SJ! SJ, do not go in the girls' locker room again. Come here! SJ, come here!

The big kid's been here for, what, a month?

He's still not cutting it in my class.

Why does Admissions do this? I mean, it's not fair to us or the boy.

They're just setting him up to fail.

I don't think he has any idea of what I'm teaching.

And how would you know if he did? He won't even talk.

He writes.

His name. Barely.

He threw this in the trash can.

"I look and I see white everywhere:

White walls, white floors, and a lot of white people.

The teachers do not know I have no idea of anything they are talking about.

I do not wanna listen to anyone, especially the teachers.

They are giving homework and expecting me to do the problems on my own.

I have never done homework in my life.

I go to the bathroom, look in the mirror and say:

'This is not Michael Oher. "'

He entitled it "White Walls. "

How's the spelling?

Hi.

Smile at them. It lets them know you're their friend.

You're Big Mike, right?

Well, I'm Sean.

But everyone calls me SJ. It's for Sean Junior. My father's name is Sean.

Sean Tuohy? He was a basketball star at Ole Miss, point guard.

Now he owns like a million Taco Bells.

Who is that, SJ? Big Mike.

Get your feet off my dash.

Thank you. Put on your seat belt.

Big Mike?

Mike, I got a call from someone at the police department.

You remember a story in the papers a while back about a man who...

...fell off an overpass?

No one knew who he was.

They didn't know if he jumped or if...

Well, anyway, he- He passed away.

Mike, that man was your father.

They've been looking for somebody to notify and they-

They found your name in our registry.

I'm really sorry, son.

Were you close to him?

When's the last time you saw him?

I don't know.

- He knows it! - Who knows it and what does he know?

The material. Michael Oher. I gave him this test verbally.

- Is that even allowed? - A "C"? On how big a curve?

He's been listening all along. It's amazing what he's absorbed.

And, trust me, he's listening to you too. Now, his reading level is low...

...and he's got no idea how to learn in a classroom...

I'm not saying he's gonna pass, but Big Mike is not stupid.

Hey. Good job. Mama. Daddy.

Good job. Hey...