Some Pre-Draft Reading Material

Now that there are several teams with a good bit of supposed interest, the Hawks may be sitting pretty if, you know, all the rumors mean anything. Because Seattle is actually a threat to take Sanchez and none of the top 3 are (assuming that Stafford goes), I can not WAIT to see what happens.

Other than Oher has finally read it, apparently.

I found it interesting that he bristled at the supposed knocks on his intelligence. When I read it originally, it seemed like an endorsement of the kid’s brain as much as anything else. It describes how he was in developmental circumstances (i.e. never going to school) where he just wasn’t required to exercise his brain and learn “classroom stuff” that other kids take for granted. But when he did finally get into school and pick up some momentum, he really began to flourish.

The conventional wisdom was that IQ is inherent, for example, and yeah, at first he tested very low. But once he started getting actual schooling and tutoring and everything, his IQ “magically” jumped up over 100, which isn’t supposed to happen. Besides the football stuff, I found it to be a fascinating case study of overcoming near-impossible environmental conditions. Unfortunately, not every kid in poverty is a 300-pound left tackle prospect. Lewis makes sure to point out that for every Michael Oher success story, there are thousands of kids who never get the chance to get out.

Ah, I’m rambling. I guess I’ll just say that I highly recommend the book.