Cincinnati Bengals right tackle Willie Anderson has been retired from the NFL since 2007 but has yet to be inducted into the Football Hall of Fame, and he blames the book and film The Blind Side for his plight.
Anderson thinks the story of NFL player Michael Oher, which lies at the center of the book The Blind Side and the film of the same name, got everyone so excited about players who work the left tackle that any player who plays right tackle has been ignored.
It has been 18 years since any right tackle has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, Fox News reports, and Anderson blames it all on the Michael Oher story, which made headlines in 2006 when a book about his experience was published.
“I think the media had a bias because they 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. The whole ‘Blind Side’ thing got taken out because of the movie, and the right side guys got pushed away,” Anderson told Kay Adams on Up & Adams.
He added that up-and-coming kids only want to play left tackle because of the Oher story.
“The kids, their parents, and the media pushing left tackle is a huge deal. But they don’t realize guards are getting paid crazy money right now. It’s definitely changed for the better, I think because these rushers are coming from everywhere now. Right side, left guard, over the center, everywhere,” Anderson added.
As a right tackle, Anderson was a four-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro selection and played 13 years in the NFL, 12 of them with the Bengals.
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