The opening scene of The Blind Side

The opening scene of The Blind Side successfully establishes a football analogy that, for someone unlearned in the game (like me), helps to explain the game from the coach’s point of view. Over real-life footage of Joe Theissman's gruesome 1985 career-ending compound fracture, the narration tells us that "The first check you write is for the mortgage, and the second is for the insurance. The left tackle's job is to protect the quarterback from what he can't see coming. To protect his blind side." That analogy comes from Leigh Ann Tohey, who is set up as our guide for the rest of the film. Her explanation had me nodding my head. Something of the strength of the game is held in that tiny moment. Unfortunately this is the only scene in the movie that works.