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I shoulda seen it coming, by Patrick Hruby


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I found this to be an insightful read into the abuse a QB takes during a blindside hit. Redskins are involved aswell so I figured I could throw this into the stadium. "Extreme-Google" search showed no results.

I copied part of the article below. However, I strongly suggest reading this in its entirety.

I shoulda seen it coming

by Patrick Hruby

Click the link below to open the full write-up:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hruby/080924

"You want me to hit you?"

Fred Smoot sounds confused. And intrigued. The latter part has me worried. We're standing on a grassy slope near the Washington Redskins' practice field, and I'm trying to explain that no, Fred, I don't want you to hit me. I want someone else to hit me, hard, square in my back, all to better understand a violent, iconic impact that has become central to the game as blitz-heavy defenses scheme to attack the quarterback's blind side and pass-happy offenses scheme to protect the quarterback's blind side and freakishly athletic rushers battle freakishly athletic left tackles for increasingly large piles of money in an ever-evolving tit-for-tat arms race – chronicled in the best-selling book, "The Blind Side," by "Moneyball" author Michael Lewis – that invairably ends with some poor signal-caller eating turf, flailing around like an overturned turtle …

You think Leonard Marshall enjoyed delivering Joe Montana a blindside hit back in the 1990 NFC Championship game?

Smoot cuts me off.

"If you want the real feel, you need to not know it's coming," the veteran cornerback says. "Otherwise, you'll brace yourself and embrace the hit. A real QB is looking downfield. He's relaxed. So when he gets hit …"

Smoot rocks his head back, then forward, approximating a crash-test dummy in an exploding Volvo.

"… his neck snaps. But your neck probably won't."

Smoot seems disappointed. Gulp. What had I gotten myself into? And would it require a Steve Grogan-style neck roll? I spot Redskins defensive end Andre Carter. A 6-foot-4, 252-pounder who tallied 10½ sacks in the 2007 season, Carter looks like the end result of a secret CIA super-soldier project, one designed to separate quarterbacks from their faculties.

Carter is large. He is ripped. He is grinning as wide as Chesapeake Bay.

"There's nothing like a perfect kill shot on the QB," he says. "Home or away, when you hear the crowd go 'ooooh,' you know you did your job. A big hit gets everyone juiced."

Carter gets a faraway look.

"The quarterback is dazed. He's flustered. And the tackle is looking back, thinking, 'Oh, my gosh, what just happened?'"

Wait. Stop. The dazed part. Sounds not so good. Any way I can avoid that?

"You can't prepare," Carter advises. "Just brace for impact when you hit the ground."

Right. As previously mentioned, a blindside hit encompasses two collisions, and the second can be worse than the first. At least according to Redskins rookie quarterback Colt Brennan. During his first collegiate game, he recalls, a defender clobbered him from behind, lifted him off the ground, twisted him in midair and drove him into the turf. Brennan's parting gift? A separated shoulder.

Brennan wraps up his story – painful-looking pantomime included – and then tells me not to worry.

"Actually, a lot of blindside hits look really bad when you see them," he says, "but when you take them, they're not as painful."

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I spot Redskins defensive end Andre Carter. A 6-foot-4, 252-pounder who tallied 10½ sacks in the 2007 season, Carter looks like the end result of a secret CIA super-soldier project, one designed to separate quarterbacks from their faculties.

kinda weak article, but pretty humorous... the above made me laugh and cheer at the same time..

:applause:

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