McNabb is right; Leftwhich is mobile

[mr.jameswoods]

I remember fans of this forum were saying how gifted Byron Leftwhich was as a scrambler. That's not the entire story of course. They were primarily complimenting Leftwhich as a passer but also noted that he was mobile and could scramble too. These forum members had obviously never seen Leftwhich play. They were just assuming since he was black that he was a good scrambler despite the fact that Leftwhich has never been known to be mobile or a good scrambler. He is a pocket passer.

This leads to my point. Our society subconsciously stereotypes black QB's to be mobile and athletic but not ones capable of being the pocket passer. I don't think those thoughts are due to malicious racist intent. I do think those stereotypical beliefs are due to the success of many great mobile NFL QB's who happened to be black such as Randal Cunningham, Michael Vick and Daunte Culpepper.

That being said, I do think black QB's are at a disadvantage because of the predominant belief that they are not patient in the pocket and capable of breaking down defenses. Since 2003, McNabb has primarily remained in the pocket and his rushing yards have dropped steadily since 2000 yet he is still referred to as a "mobile" Qb and one who can't stay in the pocket. If he was white, I very seriously doubt he would have this label. Steve Young rushed for over 400 yards in 5 different seasons over a 15 season career and most do not consider Young to be a "mobile" QB although he certainly was mobile.

In response to what DallasEast, an African American, said in the other thread about McNabb ruining things for current black QB's, I would disagree. Quarterbacks like Warren Moon were not able to speak their mind during the time they played. There was far more discrimination then than there is now and they could very well have jeaopardized their position had they spoken up. They were trying to keep their jobs so I doubt they had a different opinion than McNab and were simply being "classy." I think you have to give McNabb credit for being courageous and stating the truth. Should any of us be suprised by the response. He is criticizing the overwhelming majority of our population which includes most members of this forum. McNabb's comments insinuate the majority of us are racist and no one likes being called a racist even if it's true. And by racist, yes, I'm including myself in that. I definitely think my first instinct is to think of a black QB as a mobile one as opposed to the Tom Brady type who can sit in the pocket and break down defenses. I applaud McNabb for the courage he has shown now and in the past. Racist doesn't necessarily mean maliscious. Racism means judging people according to the color of their skin as opposed to their abilities. Even saying that Asians are brilliant is racist for the same reasons.

 

[03EBZ06]

IMO, some black QBs (particularly McNabb) are bit more sensitive to criticism. Sure there are some truth to what he said, history have shown it. But again, IMO, McNabb is being bit sensitive to criticism and using race issue to deflect his recent poor playing, there are many white QB getting more criticism than McNabb.

If he wants the criticism to stop, then play better, otherwise get use to getting booed and question his abilities as a QB.

 

[jrumann59]

It is eerie how McNabb's career is following almsot the same path as another scrambler in Philly, R. Cunningham, both of got criticized a lot when they couldn't get over the hump and when things looked like they were going to fall into place they go down with injuries and....

 

[joseephuss]

Culpepper is a pocket passer. He can also run very well.

I think black QBs may suffer a little more criticism because of their race. That doesn't mean they are the only QBs getting criticised. If a white QB has 100 critics, then a black QB may have 105. Those 5 hate him whether he is good or bad because they just hate his race. Maybe instead of 5 it is 25 or just 1, but I think those racist do exist.

Still both white QBs and black QBs have their critics. That is part of the job. People will cheer and criticize the QB the most. Add in the fact McNabb plays in Philly where the fans are even more harsh than most other sports towns and he will have a lot of people criticizing him. Philly fans hated on Mike Schmidt and he was arguably the best 3rd baseman in baseball and brought home a World Series. Fans there are just hard on the teams and players they root for with race factoring in very little.

So, if McNabb thinks he is more criticized because he is black then I think there is some truth to that at a very small scale. The bigger truth is he will be more highly criticized when his team is losing and that applies to every QB in the NFL.

QBs also tend to get much more praise than they deserve when they are winning. I did not see McNabb complain about that when he was receiving perks such as a higher salary than many of his teammates and more endorsement deals because QBs are looked at as the faces of their franchises.

 

[CoCo]

I remember fans of this forum were saying how gifted Byron Leftwhich was as a scrambler. That's not the entire story of course. They were primarily complimenting Leftwhich as a passer but also noted that he was mobile and could scramble too. These forum members had obviously never seen Leftwhich play. They were just assuming since he was black that he was a good scrambler despite the fact that Leftwhich has never been known to be mobile or a good scrambler. He is a pocket passer.

This leads to my point. Our society subconsciously stereotypes black QB's to be mobile and athletic but not ones capable of being the pocket passer. I don't think those thoughts are due to malicious racist intent. I do think those stereotypical beliefs are due to the success of many great mobile NFL QB's who happened to be black such as Randal Cunningham, Michael Vick and Daunte Culpepper.

That being said, I do think black QB's are at a disadvantage because of the predominant belief that they are not patient in the pocket and capable of breaking down defenses. Since 2003, McNabb has primarily remained in the pocket and his rushing yards have dropped steadily since 2000 yet he is still referred to as a "mobile" Qb and one who can't stay in the pocket. If he was white, I very seriously doubt he would have this label. Steve Young rushed for over 400 yards in 5 different seasons over a 15 season career and most do not consider Young to be a "mobile" QB although he certainly was mobile.

In response to what DallasEast, an African American, said in the other thread about McNabb ruining things for current black QB's, I would disagree. Quarterbacks like Warren Moon were not able to speak their mind during the time they played. There was far more discrimination then than there is now and they could very well have jeaopardized their position had they spoken up. They were trying to keep their jobs so I doubt they had a different opinion than McNab and were simply being "classy." I think you have to give McNabb credit for being courageous and stating the truth. Should any of us be suprised by the response. He is criticizing the overwhelming majority of our population which includes most members of this forum. McNabb's comments insinuate the majority of us are racist and no one likes being called a racist even if it's true. And by racist, yes, I'm including myself in that. I definitely think my first instinct is to think of a black QB as a mobile one as opposed to the Tom Brady type who can sit in the pocket and break down defenses. I applaud McNabb for the courage he has shown now and in the past. Racist doesn't necessarily mean maliscious. Racism means judging people according to the color of their skin as opposed to their abilities. Even saying that Asians are brilliant is racist for the same reasons.

Sorry folks, but I just don't lose too much sleep over the possibility that someone thinks Byron Leftwich is mobile as a QB because he's black, or Asian's as a generalization are brilliant.

And while I have only read snippets of McNabb's interview, I don't consider what he had to say to be courageous. Even if its true, it comes off more as whining. I tend to think someone is courageous when they fight through adversity rather than complain about it. Nor should my comments be considered a rip job on McNabb. He's felt criticism far more deeply than I ever have or will. A lot of that is simply because he's the QB in Philly which can be a brutal city. And I have no doubt he's experienced racism on top of that.

I just don't think his comments that he gets criticized more than Manning or Brady because he's black is a courageous move or even a smart one.

I am far more concerned about what I consider to be racism of real consequence where someone suffers real hardship.

This crap about analyzing everything someone says (Leftwich is mobile, Asians are brilliant ) as if those folks are bringing atrocities on other races with those comments gets WAY too much attention in our society.

I'm not perfect. Neither are you. I'm open to learning about and correcting flaws in my thinking and my actions. I really am. But don't waste my time with this superfluous stuff. I can bring you stories of injustices I've suffered in my life that are on par with the ones discussed here. They aren't worth it. Get over it. I have to believe there are far more effective ways of fighting racism of consequence than what McNabb is complaining about or what's mentioned in this post. If not, then I guess this world is a pretty darn good place all things considered.