Starting White Safeties Week 7

It seems white safeties rotate in and out of starting positions more than at any other position. So for Week7 in the good 'ol NFl here are the starters (for this week, anyway). I was actually pleasantly suprised. I think white DBs are making a come back. Also included are those that are geting plenty of playing time (and should be starters). Sources are the teams' websites and NFL.com.
Tom Zbikowski FS Ravens
Jon McGrawFS Chiefs
Sean ConsidineFS Jags
Craig DahlSS Rams
Cody Grimm FS Bucs
Eric WeddleFS Chargers

(Byes)
Jim Leonard SS Jets
Aaron Fransisco SS Colts

Getting playing time and in and out of startibg roles:
Reed Doughty FS Redskins
Sabby PiscitelliSS Bucs
Eric Smith FS Jets

Sure there are others...

Tommy Z may not be a starter this week as it's possible Ed Reed will play.

Don't worry, Ed Reed will pull a Bob Sanders and immediately get hurt again. Or is it Bob Sanders pulling an Ed Reed when he constantly goes down?



All we know for sure, according to the all-knowing media, is that both of these perpetually injured black safetiesstill somehow qualify as"all-time greats." That's roughly equivalent to referring to Mark Pryor as a "surefire Hall of Famer."

Don Wassall said:

Don't worry, Ed Reed will pull a Bob Sanders and immediately get hurt again.  Or is it Bob Sanders pulling an Ed Reed when he constantly goes down?
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<div>All we know for sure, according to the all-knowing media, is that both of these perpetually injured black safeties still somehow qualify as "all-time greats." That's roughly equivalent to referring to Mark Pryor as a "surefire Hall of Famer."  </div>

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I think their perception has been distorted by these players' ridiculously high ratings, historically, in the Madden video games.

I've noticed that a clear majority of the white starting safeties are free safeties. This doesn't make any sense in the Caste System because I've always understood the free safety position to demand greater athleticism than strong safety. I read somewhere on this site that for a very long time even after blacks were integrated the free safety position was dominated by whites, the reason being that free safety was more mentally demanding. This of course was attacked. Strong safety gradually became the only position whites could play in the secondary, and yet it seems we are trending the other way now.

Woody said:

I've noticed that a clear majority of the white starting safeties are free safeties. This doesn't make any sense in the Caste System because I've always understood the free safety position to demand greater athleticism than strong safety. I read somewhere on this site that for a very long time even after blacks were integrated the free safety position was dominated by whites, the reason being that free safety was more mentally demanding. This of course was attacked. Strong safety gradually became the only position whites could play in the secondary, and yet it seems we are trending the other way now.

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Well I know Weddle played cornerback quite a bit at Utah, so there definitely are some athletic guys there.

Also, when Gregory comes back from his suspension I think he was starting at a safety spot and also played some nickel CB...

yeah, Gregory was starting for Chargers, giving them a tandem.

I watched some of the Jags game this week - pretty dull - but didn't see considine on the field much. Didn't seem to be starting.

Out of 64 starting safeties in the league that would gives us a total of 9 white starters including Steve Gregory. That's about 14 percent of the starting safeties in the league are white.

It's also worth noting that Tom Nelson has been activated from the PUP list. He probably won't get any playing time though.

Definitely have seen a lot of white skill players around the NFL since I've started following this site. Its good to see, small steps.

whiteathlete33 said:

Out of 64 starting safeties in the league that would gives us a total of 9 white starters including Steve Gregory. That's about 14 percent of the starting safeties in the league are white.

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That's not as bad as I thought it would be.

Plus, is it just me or is it insanely odd that Cody Grimm is starting? I know he's got some connections with his dad but isn't he a rookie? Did someone get injured ahead of him or something? He's playing great but it's so shocking to see a white guy start at DB his first year...
Edited by: MostDangerous

Grimm legit won the job in training camp. I know, suprising for the Bucs.

Craig Steltz was running 1st team with Bearsprior to his injury early in Summer Camp...very frustrating!

Figured Grimm would be a starter when all was said &amp; done...he reminds me of Pat Tillman with a nose for the ball...hard to keep him off the field!

Maybe Pete Ittersagen (CB) Titans?will get called from the practice squad soon??

Hopefully Tom Nelson lands on another team....

TwentyTwo said:

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<div>Maybe Pete Ittersagen (CB) Titans?will get called from the practice squad soon??</div>
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<div>Hopefully Tom Nelson lands on another team....</div>
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Wow, two young guys from small colleges... I like it!

MostDangerous said:

TwentyTwo said:

Maybe Pete Ittersagen (CB) Titans?will get called from the practice squad soon??

Hopefully Tom Nelson lands on another team....

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Wow, two young guys from small colleges... I like it!

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With tons of talent and no team willing to take a gamble on them. Very frusterating to me after I've watched the Packers defensive backfield get torched the last couple of weeks. Guys like Charlie Peprah and Sam Shields have gotten playing time. I mean come on. Not only does this happen in Green Bay, but rosters throughout the league are more watered down than the NFLwants you tothink.

MostDangerous said:

whiteathlete33 said:

Out of 64 starting safeties in the league that would gives us a total of 9 white starters including Steve Gregory. That's about 14 percent of the starting safeties in the league are white.

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That's not as bad as I thought it would be.

Plus, is it just me or is it insanely odd that Cody Grimm is starting? I know he's got some connections with his dad but isn't he a rookie? Did someone get injured ahead of him or something? He's playing great but it's so shocking to see a white guy start at DB his first year...

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On the home page it mentions that five percent of starting white safeties are white. That's around the percentage it was several years ago. Things have gotten better, if only slightly.

Considine was out with an injury, he's back though.

whiteathlete33 said:

MostDangerous said:

whiteathlete33 said:

Out of 64 starting safeties in the league that would gives us a total of 9 white starters including Steve Gregory. That's about 14 percent of the starting safeties in the league are white.

Click to expand...

That's not as bad as I thought it would be.

Plus, is it just me or is it insanely odd that Cody Grimm is starting? I know he's got some connections with his dad but isn't he a rookie? Did someone get injured ahead of him or something? He's playing great but it's so shocking to see a white guy start at DB his first year...

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On the home page it mentions that five percent of starting white safeties are white. That's around the percentage it was several years ago. Things have gotten better, if only slightly.

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It's a noticeable improvement, but the downside is that Weddle and Leonhard are the only two White safeties with job security to speak of. The rest are jerked in and out of the lineup depending on injury situations and the whims of the coaching staff.

Since moreWhite safetiesbeing "allowed" to start this season and thus are more noticeable on the field,hopefully the nextphase of thattrend will be tohave more of them become entrenched as starters.

Doughty to start, according to the teams depth chart. Good news. Doughty isn't the best DB, I think hes only a little above average, but he's better than Moore and Landry, no question. Landry has a lot of tackles, but he misses sooooo many. His coverage is worse.

Of course, with the Chiefs, that dadgum Jon McGraw fellow keeps holding on to the starting free safety position, even though the coaches and every single DWF in existence are pining for New Miss rookie Kendrick Lewis to take over the position with his "speed", "athleticism", "upside", and "game-changing abilities". Unfortunately for them, Lewis is more often than not in poor position and although a hitter, is a poor tackler. For some reason that slow, stiff white guy makes plays that the "supa afflete" cannot.

Tom Nelson was just activated to the 53 man roster from the PUP list by Cincy.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/10/22/tom-nelson-activated-from-pup-list-ed-reed-not-sure/

FootballDad said:

Of course, with the Chiefs, that dadgum Jon McGraw fellow keeps holding on to the starting free safety position, even though the coaches and every single DWF in existence are pining for New Miss rookie Kendrick Lewis to take over the position with his "speed", "athleticism", "upside", and "game-changing abilities". Unfortunately for them, Lewis is more often than not in poor position and although a hitter, is a poor tackler. For some reason that slow, stiff white guy makes plays that the "supa afflete" cannot.

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just to point out something i'm sure FootballDad probably already knows (in case there are readers out there who don't), Jon McGraw has 4.3 speed. that is super fast. i've always thought he was built too slender to be a natural safety, and with his blazing speed he'd fit in better at corner ... but of course his debilitating skin condition prevents that from ever having been considered under the Caste System.

Truthteller said:

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Look at all the safeties drafted high since the latter part of the 1990's (that are long retired) and you can see how hard it is for them to get a fair chance --Adam Archuleta, Todd Johnson, Scott Shields, Rob Kelly, Rich Coady, Dustin Fox, Stu Schweigert, ect. This doesn't even count Matt Bowen, John Howell, Jason Doering, Todd Franz and many capable others that were drafted in the mid-to-latter rounds and started briefly, but where quickly thrown to the curb for retreads that "look the part"....It, also, doesn't count the athletic speedsters like Matt Giordano, John Wendling, and Brannon Condren, who never got a chance beyond special teams mascot.[/b]

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it just goes to show you how powerful and entrenched the Caste System is when a poster as knowledgable as Truthteller considers White cornerbacks such as these to really be safeties. Dustin Fox and Todd Franz were full-time cornerbacks in college with standout resumes before being cast(e) aside, while Todd Johnson was a high school all-American cornerback before being shifted to his "natural" position at Florida ... even though he was still considered the Gators best cover man.

the team's best cover guy was the free safety ... "weird," huh?

i know that Weddle and Steve Gregory have been mentioned, and i suspect that everyone remembers that Weddle was an All-American cornerback in college. however, some people might not recall that Gregory (who i suspect is faster than Weddle) was a record-setting cornerback at Syracuse before being cast(e) into his racially appropriate role in the NFL. this probably comes as no surprise to Gregory, though, as his racially-defined apprenticeship beganat Syracuse, where he was forced to play wide receiver for a year before the horrid play of the "real" affletesrequired the coaching staff to return him to the defensive side of the ball.

sadly, the list of incredibly fast White defensive backs who've never even been given a chance is too long (and too depressing) to write down. the Caste System has destroyed not only a lot of careers, but also a lot of good football, with the result being the nightmarish displays of ineptitude we see on a weekly basis.

Agreed JC, especially your last sentence. It is a sad thing for fans of good football.

Wow...yall are bringing back some memories with all those names...nice job!

WOW! No idea about Stevens...I remember being stokedhow highly touted he wasas aCB...then disapointed about the injury and position change.

I can remember the Skin's drafting two white DB's in the samedraft way back in 87'...CB Brian Davis(Nebraska) in 2nd Round'...seems like he got hurt and bounced around the league til he was about 30...and Safety (converted QB) Steve Gage(Tulsa) 6th round...seemed like he started a few games in his brief career...

Good to see Jon McGraw holding off Lewis!