I have to disagree a little bit here. Imho, Culpepper is one of the few black QBs who actually lived up to the hype. Actually, Culpepper may be the only black QB in history to have been a little underrated. This guy threw for 33 TDs and ran for 7 more in his second season in the league. That's pretty good, no matter how you look at it. He also had a season where he ran for 10 TDs, and then had a monster year in 2004, with 39 TD passes and almost 5000 yards. That's one of the best passing seasons in the history of the NFL. Yes, he had Randy Moss, but we have to be fair; do we credit Peyton Manning's success to Marvin Harrison, who has been a much more consistent #1 WR than Moss ever was? And in Culpepper's biggest season (2004), Moss was hurt and missed the final 3 games of the season. He caught only 49 passes for 767 yards. Culpepper threw for just about 4000 yards to recievers other than Moss that season.
I have no special liking for Culpepper, and no one takes a backseat to me when it comes to criticizing the media's fawning over black QBs, and the double standard that applies to them. However, I think we lose credibility when we lump in guys like Culpepper, who did a fine job for most of his tenure in Minnesota, or Donovan McNabb, who has been as good as almost any QB for the past several seasons, with the likes of Mike/Michael Vick, Byron Leftwich, Tavarious Jackson, Jason Campbell, Quincy Carter, David Garrard, etc. I believe it is possible for a black to play QB at a high level, just as we all believe it is possible for many whites to play at high levels at every position, including verboten ones like RB and CB.
Finally, it is ironic that Culpepper achieved the kind of remarkable numbers he did in Minnesota without the same kind of hype that almost every other black QB has recieved from the jock-sniffers in the media. His stats should have garnered the kind of ridiculous praise that Mike/Michael Vick gets when he dives into the end zone from a yard out, or completes a ten yard pass. Culpepper WAS the black QB the media has been dreaming of for many years, but they never really fawned over him, for whatever reason. We also should remember that Culpepper began life in the worst way possible; he was born in prison (mother a prisoner). Despite this, to my knowledge, he has committed no crimes, and seems to be a pretty decent fellow. I know these may not be popular sentiments here, but I think in the name of fairness that someone should point them out. Just my two cents worth.
