Caste Football Looks at the 2010 Philadelphia Eagles
To understand just how tenuous is the status of every White NFL player -- including quarterbacks -- except for a handful of superstars, Mike Lombardi of the NFL Network just asserted that he believes that Michael Vick has won the Eagles' QB job for the rest of the season following Kevin Kolb's concussion in the second quarter of the Eagles' first game of the season. Lombardi's cohorts all agreed with his assessment that Vick provided a "needed spark" to the Philly offense and will keep the job provided the team beats the Lions and Bills in the next two games.
Let's see now -- the first time Kolb ever saw NFL action was two years ago during the second half of a game against the tough Ravens defense after McNabb had been benched by Andy "Fat Bastard" Reid (which caused a prolonged national stir). Baltimore constantly blitzed Kolb and he did poorly. Even though he was a second round pick in 2007 (and the Eagles first selection of that draft), Kolb was immediately written off as a "bust" based entirely on that one half of play.
In 2009, Kolb started two games in place of an injured McNabb, and threw for over 300 yards in both of them. McNabb ended up being traded and Kolb was regarded during the offseason as a surefire star in the making who was more accurate than McNabb and would really light up the team's passing game.
So in the first half of his first game as McNabb's designated replacement, Kolb gets no protection from his line, looks hesitant, and ends up suffering a concussion. Vick moves the team better (much of the time with Green Bay playing a prevent defense), and now again Kolb has been written off after everyone had agreed during the preseason that Vick was no threat to Kolb and that Kolb would have the entire season to prove himself.
The NFL has become as drama-filled as the soap operas, with huge daily twists and turns of events that properly should be given months to play out. It's partly a reflection of Caste System dynamics and partly a reflection of the U.S.'s decadent, incredibly dumbed-down "culture" of instant gratification and of constantly tearing down those previously raised up to celebrity or star status.
As far as Kolb, his situation reminds me of Brian Billick's tenure as the head coach in Baltimore. He built a practically all-black team on both sides of the ball and then would throw into the fire hapless inexperienced White QBs like Kyle Boller and Chris Redman and expect them to succeed instantly. What it was was a recipe for failure.
Andy Reid has done the same in Philadelphia, where Kolb's black-dominated o-line seemed to instantly play better with Vick in the game and where the sentiment of the team is obviously in favor of Vick, a mediocre and inconsistent quarterback at best and a scumbag of a person who shouldn't even be in the league.
If Reid does decide to ride Vick at QB, there will be just four White starters. Center Mike McGlynn out of Pitt is starting only because incumbent Jamaal Jackson was placed on injured reserve. That means LG Todd Herremans will actually have a fellow White starter on the offensive line, a real rarity in Philadelphia in recent years. One of his black mates is LT Jason Peters, who played poorly last season after coming over from Buffalo yet still was elected to the Pro Bowl; but the NFL and its Caste System boosters have decided that left tackle is a "black thang" now, and well, someone has to make the Pro Bowl at the position.
After Herremans and McGlynn, there are no other White offensive linemen, even as backups.
Brent Celek became one of the elite tight ends in the league last year, a remarkable achievement indeed given that he was routinely decried as "lacking athleticism." Imagine -- a tight end so unathletic that he still managed 76 catches for 971 yards and 8 TDs in his first season as a starter. Garrett Mills, the record setting tight end while at Tulsa, has been jerked around the NFL by New England, Minnesota and now Philadelphia. He should be starting, but has never been given anything approaching that kind of opportunity thus far and won't get it in his newest landing spot as long as Celek is healthy.
Rookie WR Riley Cooper is immensely talented. He has nice size at 6-3 and 222 pounds to go with good speed and excellent hands. He could have played professional baseball but chose football instead. The Eagles have two talented black starters at WR in Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, so Cooper may be stuck behind them. In a fair NFL, Cooper would have been a first round draft pick given his talent and proven ability playing at Florida.
The Eagles also had WR Chad Hall and three other White WRs on their training camp roster, but all were cut. No surprise there as Reid seems to repeat that sadistic tradition every year.
FB Owen Schmitt was recently signed after Leonard Weaver was placed on IR. Schmitt was a very productive running back for West Virginia in limited opportunities (a 6.3 yards per carry average to go along with 13 TDs), but will never be "allowed" to be a power running back in the NFL.
Rookie Mike Kafka is a backup quarterback.
On defense, MLB Stewart Bradley is a beast who missed the '09 season with a torn ACL. He is the only White defensive player on the roster.
Seven of the team's 11 assistant coaches are White.
NUMBER OF WHITE PLAYERS ON 53 MAN ROSTER: 12
NUMBER OF WHITE STARTERS: 4 (5 if Kolb is the starting QB)
GRADE: F, F+ if Kolb is the starting QB
Edited by: Don Wassall