1,000 Yard Receiving Seasons by Whites

[Don Wassall]

From 1987 through 1997 not a single white WR or TE went over 1,000 yards receiving in the NFL. Starting with the '98 season, nine different players have.


Ed McCaffrey and Wayne Chrebet broke through in '98. The following season, it was McCaffrey, Bill Schroeder and Patrick Jeffers.


In 2000 it was McCaffrey again. (Schroeder ended up with 999 yards that year.)


In '04 it was Drew Bennett and Brandon Stokley. In 2006 Mike Furrey had his big year. And then last year it was Kevin Curtis, Wes Welker and Jason Witten.


What's most striking is that only McCaffrey had more than one season over a thousand yards. Bill Schroeder came up one yard short. The rest were all thrown to less, outright demoted, or injured following their big year. So while the thousand yard taboo has been broken, unlike the continuing taboo against white running backs, multiple thousand yard seasons for white receiversisthe newtaboo. Maybe Witten, Welkerand a healthy Kevin Curtis will buck the trend, though without Tom Brady it's unlikely Welker will surpass a thousand yards in 2008 and Curtis will have to wait for next year too. Jordy Nelson and Anthony Gonzalez have the potential to be yearly stars as well. Hopefully some of the incredible receiving talent in college will burst through in the coming years but the NFL never fails to disappoint.


One other thing I found in my research -- while we always credit Mark Bavaro with being the last 1,000 yard white TE before Jason Witten last year, Todd Christensen also went over a thousands yards in 1986. Christensen had 1,153 yards in '86 (and 95 receptions); Bavaro finished with 1,001 yards that year. '86 was also Steve Largent's and Cris Collinsworth's last thousand yard seasons. WR Jeff Chadwick of the Lions ended up with 995 yards that year.Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[whiteathlete33]

Ricky Proehl had a some good seasons at the start of his career. He had several 700 and 800 yard seasons. I believe he was capable of breaking 1000 yards at least once but it never happened.

 

[Don Wassall]

I just checked and Proehl had at least 700 yards six times, with the most being 877. That era from '87 through '97 was truly a dark age for white receivers, almost as bad as it's been for white running backs the past quarter century. Proehl was the only starting white receiver most of that time. Guys like Don Beebe and McCaffrey were third and fourth on depth charts. Even Proehl was caste out of Arizona after ultra Caste coach Buddy Ryan took over. Others like Jeff Query, Gary Wellman and Sean LaChapelle would get a bit of playing time and do well and then basically never be heard from again. Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Right now, there are5 whites in the top 33 in receiving yardage in the NFL.


Thanks for thisthread Don. Its nice to have this info all in one place!Edited by: Colonel_Reb

 

[backrow]

Right now, there are 8 whites in the top 33 in receiving yardage in the NFL.


Thanks for this thread Don. Its nice to have this info all in one place!

yes, and that's with Curtis being out all this time.

i was personally very bummed about young Logan Payne getting injured, he could be a factor...

 

[Don Wassall]

Right now, there are 8 whites in the top 33 in receiving yardage in the NFL.


Thanks for thisthread Don. Its nice to have this info all in one place!

I've been meaning to start this thread for a while.


I count Witten, Cooley, Jones, Welker and Daniels. Who are the other three in the top 33 in receiving yardage?

 

[whiteathlete33]

I count the same. In the top 44 there are 8 whites.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Gentlemen, I guess its been too long of a day for the Colonel.

There are just 5, sorry for the bad information.

 

[icsept]

IMO the reason for white receivers can't achieve multiple 1000 yard seasons is the cheap hits they take. There is no doubt that black db's head hunt the white receivers. Remember the hits McCaffery used to take? Stokley just suffered his 10th concussion. Largent avoided the big hits for years but eventually caught the cheap shot that busted his grille. Logan Payne got knocked out for the season due to a cheap shot. When black db's are getting burned they have to resort to cheap shots to regain their pride.

 

[Don Wassall]

IMO the reason for white receivers can't achieve multiple 1000 yard seasons is the cheap hits they take. There is no doubt that black db's head hunt the white receivers. Remember the hits McCaffery used to take? Stokley just suffered his 10th concussion. Largent avoided the big hits for years but eventually caught the cheap shot that busted his grille. Logan Payne got knocked out for the season due to a cheap shot. When black db's are getting burned they have to resort to cheap shots to regain their pride.

I agree, and that's a major reason the occasional token at CB, TB and WR doesn't change anything. I-A football and the NFL have to start letting qualified whites play in significant numbers at all positions, not just let the occasional standout who has to jump through innumerable hoops to get a shot get pummeled. Dane Looker may have brain damage from the shot he took a couple weeks ago.

 

[whiteathlete33]

IMO the reason for white receivers can't achieve multiple 1000 yard seasons is the cheap hits they take. There is no doubt that black db's head hunt the white receivers. Remember the hits McCaffery used to take? Stokley just suffered his 10th concussion. Largent avoided the big hits for years but eventually caught the cheap shot that busted his grille. Logan Payne got knocked out for the season due to a cheap shot. When black db's are getting burned they have to resort to cheap shots to regain their pride.

They sure do icsept. Nothing is ever mentioned of this. Remember all the crap Bill Romonowski had to take during his career. He was called a racist drug pusher among other things. His black teammates would never take his side and always support the other guy.Edited by: whiteathlete33

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

while I agree that there are certainly some black DBs in the NFL that like to hit whites harder, I have seen some visious hits on black receivers this year as well. The hit on Bolden (it was one of the worst I have ever seen) was unnecessary with the game virually decided and I saw Terrell Owens have his knee nailed while in the air trying to make a catch.

I think the blacks DBs that do hit whites harder come from gang ridden inner city neighborhoods with few whites and resent them as rich white h*nkys. These guys are racist and spoiled premondonas. They should be gratful for a league that white men built giving them such a great life. Without it, many of these guys would still be in poverty in the inner city.

 

[Ground Fighter]

I think the blacks DBs that do hit whites harder come from gang ridden inner city neighborhoods with few whites and resent them as rich white h*nkys. These guys are racist and spoiled premondonas. They should be gratful for a league that white men built giving them such a great life. Without it, many of these guys would still be in poverty in the inner city.

Thats ok, I did the same thing on the ice for years when I played competitive ice hockey. Every once in a blue moon, I would come across either a black or native player on the opposing team and single them out to be the target of some nasty hits. I was so intent on doing this for a while, that I would actually do my stretching during pre-game warm-ups on the center ice line facing the opposing teams zone. I would actually face them, and stare them down in a non-confrontational manner. I wanted to get a clear view of the other team, just to see if their were any potential targets visible. lol. Once the game started, I would purposely let him beat me to the puck into the corners just so I could headhunt like an assh*le. I'd time it perfectly so that my target would be roughly 2 to 3 feet away from the boards upon impact, causing the most damage by way of force when he was catapulted into those boards. I am not ashamed to say that I wasn't shy about leaving my feet on some of those hits either.

All this talk of bruthas hyper-aggresively targeting White recievers in the NFL makes me want to start playing competetive hockey again. Hopefully, the White defensive backs in the league will do some damage, and dish out some nasty hits on the bruthas as well.

 

[Freethinker]

Another player not mentioned who I believe can crack 1000 is Kevin Walter. The key to achieving this is Matt Schaub staying healthy and the offense not "force feeding" Andre Johnson the ball every play.

 

[Freedom]

It's a meaningless mark that is inflated by the media. Some teams spread the ball differently than others. It doesn't mean that it makes the receiver worse. Was Wes Welker any worse with Miami than New England? No.
Did Jeremy Shockey threaten 1000 yards ever? I think he did one year, I'll have to check.

 

[foreverfree]

[1,000 yds receiving is] a meaningless mark that is inflated by the media. Some teams spread the ball differently than others.

Freedom (or anybody), is 1,000 yds *rushing* just as overrated a stat, for the same reasons?

John