The number of white starters on the Titans went up by one when veteran Kerry Collins took over for a Vince Young who is hurting physically and who apparently can't deal with the stress of being something he's clearly not, a professional quarterback. Young is the latest of a string of incredibly overhyped black quarterbacks who can't throw any better than your grandma, and probably doesn't read defenses any better either.
The NFL's Caste System is never more obvious than in the contrived attempt to make black the most important position in football and all of sports. Close to half of I-A major college programs now start black QBs, though only Donovan McNabb and possibly David Gerrard have amounted to anything over the past decade. Why aren't colleges also going out of their way to recruit and play white running backs, white wide receivers, and white defensive players, as they are with black quarterbacks? Why are racial matters always a one-way street? It's certainly not because there's any shortage of white football players excelling in high school to choose from. For a quarter century now and counting, whites have been systematically excluded from major college teams through the recruiting process, and then those few that overcome that obstacle are filtered out a second time by the NFL.
For example, close to 25 percent of starting wide receivers in I-A in the '08 season are white (most often walk-ons rather than scholarship players), but only 5 percent are in the NFL. White receivers who excel in college are routinely found to be "not athletic enough" for an opportunity in the NFL. Even when they possess outstanding measurables and great hands they are still found to lack "big play ability" even if their college careers were filled with big plays.
Reverse the situation racially -- only whites are recruited at many positions, whites are continually hyped at quarterback over obviously better blacks, etc. -- and the Caste System is quite blatant and easy to see.
Kerry Collins, now in his 14th season, takes over for Young. Ironically, Collins was once smeared with the "racist" tag after trying too hard to be one of the boys when partying with his black receivers and nonchalantly used the "n" word in a conversation in the same way so many blacks routinely do. One of the receivers, Muhsin Muhammed, went public with the private conversation and Collins took hits for it for years.
Collins has a "cannon" arm and can put up big yards when given adequate protection.
Recently signed Chris Simms is for now the backup to Collins.
There are three white starters on the line -- fourth year man Michael Roos out of Eastern Washington at left tackle; right guard Jake Scott, signed away from the Colts during the offseason; and right tackle David Stewart out of Mississippi State.
Daniel Loper and Mike Otto are backups.
Rookie Craig Stevens out of Cal is the third tight end, signed primarily to be a blocker.
On defense, right end Kyle Vanden Bosch continues to be a beast, making his second Pro Bowl in 2007. Originally a second round draft choice by Arizona, Vanden Bosch was cast aside after some injury problems and subsequently signed as a free agent by the Titans, one of the great pickups in recent NFL history. He puts relentless pressure on the passer (31 sacks the past 3 seasons) and also stuffs the run very well.
Ryan Fowler starts at middle linebacker. He is another free agent signee (formerly with Dallas but rarely used) who has paid dividends for Tennessee.
Backup end David Ball led the nation in sacks his senior year at UCLA but has yet to get a real opportunity to play in the NFL, having been kicked around by San Diego, the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. He's behind Vanden Bosch for now but may eventually succeed him.
Former Buffalo Bill Josh Stamer is a backup outside linebacker.
Veteran safety Donnie Nickey out of Ohio State has been a backup during his six seasons in Tennessee.
NUMBER OF WHITE STARTERS: 6
APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF WHITE PLAYERS ON 53 MAN ROSTER: 16
GRADE: F+
The NFL's Caste System is never more obvious than in the contrived attempt to make black the most important position in football and all of sports. Close to half of I-A major college programs now start black QBs, though only Donovan McNabb and possibly David Gerrard have amounted to anything over the past decade. Why aren't colleges also going out of their way to recruit and play white running backs, white wide receivers, and white defensive players, as they are with black quarterbacks? Why are racial matters always a one-way street? It's certainly not because there's any shortage of white football players excelling in high school to choose from. For a quarter century now and counting, whites have been systematically excluded from major college teams through the recruiting process, and then those few that overcome that obstacle are filtered out a second time by the NFL.
For example, close to 25 percent of starting wide receivers in I-A in the '08 season are white (most often walk-ons rather than scholarship players), but only 5 percent are in the NFL. White receivers who excel in college are routinely found to be "not athletic enough" for an opportunity in the NFL. Even when they possess outstanding measurables and great hands they are still found to lack "big play ability" even if their college careers were filled with big plays.
Reverse the situation racially -- only whites are recruited at many positions, whites are continually hyped at quarterback over obviously better blacks, etc. -- and the Caste System is quite blatant and easy to see.
Kerry Collins, now in his 14th season, takes over for Young. Ironically, Collins was once smeared with the "racist" tag after trying too hard to be one of the boys when partying with his black receivers and nonchalantly used the "n" word in a conversation in the same way so many blacks routinely do. One of the receivers, Muhsin Muhammed, went public with the private conversation and Collins took hits for it for years.
Collins has a "cannon" arm and can put up big yards when given adequate protection.
Recently signed Chris Simms is for now the backup to Collins.
There are three white starters on the line -- fourth year man Michael Roos out of Eastern Washington at left tackle; right guard Jake Scott, signed away from the Colts during the offseason; and right tackle David Stewart out of Mississippi State.
Daniel Loper and Mike Otto are backups.
Rookie Craig Stevens out of Cal is the third tight end, signed primarily to be a blocker.
On defense, right end Kyle Vanden Bosch continues to be a beast, making his second Pro Bowl in 2007. Originally a second round draft choice by Arizona, Vanden Bosch was cast aside after some injury problems and subsequently signed as a free agent by the Titans, one of the great pickups in recent NFL history. He puts relentless pressure on the passer (31 sacks the past 3 seasons) and also stuffs the run very well.
Ryan Fowler starts at middle linebacker. He is another free agent signee (formerly with Dallas but rarely used) who has paid dividends for Tennessee.
Backup end David Ball led the nation in sacks his senior year at UCLA but has yet to get a real opportunity to play in the NFL, having been kicked around by San Diego, the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. He's behind Vanden Bosch for now but may eventually succeed him.
Former Buffalo Bill Josh Stamer is a backup outside linebacker.
Veteran safety Donnie Nickey out of Ohio State has been a backup during his six seasons in Tennessee.
NUMBER OF WHITE STARTERS: 6
APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF WHITE PLAYERS ON 53 MAN ROSTER: 16
GRADE: F+