Caste Football Looks at the 2010 Arizona Cardinals</font>
This year's Cardinals are only a step or two away from looking like Buddy Ryan's teams from the 90's, or more recently, Denny Green's teams. One of the stalwarts of the caste system, Buddy Ryan had no use for white players on his teams. He purged Ricky Proehl, then the only starting white WR in the NFL at the time. He got worse from there, he kept purging white players from the Cardinals, until veteran QB Dave Krieg was the only white starter on the team. Denny Green was not far behind Buddy, usually only starting a white center in addition to his white QB. Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt appears poised to follow in Green's and Ryan's footsteps, he has done nothing to move Arizona away from predominantly coal black teams.
The team released QB Matt Leinart, who was supposed to finally get his shot this year with Kurt Warner retiring. Leinart is one of the most hated and reviled figures in the NFL right now. Derek Anderson, the former Cleveland Browns' starting QB, now starts with the Cardinals after he was run out of Cleveland after several bad games in a row, a death sentence for any white QB not named Manning, Brady, Brees, or Rivers. Impressive rookie Max Hall, out of BYU is the second string QB who could take over starting duties sometime this year, and fellow rookie John Skelton out of Fordham is the team's third string QB.
A major upset on Ken Whisenhunt's team this year is WR Max Komar, an undrafted free agent out of Idaho, who somehow stuck on as the fifth reciever. Komar had a great preseason, which was likely the reason they kept him. A surprise was Komar was the team's punt returner in week one, but due to one subpar performance, he's already been yanked from punt returns, replaced by an athlete with magical hip swivel and a room brightening smile. Komar is a mistake or two away from being waived, as the Cardinals' fans are not used to seeing someone with as light of skin tone as him playing WR for very long, as they've probably had more than enough of overachievers like Jerheme Urban and Lance Long.
The Cardinals have two white backup tight ends in Stephen Spach, a reliable veteran out of Fresno State, and rookie Jim Dray out of Stanford. If he can avoid injuries, Dray has the potential to be a good tight end in the league one day.
Hold the presses! Arizona will open the season with two, count 'em two, white offensive line starters. The first time the Cardinals have had more than a white center start on the line in years. An exception was made for future Hall of Famer Alan Faneca to start at left guard. In his 13th year from LSU, the former Steeler has shown that he still has something left in the tank for the Cardinals. Texas grad Lyle Sendlein is the starting center for the Red Birds. Ben Claxton, out of Ole Miss, is the backup center and the only other white lineman on the roster. Mike Leach is used strictly as a long snapper.
This year, the Cardinals' defense is a total blackout. Not one white made the team, even a backup, after the team released LB Monty Beisel. Whisenhunt has made Buddy Ryan and Denny Green proud, opening the season with 3 white starters, and 12 white players overall. Whisenhunt sure likes to surround himself with white coaches though, as 13 of the 16 assistant coaches are white.
NUMBER OF WHITE PLAYERS ON 53 MAN ROSTER: 12
NUMBER OF WHITE STARTERS: 3
GRADE: F-
