Caste Football Looks at the 2010 St. Louis Rams
During the heyday of the "Greatest Show on Turf," the Rams had more White players than any other team in the league, at times nearly violating -- but never actually doing so -- the time-honored Caste System rule that no NFL team is to have a majority White roster.
With just 17 White men on the 53 man roster, the 2010 Rams are in no current danger of having a White majority team, but they do begin the season with 9 White starters -- albeit with several having shaky status or starting due to injury -- but it's still a high number by NFL standards.
The Rams took QB Sam Bradford with the first overall pick of the 2010 league draft (21 consecutive blacks were taken in the first round after Bradford), and he showed enough in the preseason to begin the 2010 regular season as the team's starter.
Quarterbacks who start as rookies almost always are on bad teams and usually take quite a pounding, and it's likely Bradford won't be an exception. Back when the Rams had the best offense in the NFL, their o-line consisted of 4 Whites and 1 black. During the past few seasons, when the team has been terrible offensively, the team has been going predominantly with highly drafted black busts, mimicking a league trend toward making the o-line as black dominated as every other position except quarterback and tight end (and of course kicking and long snapping).
RG Adam Goldberg is the only White starter on the '10 line. John Greco out of Toledo backs up at both guard spots, while fireplug Hank Fraley, now in his tenth season out of Robert Morris, is the backup center.
Billy Bajema begins the season with a tenuous hold on the starting tight end job, ahead of three blacks. Bajema is of the journeyman variety, having caught just 15 total passes in 5 NFL seasons heading into 2010, and isn't going to be confused with the many Whites who have been forcing their way to elite status as tight ends because of their great athleticism, hands and smarts.
Tenth year quarterback A. J. Feeley from Oregon backs up Bradford.
Bruising fullback Mike Karney is the only FB on the roster. He's had but 60 receptions and 42 rushes (mostly at the goal line) over a 7 year pro career, and, beefed up to 260 pounds on a 5-11 frame, is no threat to touch the ball more often, even in an "emergency" situation.
An emerging star is WR Danny Amendola, who had to travel the typical route of a White receiver in the NFL -- undrafted despite a great college career at Texas Tech, cut by Dallas and Philadelphia, before finally landing on the margins of a St. Louis team desperate for help at receiving and kick returning, and slowly but surely working his way into an important role, to the "amazement" of the fans and media pundits. Amendola was designated as the team's slot receiver, but following the season-ending injury to Donnie Avery, he began the season playing both the slot and outside. With the signing of Mark Clayton, Amendola may move back to the slot full-time, but though Clayton had an impressive first game with the Rams, he has been a long-time bust considering how high he was drafted by the Ravens, so while it's unclear what Amendola's exact role will be, it will certainly be a big one as both a receiver and return man.
The Rams have 7 White defensive players, with 4 of them beginning the season as starters. However, only DE Chris Long and MLB James Laurinaitis are secure as starters.
Former first round pick Long (son of Howie) has been slower to develop than hoped, but has shown enough to give rise to hope that he can still become a dominant end, like most of the few Whites "allowed" to start at end have in recent years. Long had 40 tackles and 4 sacks his rookie season in 2008, followed by 43 tackles and 5 sacks last year, not great numbers but better than what the average black DE puts up. With the league's few White defensive starters always under intense (and usually irrational) scrutiny, Long will need to step it up in 2010 to quiet his critics.
MLB Laurinaitis was nothing short of sensational as a rookie in 2009, compiling 120 tackles, one of the best marks in the league, which earned him runner-up status to Houston's Brian Cushing as the defensive rookie of the year. The son of the former wrestler known as "The Animal" looks to be a beast in the middle for the Rams for many years to come.
Gary Gibson, an obscure (even by White player standards) fifth year tackle out of Rutgers, has, temporarily at least, reclaimed the starting job he held in 2009 before being injured by taking over from the injured Fred Robbins. Gibson is relatively small for a tackle (300 pounds) and is more athletic than the much heavier Robbins, but the NFL likes their tackles obese and immobile so Robbins is likely to reclaim the job when he's healthy.
Craig Dahl is the starting strong safety, at least for now, as the drunk white fans, appalled as always at the sight of a honkie in the all-black backfields they love, are clamoring for James Butler to replace him. Dahl, out of North Dakota State, has kicked around mostly on the fringes of the NFL before getting some substantial playing time in 2009, including 8 starts. His 65 tackles and 2 sacks in limited action compares favorably with the production of the best safeties in the league if projected over a full season.
David Vobora, the league's "Mr. Irrelevant" from the 2008 NFL Draft, started some at OLB last season, but begins the new season as a backup on the outside and in the middle.
Chris Chamberlain also backs up at OLB, while backup MLB Josh Hull from Penn State was injured in the season opener and placed on injured reserve.
12 of head coach Steve Spagnuolo's 17 assistants are White.
NUMBER OF WHITE STARTERS: 9 (good chance of decreasing as the season goes on)
NUMBER OF WHITE PLAYERS ON 53 MAN ROSTER: 17
GRADE: D
