An observation on black QB’s

[sport historian]

Just found these capsule updates on Troy Smith and Jamarcus Russell:
&lt;P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" ="Msonormal"&gt;&lt;FONT face=Verdana&gt;&lt;STRONG style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"&gt;&lt;A class=playerlink href="http://www.fantasyguru.com/football/subscribers/ftdb.p hp?page=playerstats&pid=4367"&gt; Troy Smith</font>&lt;/A&gt;[/b] (Bal) - He's still very rough around the edges, and his receiving corps isn't stupendous by any means, but Smith currently has the edge over underachiever &lt;STRONG style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"&gt;&lt;A class=playerlink href="http://www.fantasyguru.com/football/subscribers/ftdb.p hp?page=playerstats&pid=1721"&gt; Kyle Boller</font>&lt;/A&gt; [/b]and rookie &lt;STRONG style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"&gt;&lt;A class=playerlink href="http://www.fantasyguru.com/football/subscribers/ftdb.p hp?page=playerstats&pid=5023"&gt; Joe Flacco</font>&lt;/A&gt;[/b] because he's fired plenty of downfield strikes in spring workouts. In addition, he's exhibited poise, confidence, and leadership under center, all traits that new head coach &lt;STRONG style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"&gt;John Harbaugh[/b] is looking for in his starting gunslinger. On the downside, Flacco has also looked good, so Smith will have to continue to impress if he's to see the field this year. </font></font>
&lt;P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" ="Msonormal"&gt;&lt;?:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /&gt;&lt;O&gt;&lt;FONT face=Verdana size=2&gt; </font>&lt;/O&gt;&lt;O&gt;
&lt;P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" ="Msonormal"&gt;&lt;FONT face=Verdana&gt;&lt;STRONG style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"&gt;&lt;A class=playerlink href="http://www.fantasyguru.com/football/subscribers/ftdb.p hp?page=playerstats&pid=4362"&gt; JaMarcus Russell</font>&lt;/A&gt;[/b] (Oak) - He's reportedly has exhibited strong leadership qualities and a good work ethic in learning and mastering the Raider offense this spring. Also, he's been working hard on his accuracy and touch on underneath passes so that he can keep the Raiders in manageable third-down situations in 2008 when nothing's open downfield on first and second down. You do have to watch his weight and conditioning at all times until further notice, but he's had a good off-season, for sure. </font></font>
&lt;P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" ="Msonormal"&gt; 
&lt;P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" ="Msonormal"&gt;My question is:  Can anyone recall a black quarterback who hasn't been touted as having "leadership qualities"?  By all media accounts Steve McNair was this country's greatest leader since Stonewall Jackson.  Vince Young?  Can't hit the side of a barn throwing the ball but won over his teammates with his incredible leadership skills from day one of his rookie training camp. Even as rookies they all seem to have this trait, just as according to the media all black athletes have been magically gifted with great athleticism, loose hips and room brightening smiles.&lt;/O&gt;

I recall an article during the 1974 NFL season on this subject. At the time, Joe Gilliam was temporarily starting for the Steelers, and James Harris had just been promoted to No. 1 QB for the Los Angeles Rams. Someone was quoted as saying that "many quarterbacks aren't leaders of their teams." The gist of the article was that Gilliam and Harris could do the job, and you don't have to be a great leader.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Well personally, I think Boller hasn't shown that he will ever blossom into a good QB in this league. And he's had quite a bit of time and never done better than mediocre. I think Troy Smith could be the guy to man down Baltimore's QB job until Flacco is ready late in the season or next year.

Troy is a good game manager. He is a smart player and is "fairly" accurate. Troy lacks size and the "cannon" arm that scouts ideally crave in a QB though. But Troy has solid arm strength and can throw on the run pretty solidly to make up for his 6'0 foot even height.

I am sick of the media always rooting for and overrating the black QB, but never rooting for the white RB, WR or CB. Where is the underdog support for the white skill player trying to overcome the insurmountable stereotyping of drunken fans, players etc. in the NFL?

It isn't too hard to understand; players that stand out as different whether it be in height, weight or skin color are going to be stereotyped for their differences no matter how well they play. Take the Sam McGuffie Mix Tape for instance, half or more of the 4000 comments or so under the video are about his race. I think that proves right there how much Sam is up against. As Sam said himself, it doesn't matter how many yards I rush for or how fast I run, to the doubters I am still that white RB! Racism happened to the black QB in the not so distant past on the grid iron, but now it is all against the white man.