I caught a few minutes of ESPN’s
“NFL Live†last night and the gang was discussing the Bills-Giants game and David Wilson’s career-ending neck injury. Mark Schlereth, normally as unyielding a Caste System bigot as anyone in the analysis business, was repeatedly complimenting Peyton Hillis. He said that
“when he played in Denver, the coaches said Hillis had the best hands out of the backfield as any running back they’d ever seen†and that
“Hillis is a bruiser and built like a fullback, but he’s athletic and has nice speed to go along with his 250 pound frame.†After talking about Hillis' success in Cleveland, he again mentioned Hillis’ receiving ability and gave a compliment to Danny Woodhead when he uttered:
“Hillis, as good as he is, can’t shake people loose in space like a Darren Sproles or a Danny Woodhead type of scatback.â€
If Schlereth can change his anti-white dogmas, there’s hope for anyone. With fantasy football becoming more important than the games themselves (and team loyalty amongst fans), times are changing in the analyst business. Over the past 5 years or so, we’ve seen players like Welker, Nelson, Decker, Edelman, Cooper, Woodhead, Hillis, Gerhart, and several others receive high praise (and sign lucritive contracts) in “blacks only†positions when in the past they’d have been mocked, derided, and severely underpaid. Because these players are so productive, analysts are almost forced to tell the truth about them.
With Wilson out the picture, let’s hope a few more “unfortunate†injuries thrust Hillis into the spotlight once again, as it might be his last chance…
