Here's an article purportedly praising Shipley that hasno shortage ofanti-White stereotypes:
<H1>Bengals' Jordan Shipley catching on</H1>
<H2>Rookie
isn't the biggest but he'll catch anything and everything</H2>
By Paul Daugherty "¢
pdaugherty@enquirer.com "¢ August 17, 2010
If you stand less than 6 feet tall and you are not Usain Bolt â€" if you are a white guy trying to make money playing wide receiver in the NFL â€" you better be extraordinary at something, if you intend to do anything in the game but watch it.
Jordan Shipley catches the ball. Oh, he runs tight routes. He'll get his nose bloody across the middle. But what he does best is catch what is thrown to him.
I asked him how many passes he dropped during his four years at the University of Texas. Five. Five drops, 248 catches. How many drops overall? Games, practice, Nerf balls in the meeting rooms?
"Ten,'' Shipley said. "Maybe 15.''
In describing Shipley before the draft, a Tennessee Titans scout said, "The team that drafts him is going to want to cut him every day. But he'll catch every pass thrown to him in the next 10 years.''
This seems like a small thing. Receivers have to catch the ball. Astounding. But if you ask any quarterback in the league to rank his priorities when it comes to his wide receivers, speed won't be anywhere on the list. Size will be on it, but not near the top. An ability to get open will be on the list. So will route-running. None of it means anything if the guy doesn't catch the ball.
Carson Palmer prefers highly experienced receivers. His lobbying for Laveranues Coles last year, and Terrell Owens this year, makes that plain. What Number Nine needs most in the autumn of 2010 isn't experience, so much as receivers who are where they're supposed to be, when they're supposed to be there. Chad Eight-Five is a superb route-runner, a ballet dancer along the deep sideline. He was alone in that skill here last season.
Terrell Owens will be a big target on intermediate routes down the middle, but he's also seen as a deep threat. Antonio Bryant could be that dependable, physical presence down the middle, if he ever gets on the field. Jermaine Gresham could be, too, as his understanding of the game builds. But Shipley is already there. He is the one guy right now that Palmer can look at and know if the ball is there, Shipley will catch it.
Palmer couldn't say that last year about anyone but Eight-Five.
"For what I do, my size is not'' important, Shipley said. "A lot of guys in the league are 5-11 ½ and 185 pounds. You've got to have something that sets you apart. For me, it's catching every single ball.''
You'd think he'd have big hands. Johnny Bench seven-baseballs-in-one-palm oven mitts. Not at all. They're about what you'd expect from a 5-11 1/2-- don't forget the one-half â€" guy. Which makes his success more noteworthy.
Shipley is not Wes Welker. He's bigger, with more downfield speed.
Not every small-ish white guy who plays wide receiver is Wes Welker. There are similarities, though.
Neither was a Combine Guy. Neither wowed scouts with his 40-yard dash time or his vertical leap. Neither aced the standing broad jump portion of the program.
He's just a football player. Shipley could be the latest example of the Krumrie Postulate, named for former Bengal All Pro and 10th-round draft pick Tim Krumrie. The Krumrie Postulate states simply, "Take this shuttle run and shove it.''
"That stuff is overrated. The broad jump? Not very important,'' Shipley said. "Sometimes, they overlook simple things, like being able to make the tough catch.''
Shipley didn't know his 40 time until he was clocked at the Combine.
"You have to have a level of skill to be competitive at this level, but hard work is huge, especially where I'm at trying to make it, in the slot. Faith and confidence is the biggest thing, then ability,'' Shipley said.
He doesn't talk much which, given the current diva receiva quotient around here, is refreshing. Shipley owns three guitars, including a Fender Stratocaster and an Epiphone. He learned to play during the two years he missed at UT, with knee and hamstring injuries.
He plays acoustic country, mostly. "Instead of watching TV,'' he said. "It winds me down.'' He likes old-guy rock and roll (Bad Company is a favorite) and, lately, Ryan Bingham, a formerly down-and-out country balladeer whose songs graced the recent Jeff Bridges movie, Crazy Heart.
Shipley writes songs, too. His latest is a ballad called Enjoy The Ride.
Fitting, he hopes
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20100817/COL03/308170038/Doc-Shipley-catching-on
