I was watching the Broncos game and saw Hillis get injured. I almost had an inevitable feeling about this; truly, at times there almost seems to be a supernatural force at work here. So often, when that rare white skill position player actually gets a fair chance to play, a serious injury seems to strike him down. This was the ONLY thing, at this point, that could have stopped Hillis. He was looking dominant out on the field.
We all know what will happen now. Hillis will never get another chance to be the starting RB for Denver. I'm sorry, but that's just reality. If Tatum Bell or some other pedestrian back does well for the remainder of this season, they'll stay ahead of Hillis on the depth chart when he returns. If they don't play well, Denver will look for another back via the draft or free agency next year. Perhaps they'll annoint the immortal Ryan Torrain the starter in the offseason. Hillis will go back to fullback, where he'll, at best, become a short yardage specialist.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again- white players simply have to be tougher than anyone else in order to keep their jobs. If you saw the play Hillis was injured on, it was the result of a superhuman effort to catch a short pass over a defender. No black in the league would have tried to do that, let alone actually make the catch. It's the same mentality that results in whites fighting so hard for an extra yard, or to make a tackle, injuring themselves in the process. I know, they would be criticized if they didn't make the effort, but what Hillis did was way beyond the call of duty, and no one would have chewed him out if he hadn't done it.
I know I'm being typically pessimistic, but I just can't see how any of you can look at the situation otherwise. Hillis was doing so well, and had the starting RB job to himself. I certainly hope I'm wrong, and that he gets a chance to carry the ball regularly again. However, watching this nonsense for decades tells me that he will be sent back to his "rightful" position on the field.
