Trent Dilfer Signs with Browns

[Don Wassall]

I really like this move. Dilfer should be Cleveland's starter this year.


We haven't mentioned Trent much here on Caste Football, but this guy's been as disrespected and abused as much as any white football player. Always mercilessly ridiculed his entire career, he led Baltimore to a Super Bowl win (and also hada 15-game winning streak as a starting quarterback), then was waived by the Ravens. No team showed any interest in him after he was waived for six months, before he finally signed with Seattle to be Matt Hasselbeck's backup.


Can you imagine a black quarterback leading an NFL team to the championship, then being cut and unable to sign with another team even as a backup the next season? The media would have been screaming, Jesse Jackson would have been leading protest marches, etc. And indeed it would be very unfair, but when it happens to a white athlete there is a collective yawn.


[url]http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasqua relli_len&id=2006067[/url]

 

[caste_System87]

Trent was traded to the Browns for a 4th round pick so they didnt sign him. But yeah its gonna be great to see him start with a team again.

 

[kevin]

i am not a big fan of trent dilfer. he doesn't make alot of mistakes and win a lot but he isn't ver accurate and doesn't score alot of points.

 

[White Shogun]

I agree with what Don said in that if a black QB had been cut after
winning a Superbowl, all hell would have broken loose, regardless of
how good or bad that QB had performed. Having said that, I also agree
with Kevin. I felt that the Ravens won that year in spite of
Dilfer, not because of him.



By way of comparison, both McNabb and McNair have higher QB ratings and higher completion percentages.



Of course, the now-oft lamented Kurt Warner has a much higher career
completion percentage and QB rating than all three. He will also likely
get the opportunity to start this year, for the Arizona Cardinals.



(Source NFL.com)

 

[Don Wassall]

Dilfer was on a lousy Tampa team for most of his career. Admittedly he was part of the problem there, but with Baltimore he was tremendously efficient in leading the offense. The Ravens have had a lousy offense and great defense every year Brian Billick has been head coach, but only Dilfer was able to lead the offense well enough for them to win the Super Bowl. And that was a very controlled offense, completely foreign to Dilfer's previous nature to want to play long ball.Baltimore hasn'tbeen close to getting back to the Super Bowl since dumping Dilfer.


Dilfer'sa quarterback that took a while to put it all together, being prone in his early years, ala the way Jake Plummer still is, to makingquestionable throws, but once he showed he was a lot more than just a strong arm, he deserved to remain a starting quarterback for somebody. What should have been his best years were wasted in Seattle. I'd like to see him step up in Cleveland and play very well.

 

[White Shogun]

Don, you make an excellent point about the Raven's failure in the
playoffs since Dilfer's departure. I also would like to see him perform
well in Cleveland. Although I feel that he didn't necessarily
help to *win* games for the Ravens during his tenure, he almost
certainly didn't *lose* them, either. But he definitely did NOT deserve
to be cut after having just led his team to a Super Bowl victory!