Black quarterbacks changing perceptions as NFL playoffs near

The Grio ^ | January 04, 2013 | Stefen Lovelace

[MinorityRepublican]

Young quarterbacks have been the dominant storyline of the 2013 season.

Of the 12 NFL playoff teams, six start quarterbacks that are either in their first or second year. The days of needing an established veteran at the quarterback position may be over.

Of those five young starting quarterbacks, three are African-American. Rookies Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson will play each other in the premier wildcard game this weekend, with the Washington Redskins hosting the Seattle Seahawks Sunday afternoon. Colin Kaepernick gets a week off, as he helped lead his San Francisco 49ers to a bye.

And while our common notions of the how much experience is needed for a quarterback to to lead a team to the Super Bowl may be changing, the notions that many have for the black quarterback may finally begin to change too. RGIII, Wilson and Kaepernick have shown just how far black quarterbacks have come.

[srmorton]

His name is Russell Wilson and he is indeed black, the great-great-grandson of a former slave. His father was a lawyer who played football at Dartmouth. He died while Wilson was still the starting quarterback at NC State. Although I did not attend NC State, I have been a fan for years and I had the pleasure of watching him play for three years. He is highly intelligent and graduated from in three years which is quite an accomplishment for any NC State student as it is anything but a party school.

Sadly, for NC State fans, he was released from his scholarship with a year of eligibility left due to his desire to explore a baseball career with the Rockies. When that did not work out as well as he would have liked, he accepted a scholarship at the University of Wisconsin where he led them to the Big Ten championship and a Rose Bowl victory. I think Tom O'Brien's decision to release him from his scholarship was part of the reason that he was fired following the 2012 season. He is a strong Christian and a frequent volunteer in the Seattle community. All of this is to let the Freepers know that, whatever his skin color, Russell Wilson is a truly special player and Seatle is indeed fortunate to have him!

[Figment]

“Is that old widbag still on the air?”

Yep, and what is being discussed on this thread is what he pointed out ten or more years ago about the media and black quarterbacks.

[sten]

*cough* TEBOW *cough*

[Figment]

“Can’t wait to see how Manziel does in the pros. Probably like Tebow, not allowed to play his game.”

“His” game or Tebows’ doesn’t translate well to the big boys game. If you want to be a running back in the NFL, you are better off to be a running back (Paul Hornung)

[CommieCutter]

..and Steve McNair was MVP not some dummy.

[Major Matt Mason]

The question is still whether the running QB can last even a few seasons in the NFL before serious injuries diminish or end their ability to play the game.

If Michael Vick is any indication, the answer is still no. Well, missing a couple of season due to incarceration doesn't help, either.

[CommieCutter]

Also, don’t forget, no disrespect to RGIII and Wilson but they do have some great run games behind them and good D. It’s not like they’re carrying the entire load.

[Our man in washington]

From 1987 until now, the Philadelphia Eagles have started a black quarterback 328 times.

[7thson]

I feel the same about RG III and the Skins. It will be a good game.

[levon]

Rush was right......tonight before the GB/Minnesota game Tony Dungy and some other black talking head surmised that the Vikings had a better chance to win with second stringer Joe Webb filling in for that injured pale face Christian Ponder who had taken them to the playoffs.......result?.....Webb with a sub 30 QB rating and 10 points against the same team Ponder put up 37 against last week .......LMAO

[Forgotten Amendments]

I watched what he said. I ran out of the room because it was so off the wall. The reaction was unfair,but predictable. And he looked like a clown on that show.

Nice mouth ya’ got there.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Black QB’s Changing Perceptions? I certainly hope so. Vince Young tossed his shoulder pads into the stands, Vick was a dog killer and Quincy Carter was suspended(and released) because of marijuana. If you can’t count on them it really doesn’t matter what the color is. Leave it to the clowns in the media to make an issue of it. McNair got himself shot. That was smart.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Let’s not forget. Warren Moon was a wife beater.

[Forgotten Amendments]

Perhaps I should have said “In the modern era.” I mean, look at Blanda — they don’t even have a NAME for what he did on the field.

Blanda was MVP the year after Kapp's good year. And he had a couple more after this. This duel with "youngster" Unitas in the first AFC Championship game is my favorite thing on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2YBrDmWb7s

[piytar]

Only if you have no clue what being a conservative means...

[castlegreyskull]

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Rush never said anything negative about Mcnabb personally other than he wasn’t a very good qb. He attacked the media and their desire for good black qbs.

[dfwgator]

filling in for that injured pale face Christian Ponder

Considering where he went to college, I got a chuckle out of that.

[cherry]

2 out of 3 have whitey blood.....but don’t tell anyone....

[cherry]

I will also say that the three qb's mentioned also come from strong Christian families and are Christians themselves....

rg3 has been cricized by a fellow black guy for dating a whitey girl....

[entropy12]

I apologize for mis-quoting his last name. And thank you for taking time to detail his background. In my defense, I just started watching the Seahawks again, mainly because I love watching a scrambling QB. He reminds me of Tarkenton except Wilson is more athletic.

Won’t miss tomorrows playoff game. Hope the Hawks prevail.