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That was the most idiotic thing Rush has ever said and, while not worth firing him, was not even close to being true.

It was mostly true, the NFL wants a black QB to succeed, if Michael Vick were white would he have gotten this much time or would have been benched? Culpepper, Brooks etc... its hard not to notice this kind of thing, like theirs 2 different standards applied.

Then why has Steve McNair not been lionized? Vick is not starting for Atlanta because of the media or the NFL. He was not drafted because of the media or the NFL. NONE of the Black qbs have been. And yes Vick would have been given as much of a chance had he been white and drafted with the first pick. He was not bad and showed flashes of brilliance enough to keep his job. It is not as if there are a lot of excess qbs capable of taking his job in any case.

What has ALWAYS tantalized GM and coaches is the idea of a qb who can be a devastating runner and passer. These guys are fabulous athletes and that is why they are drafted high in the first round and given several years to develop.

Some of us who have been NFL fans for decades have seen this phenomenon for years. My Bears tried it first in the early 70s with the very white Bobby Douglas who would have been an incredible running back/tight end but failed as a qb. It took several years for them to give up. Then, in the early 80s they tried the very Black Vince Evans FOR THE SAME REASON. It looked as if he was starting to succeed when he almost died from a staph infection, was never the same and eventually was cut winding up in Oakland for another decade as a backup.

When there are players like McNabb, Vick, Douglas, Culpepper and Evans they are irresistible to the drafters.
Eventually the players realize they have to stop running much or they get cut. The latest athlete of this type is Matt Jones but Jacksonville realized that his potential is as a receiver not qb. It would not have surprised me at all to see some other team draft him to play qb and that would have not worked out.

To my great unhappiness I saw McNabb play one of the greatest games I ever saw a qb play against the Bears in the 2001 playoffs. He beat them almost single handedly. Anyone who does not recognize his talents needs to get a new prescription.