Ok, wait.... Toby thinks some NFL teams may be racist?

Some people, who we don't know...but some, are simply going by historic trends, which is that white RB dont translate well. It's not a good argument at the end of the day because past occurrences do not necessarily dictate future events. But, people make decisions based on trends all the time. This one just happens to be concerning skin colour.

 

Right. I wonder how it would sound if you made an argument that a good college quarterback probably wasn't going to translate to the NFL because he was black.

 

The only quote in the whole article alleging racism is from an anonymous NFL scout. I don't see where Gerhart said anything of the sort.

One longtime NFL scout insisted that Gerhart’s skin color will likely prevent the Pac-10’s offensive player of the year from being drafted in Thursday’s first round.

“He’ll be a great second-round pickup for somebody, but I guarantee you if he was the exact same guy – but he was black – he’d go in the first round for sure,” the scout said. “You could make a case that he’s a Steven Jackson-type – doesn’t have blazing speed but he’s strong and powerful and versatile.”

 

not a good comparison because there have been far more good black Qbs than white RB, so again, basing a decision off historic trends your example doesnt apply.

yeah, very misleading title

 

it's just a preference, obviously when looking for employment you want the teams to be 'equal opportunity employers', but it just doesn't work out that like

i can see the argument that it's racist, and i can also argue that it's just business, and this is a sensitive area to tread, because physically... all men aren't equal

 

I think he is right. Teams do stereotype him for being white. This has been talked about in the NBA with a guy like Chase. Its like being white means you can't be as athletic. You see the same thing at WR, but then you see the opposite at QB. I had a roommate in college say that black QBs are running QBs and are not smart QBs. Its a stereotype. All you can do is take the opportunity if given to you and bust right through it.

I will add that there are legitimate concerns about his quickness, but he surprised everyone with how fast he is in the 40.

 

This doesn't make any sense. Either teams will let him being white influence their decision-making or they won't. If they do, it's racist (and illegal, if you could ever prove it). If they don't, it's not and the business is doing nothing wrong.

 

He needs to stop crying and go out and play. If he can play then he'll get respect.

 

Exactly... This title is very misleading.

Race does play a big part in general with Sports but I don't think it's necessarily racism. Stats show who normally does well in certain positions/roles. Does that mean it's 100% true? No, Warren Moon was a very good QB in his day. But it does show where you can look for your talent.

Certain races dominate certain positions in sports today. It happens in MLB, Basketball, and Football. Basketball is a prime example. The professional leagues were dominated by white people. Once folks started to realize that black people were faster and were more athletic, that trend started to change.

Some folks need to stop trying to turn everything into racism. Racism is all around but you can't make everything in life all about it though. Sheryl Underwood said it best... The hardest thing people struggle with is knowing how to use the race card. You can't shout out racism over every little thing...

 

He wasn't crying. He was answering a question he got.

 

He's a legit power back and is going to be a good NFL player. I would love for the Texans to take him. A power/speed combo of Toby and Slaton would be amazing. I rarely saw a single tackler ever take down Gerhart, usually it took 3-4 defenders to bring him down. And it's not like he played in a bad conference or an inflated system, he tore up the Pac 10 for a few years.
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This would be true if Gerhart was some unknown running back that was just hoping to be discovered. But people have as much information on him as they do on every other running back in the draft. There's no need for scouts to "look for talent" here - there's just a need to evaluate the talent in front of them.

 

I think that if Toby was black, that he'd be taken in the first round.

He is just as fast as Matthews.
He is stronger than Matthews.
He has a better vertical than Matthews.
He also did better in the 20 yard shuttle than Matthews.

And Matthews isnt a great inside runner.

Yet, Matthews is the one being talked about in the 1st round.

 

Matthews can run inside, and he is not easy to take down with arm tackles. Not at the level of Toby, but still better then a RB like Spiller.

When I watch Toby run he has the foot agility of a punter, but he does have a lot of power. He looks like an Alstott clone to me that will give you a solid 3.8 YPC average.

Ryan Matthews is the real deal and will be the best RB in this year's draft.

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Ahh, I see what you did there, very sneaky, sir!

You took the word "Classification" and put it where the word "Stereotype" would be.

Classic word association game...I like your style!

 

I'll say this much. The guy has a chip on his shoulder, whether it's justified or not. He's also going to have a big target on his jersey, and he plays a position that's physical enough without making things worse for himself. Personally, I would not burn a second round pick on a guy who's going to take an extra hard beating, because he won't shut up. As to his future, I think he'll do well, but have a short career even by running back standards.

 

what do you mean he won't shut up? he was asked a question and answered it. It's the writers that are making a big deal about it.

 

Yeah, I am not understanding this. He answered some questions. Its not like he held a press conference to announce his disgust or something. And who is going to be targeting him for this?