Wow. Rush should not have quit. This is racial bullying at its finest, ladies and gentlemen. Rush offered his opinion that the media wanted a black quarterback to succeed. That is in NO WAY racist. This is a perfect example how any subject related to race in today's society is completely off limits and will draw an automated response. Truly sad if progress is your goal.
The best commentary on the situation that I read was by the normally inane Peter King of sports illustrated: Open mouth, insert foot Limbaugh's comments on McNabb aren't racist, but they are boneheaded Posted: Tuesday September 30, 2003 8:02PM; Updated: Wednesday October 1, 2003 11:18AM Donovan McNabb has a QB rating of 51.1 through the first three games. AP I had to shake my head this morning when I heard about Rush Limbaugh's comments on Donovan McNabb. You may have heard them by now, but if you haven't, Limbaugh said on ESPN's Sunday pre-game show that he didn't think the Eagles quarterback was as good as the media made him out to be. "I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL,'' Limbaugh said. "The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They're interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well ... McNabb got a lot of the credit for the performance of the team that he really didn't deserve.'' Limbaugh was not making a racist statement about black quarterbacks. He was making a racist statement about me. Actually, about me and my colleagues. But I feel like he was talking to me. I am not going to make this about any political view Limbaugh might hold about affirmative action--or about anything, really, except his exact words. And I can tell you that they are incredibly absurd. Last week, the editors at Sports Illustrated sent me to Philadelphia to look into why McNabb was playing so poorly early in the season. The Eagles were 0-2, and McNabb had been brutal in those eight quarters, completing 45 percent of his passes with no touchdowns and three interceptions. Last Thursday, in search of answers, I interviewed McNabb, coach Andy Reid, tight end Chad Lewis and center Hank Fraley. I interviewed the Bucs' Warren Sapp, who had opposed the Eagles in Week 1. I went to NFL Films and watched some tape of two games -- Game 2 in 2002 and Game 2 in 2003. What a dichotomy: McNabb was 26-of-38 passing and scrambled for a touchdown in a masterful 37-7 Monday night rout of the Redskins in 2002, then was a pitiful 18-of-46 in a 31-7 New England rout of the Eagles one year later. Anyone who watched those two tapes would say that McNabb looked confident, strong-armed, bold and accurate in the 2002 game. They would also say that the 2003 McNabb, at least based on the tape I watched, was totally discombobulated. So, before flying to Buffalo for this past Sunday's game, I developed my theories. I thought McNabb was rushing his throws and was mechanically unsound, throwing off his back foot and from other faulty angles. I thought he had happy feet, maybe nervous happy feet because his protection was breaking down so quickly. I thought he was missing open receivers on at least a third of his incompletions and not taking time to see the whole field. I thought he wasn't running nearly enough for such a talented runner; he didn't leave the pocket against the carnivorous Bucs in week one through the first 31 minutes of the game. I thought his weapons were lacking, and that Reid was trying to make studs out of second- and third-receiver types. I also thought McNabb was getting no help from his running game. And I thought, as I have thought (and said, and written) in the past, that McNabb was simply not accurate enough to be a truly great player; his career completion rate of 56.6 percent over four-plus years demonstrated that. I was all set to put down my theories in writing at the Bills-Eagles Sunday in Buffalo. But then a funny thing happened on the way to the rip job. McNabb played well. Not other-worldly, but well. He led the Eagles to two scores in a hostile house on their first two drives, and he had them up 16-0 three-quarters of the way into the game. His first and third plays were not the plays of an overrated, media-propped-up bum. The first was a beautifully thrown and timed 27-yard sideline fade to Todd Pinkston. The third was a logical scramble for 25 yards. And so, after winning a huge game on the road by 10 points and very likely salvaging the Eagles' season, McNabb was hardly due for an SI story questioning his skills and the ability of those around him. He was owed some kudos for rising to the occasion and playing the best game he'd played in probably 10 months. We've got a saying among those who cover the sport about waiting till Sunday night to write your game stories. Something like, That's why they play the games. I believe Chris Berman, just to Limbaugh's right on ESPN's set, says that quite a lot. Maybe McNabb's fundamental difficulties are still there. If the Eagles' season eventually goes down in flames and they go 6-10 and McNabb stinks, we'll write about it. But to suggest, as Limbaugh did on ESPN, that we in the media have even deep-background or off-the-record discussions in press boxes or magazine offices about propping up black coaches and quarterbacks is incredible. Maybe, I thought, I'm being naïve here. Maybe someone here has an agenda I haven't heard of. I called Reuben Frank of the Burlington County (N.J.) Times. He has covered the Eagles' beat since 1987. He's covered quarterbacks white (Bubby Brister, Bobby Hoying, Ty Detmer, Koy Detmer) and black (Randall Cunningham, Rodney Peete, McNabb), and coaches white (Rich Kotite, Reid) and black (Ray Rhodes). I wondered in the past 17 seasons whether Frank had ever heard in the press room or on the practice field, or while having a few beers the night before games, a colleague talking about how great it was to see a black quarterback or coach succeeding. I wondered whether Frank had ever heard a fellow journalist say that he and his peers should write nice things about the black people and not such nice things about the white people. "In all the years I've covered this team,'' Frank said, "nobody I've heard has ever said anything remotely along those lines. I don't think of Donovan McNabb as a black quarterback and I didn't think of Rhodes as a black coach. They're a quarterback and a coach. Maybe someone in our business thinks the way Limbaugh said, but I haven't met him.'' Now, there is something that Limbaugh said that I do agree with. He stated that McNabb had gotten credit for the defense playing so well and winning games. Welcome to the real world. When you win in football, the quarterback gets too much credit, unless he's Spergon Wynn or Trent Dilfer. That's just the way life is. Quarterbacks get too much credit if the team wins and too much blame if the team loses. That's why they make the big dough. The bottom line is that yes, I agree McNabb is overrated. He would have been on my top 10 list of quarterbacks in 2001 -- when he played two terrific playoff games and had a good regular season -- but he's been too inconsistent since then to be called a premier quarterback. Last week, I pitched a story idea to my editor, Mark Godich, about how rookie quarterbacks should be developed. I told him how well I thought Titans coach Jeff Fisher had done in developing a raw but potentially great quarterback, Steve McNair, who happens to be black. My point was that Fisher thought it best to spoonfeed McNair slowly -- not because he was black, but because he thought a quarterback coming from relatively small Alcorn State to the NFL needed a couple of years to get adjusted to playing big-league football. In Limbaughworld, Godich would have said, "Let's do it, and let's blow it up big. McNair's the top-rated quarterback in football, and he's black!'' But in the real world, Godich took a pass, and I'll write about something else this week. I'm white, as you probably know. This is 2003. Who cares? Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Monday Morning Quarterback appears in this space every week. Find this article at: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/writers/peter_king/09/30/mcnabb_limbaugh/index.html
Or because of a monster defense. What Limbaugh said makes perfect sense. McNabb has never impressed me with his play, besides his scrambling. The media jumped all over "his" success and overrated him. Now, we are seeing how good he actually is. Of course Limbaugh shouldn't have said what he said because nobody can say anything about black people without being destroyed for being a racist. What about all the people who said Eminem is only successful because he's white? Where was the great outrage at that?
First of all, just because Nomar hasn't been impressed with Donovan's play, doesn't mean Donovan isn't a good player. We are seeing how good he actually is because of two games, compared to an entire career. That seems fair. Can you provide one example of people saying this about Eminnem?
You obviously have not looked at his stats last season before his 4 td broken ankle game that ended his year.
As I posted in the other thread on Rush: I *despise* Limbaugh's backwards politics, disgusting smear tactics and blatant lies, but he's still a person. I wouldn't wish a drug addiction on anyone. Illegally buying drugs is just an indication of a deeper problem, and I hope he gets the help he deserves.
Rush's comments were not, let me repeat, were not racist... Look outside the box and try to understand the meaning... McNabb is overhyped and is not the $100MM man... Again, the NFL wants black QB's to succeed and more black head coaches... BTW, if I had to pick a QB to lead my team from scratch, it would be Steve "Air" McNair...
Not racist, just dumb and paranoid. The NFL and its media hypes, or overhypes EVERY quarterback; they give them tons of credit when they win (Kordell Stewart, Kurt Warner) and give them all the blame when they lose (Kordell Stewart, Kurt Warner). To insinuate that there is a special hype machine for black quarterbacks is silly.
What's wrong with that? Just like pgabriel said about the Thomas/Bird comment. It's only natural, in todays society, to want to see your "own kind (kind of silly, if you think)" to succeed. Let's not hide from the partial-truth. But for Rush to say that's the ONLY reason that McNab is getting press...well, that's just plain preconceived JEALOUSLY (probably stemming from Rush's right-wing political views).
First of all, Eminem is a very good rapper. Donnovan McNabb is a very good QB. Race might be a small reason for their success. But it's not the end-all-be all. Lets state a few facts: McNabb is fun to watch McNabb is a rising star in the NFL McNabb is very good QB No Black QB has ever won a Super Bowl Now, you mean to tell me, that there's no "human rights" story in that? Why wouldn't any *human being* not want someone to succeed giving the circumstances? The FIRST Black QB to lead his team to a championship! That's a BIG STORY. Rush's point is, that there is media bias, and that's the ONLY reason that he's "hyped." The underlying thought here is that Rush is JEALOUS! That's the issue. And that is why he's WRONG! It's personal. It's his righ-wing politics seeping into his mind. While it's true that there might be some media bias, it's the underlying tone of Rush's comments that suggest other agendas. So, Rush saying that the NFL and media have this "secret" that they want a Black QB to win a championship should NOT BE a SECRET. It should be celebrated if it happens. Why wouldn't you root for the underdog? Why wouldn't you want someone to achieve something that no one has achieved before? Why wouldn't you want McNabb to become a hero to millions of black boys after him? Why? Personal jealousy.
So why does the media often overhype white QBs? I mean, when there's Jake "The Snake" Mania wholly out of line with the ability and success of Plummer, does the media do that because they want to finally see a white QB succeed? Or could there often be other reasons why a QB is overhyped? And if there are other reasons why a QB might be overhyped, does it not follow that the reason McNabb is overhyped (if you believe he is) is not because of his race, but because of some other reason, perhaps the same reason a Plummer or a Greise or a Brady or the like has been overhyped (and heck, McNabb is better than those two). Or why does the media not overhype every black QB? Why are they so focused on McNabb? Why not Quincy (whom the media tore down in favor of a white QB who wasn't even as good on the field), or even Steve McNair (who has arguably been underhyped by the media at various points in his career) or Culpepper or any of the rest of the ten black QBs who have started games in the NFL this season? To say that McNabb is overhyped is one thing. To say the reason he is overhyped is because of the color of his skin is plain silly and not supported by the evidence. I mean, I could note that Rush Limbaugh overhypes the Pittsburgh Steelers each and every year, but if I were to say that the reason he did that was because their coach is a white guy, he might well argue that point and dislike that I've assigned a motive that's not supported by the facts to his opinion. Assigning a motive to the media in regard to McNabb when there is no evidence to support it AND plenty of evidence to support an alternate theory is silly.
Was Doug Williams the QB throughout the season though? I'm not sure but I want to say no, that the started got hurt at some point.. McNabb could be the first black QB to be the opening day starting QB and be THE QB for the team for the whole season and win the Super Bowl... I could be wrong though about Williams..
