RB - only position without a white starter

[kuraitengai]

i think my answer is along the same lines as d-day.

i read something years back regarding basketball and i think it applies. the reasons for the differences in agility and speed are due to the muscle fiber composition. for some reason the black athletes end up with fast-twitch muscles and the whites end up with slow-twitch muscles. thats how it is the majority of the time, there are exceptions. but with the fast-twitch muscles you end up with a greater initial burst of speed and better agility. while the slow-twitch muscles are better for endurance. thats why you see a lot of black sprinters but white marathon runners (if you discount those kenyans for training at mile high altitudes)

for the most part, i agreed with the article when i read it. but it also made me want to go out and prove it wrong. all i can say is that whenever i play basketball or football with my best friend, who is black, no one has an advantage. we end up jumping the same, he's faster in the beginning but i catch up eventually, and our agility is about even maybe his slight edge. but when we are on different teams, we usually cancel each other out. and for that reason we usually refuse to guard each other anymore.

Brian Leonard isn't a RB but he is a FB with mad ups. Drafted by the Rams.

checked their depth chart and you are right. but he probably is the closest thing to a white RB, he did line up a the position in college. didnt he split time between the two pretty much evenly?

[Barney B]

I have a question for the OP and others - why does it matter? :whoknows:

Yeah, good question.

I think the answer is pride. The same pride that I feel for a guy like Colin Powell or Hank Aaron - because I believe that in order to get to his position, he had to overcome the odds.

I knew an old black guy, Gary, who always said that Hugh McElhenny, a white guy, was the most elusive running back he'd ever seen, including Barry Sanders. "He could make you miss in a phone booth" he'd say with the authority of a guy who'd been watching football since the 40's, and you could tell that Gary admired how a white guy could achieve that level of skill, maybe because the odds seemed to be against it. But Gary was even prouder of Jim Brown: "the best football player I ever saw", he'd announce, and when he said it, you took it as gospel.

Gary, rest his soul, never rooted against a guy because of his backround, and if a white guy felt proud of a John Riggins, or if a Mexican guy felt proud of an Anthony Munoz, Gary would understand.

[AKM311]

Where are all the asian RB's too? What about Native Americans? Or Latin's?

Thank you, I was just about to post this.

[HitStickTaylor21]

Thank you, I was just about to post this.

where are they at all in the NFL? there was that guy Nguyen who played LB for the cowboys and that's about it

[Koolblue13]

I wonder what Jimmy "The Greek" would have said on this matter...

Any old timers know what I'm talking about?

I can't believe we made it to almost the fourth page before somebody brought that up.

[Koolblue13]

I always love statements like this.

So is it fair to say whites are naturally smarter?

It's not fair to the asian community.

[Koolblue13]

Can I have something light to read?

How about this Great Jewish Athletes flyer.

[One Shot]

is there a white starting cornerback?

[DCSaints_fan]

I think the racial arguments are nonsense.

Irish and Italians used to dominate boxing.

Black players were non-existent in the NHL for a long time.

There aren't as many American blacks as there used to be in the MLB, although there are alot of "blacktinos"

I think the reasons are primarily cultural. The build and athletic abilitiy of RBs is similiar to that of safeties, linebackers and QBs. But its reinforced that white players don't have the "moves" to be an RB, or that blacks are too dumb to play the other positions.

[krisco750]

Probably a sensitive topic, but I think I recall a Chris Rock segment where he discussed why black people dominated almost every sport.

He was being funny, but made a good point... during the times of slavery, slave owners would try to breed "super slaves". They'd do this by taking only the strongest, most disease-resistant slaves and having them breed. This could explain why blacks are naturally more athletic, as slavery was abolished long ago.. but in terms of lifetimes/generations, it wasn't that long ago.

I tried googling it but couldn't find it.. although I did find something similar in someone's blog:

Yeah true blacks make up about 65 percent of the NFL, 73 percent of the NBA, and only 13 percent of the population, but has anyone ever considered the fact that we may simply be better athletes. But blame that on your white ancestors. For 250 years of slavery, slave owners attempted to breed "superslaves." They hand picked the biggest, strongest, and most disease resistant slaves and bred them like cattle to produce better slave children for market. Since that practice only ended about 150 years ago, it makes sense that the remnants of that breeding would still be present in modern blacks.

And before I get flamed to hell.. I'm not interested in the political correctness of this... just pointing out a possible scientific explaination.

[D-Day]

Probably a sensitive topic, but I think I recall a Chris Rock segment where he discussed why black people dominated almost every sport.

He was being funny, but made a good point... during the times of slavery, slave owners would try to breed "super slaves". They'd do this by taking only the strongest, most disease-resistant slaves and having them breed. This could explain why blacks are naturally more athletic, as slavery was abolished long ago.. but in terms of lifetimes/generations, it wasn't that long ago.

I tried googling it but couldn't find it.. although I did find something similar in someone's blog:

And before I get flamed to hell.. I'm not interested in the political correctness of this... just pointing out a possible scientific explaination.

I will burn in hell with you, but that actually is true. The slave owners would take the strongest and healthiest slaves and pair them up to produce stronger children. Often times they would sell the kids based on the "pedigree" of the parents.

**Sorry for the crude words, hope they don't offend, it was unintentional.****

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

Yes, why does it?

Good question Jrock. I have been wondering that since I first saw this thread.

it matters nothing whatsoever, its just something i find interesting, that not a single tailback in the league is white and its been that way for quite sometime, despite what i think is equal athletic ability between whites and blacks. lets not spin this into some half assed stupid racial thread, thanks in advance.

[Brandon Lloyd Christmas]

and to whoever said, "where are the native americans/latinos/asian running backs", just point where those races are in the nfl at any other position and youve got another argument on your hand. why dont arent these races present in the NFL? if they are im all ears.

[jnhay]

Brad Hoover started at tailback for the Panthers a few years ago...

Wasn't that after the 2 or 3 black runningbacks ahead of him got injured? :laugh:

[Mooka]

I always love statements like this.

So is it fair to say whites are naturally smarter?

Can you show an example of where white people are a minority, but hold the majority in something proving their intelligence? Black people make up a small % of America but dominate football and basketball demographics.

[SkinsFTW]

I will burn in hell with you, but that actually is true. The slave owners would take the strongest and healthiest slaves and pair them up to produce stronger children. Often times they would sell the kids based on the "pedigree" of the parents.

**Sorry for the crude words, hope they don't offend, it was unintentional.****

And thats exactly what Jimmy the Greek was fired over 20+ years ago.

Personally I think that may be part of it but there is also unintentional racism. Or maybe teams consider taking a chance on a white RB, CB, or WR too risky. The ones who have done well weren't even drafted.

There have been many fast RB's, WR's, and DB's in HS who get moved to LB, S, or TE when they get to college, or play Div 2-3 since the big U's don't want them due to race, and go unnoticed or after college aren't given a chance in the NFL. Some of these guys are faster than the players who are drafted but since they aren't black and playing for a major U. they go unnoticed or get moved to a position that they can't compete at an NFL level at.

You only have to look at the Detriot Lions to see that a white receiver can in fact START on a team that has drafted how many Top 5 pick receivers over the past 3-4 years? LOL.

Oh, and Drew Bennett has been the Titans leading receiver for 3 years despite being undrafted. As for RB's? I think they just don't get a chance, or maybe there hasn't been any obviously good enough to make it to the NFL. Or maybe they got moved to TE, FB, or S/LB.

But overall whites probably just aren't ideal for the RB position. Just like blacks probably won't be winning much at swimming.

[SkinsNoles21]

There is a big time recruit coming out of high school in Texas...

His name is Sam McGuffie, look him up on youtube...

other than that I cant think of anyone.

[eagleskins]

I think the racial arguments are nonsense.

Irish and Italians used to dominate boxing.

Black players were non-existent in the NHL for a long time.

There aren't as many American blacks as there used to be in the MLB, although there are alot of "blacktinos"

I think the reasons are primarily cultural. The build and athletic abilitiy of RBs is similiar to that of safeties, linebackers and QBs. But its reinforced that white players don't have the "moves" to be an RB, or that blacks are too dumb to play the other positions.

Well, caucasians are pretty much dominating boxing now.

[Teller]

Can you show an example of where white people are a minority, but hold the majority in something proving their intelligence? Black people make up a small % of America but dominate football and basketball demographics.

http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/ewp_08.htm

"There is a wide disparity in the graduation rates of white and minority students. In the class of 2002, about 78% of white students graduated from high school with a regular diploma, compared to 56% of African-American students and 52% of Hispanic students."

Not exactly what you're looking for, but that's an apples-to-apples comparison of high school graduation rates. Of course, you made the "proof" you were looking for impossible, because you know full well that whites are the majority in America.

Personally, I don't believe whites are intellectually superior. However, taking the position that your race is superior to another (i.e. -- blacks are inherently better athletes) is the definition of racism. I was simply pointing out the ludicrousness of the previous poster's statement, as well as the fact that blatant racism, when directed towards whites, goes unchecked.

[Tom [Giants fan]]

Rob Carpenter was pretty good.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Who gives a ****?

[da#1skinsfan]

I do, I think its interesting. It doesnt have to be racist, its just a sociological discussion.

So can anyone think of any starting white corners? Ive never heard that muscle fiber thing, interesting, I'll read up on it.

[turbodiesel#44]

I wonder what Jimmy "The Greek" would have said on this matter...

Any old timers know what I'm talking about?

My thoughts exactly. I didn't see what he said as being racist at all, just common sense. But it sure made him disappear from the planet.

[kuraitengai]

I do, I think its interesting. It doesnt have to be racist, its just a sociological discussion.

So can anyone think of any starting white corners? Ive never heard that muscle fiber thing, interesting, I'll read up on it.

other than jason seahorn a few years back (who someone already mentioned), i cant think of a recent one...

for the muscle fiber thing...heres what came back on google.

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/exercisephysiology/a/aa080901a.htm

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/muscle.htm

[Siven]

I remember reading a article on the differences between the races and their attributes a few years back. What stuck with me from the article was that there is two types of muscle fibers

1. Rapid fire (that is not the real name) where you can burst for a short period, that affects your 0 - 60 time and change of directions or burst type of actions like sprinting etc.

2. Endurance fibers (again not the real name) - that has to do with how long you can maintain a steady pace.

When you lift weights for maxing and mass you are building the burst fibers and when you lift weights for "toning" or run distances you build the endurance type of muscles.

Naturally black athletes have more of the burst fibers hence they make better natural sprinters.

As white athletes have more natural endurance type fibers so whites make better cyclists, swimmers, etc etc.

Now of course you can train your body to do anything and overcome your natural builds but that is where culture, upbringing, and personal preferences come to play.

I think it pretty much plays out like this. In the lower levels of athletics your natural abilities come to play, ie black athletes are usually faster and "quicker" due to more burst fibers so they are plucked into those types of positions (RB, CB) etc early, the fat kids are put on the lines, and if a kid can catch or throw they are put in the appropriate positions. Kids learn those positions and then grow to like them, they later in high school train their bodies for those positions.

Of course there are exceptions (African Marathoners for one) but that is where the culture or childhood comes to play. Not many football fields in Kenya and if you are short there goes your basketball career.

I was working a camp for inner city youth, and a lot of the kids were black, we were just letting them play around, and they had a football, and basically in a 40 foot by 60 foot room (maybe, it's just a guess), it was 13 defenders, 1 runner, and the goal was to get to the other side of the room. For the most part, they all had exceptional cutback/acceleration etc etc etc.