FWST: Great strides at QB

[bubba9497]

Great strides at QB

Black quarterbacks have come a long way since Willie Thrower became NFL's first in '53

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/8071375.htm

The NFL had 22 black quarterbacks last season. Fifteen played. Ten were starters. Four went to the playoffs. One was named the league's co-MVP.

Not that anyone noticed.

Black quarterbacks have become as ingrained in the league as 300-pound linemen.

"I think the future of black quarterbacks is in a position that it truly has never been before," said Jacksonville Jaguars vice president James Harris, the first black quarterback to start a playoff game. "... The question no longer is being asked now when they talk about [steve] McNair and [Daunte] Culpepper and those guys.

"They're not using the word 'black' quarterback. They're now referred to just as quarterbacks. I'm very happy to see that we've reached that time where guys can be judged and evaluated based on their ability alone."

Black quarterbacks have come a long way, baby.

From Willie Thrower's eight attempts in a game for the Chicago Bears in 1953, to Marlin Briscoe's 11 starts for the Denver Broncos as a rookie in 1968, to Harris' first playoff start for the Los Angeles Rams in 1974, to Doug Williams' victory for the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXII in 1988, to Michael Vick becoming the No. 1 overall draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2001.

But even today, when Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is the league's highest-paid player, Vick the most marketable and McNair a co-MVP, not everyone is colorblind at quarterback.

Rush Limbaugh created a firestorm early last season when he said McNabb was overrated because the media wants a black quarterback to succeed. The conservative talk show host resigned from ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown three days later. McNabb led the Eagles to their third consecutive NFC Championship Game appearance.

"Even though these guys are flourishing in the league right now, they're still dealing with some of the same things we dealt with," said Warren Moon, who passed for 49,097 yards and 290 touchdowns in a 10-year NFL career. "That stuff has not gone away. The league is more accepting, giving these guys the opportunity, but, away from the field, things aren't always that different."

Moon is one of six founding members of "The Field Generals," a new organization intended "to teach and preserve the history of the African-American quarterback." During Super Bowl week, black quarterbacks young and old gathered to honor their past and celebrate their future.

"That's what it's all about, having an awareness of where the black quarterback has evolved from," said Minnesota's Culpepper, the NFL's third-highest-paid player with a $102 million contract. "If we don't know where we came from, we definitely don't know where we're going."

To get here, black quarterbacks have gone through changes in position, leagues and mind-sets.

The first starter

Briscoe, a 14th-round pick of the Broncos in 1968, became the first black starting quarterback by default. He signed his contract after getting coach Lou Saban to promise that he would play quarterback at least three days during training camp.

Still, Briscoe was moved to defensive back until starter Steve Tensi broke his collarbone and backups John McCormick and Jim LeClair faltered. In 11 games, Briscoe threw a Broncos-rookie record 14 touchdown passes, seven more than future Hall of Famer John Elway had as a rookie in 1983.

"It was 1968, a volatile time in our nation," Briscoe said. "There was Vietnam, the assassinations of [Martin Luther] King and [Robert] Kennedy. There was a belief that blacks were not bright enough, that we didn't have the ability to lead. Most of the players in the league were white, and most were from Southern schools where they never had a black teammate, let alone a quarterback.

"I knew that if I didn't have success, it would be a long time before someone else got the chance. People would say, 'I told you so.' I played well enough that nobody could say, 'I told you so.' "

But Briscoe, now 58, threw only nine passes the rest of his nine-year career. He was moved to receiver in 1969, catching 224 career passes for 3,537 yards and 30 touchdowns for Buffalo, Miami, San Diego, Detroit and New England. Briscoe led the AFC in receptions in 1970, earning All-Pro honors, and he won two Super Bowl rings with the Dolphins.

But his career was bittersweet.

"I've always wondered what might have been," Briscoe said. "I beat [former Dolphins quarterback] Bob Griese head-to-head when I played against the Dolphins in 1968, so I always reminded him of that. ... He was a great player, but I felt I could have done that given the opportunity."

The first real starter

Harris is considered as much a pioneer as Thrower and Briscoe. An eighth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 1969, Harris passed for 8,136 yards and 45 touchdowns in 12 seasons. He led the NFL with an 89.6 rating in 1976 and was MVP of the 1975 Pro Bowl.

"James Harris opened the door for us," Cowboys quarterback Quincy Carter said. "Doug really opened some eyes up when he won the Super Bowl, but you've got to give James Harris the credit first, because he was the first one."

Williams remains the only black quarterback to win the Super Bowl, having won MVP honors after completing 18 of 29 passes for 340 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in a 42-10 victory over the Broncos to end the 1987 season.

"It proved one thing," Williams said. "It proved we could get there and we could win if the opportunity was given to a black quarterback."

During media day at Super Bowl XXII, Williams was asked by Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger reporter Butch John: "Doug, it's obvious you've always been a black quarterback all your life. When did it start to matter?" The question has turned into urban legend: "How long have you been a black quarterback?"

Sixteen years later, any confusion is history.

"Today, [with] the success the African-American quarterback has shown on the field, they're getting an opportunity to play the position," Briscoe said. "There are still some ups and downs in terms of public perception, and I think Rush Limbaugh's comments lend credence to that, but I think now the black quarterback is judged on his performance on the field for the most part.

"That's the difference."

First QB

1953 Willie Thrower, above, of the Chicago Bears becomes the first black quarterback to play in the NFL. Thrower completed 3-of-8 passes for 27 yards and one interception in a 35-28 loss to San Francisco on Oct. 18.

First starter

1968 Marlin Briscoe of the Denver Broncos becomes the first starting black quarterback in the NFL or AFL, passing for 1,589 yards and 14 touchdowns in 14 games.

First star

1974 Los Angeles Rams starter James Harris leads the Los Angeles Rams to the playoffs and is MVP of the 1975 Pro Bowl. But Harris is injured late the next season and his career declines over his last four seasons.

First champion

1978 Grambling's Doug Williams is drafted in the first round, 17th overall, by Tampa Bay. In the 1987 season, he leads the Washington Redskins to a victory in Super Bowl XXII and is the game's MVP.

First superstar

1984 Warren Moon leaves the Canadian Football League and signs with the Houston Oilers. He plays 15 NFL seasons with Houston, Minnesota and Seattle. He plays in eight consecutive Pro Bowls, an NFL record for quarterbacks.

Just like any QB, only better

In the past five years, black quarterbacks have stepped it up.

1999: Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia), Daunte Culpepper (Minnesota), and Akili Smith (Cincinnati) are drafted in the first round. Shaun King (Tampa Bay) becomes the second rookie since the NFL-AFL merger to win a playoff game.

2000: McNabb (Philadelphia), Culpepper (Minnesota), King (Tampa Bay), Aaron Brooks (New Orleans) and Steve McNair (Tennessee) lead their teams to the playoffs.

2001: Michael Vick is the No. 1 overall draft pick by Atlanta.

2002: McNabb (Philadelphia) becomes the NFL's highest-paid player.

2003: McNair (Tennessee) shares league MVP honors with Peyton Manning. Fourteen black quarterbacks start at least one game: McNair (Tennessee), Quincy Carter (Dallas), Brooks (New Orleans), Byron Leftwich (Jacksonville), Kordell Stewart (Chicago), Rodney Peete (Carolina), Vick (Atlanta), Jeff Blake (Arizona), Tony Banks (Houston), Anthony Wright (Baltimore), Brooks (New Orleans), Jarious Jackson (Denver), Antwaan RandleEl (Pittsburgh) and Culpepper (Minnesota).

Source: NFL

[Chopper Dave]

When did Randle El start?

[skinsfan314]

Black quarterbacks have made great strides, but unfortunately the rest of us have not. It is my opinion that Michael Vick was drafted No1 overall because he is a stud athlete and first class individual with a limitless amount of potential to be one of the games best ever QB's. He may not get to the big show as often as some of the other greats, but anyone who can get people excited about Falcons' football has to be great!

I think great strides will be made when we can remove the race label from athletes and see them for what they are, the best players in the world whether it be quarterback, halfback or punter! :dallasuck :eaglesuck :gaintsuck

[SonnyRules]

I don't care if a quaterback is black, brown, white, yellow, blue, green or purple.....if he can play ball; then that is all I need to know.