Written by Derek Lofland.
Donovan McNabb has reopened a debate that has been in the NFL forefront for sometime. James Brown of HBO Sports interviewed McNabb and the topic came up as to whether Black NFL Quarterbacks are treated differently than White NFL Quarterbacks. To summarize his interview, McNabb stated that black NFL quarterbacks face more pressure, scrutiny and criticism than their white counterparts do.
I thought it would be interesting to look at this argument statistically and see whether his claims had any merit. This is the list of the top-5 white quarterbacks playing in 2006: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, Marc Bulger, and Drew Brees. I understand that Brett Favre would be on the list if we were looking at this historically. I also understand Phillip Rivers was in the Pro Bowl and Tom Brady was not.
However, if you were starting a franchise today, these would be the top-5 white quarterbacks that most NFL general managers would have on the top of their list.
In 2006, the top five starting black quarterbacks would be as follows: Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, Vince Young, Steve McNair, and David Garrard. McNabb did not start the whole year due to injury and Garrard shared time with Byron Leftwich. To make things fair, I averaged the statistics out based on the number of games played. Here is what I came up with:
Manning, Brady, Palmer, Bulger, and Brees – The five quarterbacks played in an average of 16 games. They averaged passing for 4,136 yards, 26.6 touchdowns, and 10.6 interceptions for the 2006 season. This comes to an average of 258.5 yards per game, 1.7 touchdown passes, and 0.7 picks per contest. They combined for an average QB rating of 94.4. Their teams combined for a record of 50-30 or an average of 10 wins on the 2006 season. Three of them reached the playoffs. Those three started in the conference championship games. Manning went on to win the Super Bowl.
McNabb, Vick, Young, McNair, and Garrard – The five quarterbacks played in 68 out of 80 games. They averaged passing for 2,421 yards, 15.2 touchdowns, and 10.6 interceptions. This comes to an average of 178.0 yards per game, 1.1 touchdowns passes, and 0.8 picks per contest. They combined for an average QB rating of 80.2. Their teams combined for a record of 9.2 wins, which is just slightly below the star white QBs. Two of them reached the playoffs, although McNabb was on IR for the playoff run. McNair lost his first playoff game to Manning’s Colts.
One thing to keep in mind is that Michael Vick on his own out produced the five white QBs in rushing yards and touchdowns. Young probably did the same. However, the quarterback position has traditionally been evaluated on the QBs ability to pass the football. Steve Young was a great scrambler too. He didn’t start getting his just due until his passing numbers went off the charts.
The only quarterback on the black quarterback list that rivals the white quarterbacks as a passer are McNair and McNabb. McNair put up insane numbers while in college. While he has won an MVP, he has never put up gaudy passing numbers in the pros. McNabb is very similar to McNair, except he did have one season where he put up gaudy numbers, which was 2004. The rest of his career he has been a low 3,000-yard passer around 20 touchdown passes.
It is unfair to judge the black quarterback’s treatment if you are going to compare that treatment to a Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, etc. The reason this is unfair is that their black counterparts are not putting up passing numbers that are even in the realm of equivalence. If there were currently a black quarterback that was throwing for those numbers on a consistent basis, we could compare the treatment. For instance, if Warren Moon were playing today, we would have a quarterback that was in the same statistical area. However, because there is currently not a quarterback that is throwing for 4,000 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 picks, we are left to compare apples and oranges.
The bottom line is that quarterbacks are judged on two things. First, and foremost, it is how they throw the ball. Do they throw for a lot of yards? Do they score a lot of touchdowns? Do they throw very few interceptions? However, doing that alone will not keep you employed. Ask Jeff George. Secondly, you not only have to win, but you have to be perceived as the reason your team won. You have to matter. That is why Troy Aikman was able to come back in 1994 after throwing 15 touchdowns and 6 interceptions in 1993. On the other hand, Trent Dilfer, who threw 12 touchdowns and 11 picks in 9 games in 2001, was asked to find a new team to sign his paychecks. Both won the Super Bowl. However, Aikman was considered a catalyst for those Super Bowls, where as Dilfer was considered a liability.
A perfect present day example would be Rex Grossman. He led his team to the Super Bowl, or followed them there, depending on your perspective. His team was 13-3, and the number one team in the NFC. His Bears scored the 2nd most points of any team in the NFL. He threw for 3193 yards, 23 touchdowns, 20 picks, and had a QB rating of 73.9. I live in Chicago. I hear everyday how the Bears need a new QB. The perception is that the Bears are a QB away from winning the Super Bowl. The perception is that the Bears are winning despite Grossman, not because of him. I believe that Rex Grossman is currently the most scrutinized quarterback in the NFL.
A close second would be Eli Manning. Not only does he quarterback in New York, but also his older brother is arguably the best QB in the game. He threw for 3,244 yards, 24 touchdowns, 18 interceptions, and had a QB rating of 77.0. However, he cannot be compared to his brother. His Giants started the season 6-2, before finishing 8-8. They made the playoffs and lost their first round game. It was widely accepted that if he does deliver a 3,500 yard, 25 touchdown, 15 interception season, with a QB rating in the mid 80s that results in his team making the playoffs; that the Giants would be looking to bring in competition for his job. The only reason he is not under fire for the Giants 0-2 start is because he has played well and the defense has given up 80 points. Check back next week for his status.
Quarterback is the most unfair position to play in sports. Quarterbacks get way to much credit when the team wins. The Quarterback gets way to much blame when the team loses. Quarterback is known as a "What have you done for me lately" position. They can be throwing parades in your honor one day, and throwing you out of town the next. It is not unprecedented that successful quarterbacks have lost their job rather quickly.
In 1989, Joe Montana won the League and Super Bowl MVP. He followed that up with a 14-2 record and a loss in the Championship Game in 1990. Due to the injury, he suffered in that Championship Game, he missed the 1991 season and almost all of the 1992 season. Despite having won 4 Super Bowls in San Francisco and being widely considered the best QB to ever play the game, the 49ers shipped him to Kansas City for the 1993 season, because they felt Steve Young gave them the best chance to win in 1993. This was the same Steve Young that had never won a Super Bowl as a starter and was the pre 2006 Peyton Manning of his day, the great QB that couldn’t win the big game.
Kurt Warner won a Super Bowl in 1999. He also won the regular season and Super Bowl MVP. In 2001, he duplicated that regular season MVP performance and lost the Super Bowl. His offense finished #1 in both scoring and yardage in 1999, 2000, and 2001. In 2002, he was injured and looked shaky. By 2003, Marc Bulger had the job in hand. In 2004, Warner was playing for the Giants.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not so naive that I believe that professional sports is a 100% racist free world. There is still racism in our society. Professional sports are part of our society. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that racism is not present in professional sports. However, the notion that black quarterbacks have to do something extra to keep their job is, in my opinion, preposterous.
I don’t know how any quarterback keeps his job. The Favres, Mannings, and Bradys amaze me with their ability to keep their jobs year after year. Most owners are not going to hang on to white quarterbacks that cannot produce. Most of the media is not going to baby white quarterbacks. The majority of the people associated with the NFL are about winning today. Not tomorrow and not yesterday.
What do Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith, Michael Vick, Vince Young, and JaMarcus Russell have in common? They are all black quarterbacks that were top 5 picks in the draft since 1999, the year Donovan McNabb was selected with the second overall pick. In comparison, Alex Smith, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer, David Carr, Joey Harrington, and Tim Couch were the white QBs that shared that honor.
That means seven white quarterbacks compared to five black quarterbacks taken in the first five picks of the first round since Donovan McNabb was drafted. Five of the white quarterbacks are starters, compared to two for the black quarterbacks. If Michael Vick could have avoided legal problems, Joey Harrington wouldn’t be a starter and it would be four to three. If JaMarcus Russell had not held out the entire preseason, it might have even been a tie.
Furthermore, JaMarcus Russell, the star black quarterback in this years draft was picked number one, while his white counterpart, Brady Quinn dropped to the end of the first round. This isn’t the league that Warren Moon was faced with in the late 1970’s. If a black quarterback proves that he is NFL capable in college, not only will he be drafted, he will be drafted very high. While some will point to Heisman winner Troy Smith dropping to the 5th round this year, I will point to Eric Crouch, a Heisman winner that was not drafted by the Rams to play QB, but Wide Receiver. If the NFL is putting more pressure, scrutiny and criticism on black quarterbacks than their white counterparts, it sure isn’t showing in the war room on draft day.
I do not know Donovan McNabb personally. The impression that I get from Donovan McNabb is that he has a chip on his shoulder. I think he has that chip on his shoulder because he isn’t held in the same esteem as the other top quarterbacks in the game, something he feels he has earned. What he is forgetting is that even the league’s elite face tough scrutiny.
Ask Manning what it is like to be the best QB in the game. I am sure he wouldn’t say free from criticism and doubt. Manning has won 2 League MVPs and threw for 49 touchdowns in a season. Until last season that wasn’t good enough, because he was the Pro Bowl QB that couldn’t win the “big game.” He sort of silenced those critics by winning the Super Bowl MVP. However, the criticism was that while he won the Super Bowl, the defense and running game played too big of a role in delivering that Super Bowl. He didn’t play well enough to take enough credit for the Colts run. Therefore, he still isn’t the big game QB that he should be.
Talk about tough and unfair criticism.
Carson Palmer is not being criticized yet, because he has only been starting for 3 years. Bulger is entering his 5th season as the opening day starter. Brees is in his second year with New Orleans and is entering his 6th season as a starter. Furthermore, all three of those teams have horrible defenses that are considered the part of the team that is holding the franchise back. However, if postseason success eludes these young quarterbacks, they too will soon be labeled as disappointments. If Brees doesn’t turn around this season, he will be the first to hear those criticisms.
McNabb has been a starter since the 2000 season. To his credit, he throws very few interceptions. McNabb is the second least intercepted quarterback per pass attempt in NFL history, behind only Neil O'Donnell. McNabb's career ratio is 1 interception per every 45.26 pass attempts. This leads to his very respectable career QB rating of 85.2. He makes many exciting plays and played in four consecutive championship games from 2001-2004. He went to the Super Bowl 2004. In his defense, other than 2004, he has never had a game changing wide receiver.
However, McNabb has a lot of negative points too. To his detriment, he has a 58.1% career completion percentage. He has only thrown over 3500 yards once and has only thrown over 20 touchdowns three times. Furthermore, while other than TO, he has never played with a “game changing” wide receiver, he has played with a defense that finished in the top five in scoring defense 4 times, and was 7th in 2003. Bulger, Brees, and Palmer have had the luxury exactly 0 times combined.
When Donovan McNabb played well, he was given his just due. His successful play led to many endorsements, not only for him, but also for his mother. His most notable commercial was the Chunky Soup Commercials. He also graced the cover of the 2006 John Madden Football game. In 2004, he was widely considered the 3rd best QB in the game, behind Manning and Brady. Had he maintained those numbers, he would still be receiving the same compliments he did in 2004. However, while Brady and Manning have maintained their stats and team success, Donovan has not. Trust me, if Peyton Manning plays 10 games the next 2 seasons and doesn’t break 20 touchdown passes or 3,500 yards, the cries for a replacement will be heard loud and clear.
McNabb is now over 30. While he has been a successful quarterback, he is by no means a Hall of Fame Quarterback. He has not won a Super Bowl. He has played 10 games or less 3 of the last 5 seasons, and finished the season on IR the last 2 seasons. His mobility looks diminished; he is throwing the ball for a 54% completion percentage. His team has scored one touchdown in over 20 offensive possessions this season. I think it is a fair question for the media, fans, and the franchise to ask if his best days are behind him and if the Eagles would be better served to move in a different direction.
I think there are legitimate arguments on both sides of the issue. If Donovan McNabb were white, we would be having the exact same conversation.
Donovan needs to stop worrying about how people view his legacy, and whether that view is just. What is most important is how Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles view his current performance. He needs to get his knee right and start winning some football games. He needs to start playing like he did in 2004 and the beginning of last season. This isn’t happening because the League, the Media, and the Fans want to see one less quarterback starting in the NFL. This isn’t about diminishing what he did in 2004. This is about whether Donovan McNabb has what it takes to be an effective quarterback in 2007.
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