How has Russell Wilson managed to stay above the criticism aimed at black QBs?

[jjs07]

I'm not even close to understanding why the level of criticism Cam got last year, and the media portrayal of him, was fair.

Same goes for McNabb.

Same goes for RG3, though I know people feel differently about that at the moment.

Shanny had all of us fooled about mcnabb, when in actuality, mcnabb was right.

 

[100027]

Cam's team is winning and you can see a difference in his demeanor.

Bob bought into his brand. You can say he's young or not at fault but we'll just have to disagree. You could see this ego building up for a while now. Everything is me, me, me and his relationship with Snyder is a problem. All the rumors about his teammates not liking him. The video of his O line not helping him up a few times towards the end of his season. I'm not sure how he hasn't brought some of this on himself.

Yeah but you have no way of knowing any of that.... You are just reciting a media narrative that can be spun about any player when the knives come out. And for some guys the bad stories show up and fade away (Ben), and some guys for whatever reason the sports media will decide it's worth painting a yearlong picture about how much that person sucks.

And it just so happens that many of the QBs whose negative stories get emphasized and constantly reintroduced... Are black.

 

[Hahahaha]

Cam was always super hard on himself and Steve used to get on him about keeping his head up so don't compare your disdain to how Steve acted

No, you're talking about during the season. I'm talking about an incident that happened before his rookie season started. They said there was a rift between them and Steve was unhappy about some stuff.

 

[100027]

It was because he said and acted differently in college. Things come easier when you're successful.

At Auburn he always seemed to stay humble, say the right things and preach the cliches as to worrying about the things he can control. Well ****...When you're winning and on cloud 9 with everyone in love with you it's easy to act that way.

Get to the NFL and suddenly this positive leader starts to mope around the sideline and steer away from teammates almost to completely avoid the situation entirely. It painted a different picture of Cam.

Considering his teammates have always backed him... I don't believe any of this. I think it's all made up. Frankly. He hasn't changed at all this year, his team is just winning because a 2-12 team takes a few years to start winning.

 

[651akathepaul]

Then you're blinding yourself from a valid perspective and maybe you don't want to believe that racism is overplayed here.

What did I make up? His teammates backing him is irrelevant because the perception was completely different and it went against what we thought we knew about the guy we saw at Auburn. The backlash, if that's what we want to call it, came from fans and mostly the media. And besides, the Bears organization said they all loved Cutler, but can't we all agree he's a whiner and bad leader? Yes. That's not race. That's perception.

Like I said...Most look way too deep to try and find racism and hinge on anything that can be manipulated to look like it. What he went through and then the perceptions and expectations that changed and came with it is like psychology 101 or some ****.

 

[651akathepaul]

And 100027...I'll step back for a second because I'm not trying to argue with you or any individual in here, but sometimes there really are rational explanations that aren't seen because race is such a huge deal in the world that it's always in the back of people's minds. I hate that stigma very much and think it's overblown. Not non-existent, because racism definitely still exists.

 

[dmxfury]

Ben's bad stories haven't faded much. He will never be a favorite. Media definitely spins and uses agendas, though hard to say if skin color is a major variable in the bias . Very possible though

 

[dmbrhs]

When Rush Limbaugh went out and said McNabb was overrated because he was black (one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, because McNabb was if anything underrated and over-criticized at the time), he spoke from the kind of perspective that a lot of people in this country see with. And that is the mentality that if a QB is black, that kid does not deserve a pass for any action- you have the right to tear apart every little thing he does to find a flaw you can pull out and try to define him with.

Please stop perpetuating the myth of what Limbaugh said. He never said McNabb was overrated because he was black. He never disparaged his performance because he was black. This is what he said:

"I think the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. They're interested in black coaches and black quarterbacks doing well. I think there's a little hope invested in McNabb and he got a lot of credit for the performance of his team that he really didn't deserve."

Not once did he say anything about his race having a detrimental effect on his performance. He said he got more credit for his team's success than he deserved, which is something you could say about plenty of quarterbacks.

 

[deezyvsop2]

Ben's bad stories haven't faded much. He will never be a favorite. Media definitely spins and uses agendas, though hard to say if skin color is a major variable in the bias . Very possible though

They kind of did when they went to the SB against Green Bay.

In the sports world, winning cures just about anything.  Look at Kobe and Lebron, just two examples.

 

[100027]

Then you're blinding yourself from a valid perspective and maybe you don't want to believe that racism is overplayed here.

What did I make up? His teammates backing him is irrelevant because the perception was completely different and it went against what we thought we knew about the guy we saw at Auburn. The backlash, if that's what we want to call it, came from fans and mostly the media. And besides, the Bears organization said they all loved Cutler, but can't we all agree he's a whiner and bad leader? Yes. That's not race. That's perception.

Like I said...Most look way too deep to try and find racism and hinge on anything that can be manipulated to look like it. What he went through and then the perceptions and expectations that changed and came with it is like psychology 101 or some ****.

There's always someone going to say "people bring up race about everything!". It might shock you , but I don't walk around every day trying to find things to perceive as racist. Or trying to connect random issues with racism.

I've been watching football since I was a kid and over the years noticed that many black quarterbacks are treated unfairly by the media... Almost all in fact, undergo a different level of scrutiny.

Sorry but those things do sometimes exist. In fact there is of course volumes of statistical evidence that point to black men being treated very differently in our society. This doesn't have to be a debate about the state of America or whatever, but I don't think you can categorically deny the possibility of it having an impact in this particular case.

P.S. I don't really agree with you about Cutler either. I just think he's different and the sports media world doesn't know how to deal with people who don't fit their expectations.

 

[651akathepaul]

You're mistaken on what you think I am. I just think you're wrong. Simple as that. I don't need to be labeled some kind of person just because I disagree with you.

 

[deezyvsop2]

I know there's lots of disagreements here, but it's damn refreshing and encouraging to see a conversation like this taking place on NT, in such a civilized type of manner.  There is hope yet.

DAMN refreshing.

 

[black migo]

Russell jus isnt the typical "black man" as they say, thats why he doesnt catch flack from the media, but i wouldnt be surprised if the "uncle tom" label starts to gets thrown out there once his popularity increases

 

[mugzbo]

I'm not sure if it has anything to do with race but there does seem to be a trend when comparing the types of criticism between Cam and RG3. Expectations were high for both; one was a national championship and the other was hyped beyond belief. Both blew up the NFL with spectacular rookie years, regressed the following year and that's when the criticism came hard. Cam and his squad won this year so there's no sulking at press conferences. RG3 acted like an arrogant prick that wouldn't owe up to his poor play and offered his opinion on subjects when he shouldn't too often. That's why he got knocked on. The criticism comes with their level of play but the media does dig too hard against black QBs and try to make it about character issues and not keep the judgements strictly about their play.

Geno Smith, put simply, sucked *** on the field and there's really no defending that other than he had "flashes" of great play. He hasn't gotten much criticism about his character and why's that? Because he flew under the radar like a Jet QB often does in NYC. Other than him and tweets about fake Yeezys or some **** like that, he didn't really speak out that often. He does suck a lot though and if he acts up next year without improving, the NY media will tear him up. Nobody talked about EJ Manuel about how high he was picked, how he was injured and how mediocre he was when he was playing. It's because he kept a low profile.

White QBs get a pass on character issues but their play will be judged against the same standards. If Nick Foles comes out playing like a bum next year, bet he'll get his. If he wasn't modest on the mic either like RG3, people WILL get on him and say the same things about his character. The only difference is that the drama in Philly isn't as entertaining as it was in DC this year Scrubs like Weeden and Gabbert get destroyed for being awful but they keep a low profile.

Luckily, my man Kaep hasn't regressed this year but if he did, people would go hard on him too. Maybe he gets a pass due to being adopted by white parents but I haven't heard the national media knock him for dressing like a goon at post-game conferences. The tats thing was last year and the chick who wrote that sounded mad stupid in her article. It was poorly written and ain't nobody got time to read about Kaep's tattoos when there's playoff football to be watched and read about. I haven't had many chance to hear his post-game interviews but when he does, he's confident but cautious.

I honestly don't see the connection between criticism and race. It's the personality and maybe some black QBs are more outspoken than their peers. It's the person, not simply because he's black. It's only a shame because the world outside sports doesn't see it that way often enough.

 

[certifiedsw]

Russ is the type of guy who plays board games on the weekend lol. I don't think I've ever seen him yell at another teammate or have poor body language (a la Jay Cutler) when one of his WR drops the ball or something. Nothing to hate about the guy at all.

 

[the 7th mile]

Because his team wins.

Thread.

How this hasn't been said yet is beyond me.

Exactly, all those other QBs had times in their career where they struggled and their team were losing...let the Seahawks start losing, they will turn on him quick

 

[deezyvsop2]

Exactly, all those other QBs had times in their career where they struggled and their team were losing...let the Seahawks start losing, they will turn on him quick

If they lose because of him sure.  Not if they lose for other reasons.

 

[the 7th mile]

If they lose because of him sure.  Not if they lose for other reasons.

You see how they threw Cam under the bus ALL last season and the 1st two games this season until they started winning? They definitely weren't losing because of him, he threw for 4000 yards his 1st 2 yrs.

 

[deezyvsop2]

For every person that blamed Cam for that, hopefully there was someone smart enough to point out reality.

But the big picture is winning silences a lot of people.  RGIII was killing it and he's the next great QB all of a sudden, competing with Luck.  This season, after the injury and problems in Washington, who would have taken him over Luck just by looking at this season?

 

[100027]

You're mistaken on what you think I am. I just think you're wrong. Simple as that. I don't need to be labeled some kind of person just because I disagree with you.

I'm not labeling you dude, I respect that you have a different perspective.

 

[shogun]

People were criticizing Cam's smile? WTH? Who were those people? Those are the dummies that you ignore because their opinions don't mean anything anyway.

 

[buc em]

Russell Wilson is a flawless QB. He is more pristine than their White QB and they know it lol. Black QB's get accused of running too much and not being able to make reads, but Russell does both. He has the cerebral part down. All those other QB's have a flaw in their game that the White media love to attribute to Blackness. The character issues are just icing on the cake.

This.

He's basically the man. I can't even find anything to criticize him about.

 

[rook]

People were criticizing Cam's smile? WTH? Who were those people? Those are the dummies that you ignore because their opinions don't mean anything anyway.

I remember when he was getting ready to be drafted, some scout or whatever wrote teams felt his smile was fake or whatever

 

[jjs07]

I'm not sure if it has anything to do with race but there does seem to be a trend when comparing the types of criticism between Cam and RG3. Expectations were high for both; one was a national championship and the other was hyped beyond belief. Both blew up the NFL with spectacular rookie years, regressed the following year and that's when the criticism came hard. Cam and his squad won this year so there's no sulking at press conferences. RG3 acted like an arrogant prick that wouldn't owe up to his poor play and offered his opinion on subjects when he shouldn't too often. That's why he got knocked on. The criticism comes with their level of play but the media does dig too hard against black QBs and try to make it about character issues and not keep the judgements strictly about their play.

Geno Smith, put simply, sucked *** on the field and there's really no defending that other than he had "flashes" of great play. He hasn't gotten much criticism about his character and why's that? Because he flew under the radar like a Jet QB often does in NYC. Other than him and tweets about fake Yeezys or some **** like that, he didn't really speak out that often. He does suck a lot though and if he acts up next year without improving, the NY media will tear him up. Nobody talked about EJ Manuel about how high he was picked, how he was injured and how mediocre he was when he was playing. It's because he kept a low profile.

White QBs get a pass on character issues but their play will be judged against the same standards. If Nick Foles comes out playing like a bum next year, bet he'll get his. If he wasn't modest on the mic either like RG3, people WILL get on him and say the same things about his character. The only difference is that the drama in Philly isn't as entertaining as it was in DC this year Scrubs like Weeden and Gabbert get destroyed for being awful but they keep a low profile.

Luckily, my man Kaep hasn't regressed this year but if he did, people would go hard on him too. Maybe he gets a pass due to being adopted by white parents but I haven't heard the national media knock him for dressing like a goon at post-game conferences. The tats thing was last year and the chick who wrote that sounded mad stupid in her article. It was poorly written and ain't nobody got time to read about Kaep's tattoos when there's playoff football to be watched and read about. I haven't had many chance to hear his post-game interviews but when he does, he's confident but cautious.

I honestly don't see the connection between criticism and race. It's the personality and maybe some black QBs are more outspoken than their peers. It's the person, not simply because he's black. It's only a shame because the world outside sports doesn't see it that way often enough.

Geno is interesting...you might be right about him as a pro, but dude was slandered to no end leading up to the night he was drafted. During his time at WVU, you couldn't find hardly any negative press on the guy. There were fluff pieces about how he was a student of the game, loved art, had a very good GPA, respect of his teammates, etc. However, after the bowl game, that's when the character "concerns" started popping up. Dude went from having first round prospects, to sliding to the 2nd.

I brought up Teddy Bridgewater earlier, who I think is a sure bet to go in the top-10, but honestly, don't be surprised if the same thing happens to him where his character is assassinated for whatever the reason.

I'm talking about an incident that happened before his rookie season started. They said there was a rift between them and Steve was unhappy about some stuff.

What incident?

 

[100027]

I remember when he was getting ready to be drafted, some scout or whatever wrote teams felt his smile was fake or whatever

Nolan Nawrocki, who was head of profootballweekly.com.  It seemed weirdly personal.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/03/28/pfw-draft-guide-clobbers-cam-newton/

Under “negatives” for Newton, Nawrocki writes, “Very disingenuous — has a fake smile, comes off as very scripted and has a selfish, me-first makeup.  Always knows where the cameras are and plays to them.  Has an enormous ego with a sense of entitlement that continually invites trouble and makes him believe he is above the law — does not command respect from teammates and will always struggle to win a locker room . . . Lacks accountability, focus and trustworthiness — is not punctual, seeks shortcuts and sets a bad example.  Immature and has had issues with authority.  Not dependable.”