Derp... Usually the conversation is about black quarterbacks, but ESPN analyst and Hall of Famer Cris Carter made a case on Tuesday about why white NFL wide receivers don't get the same recognition as their non-white counterparts. “I just don't think they give them credit," he said during an appearance on Mike & Mike. "They make excuses, they say it's the system, they say it's the quarterback. But a guy has a certain skill set and that means if he plays outside, plays inside, to me they are very, very good athletes. And they don't give them credit for their athleticism. Kind of like when Serena (Williams) was always playing tennis and people would always talk about how powerful she was and how her serve was so great, they never talked about her intellect or her strategy, which now has taken her game to another level. But earlier in her career, they never, ever talked about that and I think that had something to do with race.” According to SportsGrid, there were 185 wide receivers on NFL rosters last season and 17 were white. Two -- the Packers' Jordy Nelson and the Patriots' Julian Edelman -- were among the top 10 in receptions (98 and 92, respectively). Nelson's 2015 season ended before it started -- he suffered a torn ACL in August -- and Edelman will be out 6-8 weeks after breaking his foot last Sunday. Still, three white receivers, are among the league's best, according to Football Outsiders' metrics; the Jets' Eric Decker and Edelman are top 10 in total WR value while the Pats' Danny Amendola ranks 7th in value per play among WRs. Still, not a season goes by that an undersized, quick slot receiver with great hands isn't compared to Wes Welker (see the Cowboys' Cole Beasley, for example). Sure, it's a compliment, but it's also lazy, much in the same way those Cam Newton-Daunte Culpepper and Robert Griffin III-Michael Vick comparisons were lazy. This narrative feeds the perception that white athletes have to work hard for the same success that black athletes reach through their God-given talents. "I believe the celebration with Cam Newton has something to do with race, but I evaluate wide receivers and I evaluate what they can do and what they can't do, how to utilize them within their offense, not what color they are or limiting their athletic ability, in my mind, before I look at the tape," Carter said. "And Jordy Nelson is one of the best route runners, very, very explosive, a deep threat and can run any route in the route tree and is great with the ball in his hands after the catch. "Now, Edelman is a tremendous slot receiver, has great short area quickness, has the understandability to read the defense and great chemistry with Tom Brady," Carter continued. "I believe he's just as good as Troy Brown was but people give credit to Troy Brown for being good, and I think Wes Welker and Edelman and some other guys don't get credit because they're white. And when people evaluate them they think that they're less athletes or products of the system and I just don't think that's fair to what they're doing and what they're accomplishing." This is more a media creation than anything; players aren't going around calling Edelman, "a helluva white wide receiver!" In fact, we're guessing Brady will miss Edelman for one very simple reason: he's a huge part of the Patriots' offense. "When someone's really integral to part of basically everything you're doing, and then you lose that person, it may take a little bit to kind of figure out how you can move things around and get comfortable with what you're doing," Brady said earlier this week. "Because you want to have a lot of confidence in the things that you're doing." Which is exactly what Brady had when he was throwing to Troy Brown, Deion Branch, David Givens and Randy Moss. White or black, Julian Edelman is one of the NFL's best wideouts. (USATSI) http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...-dont-get-enough-credit-for-their-athleticism
This is how I feel when I hear Chris Carter saying something, no wonder very few of these guys make the transition from players to announcers or commentators. I have never in my 30 plus years of watching football heard anyone give credit or discredit a white WR because of skin color. Additionally, does anyone on this board listen to Mike and Mike? I think they are clowns, therefore I stopped listening to them a long time ago.
Edleman and Nelson are two very good WR's. But they play with two of the best QB's of the last 10 years. Two future Hall of Famer's. That has to count for a lot. They aren't Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones, AJ Green etc who make average QB's look great. Thats the difference. Not skin color. It's like Decker in Denver. Put up monster numbers. Still very good for us but not as good obviously because of who is throwing him the ball.
What about Wes Welker? Get a bunch of concussions, do some molly and throw money around at a horsetrack and no one wants to sign you. St. Louis finally picked him up.
"Kind of like when Serena (Williams) was always playing tennis and people would always talk about how powerful she was and how her serve was so great, they never talked about her intellect or her strategy, which now has taken her game to another level. But earlier in her career, they never, ever talked about that and I think that had something to do with race.”" Or you know, maybe it was because when she was younger she was winning with her serve and raw power, like a rookie passrusher before he really gets his game up in the NFL Jesus Christ. Blah Blah Blah, everything is racist all the time...shut the fuck up already. So sick of hearing this shit. Way to really devalue that word for people who actually suffered/ suffer from real racism.
Reverse racism? I've always been confused by that term. If racism is the poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race, does that mean reverse racism is the good treatment of or kindness against people because of theirs?
Have you all heard of the myth... of the white running backs of Stanford??? Gather round the fire....
I haven't heard this explicitly either, but does anyone remember the rather extreme hate fest that Keyshwn Johson had for Wayne Chrebet? I have always felt there was a racial element there. This gets into murky areas. On the one hand, prejudice isn't always stated up front, but OTOH when you start attributing racism and prejudice to every minor slight you get.... contemporary society.
wheres the key and peele skit when you need it? Perception is dynamic, but yeah White players often aren't given enough credit for their brawn, and black players their brain. Its a subtle trend when it comes to the analysis of the game, but its there if you're in tune to it. totally unfair on both fronts...
I thought some of the KJ attitude was because of his age, lack of maturity. Ask him now as a grown man and I think he will give a different opinion. My take on this is, if you play in the NFL, you are a unique individual, no matter what position you play. Look at our punter, everyone takes the punter for granted until he is shanking 35 yard punts and you can't find another punter to replace him with. At the end of the day, Mike and Mike are part of the media and they needed something to put out there to get a reaction, they did their jobs.
Wow. You don't watch much NFL, do you? Jordy Nelson is a top 5 WR in this league regardless of who's throwing him the ball. Have you seen Aaron Rodgers' and Green Bay's offensive stats and numbers without Jordy this year? Compare every meaningful stat this year vs last year. You could argue that Jordy makes A-Rod look better, not the other way around.
I am a huge tennis fan and nobody ever talks about most players intellect or strategy. The only one they ever really talk about are Federer who is by far and away one of the smartest players ever. They talk about power and the serve for all the best players because that's what wins titles in tennis. It's like pitchers in baseball, only Greg Maddux of the all timers get mentioned for his intellect. For guys like Nolan Ryan, Bob Gibson, Randy Johnson, Koufax, and Pedro we only talk about their power. Mariano Rivera the greatest closer ever gets talked about for his cutter, it's not about race. It's about power and strikeout ability.
Yeah I dont want much NFL. I just talk out of my ass. He's not even a top 5 WR WITH Rodgers throwing him the ball. Julio, Dez, Demaryius, AJ, Antonio are all WR's that would succeed with any QB and to me are easily the top 5 best wideouts. Jordy isnt better than any of those guys. He's the 2nd tier. Maybe top 10. And lets not make it sound like Rodgers was this average player before Jordy emerged. Is he better than Cobb? Absolutely. He's a great route runner and him and Rodgers have great chemistry. But you're really overrating him.
