White Hope QB Awards: Why Fitzpatrick vs. McCown was watershed NFL moment, especially after Tyrod Taylor benching
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Chuck Modiano
CHUCK MODIANO
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 7:00 AM
On Sunday, the Buccaneers beat the Jets, 15-10 in what could be called the White Hope QB Super Bowl.
Before Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh McCown took the field, never before in NFL history had two quarterbacks who played for so many teams started against each other. Their combined stats are mind-boggling:
68 Wins
116 Losses
15 Combined teams (starting for 13)
0 Playoff Games
No matter how much losing they did, there was always another team to give another start and another chance to make good. Before arriving to the Jets in 2015, Fitz never had a single winning year in eight seasons. McCown arrived in 2017 after going 8-30 his previous 10 years - and that doesn't include his 3-5 record with UFL's Hartford Colonels in 2010. To truly appreciate the caucasity of Sunday's face-off, you really have to view the Tale of the Tape.
CLASH OF THE PRIVILEGED:
Josh McCown (22-47 record)
10-12 Cardinals 2002-2005
---- Lions 2006
2-7 Raiders 2007
---- Panthers 2008-2009
4-3 Bears 2011-2013
1-10 Bucs 2014
1-10 Browns 2015-2016
Ryan Fitzpatrick (46-69-1 record):
0-3 Rams 2005
4-7-1 Bengals 2008
4-4 Bills 2009
4-9 Bills 2010
6-10 Bills 2011
6-10 Bills 2012
3-6 Titans 2013
6-6 Texans 2014
10-6 Jets 2015
3-8 Jets 2016
LLLLLLLLLet's get ready to Ruuuuumbleeeeeeeee!
AN OCT. 15, 2017, FILE PHOTO
Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t have a winning season before signing with the Jets in 2015. (RICK SCUTERI/AP)
This Fitz-McCown showdown is bigger than another Colin Kaepernick contrast. It's about every black NFL quarterback who has ever played this game, or been denied their rightful chance. Kaepernick kneeling may be new, but blackballing is old.
Fitz-McCown is no white anomaly - just an extreme example of the white privilege that litters the League with horrible quarterback play. While many studies have documented that poor-performing black QBs are at least twice as likely to be benched, this privilege has become so rampant we need to quantify it.
Presenting "White Hope Quarterback Awards" in four categories:
1) Young White Hopes; 2) Old White Hopes; 3) White Hope Lotto; 4) White Hope Journeymen
To be eligible, all nominees must have started an NFL game this year. Black QBs are eligible for all these lists but none made the cut.
I. YOUNG WHITE HOPE QB AWARDS
Criteria: Must begin career with at least three straight losing seasons yet receive more chances.
The Nominees
2014-2016 Blake Bortles 3-10, 5-11 and 3-13 (Jaguars)
2010-2013 Sam Bradford 7-9, 1-9, 7-8-1, and 3-4 (Rams)
2005-2010 Alex Smith: 2-5, 7-9, 2-5, backup, 5-5, and 3-7 (49ers)
White QBs are viewed a lot like real estate. They're not judged as the house they are, but the house that they can become. They can get three, four or five seasons of losing while getting nurtured, developed, new coaches, new supporting weapons, and new systems by new offensive coordinators with new ideas willing to maximize their skill-set.
"Black Blake Bortles" does not exist. The NFL is just not going to give you three years to work out some kinks until Leonard Fournette and the NFL's #1 defense arrives. If a Black QB is not a high 1st-round pick, they rarely ever even get two. Perform or go home.
Young White Hope Winner is... Alex Smith!
Today, Alex is a fine quarterback, but he owes it all to whiteness. All of it.
Vince Young outplayed Alex Smith early on in their respective careers.
Vince Young outplayed Alex Smith early on in their respective careers. (AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES)
The profound patience and nurturing he received is incredible, as is his career parallel with Vince Young. Smith entered the NFL one year before Young, and both men started exactly 50 games over their first six seasons. Young had a higher passer rating and outrushed Smith by over 1,000 yards and 10 TDs. Here were their team records:
19-31: Alex Smith
31-19: Vince Young
While Smith would begin his career anew in season No. 7, Young would never play another game.
Young won and displayed good-to-great potential at the same time. In four seasons as primary starter, Young's passer rating rose steadily: 66.7; 71.1; 82.8; 98.6.
Whatever the exact opposite of the support Alex Smith received, Young's coach Jeff Fisher was that. As Smith thrives today in Kansas City, Young still want back in the NFL.
Young Black Hope? The puzzling plummet of RG3 remains more puzzling a year later. Former No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell started only two seasons before being NFL-exiled. Geno Smith had just one bad half-a-season (with no defense or receivers), and has been misjudged by it ever since - not his promising rookie season or super-strong finish to his second year.
II. OLD WHITE HOPE QB AWARDS
Criteria: Must slump mid-career with 3 straight losing seasons and get more chances.
The Nominees
2010-2012 Carson Palmer: 4-12 (Bengals), 4-5 (Raiders), and 4-11 (Raiders)
2013-2015 Eli Manning: 7-9, 6-10, and 6-10 (Giants)
2013-2017 Jay Cutler: 5-6, 5-10, 6-9, 1-4 (Bears) and called out of retirement by Dolphins
Eli Manning may be only excusable entry on all the lists. Two Super Bowl rings, no matter how fluky, might earn any QB such patience. But after a 1-9 start this year, it appears that Eli's line of credit is just about used up.
Old White Hope Winner is… Carson Palmer!
Cutler is definitely the people's choice, but it's Palmer in an upset. He was twice saved by new teams before resurrecting his career with the Cards. After his 4-12 season with the Bengals, he pouted and refused to report to camp - the type of behavior that can end a career of any 4-win black QB who never won a single playoff game.
Old Black Hope? Black veteran QB's do not get Carson or Cutler type of faith or even a Kerry Collins or Matt Hasselbeck who started games at 39 and 40 years old, respectfully. No matter how accomplished (see Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick), the NFL has no use for Black QBs past 35 in much of any capacity. Perform like you were 28 or go home.
Brock Osweiler bombed after his short three-game win streak with the Broncos.
Brock Osweiler bombed after his short three-game win streak with the Broncos. (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED)
III. WHITE HOPE QB LOTTO WINNERS
Criteria: Tall, white, and win three consecutive games at least once.
The Nominees
6-foot-4 Sam Bradford! from 18-30-1 with Rams in 2016 to $36 million by Eagles!
6-foot-7 Mike Glennon! from 5-13 record with Bucs in 2017 to $18 million by Bears!
6-foot-8 Brock Osweiler! from 5-2 record with Broncos in 2015 to $36 million by Texans!
White height matters: To locate the next 6-foot-5 Peyton Manning or 6-foot-4 Tom Brady, NFL GMs racial profile Blake's and Blaines into top-10 draft picks while 6-foot wonders like Drew Brees and Russell Wilson slip out of the first round. Few have studied the NFL's #TallandWhite phenomena more than twitter's @AwfulWhiteQBs - go check them out.
3 Wins a Charm: In 2015, Osweiler won his first three games as a Bronco, and received Sport's Illustrated cover: "Brock On!". His Texans $36M jackpot was really won that day. In 2012, rookie Mike Glennon started 0-5, but then won three straight games. Mike went 2-8 after, but forget that. Legend has it three straight victories spark orgasmic endorphins deep within the brainwaves of NFL GMs about a future Peyton paradise. Love is blind.
Old White Hope Winner is… Brock!
AN OCT. 16, 2016, FILE PHOTO
Brock Osweiler lasted just one season with the Texans but was able to get another chance with the Broncos. (GEORGE BRIDGES/AP)
Brock's $36M for five wins sounds right given it's the Texans. No NFL coach has tested and experimented with more white hopes than head coach Bill O'Brien who has started Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, Case Keenum, Brian Hoyer, T.J. Yates, Brandon Weeden, Osweiler, and Tom Savage in only three years. O'Brien basically white-hoped-out himself into drafting DeShaun Watson. Good move.
Black Hope Lotto? Not even mini-Lotto (see McCown, $6M). You only get paid after you produce wins.
IV. WHITE HOPE QB JOURNEYMAN AWARDS
Criteria: Must get hired by 3 or more teams despite 3 losing seasons
The Nominees
6 Teams Matt Cassell
8 Teams (started games with 6)Josh McCown
7 Teams Ryan Fitzpatrick
Harvard Hustle: Many head coaches and offensive coordinators are egomaniacs. Belief in their "system", not actual QB talent, is what they perceive wins football games until NFL humility arrives (see Chip Kelly; Kyle Shanahan). When a guy like Fitz, whose Harvard pedigree and highest QB Wonderlic score ever (48), comes along and wows them by mastering their brilliant playbooks, they get really impressed - until the final results.
Fitz Myth: Even good results can deceive. Fitz's only winning season with the 2015 Jets came with new receivers, a new defense, and a much easier schedule than in 2014. When the old defense and schedule returned in 2016, so did the old Fitz. McCown vs. Fitz was a tough call but…
White Hope Journeymen Winner is… Josh McCown!
Josh McCown has played for a number of teams throughout his NFL career.
Josh McCown has played for a number of teams throughout his NFL career. (AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES)
Here is why: In 2011, McCown was coaching high school football before joining the Bears mid-season.Jay Cutler also suffered a season-ending injury with the 7-3 Bears. At that time, Donovan McNabb specifically requested his Vikings release with the very specific hopes for a Chicago homecoming. To many Bears fans, it was a no-brainer. Articles with titles like "McNabb would be Upgrade Over McCown" should have never had to be written.
At urging of offensive coordinator Mike Martz, the Bears playoff push was led by the winless Caleb Hanie with McCown as backup. How were they more qualified than McNabb, you ask? They knew Martz's system. The Bears' 2011 choice wins the "White Hope QB Moment of all Time".
Hanie would never win a single NFL game, McCown would go 1-10 with two more teams, and the hopeful McNabb would never get another NFL shot.
Does any of this sound familiar, Colin?
The blackballing of Kaepernick reminds us that the NFL cares more about their perceived bottom line than winning football games - even if it means forgoing playoff and Super Bowl hopes.
White fans prefer their team's leaders to look like them, or at least the NFL owners believe so.
There is a Great Tyrod Taylor Debate (and great article), and it is clear that Taylor cannot afford one single Bills season like Fitz, let alone three straight. After two poor outings, the wolves are at the door.
Unless a black QB is a star or has the young potential to be star, they will soon be gone like Kap.
Tyrod Taylor will be benched this Sunday, despite leading the Bills to a 5-4 record through nine games.
Tyrod Taylor will be benched this Sunday, despite leading the Bills to a 5-4 record through nine games. (KATHY WILLENS/AP)
Taylor was benched after two blowout losses to the Jets and first-place Saints, despite sporting a 64 percent completion rate, 12 total TDs to just 3 INTs, a passing rating of 91 and having led the Bills to a 5-2 record before those losses. Taylor then went to the Buffalo News to detail his feelings about the expectations of black QBs in the NFL.
“It’s always going to be twice as bad just because of who I am — an African-American quarterback,” Taylor told the Buffalo News. “Look across the league, man. We’re held to a certain standard. We almost have to be perfect.
“I wouldn’t say it’s just an African-American quarterback thing. It’s an African-American athlete thing — or just an African-American thing. And that’s not anything I just found out. It’s been that way since I was a kid.
“They claim that we’re not that accurate from the pocket. I’m not sure why,” Taylor added. “Even though they’re ‘mobile’ guys, they don’t necessarily take on the same criticism as others. It probably is unfair.”
Taylor was replaced by 6-foot-2 Nathan Peterman who is of course white and took his first NFL snap after Taylor was pulled from that Saints game.It is why there are no Young Black Hopes, Old Black Hopes, Black Hope Lotto, or Black Hope Journeyman.
The Fitzpatrick vs McCown Showdown is the clearest evidence yet.
Colin Kaepernicks have been getting blackballed for years.
