2003-2004 NFL Season (Playoffs and coaching moves) (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

And I still contend the highlight was whenever the camera showed Barry's photogenic wife

FYI, Barry's wife is/was a local TV news reporter. I'm not sure if she's still working, though. And, yes, she is a very attractive lady.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

I have not seen anyone around here praising Jake Plummer, so I'm not sure why you are making this comparison.

I make this comparison for 4 reasons: 1) because of the battering that QC has taken here and elsewhere as if he is the worst QB in the league, 2) because he is not (see#1), 3) the Cowboys are my favorite team, and 4) I am a registered member of this forum and free to talk about anything within the bounds of forum rules.

 

[Frank Grimes]

And I think that some of the harshness comes about because he is a black quarterback.

How can you possibly back this up? Guys like Culpepper and McNabb struggle for long periods of time with their fans still supporting them (and McNabb is in Philly! They've booed Santa Claus!). Carter is just a horrible quarterback that has shown occasional flashes of mediocrity. Many ridiculed Dallas for selecting him so high, so of course the fans will be skeptical from the beginning for reasons unrelated to his race. And why SHOULD he deserve anything but harsh feelings now that all signs point to his being on either crack or coke?

 

[Lew Crippen]

How can you possibly back this up?

1)It is the opinion of (arguably) the best local TV sports anchor (Dale Hanson—Channel 8) who has been in his job for about 25 years (he basically has said that some (not all) of the criticism of Quincy Carter is racially motivated).
2)It is the opinion of long-time local sports columnist Randy Galloway (Fort Worth Star Telegram and Ex-Dallas Morning News), who has pretty much said on the radio and written the same type comments as Hansen.
3)It is the opinion of several local sports, talk radio hosts.
4)I have heard several comments made by some who have called into these radio shows.
5)All of the criticism has not been based solely on his performance compared to other quarterbacks. Two years ago there was a significant portion of the local press and public who thought that Chad Hutchinson should be given the starting job. True, Carter was not that good a couple of years ago, but he was for sure better than Hutchinson.
6)Even though he was not great last year (and sometimes he played poorly), he still started 16 games and helped the team win 10 of them. He had more interceptions than TD throws, but on the other hand he threw for more than 2,000 yards. The point is that even though he was not great, or even very good, he was far from being horrible.

Oh—and one more thing: no one knows what kind of drugs Carter had been taking. The ESPN story that came out prematurely claiming that he had tested positive for cocaine was withdrawn.

I’ve not read or heard anything locally from a responsible journalist that claims the violation was cocaine.

Carter has denied the cocaine rumors.

 

[Frank Grimes]

I don't think opinions of others are a valid way to back up a statement, so I won't really debate 1-3.

As for #5, I don't really find it to be a valid argument either. We were in essentially in the same situation here in New Orleans several years ago where Aaron Brooks started struggling with Jake Delhomme on the bench. Many, including myself, considered them fairly equal skillwise, but wanted to see Jake at least get a chance with Brooks playing both poorly and seeming without any motivation (he was often seen smiling and laughing after throwing an interception). I'm sure you know how that all turned out.

#6 I think it's perfectly normal for fans to want a QB that is better than "not horrible" without race being an issue. You know perfectly well that a fantastic defense and an easy schedule helped that team significantly more than Carter.

#4 Is the only one that has any validity to your argument, and without knowing the exact comments, there will always be morons out there. I certainly am not getting the impression that a significant number of people were against Carter just because he is black.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

And why SHOULD he deserve anything but harsh feelings now that all signs point to his being on either crack or coke?

Again, this has not even been confirmed.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

I certainly am not getting the impression that a significant number of people were against Carter just because he is black.

That would be blatant and overt racism. 21st century racial bias is more sneaky and verbally embedded.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Answer me this: If QC were white, would he still be a Dallas Cowboy?

 

[Kevin Alexander]

If QC were white, would he out of nowhere be labeled a crack addict w/ no substantiating evidence?

Seriously, this IS NOT an "only because he's black" issue. QC was cut because he didn't fit in Parcells system. Some of the overly harsh criticism he's received from the media has been unwarranted because around half the QBs in the league are no better than QC, some of that half are marginally better at the very best. With that being the case, why is QC portrayed in the media as the face of underachievment, and other QBs w/ no better talent (aka Jake Plummer; sorry Scott Merryfield)than QC are given multi-year deals w/ a several million dollar signing bonus?
What would you say accounts for such criticism aimed almost always at QC? Not too long ago, owners around the league didn't think that a black man was fit for the role of QB and leader of their football organizations; much less taking them to the Superbowl. Then along came Doug Williams. After he won the Superbowl for the Redskins in 1988, there was a difference in the way he was received, and the way previous QBs were received. For Williams, there was no picture on the Wheatie box, no "Going to Disney Land" invitation, no endorsements, no nothing. It was almost like the Superbowl never happened. Most here remember that time, and most (whether or not you admit it) know what the deal was back then w/ the media's stand-offish approach to Doug Williams.

For the black superstar athletes today, granted, things have changed much for the better, but it shouldn't be surprising at all when racial bias rears its ugly head once in a while - especially w/ some unresponsible ones in the media.

 

[Frank Grimes]

With Carter's having cleared waivers, the team that might add him now knows that he has failed two drug tests and that the next misstep would result in a four-game suspension (ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli has confirmed that Carter spent time at a drug rehabilitation facility within the past 18 months).

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1855969

It certainly doesn't seem like the accusations were false. I certainly feel that if QC were white, the results would be exactly the same. Now please answer my question.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Michael Jordan was on a Wheaties Box in 1988 , and to my recollection the whole "I'm going to Disneyland" thing started with Aikman in the early 90's.

Some of the overly harsh criticism he's received from the media has been unwarranted because around half the QBs in the league are no better than QC, some of that half are marginally better at the very best.

I don't quite understand what you're saying here, but going by QB rating, only 6 faired worse than QC amongst starting QB's, and one of them is white and DEFINITELY considered an underachiever:
http://www.nfl.com/stats/leaders/NFL/PRAT/2003/regular

 

[Scott Merryfield]

why is QC portrayed in the media as the face of underachievment, and other QBs w/ no better talent (aka Jake Plummer; sorry Scott Merryfield)than QC are given multi-year deals w/ a several million dollar signing bonus?

Let's see... Cleveland cut #1 overall draft pick Tim Couch last year, San Diego dumped #2 overall draft pick Ryan Leaf after only a few seasons, St. Louis said goodbye to former league MVP Kurt Warner after last season. San Diego is giving up on Drew Brees after only two seasons. It seems to me that teams cut QBs that are playing mediocre football all the time. And in the above players' situations, none of the players had any drug issues (although Leaf certainly acted like he was on something ).

Other QBs who are on the hot seat to produce this season or face being replaced next offseason include Joey Harrington, Tommy Maddox, and Drew Bledsoe -- and I'm sure there are others (the mess at QB in Miami, for example).

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Speaking of QB messes, it just goes from bad to worse to worst to hidious in San Diego. Talks between the Chargers and Philip Rivers have broken off, and now the Chargers are threatening to take money off of their original offer. Philip Rivers actually flew back to North Carolina from the San Diego area because of the breakdown.

Perhaps Eli Manning was right about that whole organization.

I'm glad to have some form of football back, but the Hall of Fame game is still a reminder that it isn't really back for another month.

 

[Frank Grimes]

I don't think San Diego is the problem in this situation. The guy should be getting #4 money, yet they offered him more than even Gallery, the #2 pick is getting. I respect their decision to stand firm here and if Rivers is foolish enough to hold out all season, it will cost him dearly.

 

[Chris]

You know though, unlike Leaf, Drew Brees never really got a chance in San Diego. The leash was so tight that while others were making mistakes and people said "eh, they are a rook" he didn't get that.. and he would get pulled in and out of games.. besides which, he had no passing corp, etc.

I'm not saying he was destined to be a great quarterback, I'm just saying in San Diego, he didn't get much of a chance.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I don't think San Diego is the problem in this situation. The guy should be getting #4 money, yet they offered him more than even Gallery, the #2 pick is
getting. I respect their decision to stand firm here and if Rivers is foolish enough to hold out all season, it will cost him dearly.

You are assuming that the report out of the chargers camp which is that they offered him more money than Larry Fitzgerald is actually true, and given that this is the Chargers we're talking about I will not assume that it is true. It could be, it could not be, but the agent for Rivers disputes that claim.

If I'm the Chargers, and I've got the Eli thing over my head as it is, I make damn sure this guy is in camp on time, and I'm not letting the negotiations drag in to August. This guy is supposed to be the QB of the future in San Diego (that's 3 in 6 years) and now he's holding out and history is not kind to QB's that are holding out. You've basically got a lame duck coach, who reportedly told Manning's people that he was a lame duck coach, and you've got an organization that has seemingly not been able to get this stuff right for years now, and so I'm actually more inclined to split the blame something like 65 percent Chargers fault, 35 percent Rivers fault, and even that might be generous.

Speaking of Robert Gallery, his contract is structured in a very interesting way.

In year 1 of the deal his base salary is $13 million, which means that he is now the highest paid Oakland Raider (for this season). He has virtually no signing bonus at all.

His salary in year 2 is something like $325,000 and years 3 and 4 see $325,000 raises each season. Then in year 5 the salary is back up in to the $13 million range and the last 2 years of the contract both call for him to make more than $16 million.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Cowboys might seak money from Carter I hope this is the last thing I mention about Quincy Carter for awhile, its not like say if the Eagles cut Donavin McNabb or something, it is Quincy Carter afterall.

Redskins RT Jon Jansen may be lost for year with Ruptured Achilles' tendon this is a big blow if he's not the best offensive linemen they have he's the second best, and this will surely bring up that time honored discussion of the meaning of preseason games and whether we should cut out a few of them to try and minumize this sort of thing.

Raiders defensive captain Harris lost for 3 to 6 weeks with knee injury I hope its only 3, Oakland is already thin at LB as it is, and this won't make things any better, plus they were expecting big things from him in Rob Ryan's scheme.

 

[Jim_F]

If the officials are going to enforce the illegal contact rule as they say, I can only hope that they'll do the same for OPI. I've watched receivers make a career of it, and it's just not good football as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Losing Jansen really hurts Washington. Gibbs has always been known for having quality offensive lines as the cornerstone of his offenses. Jansen was a very good tackle and will be difficult to replace.

and this will surely bring up that time honored discussion of the meaning of preseason games and whether we should cut out a few of them to try and minumize this sort of thing.

I really think the league could get by with 2-3 preseason games. It will not eliminate these preseason injuries, but it would reduce them. Of course, it used to be much worse. I remember the days of 6 preseason games. Now, that was torture!

It was great to see the NFL back on TV last night (and in HD, too!), but it sure was an ugly game -- just what you would expect after only a week of training camp. The crowd even game a sarcastic cheer in the third quarter when the two teams managed to complete a play without a penalty flag.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I was quickly reminded why I try NOT to watch preseason football. It's usually terrible. I only (mercifully) watched the first half. Losing Jansen is a big deal. But I guarantee the NFL would NOT cut preseason games unless they ADD regular season games.

And it's a rough game. Take away preseason, and there might be MORE injuries during regular season.

The Skins won, as I expected, merely because their depth at QB is decisive in a preseason game

Still, a month away. I'm smiling

Take care,
Chuck