The Black Quarterback: Running from the Devil
This is an article that has been on my mind for some time. The subject matter originally was Vince Young and race. You know, black quarterback who, in college is a star - make that super nova. But everyone can see that his mechanics are not those of the “prototypical” QB. In the pros he has a great year and appears to be on the verge of revolutionizing the NFL game. Then, when defensive coordinators begin to understand the weaknesses of this quarterback, the following season his stats drop. He can never quite do enough to satisfy his fan base. He walks around the practice field with a tee-shirt that reads, “I am a quarterback,” as if that will justify his existence; something you would never see his white peers do.I read LZ Granderson’s article awhile back on VY and thought, okay, this is a great starting point. But there is more to this story than can be said in a column. And there’s more to the picture of Vince Young and the running quarterback than meets the eye.
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In the 1950’s pro offenses mimicked famed Oklahoma head coach Bud Wilkinson’s split-T offense, where the quarterback was flanked by a halfback and a fullback. However, by 1953 the spread offense arose to take advantage of the Greasy Neal-inspired “Eagle Defense” or the “61″, which is the precursor to the modern Cover-2 or Tampa-2 defense. The spread and the spread with a slot receiver were designed to take advantage of the downfield gap in the 61. This offense required the quarterback to be able to throw accurate passes down the hash marks - seams - of the field. Paul Brown adopted this offense and when his Cleveland Browns became a National Football League team, they dominated the league for five years before defensive coaches developed the 4-3 defense to cover downfield gaps in the spread plus defend against the run.
This continuing cat-and-mouse game between offense and defense effectively made the running quarterback extinct. In his place came the statuesque signal caller who could stand in the pocket with defenders flying around them and wait patiently for a receiver to come open. The famed quarterbacks of this era were Otto Graham, John Unitas, and Y.A. Tittle. While Graham was a reformed single-wing quarterback, the other two were of this new mold of passer who could make every throw and mix the run and the pass in their play-calling with requisite aplomb.
Since 1953 the drop back passer, or pocket passer, has persisted as the prototype for all NFL quarterbacks.
Here, a question relative to Vince Young needs to be asked and answered: What role does the black quarterback play since pro football began to evolve into what it is today?
First, a myth needs to be broken. Outside of Marlon Briscoe, who played quarterback one year - 1968 - for the AFL Denver Broncos, black men who played quarterback in the NFL or the AFL did not hit the ground scrambling. James Harris, Joe Gilliam, Doug Williams, and Warren Moon, the first four black quarterbacks in the NFL were all pocket passers.
Other black quarterbacks who played in the NFL during this period mostly filled backup roles. They included: John Jones from Fisk University (New York Jets - 1975), Carlos Brown (Green Bay 1975 - 1976), Parnell Dickinson from Mississippi Valley State (Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1976), Dave Mays from Texas Southern (Cleveland Browns 1976- 1977 and Buffalo Bills 1978), John Walton from Elizabeth City (Philadelphia Eagles 1976 - 1979), and Vince Evans from USC (Chicago 1978-1983). These quarterbacks too were known more for their skills in the pocket than for their ability to scramble.
Then came Randall Cunningham. And with him came the myth that persists today.
It is important to note that the omission of Cunningham from the Hall of Fame is as close to a criminal offense as can be committed by the journalists with votes. In NFL history only Jim Brown, Y.A. Tittle, Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, and Randall Cunningham have won three MVP awards and other than Favre who will be, all but Cunningham are in the Hall of Fame. And no player other than Cunningham, who won the MVP award in 1988, 1990, and 1998 has, won the award eight years from his previous honor.
Between 1987 and 1990 Cunningham averaged more than 3,000 in passing yards and 24 touchdown passes per season. But he also led the Eagles in rushing in 1987 and 1990. In 1990 Cunningham passed for 3413 yards and tossed 34 TDs. He also rushed for 942 yards, at the time the second-most for a quarterback in NFL history (Bobby Douglass ran for 968 yards in 1968). He led the NFL in passing and was ninth in the league in rushing. No quarterback has before or since had a season like that of Cunningham’s in 1990. Randall Cunningham’s receivers that year? Calvin Williams and Fred Barnett. His tight end was Keith Jackson. The Philadelphia Eagles leading receiver in 1990 was running back Keith Byars with 81 receptions for 819 yards. Jackson was the team’s second-leading receiver with 50 receptions. Williams caught 37 passes, while Barnett caught 36.
Cunningham retired due to injuries after the 1995 season but was called on by the Minnesota Vikings to join their team midway through the 1997 season. In 1998 Cunningham was elevated to the starting role for the Vikes. For the first time in his career Cunningham had stars at wide receiver in Hall of Famer Chris Carter and prolific rookie Randy Moss. However, by this time in his career, Cunningham was a pocket passer only. He responded by throwing for 3704 yards, 34 touchdowns to only 10 interceptions, with an astounding passer rating of 106. The Vikings’ record was 15-1 and but were upset by the Atlanta Falcons in overtime in the NFC championship game.
Despite his unprecedented ability to control a football game with his arm or his feet, Randall Cunningham the runner is the player who is selectively entrenched in the memory of football fans and football writers across the country. The “problem” with Cunningham, in the opinion of most football writers, appears to be that he never led a team to the Super Bowl and obviously, never won a Super Bowl.
What is saddest about the Cunningham saga is that while Randall dominated the highlights, his contemporary, Warren Moon, a classic drop-back passer, was putting up monster numbers with solid, but not exceptional receivers in Houston. Moon and his team, like the Eagles with Cunningham, was known to be a good to great regular season team but a team that never was able to get over the hump. And in this time of quarterbacks receiving too much credit for wins and too much responsibility for losses, Moon and Cunningham were forced to quietly endure “choker” labels despite leading teams that had fatal flaws that were perennially exposed come playoff time.
In the end, though, Moon’s numbers could not be ignored and he was voted into the Hall of Fame. But because there was an inordinate emphasis - and extreme bias - placed on Cunningham’s running ability, Cunningham’s importance to the history of the game he will more than never receive his due - and never be placed alongside other quarterbacks of legend in the Hall.
The Black Quarterback: Running from the Devil - part 2
The Black Quarterback: Running from the Devil - part 3
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Tags: black quarterbacks, NFL, Randall Cunningham, Vince Young, Warren Moon
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