Introduction

Recently, Donovan McNabb sat down for an interview with James Brown and made some controversial comments. Basically, what he said was that African-American Quarterbacks have to do a "little extra" because of their skin color.

Well, there's one position where I think the minority has to do a lot extra because of their skin color.

White running backs, nearly extinct in the upper echelon of football, face strong opposition from the earliest stages and a strongly held belief that they simply can't play the position. All that may be about to change...

A Little History

Shortly before the NFL draft this season I wrote a little piece about this phenomenon. It was titled "Position Available: White's Need Not Apply" and focused on the story of a prospective white running back named Brian Leonard.

Over the course of the article I discussed the anomalous game of Brock Forsey against the Cardinals and the questions that followed (including, "Is it surprising you came out and had a great game and you're white?").

I also talked about how, according to Tony Dungy, white's are discouraged from a young age from pursuing the "skill positions" (RB, WR, CB) and funneled into more appropriate positions.

Finally, I concluded that Brian Leonard, despite his size, skills, stats, speed, and toughness, would face a strong current against him because of his race. I don't think it can be denied that to be a white running back you have to be truly special.

During my research I was very discouraged about his chances. Most sites agreed that he should be shifted to full-back despite running a 4.49 40 (Reggie Bush ran 4.38, Adrian Peterson ran 4.40, and Marshawn Lynch ran 4.46) and stating he preferred to be a running back. I thought he would surely be drafted as a full-back, if at all, and never get a real shot in the NFL; all because he was white.

Current Events

But that all changed today. I recalled that he had been drafted by the Rams in the second round but also that he had been drafted as a full-back. Besides, no matter how good he was I seriously doubted he could supplant Steven Jackson. Then Steven Jackson went and got hurt.

Now, the Rams are likely to elevate their number two running back into the starting slot. And that number two running back is, of course, Brian Leonard.

This development is stunning and quite unbelievable. I honestly didn't know how to react when I learned that Brian Leonard would likely start this Sunday at running back. I thought it was a joke or a dream maybe even a Pepsi-induced hallucination. But, nay, it appears the Rams are seriously preparing to launch us into a brave new era in the NFL; an era in which franchise black quarterbacks are handing the ball off to elite white running backs.

Great White Hope

Now, Leonard's not going to have an easy task this Sunday. He's going up against the number 8 rush defense in the league and a team that is sitting atop the NFC. The Cowboys are sure to key on struggling QB Marc Bulger and will be looking to improve to 4-0.

Brian Leonard will face a determined defense Sunday and a group of guys determined not to let a white running back do well against them. We have yet to really see if he's capable of doing the things he did in college in the NFL. And I'm not sure Leonard has had enough experience to be truly prepared for Sunday and I don't think he's going to set the world on fire, at least not yet.

But he has brought his "Leonard Leap" to the NFL in the preseason:

I'm really torn this Sunday. On the one hand, I'd love to see Leonard do really well this Sunday just to put a monkey wrench in people's perceptions. On the other hand, the Rams are playing the Cowboys and I, therefore, would love to see them completely crushed.

But even if Leonard isn't successful this Sunday I think there is still one up and coming running back who could give white people everywhere reason for hope:

Conclusion

Are we going to see this stereotype torn down before our eyes on Sunday? I seriously doubt it. I think we'll see Leonard struggle in his first start against a pretty good run defense but his struggles will not be because he's white.

Will we see a day when both Brian Leonard and Sam McGuffie are starting in the NFL? Will we see a day when white running backs are as prosperous as they once were (post-integration I mean)? I don't know. But be sure and tune in on Sunday because even if we don't see those barriers torn down, we're going to see a little crack form in them, and then it's only a matter of time.

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Introduction

Forget the fact that it's now afternoon. I think a good name for this column (which I plan to make weekly) is the The Morning After, just has a nice ring to it.

Last night the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Chicago Bears in what many considered to be a potential NFC Championship preview. Afterwards, the Bears were left wondering who exactly they are and how much longer Coach Smith will stand behind Rex Grossman.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys offense came alive in the second half and Tony Romo demonstrated a poise that many critics felt he didn't have. Terrell Owens lit up the Bears and Jason Witten continued to be one of the toughest Tight End's in the league. Finally, Marion Barber III showed he deserves to be the Cowboys number one running back and punished the Bears defense.

First Half

This game was really a story of two halves, with the first half being a defense slug fest.

Before the game there was a lot of talk about how the Cowboys were going to kick away from Devin Hester. To me, it sounded like a good strategy, and the Cowboys employed it early; the opening kickoff sailed out of bounds.

Then the Bears defense came on during the Cowboys' first series. They sacked Tony Romo and the quarterback struggled early. It looked as if Romo's critics were right and that his image was bloated by facing weak opponents. The scariest defense in the league had finally brought the young "gunslinger" back to earth.

By half time, the score was 3-3 and neither team's offense was clicking. Both quarterbacks had been intercepted without throwing a touchdown and the Cowboys had only 18-yards of rushing offense.

Then in the second half, the Cowboy came alive and put up the most points on the Bears since 2004. And the Bears have to be thinking it's finally time to take the crown off of Grossman and hand it over to Griese.

Nothing Special

The first key to the Cowboys victory was limiting Devin Hester. They changed their strategy and began actually kicking to the phenomenal returner. But the coverage was near perfect and Hester was frustrated.

He muffed one kick and was striped on another. He had to fair catch a couple and did nothing of note all game. The Cowboys punter, Mat McBriar, used a special kind of kick to maximize hand time and allow his coverage team to get down the field.

Nick Folk also helped matters by getting some good hang time and booming his kickoffs to within the 5.

Pay the Man

Tony Romo is the real deal. It's time the Cowboys pay him and lock him up long term. He showed tremendous poise and recognition. He dodged a great defense and picked it apart. There's no question now as to what kind of a quarterback he is.

Tony Romo sparkled against a great defense and inspired hope in the offense. And he did so while still missing his number-two wide receiver, Terry Glenn. If he keeps this up he'll be headed back to another Pro Bowl and maybe the Cowboys will be headed to the Super Bowl.

Rex Grossman

Rex is not the Bears quarterback. He's terrible. Enough is enough. He's so bad he makes Roy Williams look good in coverage. It's time for the Bears to accept that he simply isn't he answer and hand the reins over to Brian Griese.

The Bears can maybe groom Kyle Orton but they've definitely got to give up on Rex Grossman. The Bears should see if they can pull a Cleveland and see if they can't trade Grossman for a late pick. I mean, if Seattle would take Frye there's got to be a team that will take Grossman.

Marion Barber III

This guy is a stud. A complete contrast to either of the other two major running backs in this game (Cedric Benson and Julius Jones). Barber doesn't have the break away speed of an elite running back. What he does have is toughness and intensity and that makes up for it.

He will push the pile every time and he doesn't bounce backwards. Barber smashed up the Bears in the late parts of the game and broke off a 54-yard run when just trying to run out the clock. He also swatted Adam Archuleta aside for another TD.

Meanwhile, Cedric Benson continues to make the Bears look foolish for trading away Thomas Jones. Benson had a total of 46 yards on 16 attempts (2.9 yards a carry with a long of 12 yards).

Granted the Cowboys are fairly good team against the run, a number one running back should still put up better numbers than that. Especially on a team with Rex Grossman under center. Trading Jones now looks like an even greater mistake than it did when the trade went down.

Cowboys Defense

Anthony Spencer, the Cowboys first round pick, got his first sack. DeMarcus Ware got two sacks. Anthony Henry got two interceptions. This defense is starting to click.

Terence Newman returned after missing the first two games, and while he didn't have much impact today, his presence will help as the season continues.

While the defense played against an anemic offense, and the secondary still struggled. However, each week the Cowboys' defense has been doing the little things better. They seem to be getting more comfortable in this new scheme and their play making is up.

If they continue to develop and improve they could do some damage once Newman is back to full strength and Ellis finally returns. If those two come back near 100% then they could catapult this defense towards the top and give the Cowboys a truly great team.

Conclusion

This game was really a game of contrasts. Tony Romo shined while Rex Grossman faded. Marion Barber hit the Bears' D in the mouth while Cedric Benson was quiet. Terrel Owens dominated while Muhsin Muhammad is still wondering why he left Carolina.

The Cowboys demonstrated they are one of the best teams in the NFC (if not the best) and showed maybe those Super Bowl prognosticators aren't crazy. Meanwhile, the loss of confidence was evident all over the Bears' faces. Even the defense surrendered in this game and you knew no one in that locker room believes in Rex Grossman anymore (maybe not even Grossman himself). If the Bears don't start Griese next week, then Smith should be fired immediately.

In the end, what should've been a close game turned into a blow out. And the Cowboys showed how unpredictable the NFC still is.

Note:

Donovan McNabb (21/26, 381 yards, 4 TD's, 0 Int's), Kevin Curtis (11 Recs, 221 yards, 3 TD's). What a difference a week makes. McNabb looked good against the Lions and so did Curtis, and put to rest all this "controversy" from the past week. And my favorite part of this whole thing is that he did it with a white wide receiver.

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This blog is a response to SouthernCheeseHead's Is There Truly an America's Team Anymore? post.

Introduction

First, let me say this is in no way a shot at SouthernCheeseHead or her post. In fact, I think it's a well written post and a good point. It just got me thinking about this whole "America's Team" thing and how much I like applying it to my Dallas Cowboys.

But I've always wondered why the Cowboys adopted the title. I mean, they didn't coin it. It was coined for them after they lost Super Bowl XIII to the Steelers. I think part of the reason it was coined was because the Steelers were the dominant team of that decade. They were the dynasty and we all know how much people hate dynasties. The Cowboys seemed like the only true and consistent challenger to the Steelers dominance so, I feel, that's part of the reason they were so embraced.

So, I began to do a little research and theorizing on why exactly the Cowboys are called "America's Team" and I've stumbled upon some interesting results.

In the Beginning

Way back in 1960 when the Dallas Cowboys were being born there was one man loathe to allow them into the league. His name was George Preston Marshall and he was the owner of the Washington Redskins.

He opposed the move because up to that point the Redskins were the only team representing the southern United States. They were "Dixie's Team." This monopoly was something Marshall was not in a hurry to relinquish and he had been key to stopping Lamar Hunt's initiative to start a team in Dallas the previous year. Then the claim was the NFL couldn't afford to "oversaturate" the market and that suited Marshall just fine.

However, two men by the names of Clint Murchison Jr. and Bedford Wynne saw his opposition coming. In a sly move they purchased the right to the Redskins' fight song "Hail to the Redskins." The song epitomized the Redskins' status as "Dixie's Team" and was a critical marketing tool for Marshall. When Murchison and Wynne threatened to stop allowing him to use it Marshall caved and voted for expansion.

1960 and Onward

After they were started, the Cowboys quickly sought ways to maximize their exposure. And they had to.

The Redskins had entrenched themselves since the 30's as the team of the South and that loyalty would be hard to shake off. Also, the Cowboys were in a city with another pro football team. After Hunt's NFL proposal was shot down he founded a whole new league, called the AFL, and started a team in Dallas (called the Texans).

The Texans did better than the Cowboys during  those early seasons so the Cowboys had to find other interesting ways to gain attention.

Beginning in 1966 the Dallas Cowboys began hosting a game every Thanksgiving Day, making sure a nation wide audience saw them. This allowed them to gain exposure in regions that didn't have NFL team's and helped tremendously in their effort to gain popularity.

Besides that exposure (which was shared by the Detroit Lions) the Cowboys were also extremely successful. Beginning in 1966 the Cowboys had a record 20 consecutive winning seasons. Their "Doomsday Defense" was feared throughout the league and their high powered offense, lead by scrambler Roger Staubach, made them exciting to watch.

Tex Schramm had been hired as the Cowboys President and General Manager and had helped shape the team. He was responsible for hiring coach Tom Landry and negotiating the deal to televise the Cowboys annual on Thanksgiving Day. Another innovation was his creation of the Dallas Cowboys' Cheerleaders.

Cheerleaders were common in the league, but in the 1970's Schramm changed everything. He had a squad of attractive, athletic women train to be a professional squad (at the time most groups were formed from local highschoolers) to combine sex appeal and intense choreography.

This drew nationwide attention and garnered the DCC many television appearances. They went to South Korea with the USO and later began publishing their annual swimsuit calendar.

The squad even inspired a pornographic movie in the era of Deep Throat, called Debbie Does Dallas, which only helped add to their popularity. All these factors drew attention to the squad and, by extension, the Dallas Cowboys.

"America's Team"

The term America's Team has been used for a lot of teams. But not quite embraced it like the Dallas Cowboys have.

After their 1978 loss to the Steelers, NFL Films was putting together a highlight video of the Dallas Cowboys season. They wanted a unique handle and had noticed that anywhere the Cowboys went, a large crowd of supporters was sure to be. For whatever reason, they saw this as somewhat of a novelty and so called the Cowboys "America's Team."

The following season, against the objection of Tom Landry, the team began using it for themselves and the rest is history. I believe Tex Schramm had something to do with the embracing of this title since he knew it was a great marketing ploy.

America's Team is catchy and was another tool in Schramm's arsenal. It contrasted the old claims of the Redskins as "Dixie's Team" and allowed the Cowboys to separate themselves from regional loyalty (as dumb as it might sound, it probably made it easier for non-Texans to swallow being fans of the Cowboys).

Conclusion

Do I think there is still an America's Team? No, no I don't. The Packers have always been at least as, if not more, popular as the Cowboys. Same for the Steelers and sometimes even teams like the Raiders and Bears. But the Cowboys have embraced it and used it as a brilliant tool in their marketing team. No matter who you are and what your feelings may be when you hear "America's Team" you instantly picture that blue star and think of the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys have done a good job of making themselves one of the most loved and hated teams in the league. No matter who you are, you have an opinion about them. They are one of the most popular team's in the country, and maybe even the world, and every American pays attention to them.

The term has nothing to due with popularity just with marketing and for that reason they have been and always will be "America's Team."

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The Good

Last Sunday the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 37-20. In the Fourth Quarter Tony Romo hooked up with Terrell Owens for a touchdown. The wide receiver quickly dashed around the goal post, lifted the ball to his face, and briefly mimed filming the Dolphins' sideline.

Afterwards, the referees threw the flag and penalized the Cowboys 15-yards. Wade Phillips visibly disapproved of Owens' actions and so did the league, fining him $7,500 yesterday.

This is just ridiculous. Terrell Owens did an excellent satire of the biggest story in sports. All Owens did was bring a little levity to the whole situation and hopefully help us move on from this scandal. Owens' celebration was awesome and I think he showed he is a very cerebral player.

What was even better was his response to the fine and the NFL stating that he violated their rule of using the ball as a prop. He said he, "misinterpreted the rule." Brilliant! I hope T.O. keeps having fun with his celebrations and keeps his sense of humor. After all, it is just a game.

The Bad

The Juice is back in jail again. How can a man be so dumb? He knows there are plenty of people out to get him and yet he still does this. While it seems like he was set up, he still had to barge into the hotel room and threaten those within.

Simpson has been a train wreck ever since he allegedly killed his ex-wife and fled from cops lo those many years ago. He moved to Florida to keep the Goldman family from getting his pension and his house but he just bounced from one disaster to the next.

Of course, the latest nightmare was his authoring a book about how he "hypothetically" would've killed his ex-wife and Ron Goldman that night. He said he wrote it for the money, but would somebody still searching for the "real" killer do such a thing?

Now, O.J.'s in jail in Las Vegas and facing a potential life sentence. Regardless of his guilt or innocence I am shocked by his stupidity. If I had come within a knife's edge of a murder conviction I wouldn't be caught within 2 miles of a deadly weapon. I mean, if you hang out with guys with guns in a public place, bad things are going to happen.

While it seems like he's been set up I really have no sympathy for him. If he wasn't smart enough to avoid these situations, especially considering his past, then I don't know if he should be allowed back into society. O.J., if you get away with this, start living in a commune or something and stay far, far away from any of your old friends.

The Ugly

Isiah Thomas' comments were just plain ugly. Why? Because they're tinged with racism. Saying that certain people can only say certain words based on the color of their skin is ludicrous (however true it may be).

Especially when it's a word like "bitch." I would think that no woman would appreciate being called a bitch by anybody, regardless of race. But Isiah disagrees. In his humble opinion, a black man can feel free to call a black woman a bitch while a white man may not. Why? Not because the word itself is offensive but because is offensive but because of the color of their skin.

I don't know if it's just me, but why are we still talking in racial terms? I mean, why do we just accept that we're so different because of our skin? Why not just get past this and say there is no distinction between white and black men calling a black woman a bitch, in either case it's just wrong.

Isiah Thomas is dead wrong on this one. Certain offensive words aren't acceptable simply because of skin color. And until we stop believing they are then we'll never go any farther than we've already come.

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Spygate

I guess I would be remiss if I did an NFL post and didn't comment on this whole Patriots' spying situation.

First of all, to all those who say things like, "it doesn't really give them an advantage" or "everybody else is doing" just please stop talking. If it didn't give them an advantage they wouldn't bother doing it (especially since it's illegal) and we know the Patriots did it we simply strongly believe other teams do, that's a huge difference. Just because a lot of people drive drunk doesn't mean you don't punish the people you catch.

The Patriots seem to have amassed an extensive library of tapes on nearly every defense coordinator in the league. The theory is that Belichick compiled video files in case these defensive coordinators joined their division. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen.

The theory that they were taping the Jets defensive signals to use later in the game I think is unrealistic. The time it would take to process those signals and mesh them with game tape so you know what those signals lead to would be immense. The Patriots were taping those signals to give them an idea of what the Jets would do later in the season, at the least, and in the playoffs, at the best.

The punishment doled out was also unfair. The League should have suspended Belichick from the Patriots' playoff run. Not only keeping him off the sidelines but barring him from any contact with the Patriots during the playoff run, including the Super Bowl. If, by some miracle, they didn't make the playoffs this year, then they should've suspended him for all of next season (including the playoffs if the Patriots make it next year).

That way Belichick and this crop of Patriots would've been punished not the guys who come on board in the next couple seasons. Also, it would've taken away Belichick when he would be most important to the team and rob him from the experience of winning another Super Bowl with his team (and I understand he's already done it three times, but that would hurt).

Cowboys Sign Tank Johnson

Something a little closer to home. I think this is a great move. Granted he won't come in until Week 9 but that's when the Cowboys will be looking for some fresh legs. They should be in the thick of things then and Tank Johnson could give the defense a needed boost.

Is he a risk? Absolutely, but they signed a very short term contract so that they can basically rent him this season. If he continues on his development and doesn't cause problems he could be a real asset for the Cowboys. If he doesn't, then they just cut him and experience a minor cap hit. When he aren't desperate is precisely the time to take a gamble and that's exactly what the Cowboys are doing.

Falcons Sign Leftwich

They had to do this, absolutely had to. Joey Harrington was doing poorly, beyond poorly, and the Falcons need something to get excited about. Leftwich is a solid contributor and I think will help the Falcons to actually win a couple of games this season.

Not only will he help with their on field issues he'll also help with their image in the local community. Byron Leftwich is black, in case you didn't know, and the Falcons have a huge black fan base that felt alienated by the whole Michael Vick situation. If you don't believe me, maybe you'll believe the Nation of Islam blog on sports.

But another black QB says Leftwich will face more criticism from the media simply because of the color of his skin...

Donovan McNabb says Black QB's Face Greater Criticism

McNabb stated that because he's black the media picks out his faults even when he's successful. While that may be true, I think it has more to do with his struggles of late and his frustration with his abilities being called into question.

One can't help but question the Eagles as a whole, and Donovan McNabb by extension, when you consider that this upcoming weekend the undefeated Detroit Lions will march into Philadelphia to face the winless Eagles.

McNabb may have a point but coming from him it sounds like sour grapes. When he was going to Pro Bowl after Pro Bowl and leading the Eagles to the NFC Championship every year there was Hall-of-Fame talk, now that he's struggling he's facing the criticism that any other QB would.

O.J. Finally Going to Jail

So, Simpson finally did something stupid enough that the authorities could arrest him and throw him away for a long time. Apparently, Simpson was pissed that somebody else was selling his merchandise and recruited some buddies to take it back.

They broke into a hotel room, allegedly, with guns drawn to forcible seize material Simpson claimed belonged to him. Somehow, the website TMZ.com acquired a tape of the incident and the recording doesn't cast O.J in a good light.

The case against Simpson appears pretty solid (at this early stage) but judging by the look on his face he's not too worried. Also, the previous case that appeared pretty solid against him failed miserably. Maybe Simpson will get off again and escape prison. But something tells me the authorities will do everything they can to nail Simpson.

Conclusion

Well, that's about it. It doesn't cover everything that happened this week in the NFL but these are the stories that caught my eye. If something else caught your eye leave some and let me know about anything you agree/disagree with. Peace.