woodbuck27
08-13-2006, 04:53 PM
Posted August 13, 2006
White receivers in NFL becoming scarce
By Dylan B. Tomlinson
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
Marc Boerigter knows he is not like the others.
Boerigter would like to be viewed the same way as the other 11 receivers on the Green Bay Packers training camp roster. He would love to be seen as just another player battling for a roster spot.
But Boerigter is different. He stands out among the other receivers for an obvious reason.
"Why?" Boerigter said with a nervous laugh. "Because I'm white?"
Yes, Boerigter is white. The Packers' other 11 receivers are black. Like anyone else, Boerigter would prefer not to be noticed because of his race. He would rather people identify him with his accomplishments on the field, rather than the color of his skin.
In the NFL, white wide receivers stand out because there are so few of them.
If Boerigter makes the Packers' roster this season, it will be the first time the team has had a white receiver since 2001.
It was five years ago that Bill Schroeder led the Packers with 918 yards and nine touchdowns in 2001. Since then, Brett Favre has completed 1,367 passes, but none of them were to a white wide receiver.
"We're a minority," Schroeder said. "In many ways being a white receiver is kind of like being an African-American golfer. I don't know why it's like that, but that's just the way it is."
Part of the reason is the NFL has fewer white players than ever. Just 25 years ago, 70 percent of the NFL was white. Now, it's 30 percent.
"The league has changed," NFL analyst and former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Cris Collinsworth said on NFL.com. "It's difficult to compare anything now in the NFL to what it was like 25 years ago."
In 1981, Collinsworth was one of four white receivers to play in the Pro Bowl. He joined San Francisco's Dwight Clark, Denver's Steve Watson and Seattle's Steve Largent.
In the past decade, Denver's Ed McCaffrey is the only white receiver to be selected to the Pro Bowl. McCaffrey made it in 1998 and 1999, but in the last six seasons, no white receiver has been selected.
Tennessee Titans receiver Drew Bennett had a Pro Bowl-type season in 2004 when he had 1,247 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he didn't receive an invitation. After that season, he was referred to as "The Best White Receiver in the NFL." It's a tag Bennett doesn't like.
"I guess you always want to be the best at something," Bennett said sarcastically. "I don't control what people say."
In the last five seasons, there have been 105 1,000-yard seasons, but only two of them  Bennett and Indianapolis' Brandon Stokley in 2004  have come from white receivers.
"There are plenty of good, white receivers in the NFL," Bennett said. "I'm not going to get obsessed over stats."
But the statistics can be very telling. Last season, only six white receivers  Bennett, Stokley, St. Louis' Kevin Curtis, Atlanta's Brian Finneran, Carolina's Ricky Proehl and Seattle's Joe Jurevicius  finished among their teams' top three receivers. Curtis led all white receivers with 801 yards and Bennett was the only one to lead his team in receiving.
Packers receivers coach Jimmy Robinson has been coaching receivers for 21 years, including 17 in the NFL. Robinson said there's one simple reason why there are fewer white receivers in the NFL than ever before.
"Obviously, it comes down to talent," Robinson said. "Teams are committed to keeping the guys who are the best ones, regardless of color."
During the 2005 draft one of the players who was causing the most commotion was Matt Jones, a 6-foot-6, 230-pounder who played quarterback at Arkansas.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were so enamored with Jones that they took him with the 21st pick.
When the Jaguars drafted Jones, it was the first time in over a decade a white receiver was taken in the first round.
Packers cornerback Ahmad Carroll remembers when he got burnt by a white receiver during his rookie season in 2004 when the Packers were hosting the Titans on "Monday Night Football." The Packers were torched for three passing touchdowns in the 48-27 loss, but the one play Carroll remembers the most was the 11-yard touchdown pass from Steve McNair to Eddie Berlin.
Berlin is white.
"If I get burned by a white receiver, I'm going to hear about it more than if that's not the case," Carroll said. "Anybody who says otherwise is tripping."
Bennett said he has gotten the sense defenders may actually try harder to make sure they don't get beaten by a white player.
"I think they take me seriously. If you're in this league, you can obviously play," Bennett said. "Now, does it bother them a little more if I burn them for a touchdown? Well, you'd have to ask them that."
Schroeder said during his 11-year NFL career, he rarely got the sense he was being treated any differently on the field because he's white.
"Occasionally, you'd get a young player who might say something, but you'd never get that from a veteran," Schroeder said. "Players in the NFL have too much respect for each other to get wrapped up in something like that."
Packers cornerback Charles Woodson said he would never treat a receiver any differently than another.
"No way," Woodson said. "You can't think that way. I treat every receiver like they're Jerry Rice."Boerigter said he's never felt like he's been treated differently because of his race, but acknowledged there are aspects of being a white receiver that aren't going to go away anytime soon.
"The biggest thing that I think is really funny is the comparisons that people make," Boerigter said. "They always compare us to another white receiver. When I first came into the league, people were comparing me to Ed McCaffrey and Joe Jurevicius. We're always compared to those kinds of guys.
"You're never going to see any of us compared to (a black) receiver."
Boerigter said he doesn't take any of it too seriously. He just wants to go out and do his job as quietly as possible, but he understands as a white receiver he may be scrutinized a bit more.
"I suppose it's funny," Boerigter said. "Guys make jokes about it, me being a white guy. I guess there just aren't that many of us."
Dylan B. Tomlinson writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton. E-mail him at dtomlins@postcrescent.com
Note from a fan (not woodbuck27):
Dylan B. Tomlinson, fire him now. Sun Aug 13, 2006 11:31 am
Someone please fire Dylan Tomlinson for this disgrace of an article.
Way to make it racial buddy.
Your feelings? Anyone? APB might be all over this. Where is APB ?
woodbuck27
White receivers in NFL becoming scarce
By Dylan B. Tomlinson
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
Marc Boerigter knows he is not like the others.
Boerigter would like to be viewed the same way as the other 11 receivers on the Green Bay Packers training camp roster. He would love to be seen as just another player battling for a roster spot.
But Boerigter is different. He stands out among the other receivers for an obvious reason.
"Why?" Boerigter said with a nervous laugh. "Because I'm white?"
Yes, Boerigter is white. The Packers' other 11 receivers are black. Like anyone else, Boerigter would prefer not to be noticed because of his race. He would rather people identify him with his accomplishments on the field, rather than the color of his skin.
In the NFL, white wide receivers stand out because there are so few of them.
If Boerigter makes the Packers' roster this season, it will be the first time the team has had a white receiver since 2001.
It was five years ago that Bill Schroeder led the Packers with 918 yards and nine touchdowns in 2001. Since then, Brett Favre has completed 1,367 passes, but none of them were to a white wide receiver.
"We're a minority," Schroeder said. "In many ways being a white receiver is kind of like being an African-American golfer. I don't know why it's like that, but that's just the way it is."
Part of the reason is the NFL has fewer white players than ever. Just 25 years ago, 70 percent of the NFL was white. Now, it's 30 percent.
"The league has changed," NFL analyst and former Cincinnati Bengals receiver Cris Collinsworth said on NFL.com. "It's difficult to compare anything now in the NFL to what it was like 25 years ago."
In 1981, Collinsworth was one of four white receivers to play in the Pro Bowl. He joined San Francisco's Dwight Clark, Denver's Steve Watson and Seattle's Steve Largent.
In the past decade, Denver's Ed McCaffrey is the only white receiver to be selected to the Pro Bowl. McCaffrey made it in 1998 and 1999, but in the last six seasons, no white receiver has been selected.
Tennessee Titans receiver Drew Bennett had a Pro Bowl-type season in 2004 when he had 1,247 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he didn't receive an invitation. After that season, he was referred to as "The Best White Receiver in the NFL." It's a tag Bennett doesn't like.
"I guess you always want to be the best at something," Bennett said sarcastically. "I don't control what people say."
In the last five seasons, there have been 105 1,000-yard seasons, but only two of them  Bennett and Indianapolis' Brandon Stokley in 2004  have come from white receivers.
"There are plenty of good, white receivers in the NFL," Bennett said. "I'm not going to get obsessed over stats."
But the statistics can be very telling. Last season, only six white receivers  Bennett, Stokley, St. Louis' Kevin Curtis, Atlanta's Brian Finneran, Carolina's Ricky Proehl and Seattle's Joe Jurevicius  finished among their teams' top three receivers. Curtis led all white receivers with 801 yards and Bennett was the only one to lead his team in receiving.
Packers receivers coach Jimmy Robinson has been coaching receivers for 21 years, including 17 in the NFL. Robinson said there's one simple reason why there are fewer white receivers in the NFL than ever before.
"Obviously, it comes down to talent," Robinson said. "Teams are committed to keeping the guys who are the best ones, regardless of color."
During the 2005 draft one of the players who was causing the most commotion was Matt Jones, a 6-foot-6, 230-pounder who played quarterback at Arkansas.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were so enamored with Jones that they took him with the 21st pick.
When the Jaguars drafted Jones, it was the first time in over a decade a white receiver was taken in the first round.
Packers cornerback Ahmad Carroll remembers when he got burnt by a white receiver during his rookie season in 2004 when the Packers were hosting the Titans on "Monday Night Football." The Packers were torched for three passing touchdowns in the 48-27 loss, but the one play Carroll remembers the most was the 11-yard touchdown pass from Steve McNair to Eddie Berlin.
Berlin is white.
"If I get burned by a white receiver, I'm going to hear about it more than if that's not the case," Carroll said. "Anybody who says otherwise is tripping."
Bennett said he has gotten the sense defenders may actually try harder to make sure they don't get beaten by a white player.
"I think they take me seriously. If you're in this league, you can obviously play," Bennett said. "Now, does it bother them a little more if I burn them for a touchdown? Well, you'd have to ask them that."
Schroeder said during his 11-year NFL career, he rarely got the sense he was being treated any differently on the field because he's white.
"Occasionally, you'd get a young player who might say something, but you'd never get that from a veteran," Schroeder said. "Players in the NFL have too much respect for each other to get wrapped up in something like that."
Packers cornerback Charles Woodson said he would never treat a receiver any differently than another.
"No way," Woodson said. "You can't think that way. I treat every receiver like they're Jerry Rice."Boerigter said he's never felt like he's been treated differently because of his race, but acknowledged there are aspects of being a white receiver that aren't going to go away anytime soon.
"The biggest thing that I think is really funny is the comparisons that people make," Boerigter said. "They always compare us to another white receiver. When I first came into the league, people were comparing me to Ed McCaffrey and Joe Jurevicius. We're always compared to those kinds of guys.
"You're never going to see any of us compared to (a black) receiver."
Boerigter said he doesn't take any of it too seriously. He just wants to go out and do his job as quietly as possible, but he understands as a white receiver he may be scrutinized a bit more.
"I suppose it's funny," Boerigter said. "Guys make jokes about it, me being a white guy. I guess there just aren't that many of us."
Dylan B. Tomlinson writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton. E-mail him at dtomlins@postcrescent.com
Note from a fan (not woodbuck27):
Dylan B. Tomlinson, fire him now. Sun Aug 13, 2006 11:31 am
Someone please fire Dylan Tomlinson for this disgrace of an article.
Way to make it racial buddy.
Your feelings? Anyone? APB might be all over this. Where is APB ?
woodbuck27