Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 2-9-16

Sports
The African American Quarterback:
There’s A New Era In The NFL
Defense Powers Broncos, Peyton Manning To Super Bowl 50 Win
JAMEIS WINSTON
RUSSELL WILSON
CAM NEWTON
TYROD TAYLOR
TEDDY BRIDGEWATER
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Don’t say quarterback Peyton Manning didn’t tell you ex- actly how the Denver Broncos would win Super Bowl 50.
Manning said, over and over throughout Super Bowl week, that no matter how his right arm felt, no matter how his left foot felt, it has been the Broncos’ bruise-inflicting, quarterback-rattling defense "that got us here, let’s just make that clear."
The Broncos held the Pan- thers' offense to a season-low 10 points and sacked Cam Newton six times in the win.
And much like the rest of their season, Manning had just enough left in his 39-year- old body to keep things in order on offense and give the Bron- cos' defense room to stomp, flex and rumble to a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Sta- dium.
"I'm just glad I'm on the same team as our defense and
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer (An Analysis)
As the curtain falls on the ca- reers of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees, the National Football League is ushering in a new era of quar- terbacks. And, just in case you’re shocked, they’re all African American.
Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo, Jameis Winston in Tampa, Cam Newton in Carolina, Teddy Bridgewater in Min- nesota, and Russell Wilson in Seattle represent a new time in athletics and a new way of playing the game. It’s also the first time in the history of the NFL, five African American quarterbacks were starters.
As a matter of fact, this is just the beginning. There are a group of African American quarterbacks leaving college this year that will make a big impact in the NFL.
Before Marlon Briscoe
and James Harris, if you were an African American quarterback in college, you were converted to either wide receiver or running back in the NFL. Some were also con- verted to defensive backs.
When Doug Williams be- came the first African Ameri- can starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl, and be named MVP, the light came on.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that the white media would target Cam Newton after he was quoted by the As- sociated Press saying, “I’m an African American quarterback that scares people, because they haven’t seen nothing that they can compare me to. Peo- ple are going to judge, and have opinions on things I don’t’ have control over.”
What Newton was refer- ring to is the double standard in the NFL when it comes to Black quarterbacks.
Black quarterbacks aren’t expected to be as smart as their
white counterparts, and they aren’t expected to be leaders. Most sports analysts describe them as athletic and having strong arms, but when they de- scribe their white counter- parts, the terms change to brainy or astute.
No longer is it fine to have a quarterback that just stands there and throws passes. He must now be mobile, and capa- ble of running if the need arises. He must be an athlete, and not just a quarterback.
There are 32 NFL teams, and more than half have never had an African American quar- terback as a starter. Some have never had an African American quarterback on their rosters.
As teams like the Seahawks, Panthers, Bills, and the Bucca- neers continue to have success, the way of thinking must change.
There are too many millions of dollars being generated from the NFL to have it not adapt to a new kind of athlete, and a changing of the guard.
(DEFENSE POWERS #1 AND #2)
glad I don't have to play against them ... No question our de- fense led the way," Manning said.
The victory is the Broncos’ third in the Super Bowl -- it was the team’s record-tying eighth trip -- and ultimately fulfilled a promise Broncos general man- ager John Elway made to Manning in 2012.
Von Miller Wins Super Bowl 50 MVP
The story of the Broncos sea- son was the play of their de- fense so it is no surprise that the story of their Super Bowl 50 victory over the Panthers was their defense as well.
Of equally little surprise is that linebacker Von Miller has been named the Most Valu- able Player of the game.
Miller set up the first touch- down of the game for the Bron- cos when he wrestled the ball out of Cam Newton’s hands during a first quarter sack. The ball skittered into the end zone and Malik Jackson fell on the ball for six points.
Miller then set up their sec- ond and final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter with another strip sack of Newton in the fourth quarter. The Pan- thers were trailing 16-10 at that point in the game and trying to rally for a win, but T.J. Ward recovered the fumble and C.J. Anderson plunged into the
VON MILLER
end zone to put the finishing touches on a 24-10 win.
Miller added another half- sack during the game, which is the last he’ll play for the Bron- cos under his current contract. A franchise tag is all but certain if the Broncos can’t work out a long-term deal with Miller be- fore the deadline, something that might be tough because Miller’s going to want moun- tains of money before putting his name on the dotted line.
Marshawn Lynch Tweets Photo Of Hanging Cleats
For the first time in three years, Seattle Seahawks run- ning back Marshawn Lynch did not play in the Super Bowl.
This time, he might have made his retirement announce- ment Sunday during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 50, which ended with the Denver Broncos beating the Carolina Panthers 24-10.
If Lynch is indeed signaling that he's hanging up his cleats, it should come as no surprise that he did so without words. A source reported earlier Sunday that Lynch has been telling friends he plans to retire. Dur- ing an interview with 710 ESPN Seattle earlier this offseason, general manager John Schneider said he believed Lynch was leaning that way.
MARSHAWN LYNCH
Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was one of Lynch's teammates who took the tweet as an announce- ment that the running back is finished.
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2016