“I don’t think it’s about skin color” - NFL analyst gives contrarian opinion on Lamar Jackson’s struggles
Lamar Jackson has a style of play that has caught a lot of criticism lately, especially after the departure of wide receiver Marquis “Hollywood” Brown. The fact that Jackson is consistently the lead rusher for the Baltimore Ravens tells you all you need to know about the passing game. Or lack thereof.
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Former NFL quarterback and football analyst Chris Simms took to his show Chris Simms Unbuttoned with a rather controversial view on Jackson and his particular style of play.
“To me, you know, again this, it's an interesting conversation. Lamar is going to continue to get some sort of hate a little bit, right? Because the league and people who evaluate football are not sold that you can win a Super Bowl playing that style of football with that style quarterback, yeah."
Simms then argued that the criticism that Jackson gets isn't due to his race. This is contrary to the opinion of some others.
"(It) has nothing to do with black or white, cuz I know, Lamar, even in the shop, he kind of piggybacked off a comment of like, you know, there's still a stigma on the black quarterback. And he said there is, and, like, I agree with that to a degree, there's no stigma on Dak Prescott or Patrick Mahomes, or Russell Wilson. So that's where I want to say no, that's not true."
The analyst reiterated his stand.
"Yeah, that's not true. There's no stigma on them, because they play a style of football that we know can win. In the pocket decisions, big time throws, all of that. Yep. Lamar plays a style that we still haven't seen when more than one playoff game. And that's questionable. So that's where it's questionable. That's where I'd say I want to push back and I don't think it's about skin color."
"I don't think the league's going, 'Oh, we don't like black quarterbacks'. I think they're going, ‘Oh, we're not sure about quarterbacks that play this style football, we can win, right?’ And unfortunately, or fortunately, however you want to say it, most of the quarterbacks that do that are black quarterbacks, because they're usually more athletic”
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Lamar Jackson's injury last year may be first of many for the running quarteback
What Simms is saying about Lamar Jackson is that the running quarterback has not fared well in the NFL over the years. Whether it be Michael Vick or Robert Griffin III, this style of quarterback play leads to injuries and shortened careers over playoff wins.
How he said it, on the other hand, could lead to some backlash. The wording in his comments about Lamar Jackson could be construed as slightly insulting and subtly racist. For future analysis, the talk show host may want to choose his words a little better.