Being a quarterback requires more than being able to throw a football through the middle of a tire from 20 yards away. Successful quarterbacks seem to share some common traits, generally rolled up under the broad category known as "leadership."
There have been plenty of great black quarterbacks in both college and the pros who have had all the characteristics you'd ever want in a QB: Doug Williams, Warren Moon, Donovan McNabb, the Seahawks' Russell Wilson today (one of the top QBs in the league, IMO).
Could Winston develop into a great leader? Sure. Does he demonstrate all those characteristics now? Nope.
This knee-jerk reaction to any criticism of anyone who happens to be black seems somewhat -- jaundiced.
IMO, etc.
And yet we heard these same criticisms about the quarterbacks you mention. These same lines come up EVERY TIME a black quarterback comes along. But I'm the one with the knee-jerk reaction...
And getting back to the original topic, Duckland is not so happy tonight!
Now will those same posters blame Mariota totally for their loss tonight like they did Winston when his team lost? Will they say he's not a leader because he didn't rally his team when their spirits were down? Was he exhibiting a champion's heart when he hung his head on the sideline while his team still had a chance? Was he making "bad decisions" that cost them the game? Was he selfishly trying to win the game by himself? Do you think Mariota works hard enough? After all, he looked very tired in the fourth quarter. To paraphrase a poster here, If he worked as hard as you claim and was as great as you claim, (Oregon) would have absolutely dominated their opponent. But they didn't.
If you were fair minded you would say all of these things about Mariota just like you did against Winston. And you would be wrong again. I don't think these things apply to either of them. I think of college football players as kids. I try to be objective and not be too critical of kids. They still have the capacity to improve.
I think Mariota is a wonderful football player. I just don't think he's as good as Winston. You were so eager to show how stellar Mariota was and what a bum Winston was, you went overboard and lost all objectivity. We all got to see his flaws and weaknesses in this game. When you make the pronouncements about how much better he is than Winston, remember to compare what their teams achieved. Winston, unlike Mariota led his team to two undefeated regular seasons. He also led his team to a national championship, which Mariota was unable to do.