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Stewart, I have an issue I'd like you to address. Continually, people keep saying that Troy Smith reminds them of Seneca Wallace, Tee Martin, Charlie Ward and other athletic quarterbacks who didn't make it at the next level. Granted, Troy is very athletic, but he has developed as a pure passer so much in the past year that to mention him with the likes of the players I mentioned earlier is an insult to his development.
-- Jeff Bell, Broadview Heights, Ohio
C'mon -- there couldn't possibly be anyone making those kind of comparisons.
Is it just me, or are there striking similarities between 2006 Troy Smith and 1993 Charlie Ward?
-- Jay Horton, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
OK ... I stand corrected.
Is Troy Smith the next Charlie Ward, Brad Banks, Eric Crouch, Joe Hamilton or Michael Robinson?
-- Bill, Washington Township, N.J.
Dear lord. I guess this just goes to show that the age-old bias against black quarterbacks is alive and well. Honestly, can you think of any other characteristic whatsoever that Troy Smith holds in common with Seneca Wallace or Michael Robinson?
Now before everybody jumps all over me for playing the "race card," let me specify that I'm talking strictly about football here. I'm not suggesting that anyone who compares Troy Smith to Seneca Wallace is a racist. But when it comes to football, there remains a significant section of the population -- both among fans and, more disturbingly, higher-ups within the sport -- who hold on to the stereotype that black quarterbacks are runners first, passers second. That's what Smith was when he first came on the scene two years ago, and I guess there are people out there who've held on to that notion -- undoubtedly the same people who said Vince Young would never make it in the NFL -- despite the fact Smith ran for a whopping 233 yards this season while finishing as the nation's fourth-rated passer for a second straight year.
I was watching a replay of the Ohio State-Michigan game a couple weeks ago, and Kirk Herbstreit made the most valid NFL quarterback comparison I've heard in regards to Smith: Drew Brees. They're of similar height, both played in shotgun-spread offenses in college, both know how to use their feet to buy more time in the pocket and both are extremely patient passers adept at going through their progressions and finding the open receiver. And I'm guessing the only reason you don't hear that comparison more often is because Brees is white.