White men can’t jump, white men can’t run, but both might be misnomers. With eight seconds to go in the first half of the 2021 NFC Championship game, the Packers played perplexing defense as Tom Brady found Scotty Miller for a 39-yard touchdown.
Joining The Pat McAfee Show on Monday, hall-of-fame wide receiver Cris Carter said race had something to do with Miller winning the race to the end zone. If Miller wasn’t white, the defensive back would have given the Bucs wide receiver more respect.
“My man Scotty Miller – white guy,” Carter said. “He’s white. I’m black. I’m going to say this. The defensive back underestimated that white kid. If that had been Antonio Brown he would have been backed off of him. Never disrespect the talent level of anyone in the National Football League. The only way they can hurt you is if he gets behind you, and he underestimated the wheels on my man.”
“He disrespected the Caucasian, man,” Carter added.
McAfee and his co-host AJ Hawk didn’t disagree with Carter, both recalling similar instances with white wide receiver teammates. During his time with the Colts, McAfee said the team always reacted with surprise when Austin Collie would beat his defender downfield. Hawk similarly remembered Jordy Nelson didn’t always get the proper respect from defensive backs in Green Bay.
“The DB coach in Green Bay would tell the young guys. Hey, I’m just telling you don’t sleep on Jordy Nelson,” Hawk said. “Back off of him. Do not take him at the line. He’s going to run by you. And Jordy said that was a real thing.”
We’ve established Scotty Miller’s really fast, but I’m still surprised a 43-year-old quarterback can reach someone who runs a 4.3 forty.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
