Tag: NFL

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The Great Black Hope with Author Professor Lou Moore

Doug WIlliams, Vince Evans, and the Making of the Black Quarterback

In this special episode of Running It Back, Mike Palmer and Tarlin Ray sit down with Professor Lou Moore, author of The Great Black Hope: Doug Williams, Vince Evans, and the Making of the Black Quarterback. You heard that right, we’re running it back WITH OUR FIRST GUEST EVER! Don’t miss it!!

With Lou’s expert guidance, we delve into the rich history of black quarterbacks in the NFL, focusing on Doug Williams and Vince Evans. Lou shares insights from his research, including historical contexts, racial challenges, and coaching influences that shaped the careers of QBs like Williams and Evans. We also explore the broader significance of black quarterbacks and their impact on the NFL and American society.

Join us for an enlightening discussion filled with historical anecdotes and contemporary parallels. Subscribe and tune in for more lessons learned from the world of sports.

TIME STAMPS:

00:00 Introduction and Special Guest Announcement

01:04 Lou Moore’s Background and Previous Works

02:09 Election Talk and Personal Anecdotes

04:14 The Inspiration Behind ‘The Great Black Hope’

05:47 The Evolution of the Black Quarterback

08:07 Challenges and Triumphs of Early Black Quarterbacks

13:40 Modern Black Quarterbacks and Their Impact

21:39 The Black Quarterback Syndrome

23:33 Personal Reflections on Racism in Sports

24:38 Teaching History in Today’s Context

25:30 Connecting Historical Events to Present Day

25:52 Music as a Tool for Healing and Education

27:03 Challenges Faced by Black Quarterbacks

31:58 The Role of Coaches and Media

41:19 The Future of Black Coaches in the NFL

44:19 Final Thoughts and Farewell

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That’s My QB 2024 – Plus the KAT for Randle and DiVincienzo Trade

Quarterbacks

In our kickoff to SEASON 5 of Running It Back, Hosts Tarlin Ray and Mike Palmer dive into the exciting world of NFL quarterbacks and their narratives. After Tarlin’s “291” anecdote, we start with a New York focus, getting NY Sports fan Mike’s takes on the recent trade of Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks and the current state of the Mets. Then we shift gears to analyze “That’s My Quarterback…” narratives from across the league, including Aaron Rodgers’ return from injury, Josh Allen’s video game-like performances and improved decision-making, and the ongoing debate about Daniel “Danny Dimes” Jones upside for the New York Giants.

We explore the idea that a quarterback’s success may depend more on their organization than individual talent, using examples like Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes. We also touch on the changing landscape of the NFL, with an increasing number of mobile quarterbacks and black quarterbacks leading teams. We’ll return to that once we’re caught up on Lou Moore’s book The Great Black Hope and The Evolution of the Black Quarterback series which just dropped on Amazon.

Join us for a lively discussion filled with hot takes, witty banter, fantasy football insights, and musings on the future of the game. Don’t miss this episode, which is packed with NFL analysis and takeaways from emerging QB narratives. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

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On Goats, Dynasties, and 3peats

Goats, Dynasties, and 3peats

We’re back with another episode of Running It Back, finding lessons learned from the world of sports, old and new! Tarlin shares stories about his 50th birthday and dealing with rainstorms in LA. Mike talks about playing in the snow with his 5-year-old son.

Discussing NFL season highlights, we debate whether Patrick Mahomes can already be considered a GOAT after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win or if it’s too soon. Tarlin thinks we should let Mahomes’ career evolve before making proclamations.

Reviewing NFL dynasties, we agree the Chiefs are building their own with Mahomes. We also discuss NBA dynasties and three-peats, with Mike paying his respects to Michael Jordan while exploring whether he played baseball to duck the Twin Towers in Houston.

Closing topics include Eli Manning’s comedic potential, Tarlin’s support of QB Brock Purdy, and praise for broadcaster Nate Burleson’s Super Bowl work on Nickelodeon and beyond.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And be on the lookout for a steady flow of episodes from here on out. Thanks for listening.

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NFL 2023 – Bieniemy of the State Edition

Eric Bieniemy

Tarlin and Mike are back to kick off 2023 with our NFL Super Bowl, Black History Month, Black Quarterback, and Coaching Carousel edition. We start by running it back to NFL Combine reports on Super Bowl QBs Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes. From there we talk about swagger, high floors, low ceilings, vice versa, and more. How do Hurts and Mahomes compare with fellow draftees Zach Wilson and Mitch Trubisky? What lessons can we learn from this about assessing talent and uncovering inherent biases in a system like the NFL?

Then we pivot to Big Red, aka Andy Reid, to understand his success and that of his coaching tree before zeroing in on what the stories of Eric Bieniemy, Steve Wilkes, and Lovie Smith (and his beard) teach us about where the NFL is today and how far it still has to go.

Subscribe to Running It Back wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at RunningItBack.fm for more amazing Lessons Learned from the world of sports.

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The 2022 Sports Year in Review

Running It Back 2022

Mike and Tarlin are back again. This time to reflect on what we’ve all just witnessed as we look back for lessons learned from an incredible year in sports.

We begin with Tarlin’s shout-out to Aaron Judge for betting on himself and winning with a big contract as something to learn from and be inspired by. This leads us into discussions of football with QBs like Lamar Jackson making similar bets with potentially different outcomes and risk profiles. This sparks a conversation about system quarterbacks versus tailoring the system to the quarterback. After a brief sidetrack to talk about the transcendent World Cup Final we just witnessed and the importance of learning how to shout “MBAPPE!!!” in public, we return to the examples of Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, and Brock Purdy in a free-flowing exploration of identifying talent, building chemistry, and being willing to innovate around the talent you have, not the talent you think you should have. We include quick thoughts on the release of Brittney Griner and how it should make Tarlin watch the Ali Documentary on PBS before concluding with some notes on Chemistry in the NBA and more.

We had an amazing year. Thanks to everyone who is listening. Be on the lookout for more episodes on lessons learned from sports in January of 2023!

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Tua’s Concussion and the Warrior Ethos of the NFL

Tua Tagovailoa

Tarlin and Mike are back to talk about their guilty pleasure, the NFL, in light of the concussion(s) to Tua Tagovailoa in recent games–within four days from Sunday to Thursday night. We explore Tua’s extensive injury history and find parallels in other players like Austin Collie who also displayed the “fencing position” after a concussion and who never returned to the same level afterwards.

We also reflect on the NFL’s tendency to be reactive to situations like this and anticipate changes to the NFL concussion protocols in light of the Tua incident. Are they exhibiting “an abundance of caution” or are they ultimately driven by their bottom line? How did Coach Mike McDaniel, the Players Association, and the NFL respond and what lessons can we learn from there? And what do we think about the future of Thursday night games? We cover all of this and reflect on the joys of a good night’s sleep. Don’t miss it!

Subscribe to Running It Back wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at RunningItBack.fm for more lessons learned from the world of sports.

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Running It Back – Season 3 Kickoff

Season 3

Tarlin and Mike are back. This time to kick off our third season of Running It Back with a far-reaching crossfade across the various narratives and lessons learned capturing our attention from the sports universe.

We talk about Serena and Roger moving on from tennis and how Roger’s range may be a dwindling resource in an age of early specialization. Hat-tip to David Epstein’s book Range for some of our perspectives there. Then we look to the NFL for quarterback controversy and think through how the Trey Lance and Jimmy G. saga might analogize to CEO succession planning. We touch on the Mets and Dodgers from baseball as well as the Robert Sarver affair in the NBA before a few parting shots regarding the LIV Tour in golf in a free-ranging survey of the topics we’ll be digging into as we come back strong for Season 3 of Running It Back. Thanks for joining us for the ride!

Subscribe to Running It Back wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at RunningItBack.fm for more incredible lessons learned from across the wide world of sports.

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The NFL’s Black Head Coach Problem

Mike Tomlin

As of the release of this episode, Mike Tomlin is the lone Black Head Coach remaining in the NFL. Tarlin and Mike run it back to our ongoing conversation about the Rooney Rule and soft affirmative action in the NFL referencing Tomlin, Art Shell, and Jim Caldwell. We talk Eric Bieniemy and Byron Leftwich. We reminisce and look for lessons from the careers and legacies of Tony Dungy and Bill Belichick. And ultimately, we celebrate Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s recent hiring as GM of the Minnesota Vikings.

Then Tarlin talks about the work of Guy Primus and The Board Challenge to effect the long, slow turnaround of institutions like the NFL. We admit that we can’t quit the NFL even though we know we probably should as we say goodbye to a friend of the show and talk about how we can give black head coaches more chances than they’re getting to turn the institution of the NFL around.

Subscribe to Running It Back wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at RunningItBack.fm for more lessons learned from sports.

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That’s My Quarterback – TO and Tony

NFL QB Controversy 2021 Kickoff Edition

To kick off our second year of Running It Back, Tarlin and Mike are back to talk NFL, beginning by returning to 2008 and Terrell Owens’ legendarily tearful “That’s My Quarterback” press conference. We recall how Owens defended his quarterback, Tony Romo, who was taking heat from the press for vacationing in Cabo with Jessica Simpson during the Cowboys’ bye week prior to losing to the future Superbowl Champion New York Giants.

We look for lessons to be learned from this and other QB controversies across the league in 2021 as we get amped up listening to The Mad Fanatic’s hype track for Drew Lock,That’s My Quarterback.

From there, we’re off to the races, tracking the controversies emerging everywhere while looking for lessons for our professional lives based on controversies with the “CEOs on the field.” Whether it’s Mac Jones, Aaron Rodgers, Daniel Jones, or Justin Fields, Mike and Tarlin bring hot takes and sharp connections to QB conversations present and past.

We’re excited to be back for another year of Running It Back. Thanks for joining us for the ride.

Subscribe to Running It Back wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at RunningItBack.fm for more great shows like this!

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Black Quarterbacks and the NFL Draft

With the NFL Draft approaching, Tarlin and Mike return to explore the history of black quarterbacks taken in the first round over the years. We begin with a quick breakdown of the prospects for the 2021 draft with Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields among those at the top of the list. How does race intersect with the predraft hype and projections for Fields, Lawrence, and others?

From there we run it back through the history of black QBs taken in the first round and even share the story of one Willie “Mitts” Thrower who was the first black man to take a snap as QB in the NFL back in 1953. We talk about Doug Williams, Warren Moon and even Kordel Stewart, aka “Slash” as we look for lessons from the past and ways to learn from examples throughout the years.

Whether it’s Michael Vick, Daunte Culpepper, or Donovan McNabb, we look to the past to help understand the present in an insightful jaunt down memory lane. We conclude with a particularly salient example of why giving black players a shot at the CEO position on the field makes all the difference

If you love what you’re hearing, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and visit us at RunningItBack.fm for more amazing lessons learned from the world of sports.