Mark Craig: Thick skin a must for QBs

In the shortest sports column in the history of newspapers, I will require only two words to refute Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb's argument on HBO that black quarterbacks receive more scrutiny than white quarterbacks.

Rex Grossman.

Wait. Make it Tim Couch ... or Ryan Leaf ... or even Peyton Manning before he won his Super Bowl.

Grossman, Couch, Leaf and Manning, just to name a few. Each is whiter than Colin Montgomerie's belly. And Grossman, Couch and Leaf for darn sure have been scrutinized more than McNabb ever has or ever will be.

"We all have opinions, and this is how Donovan sees his situation," said Vikings right guard Artis Hicks, a former Eagles teammate of McNabb's. "You can't fault people for seeing things the way they see them. You never know what another guy's personal experience outside of football is for him to be thinking that."

However ...

"I think quarterbacks in general get criticized a lot," Hicks added. "There's a lot put on all of their shoulders. The media puts wins and losses on their shoulders. They have to get the play, execute the play, get everyone lined up, make audibles and adjustments, read the coverages, get hit. They have to do everything."

That's for all quarterbacks. Black and white.

Leaf's name has been synonymous with blown draft picks since about the time he was selected No. 2 overall by the Chargers after the Colts selected Peyton Manning No. 1 in 1998.

Couch was the No. 1 pick the following year. He became a complete bust and is out of football. And if you want to talk about cruelty to QBs, let's talk about the time Browns fans cheered as Couch lay in the end zone woozy from a concussion. After the game, Couch was so angry, he brought himself to tears voicing his disgust for the fans.

Then there's poor Grossman. He went 13-3 last season, winning the NFC North by five games and advancing to the Super Bowl in his first full season as a starter. But that didn't prevent him from being ridiculed daily from about midseason until after the Super Bowl.

McNabb also must have missed all those years when Manning was ridiculed for being a good quarterback who was destined to choke in the playoffs. Especially if the Patriots were the opponent.

Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, who is black, is being criticized this week. It has nothing to do with his skin color, and everything to do with his four interceptions in Sunday's 20-17 overtime loss at Detroit.

Tennessee quarterback Vince Young, who also is black, disagreed with McNabb this week. He said all quarterbacks need to be thick-skinned.

"If you can't handle it," he told reporters, "then you have to get off that position and go play something else."

While Hicks sympathizes with quarterbacks, there is a limit to the pain he feels for them.

"Yeah, things are kind of unfair for them, but, then again, those guys also make a whole lot of money," he said. "If you're the quarterback, any quarterback, you have to take the bad with the good."

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com