Tim Dwight

[white lightning]

Tim Dwight was cut from the Chargers a couple of days
ago.This really ticks me off.He has had some injuries
over the last few years but he is still only 29.Also,
he had the 2nd best average in the whole nfl for
kickoff return yards.He still is as fast as anyone in
the league and has been a stand up guy.He is one of the
hardest working,best conditioned athletes to ever play
the game.Tim still wants to play 3-4 more years.He says
that he would like to return to the midwest and play for
either the Packers or the Bears.I would like to see a
team like the Colts or the Titans go after him because
he would play anywhere.He has been one of the best role
models for little kids over the last 10 years or so.I
still remember him running track & football at Iowa.I
will never forget him returning the kickoff for a td
in the Super Bowl when he played for the Falcons.What
a class act & boy is he like White Lightning!!

 

[right winger]

The Chargers managed the feat of cutting two of the best kick returners around, Wes Welker and Tim Dwight, within a few months of each other.

Dwight still has the great speed and is as entertaining a returner as there is. He never got the chance he deserved to be a starting receiver, but he's been banged up too much too. How many times can a guy suffer a collapsed lung?

It would be ridiculous for his career to be anywhere near over, but unfortunately in the caste NFL not unexpected.

 

[sport historian]

I happened to see Tim Dwight have a great game against the 49ers in 1999. It was a Monday Night game. Dwight returned a punt for a TD, weaving across the field. Late in the game, he caught a short pass over the middle. A 235 pound linebacker grabbed him from behind. Dwight shook him off and went for a 65 yard TD.

 

[Don Wassall]

Right you are, Sport Historian. That was the last game of the season and Dwight finished with 7 receptions for 162 yards and 2 TDs. That was the best game of his career, the culmination of the second half of the '99 season when he really came on as a receiver in the only opportunity he has had to be a deep threat wideout.


Here are his game-by-game stats for '99:


http://www.pro-football-reference.com/games/DwigTi00.htm


Notice that he had 8 TDs in the second half of the season! I have mentioned it before on the board and in articles on the site, but something special happened the second half of the '99 season as far as white wide receivers. Patrick Jeffers put together maybe the best stretch of games by a wideout in NFL history, Dwight was given a chance to be a deep threat receiver and came through big time, Keith Poole had his one and only chance to play semi-regularly and led the league in yards per catch with 19.0; Dwight didn't have enough catches to qualify with his amazing 20.9 average, while Jeffers finished third. (The extremely talented Poole ended his blackmailed NFL career with an average of 18.1 yards per catch.) Bill Schroeder went over 1,000 yards in '99, as did Ed McCaffrey. Wayne Chrebet was in the midst of his strong run of years, though he was injured part of '99.


So '99 ended with three 1,000 yard white receivers (Jeffers, Schroeder, McCaffrey), Poole leading the league in yards per catch as a mostly part-time player, Dwight tearing it up in the second half, and Chrebet among the best receivers in the league. That's six white receiving stars the second half of 1999!


There hadn't been anything like that in the NFL since at least the 1970s, maybe even the '60s, and certainly nothing since as it came to a screeching halt in 2000. Jeffers' career was ended by a hit in a preseason game, Dwight was demoted back to being a backup receiver, the same with Poole. McCaffrey continued to star, as did Chrebet, and Schroeder came up with 999 yards, just one short of back to back thousand yard years. But it was a significant dropoff from '99, and it has continued since, which why it was sweet to see Bennett and Stokley step up big time last season.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Good post Don! I remember hearing about and seeing those guys in 99. I have a feeling next year and the year after will see white recievers have 99 like years. I think something great is up around the bend. Yep, I know I'm not supposed to get too optimistic about the Caste System NFL, but I really do think it will get better soon for white recievers. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[white lightning]

I am excited about the possible break throughs we are
making.We need more guys like Matt Jones and Dan Sheldon.
Next years draft will have at least 2 future pro bowlers
in my opinion at wide receiver.David Anderson of Colorado
State and Mike Haas of Oregon State.Both of these guys
have incredible speed,hands,and the moves to be stars.
We already have the current stars like Bennett,Stokley,
and Curtis.Hopefully we will get a bunch more.We need to
break the stupid stereotype that whites can't run and
jump.These guys can & will make a difference if given
a chance.Let's keep our fingers crossed.

 

[Quiet Speed]

Don Wassell, do you know the current status of Keith Poole? Is he out of the game completely? After Jim Hasslett's ethnic cleansing of the Saints he virtually disappeared.


Against the Falcons in '98 he had a breakout game in a big way. He had 3 catches for over 150 yards and two TDs. The two TDs were spectacular. Forgive me if I don't have the yardage correct, it seems like one was for 60 plus yards and another for 80 plus. On both occasions the defensive back had an opportunity to catch him from behind, and Keith ran away from him. The longest one was a bomb from Billy Joe Tolivar that dropped in over Keith's shoulder as he was streaking past the defender, very pretty.

 

[Don Wassall]

Keith Poole hasn't played since '01, when he had just a few catches with Denver. He was effectively blackballed out of the league ala Danny Farmer and many others. Here's the profile on Poole from Caste Football's Wide Receiver Archives:


KEITH POOLE

(8/22/02) Should rank near the top of the voluminous list of white receivers who have never been given a fair chance in the NFL. Immensely talented, was a dominant receiver at Arizona State. Is tied for first for career TDs at ASU (25), had 139 career receptions for 2,681 yards (third all-time in each category) for an outstanding 19.3 average per catch. Made first-team all-PAC 10 in '96 and was also a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given each year to the country's best receiver.

Poole's nickname at Arizona State was "White Rice," for Jerry Rice of course, quite a compliment indeed. He was just as much a potent offensive weapon as his quarterback, Jake Plummer, but it was Plummer who received all the accolades and hype while Poole played in relative obscurity. Why the disparity between how white quarterbacks are treated and analyzed and white receivers? Could it be that whites, with few exceptions, are supposed to excel only at quarterback and the blocking positions ? Nah!

Plummer was drafted in the first round by the Arizona Cardinals, while Poole was drafted in the fourth round by New Orleans in 1997. In four years with the Saints, Poole saw limited action. The only season he was utilized as a semi-regular, 1999, all he did was lead the NFL in yards per reception with 19.0 (42 receptions for 796 yards).

One would think that such obvious ability would be developed as much as possible and that Poole would be hyped by the media as a superstar in the making. But no, Poole's playing time actually decreased in 2000. That was the year Mike Ditka was replaced by Jim Haslet, a fervent proponent of all-black rosters. Poole immediately fell into Haslet's disfavor and his stats fell to 21 receptions for 293 yards in '00. In '01 Poole was summarily dispatched to the Broncos, that NFL haven for backup white receivers, where he had exactly 5 catches in '01. (It must be added in fairness that Poole has too often imitated the Tim Dwight/Ed McCaffrey style of taking the most vicious hit possible on every reception rather than knowing when to go down when his forward progress is up, thus leading to concussions, broken ribs, etc. ; he has also had persistent hamstring problems.)

Poole was released by the Broncos and signed with the Buccaneers for 2002, but has apparently retired from football. His career yards per catch average after five NFL seasons â€â€￾- a mere 18.1. Do you know any black receivers who have a higher one? And do you ever recall hearing or reading anything extolling Keith Poole, especially after leading the NFL in yards per catch average in 1999?

 

[Quiet Speed]

Thanks for the post, Don


The New Orleans media was always matter of fact when it came to Keith Poole. Part of their conditioning, I suppose.

 

[white lightning]

I actually got to see him play on several occasions.He
was as good as advertised.Keith made amazing plays look
easy.He was very fluid in everything he did.The University of Arizona had a similar player around the
same time by the way of Richard Dice.He had a 38 inch
vertical and made the most incredible catches.Unfortanatly his career was stopped with a
few knee surgeries before he left college.Dice was as
fast and gifted as Poole.It was a amazing time in the
history of the two major colleges in Arizona.

 

[Don Wassall]

White Lightning I remember Richard Dice very well. He was one of the best receivers I've ever seen. He made one great catch after another. Arizona was one of my favorite teams to root for when he played for them.


Maybe it was the knee problems that kept him off an NFL roster as even a backup. Ihad always assumedhe was just another verytalented white receiver who was shut out because of his race.

 

[Guest]

I stopped watching the NFL after Jervey got screwed out of a jobin '98, then Tim Dwight brought back the interest when I looked over at a TV screening the Super Bowl at a pub (not in the US, so it wasn't the center of attention, and I was trying to boycott) in '99 when he returned that kickoff for a score against Denver...That was the first time (and one of the only times since) that I could recall a sportscaster giving a non-black football player such unqualified verbal praise for natural athleticism, freely calling him "likely the fastest player in the NFL"...I believeit was Pat Summerall. For that reason, Tim will forever hold a special place in my football-loving heart. I'd love to see him in Indianapolis, but I'm sure that must violate some sort of NFL racial quota policy, what with Stokley being in there. Not since the days of Utah's Stockton-Hornacek backcourt could I recall such a clear violation of the modern American pro sport race-casting program come to pass.

 

[cxt7]

Signed with N.E. today, they should use him a lot.

 

[white lightning]

I am a little concerned about Tim Dwight going to the
Patriots.The reason I say this is that they have had
Kevin Kasper all year and he rarely plays.The Pats
already have a kickoff returner,and are overloaded on
receivers.I would hate to see a talent like Dwight just
sit on the bench.I wanted him to go to a team like the
Colts,or Titans where I knew he would play.I hope I'm
wrong.My logic is simple,why sign him if you are never
going to play him.Kasper needs out of there before it
is too late.The NFL has screwed him over bad.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

I hope both Kasper and Dwight get to play at New England, but I doubt they ever see the field at the same time. Wouldn't it be cool if they did though.

 

[okra63]

You never can tell Col. Reb they may just do that in white-happy Massachusetts. Can't ever tell though Ed Kennedy probably won't take to well to it up there in liberalville.

 

[Don Wassall]

Dwight has been mainly a kickoff returner but he has a better chance to be a punt returner in New England. The Pats had been using Troy Brown, but he is old and not very fast. They also have Bethel Johnson, a wide receiver who has excellent speed. He has been used to return kickoffs so he should be Dwight's main competition there.


Kasper is most likely a goner from New England, and very well from the NFL for good. Why the Patriots even bothered to pick him up and then keep him on the roster when they wouldn't play himis a mystery. Kevin's in basically the same situation as Danny Farmer -- a great talent who has performed well in limited chances, but no one wantshim.A sad situation.

 

[kevin]

the pats did loose david givens so i think dwight will most likely jump into that third wide reciever spot. Belicheck likes him a lot i hope. they most likely will use him as a slot reciever like the colts use stockley. If he stays healthy he could put upsome good numbers.

 

[white lightning]

I hope your right.Even though I love seeing him return
kicks,he is one of the top 3 in the whole nfl,I would
rather see him playing most of the time at receiver.It
would be great if he could get 700+ yards as a 3rd
receiver.We shall see what happens.You guys should check
out his website sometime.It's pretty cool.

 

[Don Wassall]

The Patriots signed David Terrell today,a formernumber one draft choice of the Bears who has been a huge bust. In '04, as the Bears number one receiver, Terrell scored exactly one touchdown to go with just 699 receiving yards. He hasonly 1,602 career receiving yards in four seasons but all the while continued to receive the absurd hype so many black receivers seem to get. To top it off Terrell is a huge jerk -- think Terrell Owens but with one-tenth of the talent on the field.


According toan AP article about the signing, Tom Brady was the one urging itas he and Terrellwere teammates at Michigan.


It's been a very long time since the Patriots played a white wide receiver on more than a token basis, which makes me think Kasper is a goner and that it's going to be very tough going for Tim Dwight. Maybe Terrell's attitude and lack of perfomance will make his stay in New England a short one. Let's hope so.