Daunte Culpepper

-by Erick Coleman

Trying to gauge the value of a second round pick is enough to make a person scratch their head. Not long ago the Miami Dolphins peddled away a second round pick for backup quarterback AJ Feeley. Within one week, the Dolphins watched as Philadelphia obtained Terrell Owens for what became a third round pick. Obviously there are contracts to take into consideration, but the point remains the same: The former brain trust of your beloved Miami Dolphins misused draft picks. The question is this: Has the current staff started down the same path?

In breaking news today, former all-pro QB Daunte Culpepper has been dealt to the Miami Dolphins (pending a physical) for a second round pick, virtually the same position that Miami previously dealt for Feeley. On October 30th of last season, Culpepper’s knee was virtually destroyed in every way possible. The prognosis immediately following the surgery was good, and additional reports continue to indicate that Culpepper should recover nicely from this surgery. The most encouraging portion of that particular injury is that quarterbacks do not throw the ball with their knees. Miami had a quarterback running the show for many years that could barely stand, wobbling about on two bad knees.

A lot of Miami fans will be upset that the Dolphins did not pull the trigger on Drew Brees. While I believe Brees to be a good player, there are many reasons why I believe not signing Brees is a good move. First, like Culpepper, Brees is also coming off a significant injury – this one involving a part of his body that does throw the ball. Second, Brees has not been able to make much noise in San Diego. I understand the statistics that the man was able to produce, but I also understand this: San Diego has an all-world running back, they have always had decent, though unheralded, wide receivers. The past two seasons, they have had a monster tight end, a fantastic offensive line and a better than average defense, but no playoff appearances. Is that all on Brees? Certainly not, but those same fans that would look at someone like Tony Dungy and state “he can’t get Indy over the hump” would need to apply that same logic to Brees. When the game is on the line, Drew Brees hasn’t been the go-to guy that a winning quarterback would need to be. There is a reason San Diego allowed him to walk away.

Why doesn’t the same logic apply to the erratic Culpepper? Perhaps it does. However, I will break down reasons why I believe Culpepper is not only a better quarterback than he’s demonstrated in Minnesota, but a player that will shine in Miami.

The Mike Tice Factor:

Tice flat out sucks, there's no way around it. Every year, Tice lost members of the coaching staff he inherited from Denny Green and has failed to make solid replacements. The final loss that Culpepper wasn’t able to get over wasn’t that of Randy Moss, but Scott Linehan. The coaching situation in Minnesota has been putrid. Nick Saban, in contrast, does what a good manager should do. He hires the appropriate people at the appropriate levels, and allows those people to do their job. In one year in the NFL, Nick Saban has demonstrated far more concise vision on how to succeed in the NFL than Tice ever did.

Talent:

Is it just chance that Culpepper’s best years he was surrounded by talent? Cris Carter, Randy Moss, a trio of solid running backs and a mean and nasty offensive line. As the years have gone, that talent has been stripped away. The offensive line has become weaker, the talent at wide receiver has dropped off, and the Vikings running game has sputtered. Dan Marino proved that even the shiniest of golden arms do not prevail when your best option at catching the ball is Oronde Gadsden. Daunte Culpepper is going to step under center this season protected by an offensive line that showed tremendous growth last year. Miami’s offensive line should continue to improve under Hudson Houck's direction, and what was recently an embarrassment could be a huge strength of this team next year. New offensive tackle L.J. Shelton, who also signed today, started all 16 games last season for Cleveland and has experience at both the left and right tackle positions.

Culpepper won’t be handing off to just any running back either. Ronnie Brown is head and shoulders above any runner on the Vikings roster. In Brown’s rookie season he averaged over 4 yards a carry and, after a slow start, adjusted well to the speed of the NFL. League reports that have started to leak also show that Ricky Williams has a very good chance of winning his appeal next month regarding the positive drug test of earlier this year. If Williams returns, he would be another valuable weapon in the Miami attack.

The most vital aspect is Culpepper’s arm strength, which is nothing short of amazing. Last season teams almost dared Miami to go downfield, and when the Dolphins did, they struggled. The longest completions of the year came when Sage Rosenfeld was on the field, not starting quarterback Gus Frerotte. Defenses will have to adjust accordingly with Culpepper throwing to Booker, Chambers and McMichael.

That’s right, Miami Nation. Daunte Culpepper will be throwing to Chris Chambers and Marty Booker.

The Miami Dolphins have struggled behind center since Dan rode away into the sunset. Jay Fiedler to Ray Lucas to Brian Griese to AJ Feeley…it’s a wonder why Cleo Lemon doesn’t have six starts under his belt for Miami already. The Miami Dolphins are poised to make significant moves in a rapidly changing AFC East. By trading away a second round pick for Daunte Culpepper, they are now in a very good position to get great value out of their first round pick and not stretch for a quarterback. Even at his worst, Culpepper is an upgrade to anything that the Miami Dolphins have seen at this vital position for a long, long time.

And that should be enough to excite all of you.

 

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