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Never watched a Dolphin game yet but is Dante knee that bad that he possibly won't be able to rehab and play the rest of the season or is it a week to week deal?

 

I know that you can only speculate but if you can share any insight on the degree of Dante prognosis whether you think he might go back on the field in 2 weeks, after bye or not at all would be helpful in determining whether I should bid on Harrington on our FA pool.

 

I don't have Dante and all starting QBs are the solid back-ups are all taken. I can get rid of Collins and go for an active player so I need to get a feeling on how long you would think Dante will be on the shelf.

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After five days of silence, Daunte Culpepper finally spoke at length about his argument with coach Nick Saban and the head coach's decision to start Joey Harrington at quarterback for the forseeable future.

 

"If you all really have got to know, would you all believe that really we were talking about the Florida-LSU game? He was all LSU and I was talking for Florida," Culpepper joked when asked about the practice field argument. "Would you believe that?"

 

More importantly, Culpepper has come to terms with the situation he's in, accepting his coach's perscription for further rehabilitation on his right knee.

 

"Everything that's good for you, doesn't always feel good for you," said Culpepper. "And I have to say 'thank you' to coach Saban, because in this situation he's really protecting me and doing what's best for the team and that's how we're moving along.

 

Culpepper reiterated his coach's desire for the quarterback to regain his explosiveness and return at full strength.

 

"Absolutely. Don't get me wrong. I want to be out there. But you look at everything, and what's best for everybody in this whole situation, I want to get to 100 percent."

 

"One thing we have to realize is coming back from an injury like this is really an A to Z process," said Culpepper. "You can't skip any letter in between, no matter how big or how small they are. You have to keep that in mind in this situation, too."

 

Daunte cited his successful training camp sessions, combined with an eagerness to play, as factors in why the things got somewhat off track in regards to his rehab and recovery process.

 

"It's my fault as much as anybody's.

 

While he doesn't feel this will be a season-long detour and hopes to be re-evaluated in a few weeks, Culpepper remains firmly behind his fellow quarterbacks.

 

"As far as the team goes, I'm 100 percent behind the [them]," said Culpepper. "I'm 100 percent behind Joey and Cleo, and getting them prepared to play every week."

 

"Right now, my focus....has to be getting myself to the point where I can play, and move around, and do what it takes to play like 'Daunte Culpepper'. I understand that. We're on the same page with that."

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From Fanball

 

Dolphins: Culpepper back to square one

10/12/06 11:54 AM

THE NEWS

Daunte Culpepper will go back to rehabilitating his surgically-repaired knee over the next several weeks, taking part in only limited parts of team practice. 'Obviously [Culpepper's previous rehab program] didn't work the way we wanted it to, so for him and for us, we need to take where we are right now and try to move forward and get it where it needs to be,' coach Nick Saban told the Miami Herald. ``Maybe we did everything correctly, and it's still not where it needs to be. Maybe he just needs more time. I'm not being critical of anybody, not saying somebody didn't do what they were supposed to do.'

Our View

Culpepper essentially abandoned his rehab work at the end of the preseason because he and the team thought he was out of the woods. Clearly, his shredded knee needs more strengthening in order to get back to full health. This should not surprise anyone, as injuries as severe as Daunte's usually take at least a year to heal, and players often aren't 100 percent until 18-to-24 months after the original injury. Hindsight is 20-20, but the Dolphins obviously rushed Culpepper back too soon. Luckily, he did not re-injure himself and still has a chance of returning to the field the season. For now, however, this is Joey Harrington's team, and Culpepper is back to square one.

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My gut tells me Culpepper is shelved for the season. He, Saban, and the Dolphins staff made the collective mistake of thinking he was ready based on training camp and a few series played in the preseason. He looked OK, i.e. he wasn't limping, so the assumption was he could play.

 

I think the media fell into the trap as well by putting high expectations on C-Pep and the team.

 

Hindsight is 20-20, but Saban should have gone with Plan A. Use Harrington as the starter through camp, the preseason, and the first 4 or 5 regular season games. If C-Pep was making progress physically, then try him on spot duty here and there - and only hand the reigns to him when it was clear he could perfom at 100%.

 

I don't think there's any reason for him to play now. The season is slipping away and Harrington is the man for better or worse.

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I think Harrington is the guy for the forseeable future. I think Saban finally realized it was a big mistake putting C-Pep out there. He clearly was not and is not ready to play. His injury is typically 1 full year to get back on the field and then almost 2 years to be back to yourself. C-Pep being a mobile QB, it has definitely effected him more than say C. Palmer.

 

I would expect Harrington to play now and based on how the team does and how he does if he keeps the job for the rest of the year. If he plays well, I don't see them making a change and if the team continues play the way it has I would expect them to bring C-Pep back out around Week 10 depending on how rehab is going and how he feels.

 

Just my 2 cents.

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You guys know I'll defend C-Pep to the end but he just didn't get the job done and isn't 100%. I'm not a Harrington fan at all but the guy deserves a shot. With that being said, if in a few weeks the Fish find themselves at 1-6 or 2-7, why bother bringing C-Pep back AS LONG AS SABAN IS COMMITTED TO HIM LONG TERM. With games against the Jets this week and Packers next week, two wins can get us back to 3-4 and hopefully turn around the season. And if they do win a couple of games then clearly a lot of that would have to do with Harrington so either way, C-Pep should probably just be shut down for the season, start fresh in 08 and get a high draft pick if our record sucks.

 

What I'm really wondering is if Saban doesn't have the patience to wait for C-Pep to recover and just benched him for his poor play. Maybe Saban wants to see what Harrington can do and has spun the QB switch due more to injury from a PR standpoint. I mean seriously, IF Harrington plays well and the Fish start winning, you can't switch back. Either way this will eventually divide the locker room.

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