Star Trib story on Daunte

[MikesVikes]

Just had to share this because I don't think it's too far from the truth. No Moss will be no problem for Daunte. Factoid.

 

Jim Souhan: Culpepper doesn't fit any mold

Jim Souhan, Star Tribune

September 2, 2005 JIMS0902

 

For most of the NFL's top quarterbacks, you can see patterns developing, templates beckoning.

 

Tom Brady is the latter-day Joe Montana, an unlikely prospect who became the ultimate winner.

 

Peyton Manning is our Dan Marino, a brilliant passer hamstrung by his team's flaws.

 

Michael Vick is our Randall Cunningham, more spectacular than efficient.

 

Donovan McNabb threatens to imitate Jim Kelly's unrequited excellence, although he could yet become an East Coast Steve Young.

 

The one modern quarterback who defies categorization is the Vikings' Daunte Culpepper.

 

Nobody has ever been this big, this fast and this accurate.

 

Last year, Culpepper ran up the fourth-best passer rating in NFL history (110.9), the fifth-most passing yards (4,717) and tied for the fifth-most passing touchdowns (39). He set an NFL record for most combined passing and rushing yards in a season, with 5,123.

 

And then there's this:

 

He's still getting better.

 

You can see it this preseason, in his accuracy and decision-making.

 

You can feel it around the team, where there is no questioning his leadership.

 

And you could have heard it in the Vikings' locker room, when he offered this:

 

"It's like I'm a Jedi knight. Things have slowed down, and I just see it now."

 

I've heard other quarterbacks say similar things, without invoking really bad sequels.

 

I was there when Troy Aikman took a beating as a rookie, ducking every time he saw a defensive jersey. Three years later, he was winning Super Bowls.

 

I was there when Rich Gannon locked his eyes on one receiver at a time. A few years later, in Oakland, he was the smartest quarterback in the NFL, and a league MVP.

 

I was there when Brad Johnson wasn't good enough for the Vikings. A few years later, he was beating Gannon's Raiders in the Super Bowl.

 

None of us nonquarterbacks -- not to mention nonathletes -- can imagine the chaos a good NFL defense creates. A good quarterback is a combination air traffic controller, traffic cop and decathlete.

 

When the staccato static a quarterback hears at the line begins to make sense, to sort itself into meaningful symbols like a decoded matrix, a complex game becomes simple.

 

And that's when quarterbacks take off.

 

So what to think of Culpepper, who already breathes, as ol' Denny Green liked to say, "rarified air"?

 

"This happens to quarterbacks who are able to stay in a system for a number of years and not have to change verbiage and reads," said Vikings quarterbacks coach Rich Olson. "We've changed a little bit, but this happens to all of them. It does slow down for them, because they see things more clearly."

 

In various NFL stops Olson has worked with Jon Kitna, Warren Moon, a younger Brad Johnson and Jake Plummer. He said all of them reached a point where the game "slowed down."

 

The difference is, Culpepper is a superior athlete working within a good offense.

 

"Daunte surprises me every day," Olson said. "He's a special guy. He's the best quarterback I've ever been around, without a doubt."

 

Better than Moon? "Yes, just because of his physical attributes and his scrambling ability," Olson said. "Warren couldn't get away from people like Daunte. And he's a great decision-maker. He makes so many plays by seeing things that aren't even a part of the action.

 

"And when he takes off and runs, wow. The first time I saw him do that in minicamp here, I couldn't believe it. It's different, seeing that live as opposed to seeing it on TV.

 

"He's been here seven years, and he's still hungry to learn. It would be easy for him to say he knows it all now, but he's not like that."

 

I asked Culpepper about his Jedi comment. "I'm feeling more and more like that," he said. "The more I do it, the better I should get."

 

Culpepper is reaching his intellectual prime while he's still in his physical prime.

 

So you take a quarterback who is threatening NFL records and add a layer of comfort and understanding and you get ... what?

 

My guess can be summed up in six letters.

 

NFL MVP.

[Duchess Jack]

Good read. He's a great QB and seems a pretty good guy to boot.

[Outshined]

So far this preseason, he is 28/33 - 427 yards and 1 TD.

 

I would say that pretty accurate.

 

Edit: no interceptions

Edited September 2, 2005 by Outshined

[Randall]

So far this preseason, he is 28/33 - 427 yards and 1 TD.

 

I would say that pretty accurate.

 

Edit: no interceptions

 

963650[/snapback]

 

 

 

 

 

No Moss-no problem? Come on. In big games you will notice his exit. Culpepper is an excellent QB but replacing Moss with Marcus Robinson and Travis Taylor will hurt.

 

I liken it to when Sterling Sharpe left. Like Moss he was a dominanat player and when he retired other guys had to step up.

 

They did but losing Sharpe(or Moss) still hurts.

[Outshined]

No Moss-no problem? Come on. In big games you will notice his exit. Culpepper is an excellent QB but replacing Moss with Marcus Robinson and Travis Taylor will hurt.

 

I liken it to when Sterling Sharpe left. Like Moss he was a dominanat player and when he retired other guys had to step up.

 

They did but losing Sharpe(or Moss) still hurts.

 

963674[/snapback]

 

 

 

 

 

Aaron Brooks = Nate Burleson

They will be fine - plenty of talent...

Edited September 2, 2005 by Outshined

[A Little Bit Special]

Aaron Brooks = Nate Burleson

They will be fine - plenty of talent...

 

963687[/snapback]

 

 

 

 

I think you mean Robert Brooks

[Outshined]

I think you mean Robert Brooks

 

963708[/snapback]

 

 

 

 

Whoops!!

[Pope Flick]

This is the single most underreported FF angle of the off-season: arguing for Peyton to be the overall #1 pick means you agree that Daunte should be no more than 5 picks behind him, after LT, SA, Priest and MAYBE Edge.

 

Look at the numbers. And one thing about Burleson that makes me think he can pick up a large amount of slack - he's unnaturally gifted at running after the catch, with one of the best YAC avg's in the league.

 

I think Daunte will rush even MORE than he did last year, so his numbers will stay up.

[cre8tiff]

This is the single most underreported FF angle of the off-season: arguing for Peyton to be the overall #1 pick means you agree that Daunte should be no more than 5 picks behind him, after LT, SA, Priest and MAYBE Edge.

 

Look at the numbers. And one thing about Burleson that makes me think he can pick up a large amount of slack - he's unnaturally gifted at running after the catch, with one of the best YAC avg's in the league.

 

I think Daunte will rush even MORE than he did last year, so his numbers will stay up.

 

963740[/snapback]

 

 

 

 

Not to mention those short yardage TDs. Has there EVER been a QB so dangerous at the goal line?

[MikesVikes]

No Moss-no problem? Come on. In big games you will notice his exit. Culpepper is an excellent QB but replacing Moss with Marcus Robinson and Travis Taylor will hurt.

 

I liken it to when Sterling Sharpe left. Like Moss he was a dominanat player and when he retired other guys had to step up.

 

They did but losing Sharpe(or Moss) still hurts.

 

963674[/snapback]

 

 

 

 

Daunte is a top qb with or without Moss. For ff purposes it's better to know this now rather than later. I don't agree with the analysis that Culpepper will fall flat without Randy. I sure don't see that happening.

[Zia]

moss lived and breathe off culpepper.

wait, just wait what collins WONT be able to do with him.

 

yes, of course, moss is "the freak", a phenomen at WR, big, fast (not ultra), strong, good hands, but (just as any other athlete in the NFL) he cannot do it alone.

 

plus, he was, as sportwriters love to type: a locker room distraction.

 

just look what the vikings have:

o) an olympic sprinter at RB (9.91 in the 100m dash anyone?)

o) 2-3 GOOD options for the "up the middle" situations

o) a QB who can run any hole if asked

o) Burleson, a good one, i mean really, not as spectacular as Moss, not as big, not as strong, but at least as fast and good hands too.

o) Travis Taylor, who seems to be able to beat out top WR rookie Troy Williamson for the 2nd spot, has no reputation but a stellar camp and good performances so far

o) then the aforementioned top rookie at WR in this draft

o) a TE who can do it all, who cannot be ignored on any play, not as electrifying as gates, or gonzo or shockey, clark, maybe even heap will beat him, but NOT at blocking, which is a forgotten skill it seems for TEs.

o) a good, and improved O line, one that recovered from a shock early last year

o) an improved defense, which will help the offense in being less easy to figure out (that was a reason the running game sans daunte was as weak was it was last year)

 

look, i have burleson down as the most productive receiver this season in the betting game in the other thread, i have drafted him in many leagues....., and i say Viks go superbowl this year.

[Delicious_bass]

...and i say Viks go superbowl this year.

 

964025[/snapback]

 

 

 

 

I really would love for you to be right, Zia. As a long time Viking fan, though, I have learned to temper my expectations going into a season. The talent may be there for this team to go to the Bowl. However, talent alone does not a champion make. Right now, this team is not a "smart" football team and I think that is a direct reflection of the coaching(namely Tice and Cottrel). Mikey's game management is awful at best and Cottrels defense often looks more unorganized than my neighbors kids running around the back yard. Unless they really get their act together, this team goes no further than last year IMHO.

[Brentastic]

No doubt that C-pep is an elite QB. The only thing I see falling are his TDs. Accuracy and yards will be the same, but no way does he throw 40 TDs this year. He'll be lucky to get 30. He is a bonafied stud without a doubt though. I'll take him late 1st if RBs I like are gone.

[Zia]

agreed, 40 TDs will be a reach.

but then, the giant stable of runners gets paid for nothing?

hey they need to step up

[Donutrun Jellies]

No Moss-no problem? Come on. In big games you will notice his exit.

963674[/snapback]

Wait -- until now, the only Randy Moss exit that ever made an impression was when he quit on his team and left the field early as they were trying to win it in the last seconds and he could have contributed ...

 

What "big game" has Moss ever come up big in? What superbowl? What NFC championship? Oh, none.

 

If he's never been a factor in a "big game" before and never helped his team get there -- what's the risk of not having him if it makes your team stronger overall than what it was with him?

 

Is he lightyears ahead of Travis Taylor? Yep. All hail the individual talent of one player. Randy is a rare player with nearly unique abilities -- but he couldn't carry his team even to -- let alone in -- big games.

 

Will this Vikings team win more games than last years? Yep. All hail a more balanced team -- with a legit shot at an NFC Conference Title Game ... and no Moss walking off the field to make his exit memorable.

Edited September 3, 2005 by Donutrun Jellies