Dolphins’ Culpepper must prove himself all over again

By Andy Targovnik  |   Monday, March 12, 2007  |  Comments( 17 )

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The fact that the Miami Dolphins have been inquiring about other teams' quarterbacks shouldn't bother Daunte Culpepper. After all, it's not the first time that others have doubted him.

After a standout high school career in Florida, the three elite football programs in the state -- Florida, Florida State and Miami -- didn't actively recruit Culpepper because of poor grades.

The University of Central Florida - a Division I-AA school - not only showed interest in Culpepper, but it helped him raise his grades. Subsequently, the three top Florida schools came knocking on Culpepper's door. But Culpepper told them what they could do with their renewed interest and decided to attend Central Florida, where he ended up having an outstanding career.

When it came time for the 1999 NFL Draft, many scouts still doubted Culpepper's ability. That was surprising, not only because of his production in college, but because of his imposing size, mammoth arm and lightning speed.

Three quarterbacks were drafted ahead of him: The Cleveland Browns took Tim Couch, who's now out of football, with the first pick in the draft; the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Donovan McNabb with the second choice; and the Cincinnati Bengals selected Akili Smith, who ended up playing a total of 21 games in the NFL, with the third pick.

Finally, the Minnesota Vikings drafted Culpepper 11th overall.

And even though the Chicago Bears selected Cade McNown with the 12th overall pick, they traded the seventh choice in the draft; therefore, they effectively passed on Culpepper, too.

The Bears then gave McNown a $22 million contract, while Culpepper -- who was drafted before McNown -- accepted a $7 million, incentive-laden deal with the Vikings.

After sitting on the bench in '99, Culpepper was named the starter in 2000 and responded with 33 passing touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 470 yards on the ground and seven rushing scores. Most importantly, he led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game that season.

Culpepper's following two seasons were a far cry from his 2000 campaign:

In 2001, because running back Robert Smith retired, opposing defenses were able to turn all of their attention to Culpepper. Consequently, Culpepper was mediocre before injuring his knee after 11 games.

In 2002 Culpepper partially atoned for throwing 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions, by rushing for 609 yards and a whopping 10 scores.

In 2003, the Culpepper skeptics wondered whether he was worth his new 10-year, $102 million contract.

But Culpepper answered big time, throwing 25 touchdowns, only 11 interceptions, and he completed 65 percent of his passes. The Vikings started out 6-0 that year, but because of their porous defense, they collapsed down the stretch.

In 2004, Culpepper had his best year ever. He threw for 4,717 yards, 39 touchdowns, 11 picks and had a stellar quarterback rating of 110.9. Minnesota made the playoffs with a mediocre 8-8 record.

In the wild-card game, Culpepper threw for four touchdowns and beat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, 31-17.

That would be the last productive season that Culpepper would have, however.

In 2005, he was awful, only passing for six touchdowns against 12 interceptions before he tore up his knee.

But how could he go from being so good to so bad at such a quick rate? His detractors attributed the QB's decline to the fact that star receiver Randy Moss was out of Minnesota. Then again, in the seven games prior to his injury, Culpepper played with a sprained MCL and bursitis in his right knee.

That brings us to 2006.

Culpepper's '05 injury was certainly no run-of-the-mill knee ailment. He tore all three major ligaments. At the time, doctors said that it would take at least a year of rehab before he could play again.

So when the Dolphins traded a second-round pick for Culpepper in the 2006 offseason, Miami fans figured he was healthy and that he would bounce back.

From the start, though, it was obvious that Culpepper wasn't himself. The 6-foot-4, 265-pounder looked more like an unproven rookie than a top NFL quarterback. He appeared shaky in the pocket, and, perhaps the bigger sign that something was amiss, rushed 10 times for a meager 20 yards.

Lo and behold, the eight-year veteran's knee wasn't fully recovered, and he had come back too soon.

Will the 30-year-old return to his former All-Pro status by the time the Dolphins open their season in September?

If he doesn't, it won't be from a lack of effort, according to new head coach Cam Cameron:

"I looked out my office," Cameron said in February, "and there's Daunte Culpepper out there doing his drills. Now for me to say he's 90 percent, 100 percent, 80 percent, I don't know. But here's what I do know, that he's giving us 100 percent of his effort. He's where he's supposed to be when he's supposed to be there. He doing not only what our training staff is asking him to do, but within reason, doing things over and above that."

There you have it. Culpepper will succeed or just about die trying.

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CommentsComments: 17  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Rai		05:59 AM
03/12/2007
The NFL is hyper-competitive, so it's good for Culpepper to have competition for the starting job. Hopefully, he will respond...
No.2
Anthony Bertolini		09:21 AM
03/12/2007
I certainly appreciate Dante's Heart,Anybody with that much Heart and drive can only be a positive influence on his team,however...
No.3
Instigator		10:56 AM
03/12/2007
All the heart in the world doesn't make up for stupidity!! DC is just plain stupid!! You can get by with a stupid kicker but not...
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