The three-headed monster: Why Daunte is the default

By Os Davis  |   Wednesday, August 22, 2007  |  Comments( 52 )

Oakland Raiders
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Talk about your three-headed monsters. After Daunte Culpepper's excellent performance last weekend, the Oakland Raiders have at starting quarterback ... a conundrum.

When asked over at Raiders.com if he's decided on a starter for Friday, head coach Lane Kiffin reportedly answered "No." That's it, "no," without even a period to demarcate the end of the answer. Slightly more specifically, Kiffin explained that he wouldn't be deciding until seeing two more days of practice.

Right now public sentiment is firmly in Culpepper's corner. Many can still recall Daunte's great days with the Minnesota Vikings, when he was connecting with Randy Moss and boasted a scrambling style second to none. The TD strike to John Madsen, with Culpepper tossing it while in motion, showed a shadow of the old days; the level of the on-field competition was forgotten, as was the man's stunning fumble problem.

Some of us remain skeptical about Culpepper's future, however. At the risk of raising the wrath of the Raider Nation, this writer would suggest that Daunte's mobility is still nowhere near 100 percent and most of his completions still looked ducky - not in a good way. To paraphrase Charles Barkley as his career in that other American game was grinding to an inevitable halt, some are expecting Superman out of Culpepper but in the post-injury phase of his career, he's more like Clark Kent.

Should Culpepper start against the St. Louis Rams, then? A quick examination of the possibilities implies that there is in fact little choice.

Josh McCown has ostensibly been the Opening-Day starter since the Raider brain trust realized that JaMarcus Russell wouldn't be coming around in the near future. The current situation is, on one hand, exactly what McCown's career is all about: playing the backup quarterback. On the other hand, McCown is in the fascinating-like-a-car-wreck position of backing up no one who has learned a brand-new offense from a brand-new coach.

Last year, McCown experienced something similar with the Detroit Lions. Of course, he took more regular-season snaps at wide receiver than QB, as Jon Kitna played every single down on offense. Rod Marinelli felt that, as a starter, McCown was an unappetizing option. McCown lacks the mobility that may be needed (though perhaps not; see below) with this line - he took 56 sacks in 22 games with the Kleenex-lined Arizona Cardinals of 2003 and '04. And his stats get even uglier after that: During his career he has a Vinny Testaverde-like ratio of 29 picks versus 25 TD passes and a career QB rating of 72.12. Yeesh.

Then there's Andrew Walter, who you'd think would get more consideration after the penance he underwent as quarterback of this team last season. Little need be said about Walter's year, which culminated in a 55.8 quarterback rating. (Now, quarterback rating is hardly the most revealing and logical stat in the sports world, but 55.8 is pretty low.)

Many of Walter's woes could be blamed on that holey O-line, but as Michael Ash pointed out on this website earlier in the week, Walter "wasn't brought down once on Saturday while playing behind the starters."

This is definitely a positive sign for the Oakland faithful that has improved Walter's numbers, with the man going 17 of 27 in the preseason with just one interception. (Yes, those are improved numbers.) Unfortunately, Walter is also averaging under 5 yards per completion and still looks best handing the ball off - and then he looks pretty awful, too, to be utterly subjective about it.

(Specifically, check out the odd dance step he tosses in on the Lamont Jordan touchdown and Jordan's later long gain. What is that? A brief personal tribute to Emmitt Smith?)

So, it looks as if it's Culpepper, then, as imperfect as he may be. This writer, for one, is hoping Culpepper does well, despite the grousing I've been doing about the man since he came back too quickly from his career-derailing injury. Surely after 2006, Raider backers deserve better than the likes of, ahem, those other guys; Oakland would certainly love to see the Culpepper of old, a player who truly deserves more than to serve as a default. Plus, the worse the Raider QBs look, the more Russell's price goes up and the longer he can wait.

And hey, everyone loves a comeback, right?
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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CommentsComments: 52  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
the franchise		01:47 AM
08/22/2007
i'll say it again, culpepper has a point to prove and he is gonna have a monster year and win comeback player of the year...the...
No.2
Garret		01:55 AM
08/22/2007
Raider fans are hilarious. You sound just like the Dolphins fans who were saying last summer that Culpepper was the second...
No.3
RaiderNathan		02:03 AM
08/22/2007
I think the job is wide open until we see a breakthrough performance and than we all say its pre-season but its gotta be between...
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