Raiders’ Culpepper looks solid, but Kiffin won’t commit

By Mike Ash  |   Monday, August 27, 2007  |  Comments( 39 )

Oakland Raiders
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According to Daunte Culpepper's stats from Friday night, he was 4 of 8 for just 47 yards and one touchdown. But as is often the case, a stat line doesn't tell the entire story. They don't indicate, for example, that three of the incomplete passes were solid throws that his receivers dropped. And they don't tell of Culpepper continuing to display the mobility he used to be noted for by scrambling to pick up yards.

Many fans and observers thought Culpepper had sewn up the Raiders' starting job with his performance against the St. Louis Rams, but head coach Lane Kiffin wasn't ready to concede the point.

"He's still not playing as fast as we'd like him to play because he's still catching up with the offense," Kiffin told the media. "I want to take a couple more days here on (the starting QB issue) and, obviously, go one way or the other. Either name a guy or go one more week."

In fact, most of Kiffin's praise seemed to go to Josh McCown, who also had a solid game on Friday. McCown completed 6 for 9 throws for 138 yards and led the Raiders on a pair of scoring drives that totaled 10 points.

"Josh had three incompletions - one was a throw-away and the other two Mike Williams dropped on him," the coach said of McCown. "Otherwise, he almost played perfect."

Kiffin said he plans to study the videotape of both players' performance in the preseason and watch them work in practice this week before naming his starter. Ultimately, though, the decision may come down to his observation that Culpepper hasn't had enough time to learn the team's offense.

Culpepper has been with the Raiders for less than a month, and in addition to having far less time to study the playbook than McCown or Andrew Walter, he's behind in developing chemistry with his teammates - namely the center, as the handful of botched exchanges during the preseason have shown. If Kiffin honestly feels that Culpepper's grasp of the offense is limited, he may be inclined to give the nod to McCown, at least early on.

McCown appears to be a better passer than Walter and more mobile than Culpepper, but there are some definite drawbacks. For one, he's been known for turning the ball over rather frequently during his career, which no coach ever wants to see. And he's also coming off a season in which he sat the entire year, never taking a snap at QB.

Walter's name is still in the mix for the starting job, although he hasn't done much to stand out since the first preseason game. Kiffin noted that it wasn't Walter's fault, though, considering he came into Friday's game with a solid lead and mostly handed the ball off to the running backs. Still, few consider him a serious candidate to be named the starter.

Whichever way Kiffin goes, it shouldn't be long before he makes his decision. The Raiders' season opener against the Detroit Lions is just two weeks away.
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CommentsComments: 39  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
blat		02:46 AM
08/27/2007
We're pretty damned fortunate to have three reasonably adequate QB's. I bet Culpepper starts because of his experience. Walter...
No.2
Josh P.		03:05 AM
08/27/2007
I think Daunte Culpepper Deserves The Starting Job, Because Of His TD's. He Has The Wisdom of a veteran to get himself out of...
No.3
Raider Glory		03:10 AM
08/27/2007
Oh' come on Kiff, You know damn well you got your starter with Culpepper. If you want to keep a secret hush for another week, go...
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