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Vikings QB
Daunte Culpepper
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As I watched Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper against the Saints in Minnesota’s 34-16
win to earn a spot in the NFC title game, I kept thinking of Charlie Batch.
It’s not the Charlie Batch of this season I’m referring to. Batch and
Culpepper had little in common this season. Culpepper played at a far superior level this
season.
What kept popping into my mind was a game I covered in 1998, when Batch, then a rookie,
had recently taken over the starting QB duties from Scott Mitchell. Little was expected of
Batch.
"As a rookie, all we expect him to do is just show up," one of his teammates
told me.
Which put Batch in a dream situation. No pressure. His job primarily was to hand off to
All-World RB Barry Sanders and sit back and watch him work his magic.
The headline on my column that followed was, "Charlie Batch has the sweetest,
cushiest job in the NFL."
A similar thought came to mind as Culpepper & Co. were having their big game
against the Saints. The talent surrounding young Culpepper is so remarkable that he is the
envy of every other young quarterback in the NFL.
Eagles QB Donovan McNabb has been remarkable despite very little firepower at running
back and wide receiver. Bengals QB Akili Smith has virtually no experience at the WR
spots. Saints QB Aaron Brooks plays on a team whose skill-position players were wiped out
by everything but the plague. Browns QB Tim Couch, before he got hurt, didn’t have
much to write home about at the skill positions. Buccaneers QB Shaun King plays in an
offense that should do commercials for vanilla ice cream. Bears QB Cade McNown, besides
being a public-relations nightmare, has a nondescript running game and a passing scheme
that was hurt by injuries at wide receiver and the fact that the league seemed to catch up
to it this year.
Then there’s Culpepper, who has it all. He gets to throw to All-World WRs Randy
Moss and Cris Carter. He gets to hand off to RB Robert Smith, who was my NFL MVP
three-quarters of the way through the regular season. He is protected by an excellent
offensive line.
Culpepper reminds me of the high school senior who drives a brand-new sports car,
always has a wallet full of cash and is dating the head cheerleader. Some guys have all
the luck.
Which is why the Culpepper comparison to Batch, circa 1998, came to mind.
This is not to say Culpepper comes to the party empty-handed. While much of his success
is due to those around him, his talent has also contributed to his big year. His running
ability has added a wonderful dimension to the Vikings’ offense. Plus, he hasn’t
screwed things up. A lot of people get handed a sure thing and blow it. If he is like the
high school senior with the fancy sports car, it is to Culpepper’s credit that he
hasn’t wrapped it around a tree. In football terms, this translates to a great 33-16
TD-interception ratio during the regular season. Culpepper’s improvement since the
start of the regular season has been quite good. His improvement from this time a year ago
has been phenomenal.
For all the credit Culpepper deserves, though, one cannot underestimate how much he is
assisted by the talent around him. Especially the wide receivers.
Moss and Carter are very different, yet both are astonishing performers. Moss is the
athletic, blazing-fast, unstoppable force who makes huge plays no matter how harmless the
play would be in the hands of virtually any other receiver in the league. Carter is the
dependable vet who comes up huge in the clutch and makes plays that may be less athletic,
less jaw-dropping than those turned in by Moss but are every bit as game-changing.
I remember covering Moss’ pro breakout game in ’98, when he tortured the
Packers to the tune of five catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns. After one bomb on
which Moss beat seemingly good coverage, Moss told then-starting QB Randall Cunningham,
"Hey, man, nice throw." To this Cunningham responded, "That wasn’t a
nice throw. You came up with the raggedy pass that I threw."
That is what Moss now does for Culpepper. The young quarterback will probably become a
superstar someday on his own merits, but for now he benefits mightily by grabbing on to
Moss’ coattails. Just look at the game against the Saints. Moss caught two passes for
121 yards and two touchdowns. The first was a 53-yarder on which Moss took a medium-range
pass and turned on the jets to go the distance. At least Culpepper had a decent amount to
do with that play. Moss’ second TD catch was 99 percent his doing and one percent
Culpepper’s doing. On that play, Moss took a quick pass near the line of scrimmage
and ran 68 yards to paydirt. Culpepper gets a 68-yard TD pass placed next to his name, but
Moss did all the heavy lifting.
Carter is an altogether different security blanket for Culpepper. He is a QB’s
best friend in that he makes all the important catches, even when everything does not go
perfectly. When I think of Carter, I always remember a game I covered in which the
Vikings’ fireworks display went off loudly while the ball was in the air on the way
to Carter, who was in the endzone.
"That scared the heck out of me," said Moss, who normally is too cool to let
anything bother him.
Unaffected, Carter calmly caught the TD pass. Big-time players make big-time plays
under any circumstances. So it was with Carter against the Saints. In the first quarter,
Carter made a great 34-yard catch on an underthrown ball on 3rd-and-8 that gave the
Vikings 1st-and-goal at the Saints’ one-yard line. Just before halftime, Carter
caught a 17-yard TD pass despite good pass coverage and the fact that a leaping catch was
required. In the third quarter, Carter made a terrific, leaping 19-yard catch on 3rd-and-7
to keep a drive alive. All big-time plays on which Carter made Culpepper look good.
Culpepper need apologize to no one. He had a fine season. He has taken the first step
on the way to greatness. But he’s not a superstar yet. What he is, given the
embarrassment of riches around him, is an immensely talented young man with the cushiest
gig in the NFL. To have that much talent of his own and have that much talent placed
around him, well, it just doesn’t seem fair. I’m not sure who agrees with me
more on this sentiment: opposing defenses or every other young quarterback in the NFL. |
