Patrick Reusse: Trade does more for QB than Vikes
Daunte Culpepper will now find himself mentioned routinely in the same sentence with Terrell Owens and Randy Moss: trouble traded at a discount.
Patrick Reusse, Star Tribune
Last update: March 14, 2006 – 9:41 PM
Daunte Culpepper will now find himself mentioned routinely in the same sentence with Terrell Owens and Randy Moss: trouble traded at a discount.
He does not belong in that company. He was a solid presence in the locker room and a determined competitor. He never pulled an Owens and publicly ridiculed a teammate, and he never pulled a Moss and played only when he wanted.
It is still to be determined if he treated himself to a lap dance on a boat, but even if true, this rates only slightly ahead of Kevin Garnett flipping a basketball that taps a fan in the noggin on the meter of egregious behavior.
He never gave a traffic agent a ride on the hood of a SUV, never was found with marijuana residue in an ashtray, or an Original Whizzinator, or over the legal limit, and never was known to have a wife or girlfriend feel the need to call 911.
In other words, by Vikings standards established over the past 20 years, Culpepper was almost beatific in his public conduct. Thus, the source of this strange parting between Culpepper and the Vikings remains mysterious.
We know that Culpepper's long streak of being a stand-up guy came to an end on Oct. 12, when the reports of Sex Cruise had surfaced and he refused to comment in his weekly press conference. If he was that rattled by boat party questions from the media, one can only imagine how rattled he might have been by questions from Mrs. Culpepper.
Daunte suffered his season-ending knee injury 18 days later. Then, in mid-December, he was among four Vikings charged with misdemeanors stemming from Sex Cruise.
On Jan. 12, owner Zygi Wilf stiffed Culpepper at a scheduled meeting, and Culpepper responded by stiffing new coach Brad Childress for their scheduled meeting.
Somehow in those three months, from his no comment to the media to his no comment to Childress, Culpepper's relationship with the Vikings changed from franchise quarterback to persona non grata.
By Tuesday's trade, the Vikings had reached this point with Culpepper: They were less unsettled by news of the trade getting out before Daunte had taken his Miami physical than by the leak of information that several players (Brad Johnson included) were in New York being fitted for new uniforms.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is a team that apparently plans to enter the season with a 38-year-old and a couple of nobodies at quarterback, but what's important is the 2006 Vikings will be bringing back uniforms with purple pants.
Gaudy pants aside, the Vikings are headed into the great unknown with Childress. He's a first-time head coach tying his wagon to Johnson, who graded out at C+ in nine starts for the Vikings last season, after flunking his way to the bench in four 2004 starts for Tampa Bay.
The sure winner here is Culpepper. He avoided being traded to Oakland. The problem would not have been a renewal of his love-hate relationship with Moss. It's the owner, Al Davis, who has turned so dingy in his old age he couldn't find a coach to take the Raiders job. He wound up being forced to recycle Art Shell.
Culpepper would have found coaching chaos in Oakland, or been surrounded by novices in Minnesota. In Miami, he falls into a situation where the coaching will be impeccable, with Nick Saban in charge and Mike Mularkey as offensive coordinator.
Saban started his turnaround of the Dolphins in the second half of last season ... without a quarterback. Mularkey did well enough in the coordinator's role in Pittsburgh to get a shot as head coach in Buffalo. Unlike Childress, Mularkey previously has called plays in the NFL, and with success.
The Vikings already have spent a hunk of cash in free agency, with a minimal impact: a placekicker marginally better than the incumbent, a backup running back to join other backups and a linebacker with a bad foot.
The Vikings do have a chance to get something significant out of this early shopping spree, if Seattle chooses not to match the gigantic offer to guard Steve Hutchinson. Put Hutchinson between left tackle Bryant McKinnie and a healthy center in Matt Birk, and there will be impressive blocking power inside those purple pants.
If Seattle matches?
The Vikings will have added little, and done so while giving away a quarterback who has not played in his last Pro Bowl.
Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. • preusse@startribune.com
C Pep is gigantic and mobile, that's part of his overall game. Marino, even in his early record setting days, was as mobile as a totem pole.
Sorry, that was more hostile than I intended.
[Most, Steve Francis aside] Players don't pull themselves out of games because of injury, coaches, team doctors and GM's pull injuried players out of games.
