PFR Blog post (1 Viewer)

[Chase Stuart]

In baseball, the numbers 511 and 714 have a significance that’s unparalleled in football. You probably don’t know what 5,123 signifies. If I asked you to name the record for total yards by a single player in a season, it’s unlikely you’d know that the answer is 5,123. Even worse, I’d expect very few people even know who holds the record. It’s not Dan Marino (5,077), although he is the only other player to accumulate 15,000 feet in a season. Warren Moon, Kurt Warner, Dan Fouts and Rich Gannon all topped 4800 yards in a year, but none of them is the record-holder, either. Warner, Fouts and Moon all have two seasons among the top 11 of all time, alongside some career years from Neil Lomax and Mark Brunell.

So as not to spoil it for those who want to guess,....Full post

 

[Workhorse]

I know who it is since he single-handedly ruined my keeper league team the season AFTER he set that mark.

 

[JayMan]

Isn't that reserve QB from the Jaguars?...

 

[Jason Wood]

Great post Chase...in the soon-to-be published Peyton Manning spotlight, I make a similar observation. Many would be surprised to learn that 2006 was the first time in Peyton Mannng's history he managed to finsih as QB1 at year end. And, ironically, it came as a result of his 4 rushing TDs; which we all know was a massive anomoly. The year when Manning threw 49 TDs, he would've bee QB1 in almost any NFL season, unfortunately that happened to be the same year your mystery QB went for 5,123.

 

[Afro Samurai]

He ruined my season that year as well.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

What caused this player to drop off between 2004 and 2005 from appearing to be a top level QB to looking like roster fodder? Why doesn't anyone seem interested in having him lead their team right now?

Reminds me a little of Kurt Warner without the Super Bowl rings. Warner got a chance to start twice after his run with the Rams though.

 

[Family Matters]

Can only be 1 man. Amazing where he is now.

 

[Exile]

This guy still holds the record for most 50+ point games in a season in my league. The Manning owner was pissed he didn't win our league's MVP that year, but the numbers supported this guy instead.

 

[TBLCommish]

This guy still holds the record for most 50+ point games in a season in my league. The Manning owner was pissed he didn't win our league's MVP that year, but the numbers supported this guy instead.

The real question is will he ever regain that form?

 

[SSOG]

Great posting, Chase. No QB in the NFL has had his accomplishments so marginalized. Some people have gone so far as to suggest that he was never talented. He's called inaccurate (despite setting college marks for accuracy), he's called a turnover machine (despite having an unreal TD:Turnover ratio), he's called a product of Randy Moss (despite producing his best numbers when Moss was at his worst). I don't know what everyone has against him. I don't know what more he could have possibly done. It just makes no sense.

 

[lions327]

Great posting, Chase. No QB in the NFL has had his accomplishments so marginalized. Some people have gone so far as to suggest that he was never talented. He's called inaccurate (despite setting college marks for accuracy), he's called a turnover machine (despite having an unreal TD:Turnover ratio), he's called a product of Randy Moss (despite producing his best numbers when Moss was at his worst). I don't know what everyone has against him. I don't know what more he could have possibly done. It just makes no sense.

I certainly can't debate his season with 39 TD's and 11 picks, one of the best ever, and Moss may not have been at his best reception wise, but he did have 13 TD's. Moss caught almost half of Culpeppers TD passes when he was there. If you look at his other 5 seasons, he only had 2 great years (plus the one above). His other 3 years left a lot to be desired. He was too inconsistent from season to season to be considered great, in my opinion, and he went down fast when Moss went to Oakland.

I personally don't see him ever having one of those old huge Culpepper years.

As for what more could he have possibly done, I would say he could have been more consistent from year to year than he was.

 

[SSOG]

As for what more could he have possibly done, I would say he could have been more consistent from year to year than he was.

Maybe he would have been if he'd had any talent surrounding him.Outside of the turnoverfest of 2002 and the 10-turnovers in the first games of 2005, Culpepper was pretty consistently great in Minny (except, of course, for the time he missed with injuries).

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

As for what more could he have possibly done, I would say he could have been more consistent from year to year than he was.

Maybe he would have been if he'd had any talent surrounding him.Outside of the turnoverfest of 2002 and the 10-turnovers in the first games of 2005, Culpepper was pretty consistently great in Minny (except, of course, for the time he missed with injuries).

You just said it yourself. Your excuse for his poor seasons is the "talent around him". He did have some great seasons but he isn't the kind of player or QB that makes his teammates better.And he is a turnover machine. His TD-INT ratio in the last two years is 8:15 and he added three more turnovers (fumbles lost). That's awful. Even in his 2000-2004 glory years he fumbled 75 times and lost 32 of them and threw 74 INTs. Beyond all the historical numbers for the guy, I'm looking for someone to explain what happened to him. How do you go from "great" QB and all of a sudden at 27 years old turn into an awful QB for two seasons? Great QBs are awfully hard to find so why did the Vikings dump him for peanuts? And now no one seems to want him at all for anything more than an insurance policy backup QB. That doesn't happen to "great" QBs who are only 30 years old.

 

[CalBear]

And he is a turnover machine. His TD-INT ratio in the last two years is 8:15 and he added three more turnovers (fumbles lost). That's awful.

His TD-INT ratio in the last three years is 47:26. That's among the best in the league. Don't cherry-pick.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

And he is a turnover machine. His TD-INT ratio in the last two years is 8:15 and he added three more turnovers (fumbles lost). That's awful.

His TD-INT ratio in the last three years is 47:26. That's among the best in the league. Don't cherry-pick.

Care to explain why he went from "great" to awful overnight then? I've asked at least a half dozen times and no one seems to know.Speaking of cherry picking, my entire post explained his turnovers throughout his career. Thanks for hypocritically choosing one line out of it to try and make a point. Whatever your point is.

 

[SSOG]

You just said it yourself. Your excuse for his poor seasons is the "talent around him". He did have some great seasons but he isn't the kind of player or QB that makes his teammates better.

Excuse me? He isn't the type of player that makes his teammates better? Nate Burleson went for 1,000 yards with Culpepper at the helm. Nate Burleson, who is possibly the worst receiver in history to get 1,000 yards. Michael Bennett made the pro bowl with Culpepper drawing the defense's attention- now Bennett is struggling to even make rosters as a backup. Moe Williams, Marcus Robinson, and Jermaine Wiggins all looked a hell of a lot better with Culpepper than they ever did at any other point in their entire career. D'wayne Bates had never caught more than 9 balls in a single season in his career until he joined C'Pep and went for 50/689/4. In fact, the only player on any of those Vikings teams that I can think of that *EVER* looked as good without C'Pep as he did with him was Randy Moss (well, and Marcus Robinson for one truly bizarre year in Chicago). Culpepper absolutely DID make his teammates better, but even the best of QBs can only do so much- look at what John Elway, the king of carrying a team, did in 1992- 10 TDs and 17 INTs in just 12 games. Brett Favre, the guy who supposedly turns average WRs into studs, has had three seasons with an upside down TD:INT ratio (and last year he threw 18 of each). Archie Manning is often described as the best QB to ever play his entire career on a horrible team. His career TD:INT ratio is 125:173- and remember, this is the BEST QB to play on a horrible team. No matter how good you are, if the talent around you is poor, it's going to make you inconsistent, at best.

Beyond all the historical numbers for the guy, I'm looking for someone to explain what happened to him. How do you go from "great" QB and all of a sudden at 27 years old turn into an awful QB for two seasons? Great QBs are awfully hard to find so why did the Vikings dump him for peanuts? And now no one seems to want him at all for anything more than an insurance policy backup QB. That doesn't happen to "great" QBs who are only 30 years old.

I'm not so certain that Culpepper was truly awful in 2005. He had 8 turnovers in his first two games, but after that he had a 6:4 TD:INT ratio. The sample size is so small that it's hard to tell if the 8 turnovers were indicative of his level of play for that season, or if they were just a statistical aberration resulting from adjusting to massive changes in scheme. I mean, Tom Brady has had a 4-INT game almost every year of his career. What would happen if he had one of those to start the season and then got injured after game 3- odds are his TD:INT ratio would look pretty brutal. I'm reminded of Donovan McNabb in 2003- after 7 games, McNabb had a 3:7 TD:INT ratio and had yet to pass for more than 186 yards (and his most recent games had shown no sign of him turning it around). he looked MUCH worse that year than Culpepper did in 2005... but after that, McNabb averaged 250 yards per game passing and threw 13 TDs to just 4 INTs. Who's to say that Culpepper wasn't about to perform a similar turnaround? I've already mentioned that Culpepper had a 6:4 TD:INT ratio from games 3-6 and seemed to be getting things back together before he got injured.2006 I don't give any credence to whatsoever, because he only appeared in 4 games, and everyone involved in the situation acknowledges that he was still rushing back from his injury and shouldn't have been in those games in the first place. So basically, the question becomes which do I give more weight to- years and years of stellar, otherworldly production... or a 6-game stretch to open the 2005 season? Personally, I'll believe that Culpepper is closer to the QB he appeared to be from 2000 to 2004 than the QB he appeared to be in 2005.Even more than this, what I don't understand is why Randy Moss gets a pass and Culpepper doesn't. Randy Moss has been every bit as putrid as C'Pep since they left, but somehow Randy Moss is still a stud who is just being brought down by his supporting cast, while C'Pep is a no-talent hack. Why is it that Moss is still considered a stud, but Culpepper isn't?

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

You just said it yourself. Your excuse for his poor seasons is the "talent around him". He did have some great seasons but he isn't the kind of player or QB that makes his teammates better.

Excuse me? He isn't the type of player that makes his teammates better? Nate Burleson went for 1,000 yards with Culpepper at the helm. Nate Burleson, who is possibly the worst receiver in history to get 1,000 yards. Michael Bennett made the pro bowl with Culpepper drawing the defense's attention- now Bennett is struggling to even make rosters as a backup. Moe Williams, Marcus Robinson, and Jermaine Wiggins all looked a hell of a lot better with Culpepper than they ever did at any other point in their entire career. D'wayne Bates had never caught more than 9 balls in a single season in his career until he joined C'Pep and went for 50/689/4. In fact, the only player on any of those Vikings teams that I can think of that *EVER* looked as good without C'Pep as he did with him was Randy Moss (well, and Marcus Robinson for one truly bizarre year in Chicago). Culpepper absolutely DID make his teammates better, but even the best of QBs can only do so much- look at what John Elway, the king of carrying a team, did in 1992- 10 TDs and 17 INTs in just 12 games. Brett Favre, the guy who supposedly turns average WRs into studs, has had three seasons with an upside down TD:INT ratio (and last year he threw 18 of each). Archie Manning is often described as the best QB to ever play his entire career on a horrible team. His career TD:INT ratio is 125:173- and remember, this is the BEST QB to play on a horrible team. No matter how good you are, if the talent around you is poor, it's going to make you inconsistent, at best.

Beyond all the historical numbers for the guy, I'm looking for someone to explain what happened to him. How do you go from "great" QB and all of a sudden at 27 years old turn into an awful QB for two seasons? Great QBs are awfully hard to find so why did the Vikings dump him for peanuts? And now no one seems to want him at all for anything more than an insurance policy backup QB. That doesn't happen to "great" QBs who are only 30 years old.

I'm not so certain that Culpepper was truly awful in 2005. He had 8 turnovers in his first two games, but after that he had a 6:4 TD:INT ratio. The sample size is so small that it's hard to tell if the 8 turnovers were indicative of his level of play for that season, or if they were just a statistical aberration resulting from adjusting to massive changes in scheme. I mean, Tom Brady has had a 4-INT game almost every year of his career. What would happen if he had one of those to start the season and then got injured after game 3- odds are his TD:INT ratio would look pretty brutal. I'm reminded of Donovan McNabb in 2003- after 7 games, McNabb had a 3:7 TD:INT ratio and had yet to pass for more than 186 yards (and his most recent games had shown no sign of him turning it around). he looked MUCH worse that year than Culpepper did in 2005... but after that, McNabb averaged 250 yards per game passing and threw 13 TDs to just 4 INTs. Who's to say that Culpepper wasn't about to perform a similar turnaround? I've already mentioned that Culpepper had a 6:4 TD:INT ratio from games 3-6 and seemed to be getting things back together before he got injured.2006 I don't give any credence to whatsoever, because he only appeared in 4 games, and everyone involved in the situation acknowledges that he was still rushing back from his injury and shouldn't have been in those games in the first place. So basically, the question becomes which do I give more weight to- years and years of stellar, otherworldly production... or a 6-game stretch to open the 2005 season? Personally, I'll believe that Culpepper is closer to the QB he appeared to be from 2000 to 2004 than the QB he appeared to be in 2005.Even more than this, what I don't understand is why Randy Moss gets a pass and Culpepper doesn't. Randy Moss has been every bit as putrid as C'Pep since they left, but somehow Randy Moss is still a stud who is just being brought down by his supporting cast, while C'Pep is a no-talent hack. Why is it that Moss is still considered a stud, but Culpepper isn't?

The analysts on the ESPN and NFL Network that break down film certainly don't have good things to say about DC in 2005 and 2006 regardless of sample size. But if you throw those 2 seasons out, it brings me back to my original question of why in the world does no one want him leading their team then?In the last few days, I've been hammered by a couple of you for my opinion on DC but if he has all world talent, doesn't make poor decisions, can read defenses, and isn't a lockerroom cancer why in the world is everyone seemingly avoiding him? Doesn't add up to me.

 

[GregR_2]

What caused this player to drop off between 2004 and 2005 from appearing to be a top level QB to looking like roster fodder? Why doesn't anyone seem interested in having him lead their team right now?

Reminds me a little of Kurt Warner without the Super Bowl rings. Warner got a chance to start twice after his run with the Rams though.

With all the scores he had in 2004, no one could possibly hope to recover from the vast amounts of negative karma incurred from doing that stupid basketball-travelling-signal made into a touchdown dance of his.He'll be years paying it off.

 

[Tick]

A guy in one of my dynasty leagues had both Manning and him that year... and didn't win the title.

 

[Holy Schneikes]

And he is a turnover machine. His TD-INT ratio in the last two years is 8:15 and he added three more turnovers (fumbles lost). That's awful.

His TD-INT ratio in the last three years is 47:26. That's among the best in the league. Don't cherry-pick.

Another bit of cherry picking is looking at INTs and NOT turnovers (i.e. ints + fumbles). I know it is relatively common, but Culpeppers fumbles are such a big problem that you have to consider them. He basically fumbles once per game on average over his career. That is a killer.Even when he was the man, I was amazed at how many times he fumbled.

 

[John Mamula]

Many would be surprised to learn that 2006 was the first time in Peyton Mannng's history he managed to finsih as QB1 at year end.

really? i don't think many would be surprised at all. it came up in pretty much every draft Peyton Manning in the first round debate over the last 3 years.