… Daunte Culpepper.

I’ve been a Culpepper supporter since his second year in the league, but even I’m feeling a bit relieved that he’s gone after the bizarro past few months. Some folks around here didn’t like his turnovers or his decision-making, and there are a few no doubt who didn’t like his color, but in his time with the Vikings he was definitely head and shoulders above all but one or two quarterbacks in the league. I was even going to make him my first round draft pick in last year’s fantasy football draft but the guy in front of me got him (which turned out to be a lucky thing for me and perhaps discounts the rest of my analysis).

There’s no question that Culpepper’s play was subpar this last season even before the “Love Boat” and the injury. He had two good games against weak opponents and four games that ranged from dismal to wretched. Whether it was because he didn’t have Randy Moss, Matt Birk or Scott Linehan (or all of them), the distractions of off-field personal issues (as a married guy he had to have had some issues at home both before and after the boat trip), or because he was trying to do too much to overcome the rest of the team’s deficiencies, the results weren’t there. Yet two years ago he was nearly the league MVP. For all the criticism of his fumbles and inteceptions, the accuracy statistics for his career are first rate. I don’t think he’d have had a problem adapting to the West Coast offense which, for all its short and intermediate passes, still needs the threat of a quarterback going deep.

Clearly something was going on in his relationship with the Vikings, and it isn’t a new development. Eyebrows raised as early as last November when he didn’t return to the team following his injury to hang out with the guys as they made a play-off push. Few know for sure what was going on behind the scenes, but Zygi Wilf was making the right sounds about paying Daunte his roster bonus. Daunte hasn’t said anything about what he felt about Tice’s departure, but you’d think he’d be open-minded about working for a guy like Brad Childress who knew the offense that helped make Donovan McNabb a star. Daunte’s demands for a bigger contract following his injury and bad season were so strange as to more than build a case that he was trying to engineer his way out of Minnesota, but no one really knows why.

He said something about feeling unwanted, but somebody must have really been leaving some ugly notes in his locker (or email inbox) for a franchise quarterback to feel neglected. His pouting and posturing make him look like a 265 pound crybaby (and yes, I know, Fran Tarkenton was a 175 pound crybaby), but his own estimation of his worth wasn’t much more divorced from reality than Brad Johnson’s claims that he’s still a legitimate starting quarterback in this league. (True, Johnson is efficient and won’t lose you many games, but you can measure the hang-time on his passes with an egg-timer and he needs a good defense to keep the game close so he can try and keep the other team’s defense off balance. If the team gets into a situation where it has to pass to get back into a game I don’t think he can overcome a good defense).

The issue for Daunte may be as simple as the extreme mortification of being charged in the Love Boat incident. While I was one of those outraged by that escapade (see Dead ship floating) I’d have been satisfied with a two-game suspension of all players involved even if it included the star of the team. Daunte probably could have just taken his lumps, acted contrite, and all would have been forgiven after beating the Packers again. Maybe the problem was that, thanks to his injury, it would be a long wait to redeem himself on the field and he didn’t want to sit here with that being the last headline in peoples’ minds. It is reminiscent of the sexual harassment charge filed against North Star owner Norm Green that was the last straw in his decision to move the team to Dallas.

Regardless of ability, once Daunte made up his mind he wanted to be gone the Vikings really didn’t have much choice or reason to try and keep him. Now that he’s gone, thoughts have to turn to who will play quarterback for the Purple. Johnson is not an embarassment at QB, but he’s not a long-term solution (and, given his age and lack of mobility may be an extremely short-term solution once the games start). Green Bay back-up Craig Nall has been brought in for a look because he knows the West Coast offense, but not many know much about his abilities since he hasn’t had a lot of playing time behind Brett Favre. There’s no shame in being Favre’s caddy, but there are many back-up quarterbacks out there who know the WCO and nobody’s clamoring for them. Nall is interesting, and had a strong NFL Europe season a few years back, but is unknown.

Sometimes “unknown” is a positive, however, when the “known” is too problematic. Aaron Brooks is a tremendous athlete and a free agent, but his mental melt-downs are too well chronicled and he might not be a good fit for the WCO. Brian Griese has some skill, but in my mind is a younger version of Brad Johnson. Kerry Collins? Oh, please, dear God, no. People that have only watched him play the Vikings might think he’s Superman, but against everyone else he looks as overmatched as Jimmy Olson.

One guy who intrigues me (in much the same way new Vikes running back Chester Taylor intrigued me a few weeks ago in this space) is former Cardinal quarterback Josh McCown. He’s young, big, has a strong arm and can run. He’s been inconsistent as a starter, having some big games and some bad games, but I wonder how much of that was because he truly is inconsistent or because of Denny Green’s mad genius act. McCown’s early career reminds me of Steve Young’s when he was with Tampa Bay after the USFL, and his tools make him an interesting option to bring in as a #2 that can be a future starter.

As for the Vikings latest acquisitions, Ryan Longwell is a bit of a whiner but not any flakier than your average kicker and has a history of performing in tough weather and intense situations; he should be an upgrade for the team, especially kicking in the Dome. Leber was considered to be a guy on the rise before his injury and the arrival of a first-round linebacker pick Shawn Merriman (which makes you wonder if Leber was so good why the Chargers spent a first-round pick on another linebacker). Hopefully he can run and think at the same time, a problem that has plagued the Purple’s linebacking corps for the last few years. Chester Taylor I’ve already said I like. He’s got size, speed and fresh legs and I see him as a Duce Staley (in his prime) type. Taylor with Mewelde Moore playing the Brian Westbrook role gives the team an effective tandem for Childress’s Vikings version of the Eagles offense. Even better if they end up with Hutchinson, even at that price. I’d rather they spend the money on a young, monster offensive lineman that will play at a high level for many years than throwing big bucks at a big name but high-mileage running back (I’d rather have the guy that opened the holes for Shaun Alexander than Shaun Alexander at this point). Now if they can parlay some draft choices to get into the top 10 to draft Texas defensive back Michael Hough I’ll really be impressed.

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