C-Pep note..

[Down to Earth]

12/19 11:51 Vikings: Culpepper talks about playing elsewhere

THE NEWS

Injured Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper reportedly raised the possibility of playing elsewhere in 2006 during an off-camera interview Sunday morning with ESPN, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "I want to play where I'm wanted," Culpepper told reporter Andrea Kremer, who relayed the statement during ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown."

Our View

Culpepper was disappointing this season and he's due an awful lot of money over the next few years, so we're not surprised something like this popped up. However, we're a little surprised it came from Culpepper's mouth. It sounds as if the Pro-Bowl quarterback is playing the woe-is-me card. Well, boo-hoo. Here's a novel idea: own up to your problems instead of running away like a spoiled pro athlete.

[nofishfisherman]

What is missing from that article is the context in which that quote was said.

I would like to read the original interview that the quote came from. What question was he answering when he said that. I bet she asked C-Pep something along the lines of "How do you feel about all the questions surrounding your return to the team? What if the Vikings don't want you back?

I would bet Culpepper didn't just start spouting off his mouth about how he wants to be somewhere else becuase no one likes him. Just a few days ago Wilf said Culpepper will be on the 2006 roster regardless of his knee.

Its all about the context and the way it was reported that comment could be in response to about a million different questions so I hope no one gets their undies in a bundle about it.

[JIvers]

Rumor has it Denny Green is interested in acquiring Culpepper from the Vikings. It is a tantalizing possibility, assuming the Vikings could get a good draft pick in return, although Culpepper's knee injury may hurt his trade value. Whatever you think of Johnson's performance this season (I admit he has performed better than I thought he would), he is not a long-term solution for the Vikings at QB, being 37 years old and prone to injury. I am open to saying a Culpepper trade to Arizona is not a bad idea, assuming the Vikings could either sign a proven veteran QB in the offseason, or preferrably draft a young QB as an understudy for Johnson next year. All this is just speculation on my part, based on rumor.

[Mitty]

Boy I cant believe how insecure some of these spoiled brats are, just the other day in the paper he was praising himself as the teams biggest fan what a hypocrite,I say dump the looser he never could read a defense anyway.Plus if anyone really thinks he can come back from a surgery like the one he had their crazy hes done.

[8-Ball]

He "wants to go where he is wanted". Is he serious? Did'nt Zygster re-sign him to a new contract before the season started, to the tune of several extra million for the former, and I do mean former, "ALL-Pro". Now, because he got caught playing grab a** and is embarassed, not only about that, but his lousy performance on the field this year, he wants out? Nice leader, Pep. Pillar of the community, while I'm at it, as well as role model for kids. Why didn't these clowns at least heave enough sense to do this in the privacy of one of their starter castles? I am fed up w/ these over priced "stars" who turn tail at the first sign of adversity.

[nofishfisherman]

Wow all thats a bit harsh don't you think.

I just love how sports fans act so self righteous about judging the character and actions of sports stars.

Yeah they can do some stupid stuff and the boat incident is an embarrassment but how in the world do you know how Culpepper is handling it? Are you basing your entire opinion of how he is acting on that one sentence taken from an interview that no one has heard in full detail? Or have you sat down and talked with Culpepper and seen who he is as a man?

For a second there I thought it was the second coming of Christ the way you were judging people.

As a side note~ throwing an interception doesn't always mean you can't read a defense. Does anyone question the football knowledge of Bret Favre? No one ever says he can't read a defense and he is leading the league in interceptions and is well known to turn the ball over with regularity. I think the case for both Farve and Culpepper is they are trying to do to much, they try to carry the team and win the game by themselves and that just doesn't happen in football. One man can't do it by himself like a basketball player could.

[Sandbar]

I think the entire interview needs to be heard. As we all know, the media can distort the story by a little editing. IMO, Culpepper probably should come out and have an interview with the media. Let the fans know his progress in rehab, wish the team luck down the stretch, etc... I hope to see him back next year with the Vikes.

[fishyguy]

Well said Nofish. I can't believe that not only does Daunte rarely get cut any slack, but it seems people go out of the way to turn things into something more than they are. I have never really given much thought to the whole race issue that ocassionally gets brought up but sometimes you really start to wonder. If Daunte had played a game like Brad did last weekend, they would have been calling for his head. Instead we let Brad off the hook with one bad game. Johnson for his career is averaging .96 interceptions per start. Daunte is averaging 1.06 per start. Also, for the last 2 years Daunte is averaging .57 fumbles per start and Brad has got .55 fumbles per start. Is it really that bad with Daunte? I am pretty sure all you critics were in your chairs and on your couches cheering last year when he had one of the best quarterback seasons ever. What is more likely? Daunte coming back to the Pro Bowl form he has shown the last few years up until this one or some draft pick becoming the next savior. While you all think about that I would like to bring up a couple names. Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf, Todd Marinovich. There are a lot more of those than there are the draft picks that turn out to be Brett Farve or Carson Palmer.

I guess that is my long rambling way of saying, here is one vote to say he is wanted here.

[Raj22]

I don't care what he had, or has to say. There are better QB's out there, on and off the field. Denny can have him, they are perfect for each other. Get rid of him.

[nofishfisherman]

Thanks for the help fishyguy.

Raj22, there may be better QB's out there but who do you think they are and how are we going to get them?

And for those begging to trade Pep for a draft pick, that option is pretty risky. Look at what we got for Randy Moss, #7 pick which is a bust so far, he hasn't even suited up several games. There are a ton of top picks that never work out. You may get a Manning or a Palmer but more likely you will get a Joey Harrington. And who wants that.

Oh wait Harrington may be available this offseason. Lets go after him, according to many of you he has to be better then Culpepper since Culpepper is the worst QB in the history of the NFL and can't read a defense, can't hold onto a ball, can't avoid sacks, can't lead a team, can't stop pouting, can't tie his own shoe and the list goes on.

Next year he will be back, and if he puts a good numbers again all of you C-pep critics will be loving him again. Try not to be so inconsistent, you love a guy one year and if he has a rough stretch you want the guy cut. Its all or nothing with you guys. Life just doesn't work that way.

I would love to hear some realistic options for who people think should be the QB here next year and for years to come. You want Pep out but who do you want in?

[8-Ball]

I don't know who the QB should be next year, and I am not the second coming of Christ, either. I never was and never will be on the "Pep" bandwagon, and no, race has nothing to do with it either. No-one said he had to be perfect, or that I am, either. I am not self righteous, either. As previously stated, they could have had enough brains to do this in the privacy of one of their mansions, then this would not be an issue. In my opinion, it has a lot to do with him pouting about "going somewhere where he is wanted". Boo hoo. He gets re-signed for several extra million, gets caught doing a no-no, and pouts because of that and the way he stunk it up on the field this year. I am not exactly bonkers over Johnson, either. But face the facts-he won six in a row, and up until the Pitt game, didn't make lousy reads/throws, and get the ball stripped out of his hands like "Pep" has for his whole career. He had one great season. I am not denying that. Will he get back to that level?? Who knows. I have a right to state my opinion like anyone else here and will continue to do so, whether NOFISH likes what I have to say or not.

[TNFL]

I'll answer that, Jon Kitna, Drew Brees, Matt Schaub, My little sister. Any would be better or at least cheaper than a broken down c-pep.

I disagree with being consistent. If someone is playing bad they need to be benched or let go. I hate the idea of not being able to make my own decisions about how i feel at any given point. Nothing worse than following one train of thought all the time.

[nofishfisherman]

No one plays well 100% of the time. favre should be let go becuase he has had some less then stellar years. Johnson should never have been signed becuase he played pretty bad in Tampa at the end of his run.

Kitna had one decent year and many horrible years so lets not sign him because he played bad so he should just be cut.

I'm not saying you can't rip a guy when he plays bad. But going back and forth between love and hate is stupid becuase ever QB has up years and down years. Peyton Manning is the only QB in recent memory that has only had up years.

Everyone has flaws, you just want to cut C-pep and then when the next guy comes in and has a bad day you will just want to cut him, and then cut the next guy. Basically just ax guys while in the hunt for the next Peyton Manning. Well that isn't going to work. What you get is the Arizona Cardinals or the Chicago Bears, always on the eternal search for a QB. You got a pretty good guy here, I say work with him becuase believe it or not he is the best thats available.

So far I have read posts asking for probably 10 different players to be cut. Anywhere from Culpepper to Edinger, to Tice, to just about anyone else on the team.

You can't just cut a guy for one bad performance or even 4-5 bad games. Ecspecially when everyone on the team played so bad in the first 7 games you can't put the losses all on one guy like people are trying to do.

The only cut I would support is Tice. He was given a few years to make it work and he just can't pull it all together for what ever reason. And it looks like there will be several good coaches available. Billick is one guy I would like to see come back.

[JIvers]

I'm not sure why it is that suggesting trading Culpepper to the Cardinals is in and of itself a bad thing. Giving up Culpepper in return for a high draft pick while keeping Johnson as caretaker QB sounds like a worthwhile risk to me.

And Troy Williamson is not yet a bust--he is second among rookie receivers in most receiving stats. He has done better than Mike Williams, for instance. As far as that goes, Randy Moss has not exactly raised the level of play for Kerry Collins and the Oakland Raiders. But, Moss has been accused of not running his routes while being hobbled by injuries.

And Edinger continues to be inconsistent, and the sooner he is gone the better. It did not much affect the outcome of the game, but his blocked field goal against the Steelers was pathetic--he basically kicked it into the line of scrimmage, as he did against Chicago. For the money he is being paid to do nothing but kick, he should be doing better than that. I could be wrong, but I don't believe Edinger has had a single touchback this entire season on kickoffs, while he has missed quite a few field goal attempts. Others may be happy with mediocrity and inconsistency, but I am not.

[sunnyj]

To all football experts, Please do not base your perception of CPep on next years play. It will take atleast 2 years for him to recover from this injury. Like him or not He will be the Vikes QB for atleast 2 more years and probably many more.

[nofishfisherman]

I hope so.

Next year will be interesting. These athletes are not even human sometimes when it comes to recovering from injuries. How did TO return from a broken leg in just a few weeks?

Hopefully losing 25 lbs will help Culpepper recover. Hopefully that will be his new playing weight, will be alot less stress on the knees and maybe make him more agile to where he can avoid hits instead of just absorbing them.

[freebledsoe]

Hi folks,

Regardless of what I think of Culpepper's abilities, the main concern I have is that he will not recover from this total knee reconstruction in a way that will allow him to compete again at an NFL level. He tore all 3 major ligaments... leaving no stability in the joint. I watched an interview with a policeman who had the same type injury... he states that after 10 years, he still has unbearable pain. That's without the strain and punishment received by playing pro football.

There is no question (in my mind) that he won't be close to playing shape next year. Two years from now, maybe. But honestly, I think the best that will happen is that he is able to play as a backup somewhere. He will try to come back, and I project that this knee injury will foil his aspirations.

In that sense, if someone was willing to give up a high draft pick to take a chance on his recovery to a playing level, I say take it and don't look back.

[Bobby Bass]

[quote These athletes are not even human sometimes when it comes to recovering from injuries. How did TO return from a broken leg in just a few weeks?

Depending on the type of break and braces a broken bone is not that big of a deal anymore. But anyone who has broken a bone will rate that as nothing compare to a strain, a bad strain may take up to two years to heal completely. {How many backs have been lost for a season to a high ankle strain]( been there done that) but to blow your knee out is a major injury. We are talking a rehab of 12 to 18 months working out several hours a day which the average guy does not have the insurance or the trainer to push you. To a pro treating an injury is like going to work only you are working on getting well. As for Cullpepper pro football is a job, what have you done for me lately is the common attitude. We can't wait for him to heal we move on. I think he has already passed the average life of a NFL QB thanks for the memories... heartless but I think accurate. Brad is just a young arm away from being gone also. Several years ago one of my sons had a major break to his femur, he was in the hospital for 5 days and had a steel plate and 8 screws put in. 10 days from the accident he was walking with out crutches with Dr's permission. If it was me I'd still be on sticks