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Daunte to Raiders doesn't look good
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Location: Blogs The Sports Blog |
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| Posted by: Gregory Broome |
8/1/2007 4:40 PM |
The idea of a still-recovering Culpepper perched behind the league's worst offensive line is disturbing.
This could be extremely ugly.
I'd like to be more optimistic about Ocala native Daunte Culpepper's decision to sign with the Oakland Raiders on Tuesday, but I simply can't. I have a very bad feeling about this.
Two images from last season are blending for me right now, and it creates a gruesome picture. One, the Raiders' offensive line lying down flat against the pass rush, rendering their quarterback a living tackling dummy. The other, a hobbled Culpepper helpless to escape a collapsing pocket in Miami and succumbing to sacks 80 percent of QBs in the league would have evaded.
Like I said, this could be ugly.
With that in mind, I'm having trouble understanding this Culpepper quote:
"When I became a free agent I created and ranked eight criteria that I used to evaluate potential teams that were interested in my services. Based on my criteria, the Oakland Raiders are the best fit."
I can think of exactly two reasons why the Raiders would top Culpepper's list of destinations: they were willing to sign him, and the quarterback position was ostensibly available. Under such criteria, this makes sense. But I'm not convinced that Culpepper plucked the Raiders from a long list of suitors, and I can't imagine what other six factors came into play if Oakland finished first.
Besides, he's only worked out for two teams.
The Buccaneers thought enough to give him a look, but he left his visit with Tampa, reportedly, without a contract offer. Tampa would have to be interested if he offered a clear upgrade over their current uninspiring options, Chris Simms and Jeff Garcia. The Bucs apparently determined that he didn't.
I think the disconnect is this: Culpepper, two years removed from a knee injury he still can't put in his past, sees himself as a starter, while teams see him as a guy who could start if a lot of things fall in place perfectly. No team is going to bring in a veteran quarterback to compete with other veteran quarterbacks knowing he won't be happy if he doesn't win the job. At best, you'd get mild locker-room grumbling. At worst, you'd get what happened in Miami. At 30 years old, Daunte doesn't have the upside anymore to make that a viable risk.
Still, there were plenty of teams that stood to benefit from Culpepper's presence. The Jaguars' QB situation isn't anything special: Byron Leftwich can't stay healthy, and David Garrard isn't starter material, but they took a pass on Daunte. The Falcons, whom my colleague Dwight Collins compellingly touted as a perfect match for Daunte in a recent column, also declined. Minnesota has one of the worst position battles in sports history brewing between QBs Tarvaris Jackson and Brooks Bollinger, and they're not interested, though the past history there is well-documented.
So what we're left with is a handful of teams with unsettled quarterback situations who could use a proven veteran arm, but only two willing to give him so much as a courtesy workout, and only one willing to offer him. That team was the Raiders, and that was the team that topped Daunte's list. And they only offered one year. Logic tells me that the Raiders picked Daunte more than Daunte picked the Raiders.
To be fair, the situation in Oakland does provide opportunity. Daunte arrives at camp as the default No. 1 QB. Top overall pick JaMarcus Russell has yet to sign, and his holdout could be a lengthy one, and if Daunte can't beat out Andrew Walter and Josh McCown, he should probably just pack it in and come home to Ocala.
But the negatives abound. Besides an epically bad offensive line, the Raiders have a pair of mediocre backs in LaMont Jordan and Dominic Rhodes and the worst group of wideouts this side of Houston. Their defense is great, but that only means Daunte has to worry about getting hurt in practice too. The Raiders are headed nowhere this year, and when Russell finally joins the team, there will be no reason for him to walk the sidelines. He's the future, and Oakland might as well fast-track him Vince Young-style.
Which brings me to the biggest red flag about this signing. The Raiders have a history of signing names rather than players. Recent history offers marquee names like Jerry Rice, Bill Romanowski, Kerry Collins and Warren Sapp. Sometimes those names arrive with something resembling the player that made the name famous. Sometimes they're nothing more than a throwback jersey with a washed-up shell inside. The Raiders, like the NBA's Knicks or MLB's Yankees, are the fading star's last resort.
If they were the only team willing to give Culpepper a shot, Ocala's favorite son has a lot to be worried about.
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