In start, Culpepper looks like a QB ready to be turned loose
Friday night's Oakland Raiders practice-with-concession-stands was significant to the non-uniformed for one reason. It was Daunte Culpepper's first start as a Oakland Raiders quarterback..
The first of what will be several more - and those starts will be fraught with far more importance than Friday's game on the A's infield.
"I feel like I've got a lot to offer a club," Culpepper said after the Oakland Raiders' 20-10 exhibition victory over the St. Louis Rams. "I feel like a starter."
And he looked like one. In his three series, Culpepper led the team down the field for two scores and what should have been a third, if LaMont Jordan hadn't fumbled in the end zone.
Culpepper seemed at ease in the revamped, newly confident Oakland Raiders offense (Reverses! Fourth-down conversions!). He seemed at ease with his own knees, even sliding into second at one point.
"I've got a baseball burn," he said.
He looked like he heeded Coach Lane Kiffin's words. I love Kiffin's quote from last week, when he said he wasn't looking for explosive plays: "I told (Culpepper) from Day One that has to change, and that may sound weird to you guys. But he's got to make smart decisions. We don't want three-touchdown, three-interception games."
Not only does that indicate Kiffin's willingness to be his own man, but also his lofty ambition (after last year's no-touchdown, four-interception-type of games a three-three outing sounds pretty good).
Still, Kiffin isn't ready to announce
the season starter.
"Ideally it would have been a month ago," Kiffin said. "I might have an answer for you tomorrow. Or it might go into this week."
But it's impossible to imagine him not going with Culpepper in the Sept. 9 season opener against the Detroit Lions.
Culpepper comes with a swagger and a pedigree. With a history of having been there and having done that - taking his team to the NFC championship game and earning three Pro Bowl berths in a five-season span.
He also comes with a connection to the Oakland Raiders. The team was interested in Culpepper in spring 2006, when he was on the outs with Minnesota. But he was traded to Miami, and the Oakland Raiders settled for Aaron Brooks instead, a big mistake.
And, significantly, the Oakland Raiders just used this year's top draft pick on a quarterback most often compared to Culpepper. Never mind that Jamarcus Russell still hasn't signed. Culpepper was the prototype the Oakland Raiders were looking for, and now they have the battered-but-still-functional original.
"People try to compare us," said Culpepper, who hasn't met Jamarcus Russell but said he looks forward to mentoring him. "He's a big guy and I'm a big guy."
Culpepper isn't Andrew Walter or Brooks or Kerry Collins. Compared with the other men who have stood behind the gauzy wisp of the Oakland Raiders offensive line since Rich Gannon last stood there, Culpepper (who got his welcome to the Oakland Raiders with a second-quarter sack) brings a commanding presence.
Culpepper was a superstar not long ago. He was the new thing in quarterbacks - big, strong-armed and surprisingly mobile. People started talking about a "Culpepper-type," though there was really only one. But then things started to go wrong. He tore up his knee, he took a boat cruise that turned out badly, and he butted heads with new Vikings coach Brad Childress.
And the next thing you knew Culpepper wasn't a superstar anymore, but a so-called troublemaker limping around the Dolphins sideline. He was cut in July and - acting as his own agent - signed with the Oakland Raiders a week later. It was a marriage born of mutual needs.
Culpepper has a lot to rehabilitate, and we're not just talking about his knee. The Oakland Raiders have a lot to rehabilitate, too - image, offense, fan base. The discontent over Jamarcus Russell's contract impasse would be bubbling over if Culpepper hadn't been signed to be a stopgap to appease the masses.
When asked why he doesn't use an agent to negotiate his deals, Culpepper gave a thoughtful answer.
"I trust myself the most out of anybody," he said.
And, given their choices, the Oakland Raiders should trust Culpepper the most with their new, improved reality.
See more at www.mercurynews.com
Other Sports News:
Daequan Cook, Dashonte Riley, Demarcus Cousins, Glen Davis, Joakim Noah, Reggie Bush, Kevin Durant.
