Vikings on the move, destination unknown

 

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 03/15/2005

Your guess is as good as mine on the direction of the Vikings. Daunte Culpepper wants to be traded or does he want his contract terminated? “…[B]ecause of the fundamental differences I have with the Vikings management regarding the approach to my personal and professional life, I think it is the best business decision for both parties to go our separate ways,” Culpepper said.

 

That was last week. The latest on Culpepper? He’s still a Viking, but stay tuned. The thing Culpepper needs to learn fast is that he will serve himself better by shutting his trap.

 

He is damaged goods no matter how good he is, or thinks he is. The reality is that he has to prove he is still capable of physically playing the game of football. Period! He’s recovering from triple ligament damage on the heels of an awful season.

 

Nobody put a gun to his head to sign that horrible 10-year $102 million contract that Vikings VP Rob Brzezinski slipped by him and his awful ex-agent Mason Ashe.

 

Since Brad Childress took over as head football coach of your Minnesota Vikings, it’s clear to me that the organization has decided to sever communications with the media. It’s easier to get the location of Bin Laden than it is to get information on or access to the new Vikings regime.

 

Former Head Coach Mike Tice kissed up to so many of the media and talked far too much about the Vikings’ business. The result? Bottom line: one playoff appearance in four years. Dennis Green won eight out of 10 years, making the playoffs and drafting Randy Moss and Culpepper, and the media ran him out town.

 

You see, I don’t think the Vikings should share everything with us, but they should share something. These guys share nothing; they are paranoid and have decided that they don’t care if the media has a relationship with them or not.

 

And that’s fine. If they have treated Culpepper (and I don’t know this) the way they have treated the media since Tice was fired, then no wonder Culpepper wants out and has gone off the deep end.

 

Remember this: The Vikings have been spending big bucks on free agents the last five years, and it’s gotten them nothing but one playoff appearance in five years. When Green was here, the Vikings threw no money at free agents. They concentrated on re-signing their own free agents and developing their own drafted players. Roger Headrick and Red McCombs claimed not to have any money, so Green did the best he could, and he was still successful.

 

The Vikings lied to all of you last year when they said they traded Moss to clear up room under the salary cap to build up the defense. That has been proven to be another huge lie. The Vikings were $24 million under the cap just last week. So the reality is this: The truth is on the field. If you win, it’s right, and if you lose, like the Vikings have since Green left, you’re wrong.

 

And that’s fine.

 

 

This just in — Culpepper traded!

 

Daunte Culpepper has been granted his wish — he is going home. The Minnesota Vikings traded Culpepper Tuesday to the Miami Dolphins for a 2006 Second Round Draft pick contingent on his ability to pass a Dolphins-administered physical examination.

 

Culpepper was drafted in 1999 in the first round by then-Vikings Head Coach Dennis Green. Green also drafted Randy Moss. Now all three — Green, Moss and Culpepper (contingent on Culpepper passing the Dolphins’ physical exam) — are former Vikings.

 

Monday on my KMOJ-89.9 FM radio show, Dennis Green, head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, said this about Culpepper: “Everybody knows the type of quarterback Daunte Culpepper has been. If you look back at the year he had in 2004 and you compare that year with Peyton Manning’s year when he was MVP and broke Dan Marino’s record and set the NFL record with 49 touchdown passes, the touchdown passes were the only thing Manning beat Culpepper on. Everything else Daunte and Peyton Manning were very competitive on, and in a lot of areas Daunte did better.

 

“So he’s clearly one of the best talents in the game. But it’s up to every organization to determine who fits into their situation just right,” Green said.

 

Culpepper played and started 81 games for the Vikings, starting with the 2000 season when he led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game and was selected to the Pro Bowl.

 

Culpepper was three times selected to the NFC Pro Bowl. He completed 1,678 of 2,607 passes for 20,162 yards and 135 touchdown passes while throwing 86 interceptions.

 

Culpepper also ran 454 times for 2,607 yards, a Vikings record for a quarterback. In 2004 he combined to pass and run for an NFL all-time record of 5,123 yards, breaking Marino’s NFL mark set in 1984. Only Fran Tarkenton and Tommy Kramer have started more games at quarterback for the Vikings than Culpepper.

 

Culpepper was a fixture in the community, very active with the African American Adoption Agency in the Twin Cities for which he was a spokesperson. He will be missed on and off the field. He played his college football at Central Florida and lives in Ocala, Florida, so in many ways Daunte Culpepper is going home.

 

 

Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio, 89.9 FM, at 8:20 am, and Monday evenings 6-7 pm. He welcomes reader responses to lfitzgerald@spokesman-recorder.com, or visit www.Larry-Fitzgerald.com.