Author Topic: Adios Culpepper?  (Read 7875 times)

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Adios Culpepper?
« on: September 04, 2008, 01:48:51 PM »

Offline indeedproceed

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Dante Culpepper retires from the NFL? Read this statement. I respect him more now.

Quote from: ESPN
Former Vikings, Dolphins and Raiders quarterback Daunte Culpepper announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday. He issued the following statement:

When free agency began this year, I had a new sense of excitement about continuing to rebuild my career in the same way that I had rebuilt my knee after my catastrophic injury in 2005. Unfortunately, what I found out was that the league did not share any of the optimism about me as an unrestricted free agent that I expected. In fact, there was an overwhelming sense that there was no room for me among this year's group of quarterbacks; whether in a starting, competing or a back-up role. No matter what I did or said, there seemed to be a unified message from teams that I was not welcome to compete for one of the many jobs that were available at the quarterback position. It seems that the stance I took in both Minnesota and Miami regarding my rights as a person and player has followed me into free agency.

After taking a long look at my career and my personal convictions, I have decided to begin early retirement from the NFL effective immediately. Since the beginning of training camp I was told that my opportunity would come when a quarterback gets hurt. I cannot remember the last time so many QB's have been injured during the preseason. I have been strongly encouraged from family, friends and league personnel to continue to be patient and wait for an inevitable injury to one of the starting quarterbacks in the league. I would rather shut the door to such "opportunity" than continue to wait for one of my fellow quarterbacks to suffer a serious injury. Since I was not given a fair chance to come in and compete for a job, I would rather move on and win in other arenas of life.

The decision I made in 2006 to represent myself rather than hire an agent has been an invaluable experience. I now understand why so many people within the NFL community are uncomfortable with a player really learning the business. The NFL has become more about power, money and control than passion, competition and the love of the game. Regardless of this shift, player's rights are still supposed to be a part of this league. Since I will not be given the opportunity to honor the memory of Gene Upshaw by wearing a patch on my uniform this year, I will instead spend some of my energy applying what he taught me about standing up for what is right and not sitting down for what is clearly wrong.

I want to thank my family and my fans for their unwavering belief in me as a person and a player. I embraced both the peaks and the valleys of the game and my career. I am a better person today as a direct result of the experience of playing in the NFL. I can now focus on the enjoyment of watching some of the greatest athletes in the world play the game I love without the distraction of waiting for those elusive return phone calls.

Thankfully,
Daunte Culpepper

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like that is always lethal." - Evan 'The God' Turner

Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2008, 01:53:06 PM »

Offline crownsy

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Dante Culpepper retires from the NFL? Read this statement. I respect him more now.

Quote from: ESPN
Former Vikings, Dolphins and Raiders quarterback Daunte Culpepper announced his retirement from the NFL on Thursday. He issued the following statement:

When free agency began this year, I had a new sense of excitement about continuing to rebuild my career in the same way that I had rebuilt my knee after my catastrophic injury in 2005. Unfortunately, what I found out was that the league did not share any of the optimism about me as an unrestricted free agent that I expected. In fact, there was an overwhelming sense that there was no room for me among this year's group of quarterbacks; whether in a starting, competing or a back-up role. No matter what I did or said, there seemed to be a unified message from teams that I was not welcome to compete for one of the many jobs that were available at the quarterback position. It seems that the stance I took in both Minnesota and Miami regarding my rights as a person and player has followed me into free agency.

After taking a long look at my career and my personal convictions, I have decided to begin early retirement from the NFL effective immediately. Since the beginning of training camp I was told that my opportunity would come when a quarterback gets hurt. I cannot remember the last time so many QB's have been injured during the preseason. I have been strongly encouraged from family, friends and league personnel to continue to be patient and wait for an inevitable injury to one of the starting quarterbacks in the league. I would rather shut the door to such "opportunity" than continue to wait for one of my fellow quarterbacks to suffer a serious injury. Since I was not given a fair chance to come in and compete for a job, I would rather move on and win in other arenas of life.

The decision I made in 2006 to represent myself rather than hire an agent has been an invaluable experience. I now understand why so many people within the NFL community are uncomfortable with a player really learning the business. The NFL has become more about power, money and control than passion, competition and the love of the game. Regardless of this shift, player's rights are still supposed to be a part of this league. Since I will not be given the opportunity to honor the memory of Gene Upshaw by wearing a patch on my uniform this year, I will instead spend some of my energy applying what he taught me about standing up for what is right and not sitting down for what is clearly wrong.

I want to thank my family and my fans for their unwavering belief in me as a person and a player. I embraced both the peaks and the valleys of the game and my career. I am a better person today as a direct result of the experience of playing in the NFL. I can now focus on the enjoyment of watching some of the greatest athletes in the world play the game I love without the distraction of waiting for those elusive return phone calls.

Thankfully,
Daunte Culpepper

ive always respected him, it stinks that he's the first "running" qb to age out at 30.

Sadly, I think this isn't so much a function of his playing ability (he's waaaayyyy better than alot of starting QB's, espically in the NFC) but a factor of his being seen as an injury waiting to happen thanks to his "scrambling" tagline.

I think your going to see alot of the athletic kids who can scramble struggle to find a job after one significant injury. for all the "yea, we can adapt to a scrambling Qb, it makes us dynamic!!!" press releases, few teams are willign to actually do it.

It's still a pocket passers league, despite the hype. and younger QB's better learn to throw from the tackles, or risk what's happened to daunte here. no one wants to take a risk on the "running" QB whos on the high side of 30.

Stinks culpepper had to pay the price for the new generation.
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Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2008, 02:27:10 PM »

Offline Big Ticket

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I don't think Pep is ahead of any of the current starting QBs.  His decision making and accuracy is deplorable now.  Randy Moss made him, and when Moss went down for a few games in 2004, it was Scott Linehan and the surprise to D's with no Moss that made him.  Pep has tiny hands and is always a fumble risk, constantly makes poor decisions on passes into coverage, and without his scrambling ability he is much much more innocuous.

All that said and personal feelings aside (being a die hard Vikes fan, I have plenty of feelings about him), it is still unbelievable that nobody even wanted him as a backup.


"It ain't about me.  It's about us."  - KG, interview with John Thompson, 2005 All Star Game.

Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #3 on: September 04, 2008, 02:30:36 PM »

Offline crownsy

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I don't think Pep is ahead of any of the current starting QBs.  His decision making and accuracy is deplorable now.  Randy Moss made him, and when Moss went down for a few games in 2004, it was Scott Linehan and the surprise to D's with no Moss that made him.  Pep has tiny hands and is always a fumble risk, constantly makes poor decisions on passes into coverage, and without his scrambling ability he is much much more innocuous.

All that said and personal feelings aside (being a die hard Vikes fan, I have plenty of feelings about him), it is still unbelievable that nobody even wanted him as a backup.

really? you don't think he's better than kyle "i only play because rex is an insult to the posision" orton? or as a guy to take the 30 or so sacks the ravens are about to put on a rookies body in flaco so he can ease in later in the season? how bout SF, they don't need a QB?

there's plenty of terrable QB's much worse than cullpepper.

I'm not saying he's a great QB, but he actually looked real good last year at times in oakland, certainly better than, just adding on, a J.P losman in buffalo.

but he's not a pocket passer, so he's seen as a RB with an arm. and now, he's got a knee injury.

vince young take note, this is you in 6 years if you take an injury. i'd learn to throw from the pocket ASAP.
“I will hurt you for this. A day will come when you think you’re safe and happy and your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth. And you will know the debt is paid.” – Tyrion

Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #4 on: September 04, 2008, 02:48:46 PM »

Offline Redz

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That's a hell of a retirement statement.  Sounds like he'll do fine at whatever he decides on doing.
Yup

Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #5 on: September 04, 2008, 03:13:19 PM »

Offline JSD

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I agree Redz, Dante Culpepper is an impressive person.
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Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #6 on: September 04, 2008, 04:12:08 PM »

Offline Finkelskyhook

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I don't think Pep is ahead of any of the current starting QBs.  His decision making and accuracy is deplorable now.  Randy Moss made him, and when Moss went down for a few games in 2004, it was Scott Linehan and the surprise to D's with no Moss that made him.  Pep has tiny hands and is always a fumble risk, constantly makes poor decisions on passes into coverage, and without his scrambling ability he is much much more innocuous.

All that said and personal feelings aside (being a die hard Vikes fan, I have plenty of feelings about him), it is still unbelievable that nobody even wanted him as a backup.

I'm more inclined to agree with this opinion.  This sounds like eloquently written sour grapes to me.  Culpepper has become a marginal player who can't stay on the field.  It would be generous to have an opinion that meets the NFL and Culpepper somewhere in the middle concerning some kind of collusion.  But the reality is that since his injury, Culpepper hasn't produced anything on the field.  Maybe he should go to the CFL and compete in the wide open playing field and reestablish himself.

My best memory of Culpepper is when he almost singlehandedly beat a Nebraska national championship team for Central Florida. 

Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #7 on: September 04, 2008, 04:24:45 PM »

Offline jgod213

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That's a hell of a retirement statement.  Sounds like he'll do fine at whatever he decides on doing.

I had no idea he was so eloquent.

He sounds pretty jaded by NFL community right now, but hopefully he will continue to foster some of his connections and honor Upshaw's legacy by someday taking his old job.

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Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #8 on: September 04, 2008, 04:30:43 PM »

Offline Big Ticket

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I don't think Pep is ahead of any of the current starting QBs.  His decision making and accuracy is deplorable now.  Randy Moss made him, and when Moss went down for a few games in 2004, it was Scott Linehan and the surprise to D's with no Moss that made him.  Pep has tiny hands and is always a fumble risk, constantly makes poor decisions on passes into coverage, and without his scrambling ability he is much much more innocuous.

All that said and personal feelings aside (being a die hard Vikes fan, I have plenty of feelings about him), it is still unbelievable that nobody even wanted him as a backup.

I'm more inclined to agree with this opinion.  This sounds like eloquently written sour grapes to me.  Culpepper has become a marginal player who can't stay on the field.  It would be generous to have an opinion that meets the NFL and Culpepper somewhere in the middle concerning some kind of collusion.  But the reality is that since his injury, Culpepper hasn't produced anything on the field.  Maybe he should go to the CFL and compete in the wide open playing field and reestablish himself.

My best memory of Culpepper is when he almost singlehandedly beat a Nebraska national championship team for Central Florida. 

Mine is everything that happened in 2001 prior to the 41-0 romping by the Giants.


"It ain't about me.  It's about us."  - KG, interview with John Thompson, 2005 All Star Game.

Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #9 on: September 04, 2008, 05:41:32 PM »

Offline EJPLAYA

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That's a hell of a retirement statement.  Sounds like he'll do fine at whatever he decides on doing.

Maybe I need to re-read it, but my impression when I read it was he was giving the "I'm taking my ball and going home" speech. Everyone is treating me unfairly and no one will give me the shot I deserve, so I am going to quit. I don't know how this can be considered a positive way out?! With the shots he is taking at all the league blaming THEM for him not making a roster, he sure has sealed his fate.

Am I missing something?!

Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #10 on: September 04, 2008, 08:43:58 PM »

Offline Redz

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That's a hell of a retirement statement.  Sounds like he'll do fine at whatever he decides on doing.

Maybe I need to re-read it, but my impression when I read it was he was giving the "I'm taking my ball and going home" speech. Everyone is treating me unfairly and no one will give me the shot I deserve, so I am going to quit. I don't know how this can be considered a positive way out?! With the shots he is taking at all the league blaming THEM for him not making a roster, he sure has sealed his fate.

Am I missing something?!

Not making a roster would have been one thing, but it sounds as though he wasn't even being offered tryouts, and he felt that he was being blackballed due to his self-representation agent role.  If it was based solely on not being good enough, I can see your "I'm taking my ball and going home" notion, but it's seems as though that's not the case.  He knows he's not a superstar any more, but he definitely was worthy of a camp invite somewhere.
Yup

Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #11 on: September 04, 2008, 08:58:05 PM »

Offline EJPLAYA

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That's a hell of a retirement statement.  Sounds like he'll do fine at whatever he decides on doing.

Maybe I need to re-read it, but my impression when I read it was he was giving the "I'm taking my ball and going home" speech. Everyone is treating me unfairly and no one will give me the shot I deserve, so I am going to quit. I don't know how this can be considered a positive way out?! With the shots he is taking at all the league blaming THEM for him not making a roster, he sure has sealed his fate.

Am I missing something?!

Not making a roster would have been one thing, but it sounds as though he wasn't even being offered tryouts, and he felt that he was being blackballed due to his self-representation agent role.  If it was based solely on not being good enough, I can see your "I'm taking my ball and going home" notion, but it's seems as though that's not the case.  He knows he's not a superstar any more, but he definitely was worthy of a camp invite somewhere.

Based on what though?! He had games with the Dolphins after his "recovery" to prove he could come back and was awful. He had an entire season with the Raiders to prove he could still play and couldn't win the job. It wasn't like he hadn't come back and shown what he could do. There is no way that a team in desperate need of a quarterback wouldn't give him a chance if they thought he truly could be at least a very solid backup. They are in it to win games and not to "spite" Culpepper.

The fact is that Culpepper never really was that good to begin with. Moss was that good. I could go out there and throw the ball up in the air and let Moss get it. He never was good once he got separated from Moss and the whole league knows it. I am not necessarily saying there are 30 third stringers that are better than him, but the third stringer is typically your developmental player and a big need on the squad. Wasting it on Culpepper doesn't help your future.

As far as the comments go though, I was just curious as to why you sounded like his statement was high class when it sure sounded like sour grapes. Even if it was justified, it sure wasn't classy.

Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #12 on: September 04, 2008, 09:00:44 PM »

Offline Roy Hobbs

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That's a hell of a retirement statement.  Sounds like he'll do fine at whatever he decides on doing.

I had no idea he was so eloquent.

I don't want to burst anybody's illusions, but just because Culpepper's name is on it doesn't mean he wrote it. 

He could have written it, sure.  From I've seen of Culpepper in the past, though, he's not exactly the brightest bulb on the porch.  His reputation coming out of Central Florida was that he was a bit of a dunce, despite having a ton of physical tools.  His wonderlic scores weren't high, and the Vikings had to dumb down their playbook because of him.  He had a history of making poor decisions in Minnesota.  I'm not sure, then, that I buy that he wrote the above statement without outside help.


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Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #13 on: September 04, 2008, 09:48:00 PM »

Offline Redz

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That's a hell of a retirement statement.  Sounds like he'll do fine at whatever he decides on doing.

Maybe I need to re-read it, but my impression when I read it was he was giving the "I'm taking my ball and going home" speech. Everyone is treating me unfairly and no one will give me the shot I deserve, so I am going to quit. I don't know how this can be considered a positive way out?! With the shots he is taking at all the league blaming THEM for him not making a roster, he sure has sealed his fate.

Am I missing something?!

Not making a roster would have been one thing, but it sounds as though he wasn't even being offered tryouts, and he felt that he was being blackballed due to his self-representation agent role.  If it was based solely on not being good enough, I can see your "I'm taking my ball and going home" notion, but it's seems as though that's not the case.  He knows he's not a superstar any more, but he definitely was worthy of a camp invite somewhere.

Based on what though?! He had games with the Dolphins after his "recovery" to prove he could come back and was awful. He had an entire season with the Raiders to prove he could still play and couldn't win the job. It wasn't like he hadn't come back and shown what he could do. There is no way that a team in desperate need of a quarterback wouldn't give him a chance if they thought he truly could be at least a very solid backup. They are in it to win games and not to "spite" Culpepper.

The fact is that Culpepper never really was that good to begin with. Moss was that good. I could go out there and throw the ball up in the air and let Moss get it. He never was good once he got separated from Moss and the whole league knows it. I am not necessarily saying there are 30 third stringers that are better than him, but the third stringer is typically your developmental player and a big need on the squad. Wasting it on Culpepper doesn't help your future.

As far as the comments go though, I was just curious as to why you sounded like his statement was high class when it sure sounded like sour grapes. Even if it was justified, it sure wasn't classy.

Actually all I said was that it was a hell of a statement and that I thought it sounded like he'd do well in his retirement.  Didn't make mention of it being classy, just well stated. 
Yup

Re: Adios Culpepper?
« Reply #14 on: September 05, 2008, 12:45:10 PM »

Offline EJPLAYA

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That's a hell of a retirement statement.  Sounds like he'll do fine at whatever he decides on doing.

Maybe I need to re-read it, but my impression when I read it was he was giving the "I'm taking my ball and going home" speech. Everyone is treating me unfairly and no one will give me the shot I deserve, so I am going to quit. I don't know how this can be considered a positive way out?! With the shots he is taking at all the league blaming THEM for him not making a roster, he sure has sealed his fate.

Am I missing something?!

Not making a roster would have been one thing, but it sounds as though he wasn't even being offered tryouts, and he felt that he was being blackballed due to his self-representation agent role.  If it was based solely on not being good enough, I can see your "I'm taking my ball and going home" notion, but it's seems as though that's not the case.  He knows he's not a superstar any more, but he definitely was worthy of a camp invite somewhere.

Based on what though?! He had games with the Dolphins after his "recovery" to prove he could come back and was awful. He had an entire season with the Raiders to prove he could still play and couldn't win the job. It wasn't like he hadn't come back and shown what he could do. There is no way that a team in desperate need of a quarterback wouldn't give him a chance if they thought he truly could be at least a very solid backup. They are in it to win games and not to "spite" Culpepper.

The fact is that Culpepper never really was that good to begin with. Moss was that good. I could go out there and throw the ball up in the air and let Moss get it. He never was good once he got separated from Moss and the whole league knows it. I am not necessarily saying there are 30 third stringers that are better than him, but the third stringer is typically your developmental player and a big need on the squad. Wasting it on Culpepper doesn't help your future.

As far as the comments go though, I was just curious as to why you sounded like his statement was high class when it sure sounded like sour grapes. Even if it was justified, it sure wasn't classy.

Actually all I said was that it was a hell of a statement and that I thought it sounded like he'd do well in his retirement.  Didn't make mention of it being classy, just well stated. 

Fair enough. I was just reading into your comments that you were impressed by him/the statement. I just found it typical whining Daunte...