The Pissed Off Tree Rat

* Nov 4th update here: Daunte Culpepper in now officially a Detroit Lion. 

For the love of God why?!   Why, why, why would the Detroit Lions entertain the concept of bringing Dante Culpepper to the Lions? 

Quarterback Daunte Culpepper, a former Pro Bowl star with the Minnesota Vikings but a journeyman since sustaining a serious knee injury in 2005, has contacted the Lions to see if they are interested in signing a quarterback before the start of training camp.

The contact by Culpepper, a first-round draft pick by the Vikings in 1999, has been confirmed by a Lions official. It is not known when Culpepper called the team’s management, but it is believed to be earlier this month.

Yes when he’s on, he’s really on.  Problem is that this guy is made of glass. 

Culpepper played in three Pro Bowls while with the Vikings (2000, ’03 and ’04). He threw a career-high 39 touchdown passes in 2004.  However, Culpepper sustained a knee injury in 2005 that ended his season after seven games. He had reconstructive surgery and was traded to Miami in the offseason.  Culpepper played only four games for the Dolphins, throwing two TD passes against three interceptions. He was released after the season and signed by the Raiders to a one-year contract.  The Raiders did not re-sign Culpepper, making him a free agent.  In 2007, Culpepper played seven games, starting six, and had five TD passes and five interceptions.

John Kitna may not have Culpper’s arm but he can take a beating better than any quarterback in the NFL today.  With the detroit O-line that’s a big plus.

Jon Kitna returns as the Lions’ starting quarterback for the third straight year. He has started all 32 games over the last two years and has passed for more than 4,000 yards both seasons, despite being sacked more times than any quarterback in the NFL during that period. Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton will compete for the backup job.

Kitna also provides backbone to the Detroit Lions.  It’s an element they’ve been missing and can no longer do without.

Go Lions, and hope springs eternal!

This entry was posted on 21 July 2008 at 10:16 am and is filed under Football with tags Daunte Culpepper, detroit lions, John Kitna, Vikings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.