yoMAMA
10-30-2005, 09:05 PM
im speechless..............:frown:
Quarterback's outlook is altered almost on impact
Jim Souhan, Star Tribune
October 31, 2005
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - You could find the Vikings' latest loss humorous, if you remember Carolina receiver Steve Smith paddling an imaginary boat across the mythical Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota's end zone.
You could find the Vikings' road follies infuriating, if you trace their pathetic attempts to conquer rye grass and Bermuda.
You could find the Vikings' latest setback devastating, if you rank among the mathematicians who count Minnesota a contender.
You could find the Vikings' body language telling, if you watched still-smoldering Fred Smoot whine his way through one of the worst individual performances in the history of cornerbacks.
If you made it to the Vikings' locker room at Bank of America Stadium after this 38-13 thrashing, though, what you will remember are the tears in Daunte Culpepper's eyes and the cracking voices of large men.
The Vikings' season may have ended for all practical purposes Sunday, climaxing in a crescendo of ineptitude. As players of quarter slots might say, it isn't much of a loss.
Something more precious, though, became collateral damage.
Culpepper, the Vikings' franchise player, suffered the injury that will change him and thus the franchise.
Culpepper, desperate to make a play, ran for a first down at the end of the first quarter. As he hurtled forward, one Panther hit him high and another targeted his knee.
Soon Culpepper was pounding his fist into the turf and Ancient Mariner Brad Johnson was warming up on the sideline and there was Culpepper, this powerhouse, requiring the help of two strong men to limp to the sideline.
Most likely, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Most likely, that's not the full extent of the damage.
For a running quarterback carrying 260 pounds, this injury -- termed "devastating" by coach Mike Tice -- will change everything.
Don't expect him back this season, and don't expect him to be the same, physically, next season, and feel free to question where this leaves a House of Cards franchise begging to be excavated and rebuilt.
Even while ambulatory, Culpepper had performed poorly this season, for reasons ranging from the loss of Randy Moss, Scott Linehan and Matt Birk to his already nagging knee pain.
If Culpepper hadn't been himself the past two months, this injury promises to turn him into someone else altogether for the rest of his career.
As recently as last year, one could compare Culpepper to the quicksilver Michael Vick. As soon as next season, you may be comparing him to Byron Leftwich -- a stationary quarterback with a strong arm and a spotty résumé.
Vick is a once-in-a-lifetime player. Leftwich is an average NFL quarterback.
Comparisons may prove useful, because by the time Culpepper returns to action, he may not recognize the Vikings, nor they him.
That's why Culpepper was crying in the locker room. That's why offensive coordinator Steve Loney had to fight through his sentences like a running back through a goal-line defense. That's why, when asked about his conversation with Culpepper, Tice looked down and mumbled, "He said, 'I love you,' and I said the same thing to him. I love him, too."
In another setting, that would have registered as Tice's emotions run amok, but in this place, amid the detritus of a crumbling season, in the basement of the site of his latest failure, the words rang true.
Tice knew this would be the season that determined his football future. He entrusted it to Culpepper.
Now Tice's guy will need crutches and surgery and time, and time is no more a Tice ally than the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department.
After the game, Culpepper, a massive brace on his leg, pogo-ed on crutches to his locker. A crowd gathered behind him as he dressed, and he asked a Vikings official if the cameras really had to be there.
Eventually he turned and took two questions. "We don't know the extent of the damage right now," Culpepper said.
Should he have slid, to avoid contact? "It's just part of football," he said.
Johnson will replace Culpepper. Culpepper should watch closely.
Johnson won a Super Bowl not as the bright-eyed, gifted Vikings draftee, but as the battered craftsman the NFL forced him to become.
There is wisdom in Johnson's eyes, as surely as there were tears in Culpepper's.
Sunday, the tears meant a lot more.
Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on KSTP-AM 1500. • jsouhan@startribune.com
Copyright 2005 Star Tribune. All rights reserved
Quarterback's outlook is altered almost on impact
Jim Souhan, Star Tribune
October 31, 2005
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - You could find the Vikings' latest loss humorous, if you remember Carolina receiver Steve Smith paddling an imaginary boat across the mythical Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota's end zone.
You could find the Vikings' road follies infuriating, if you trace their pathetic attempts to conquer rye grass and Bermuda.
You could find the Vikings' latest setback devastating, if you rank among the mathematicians who count Minnesota a contender.
You could find the Vikings' body language telling, if you watched still-smoldering Fred Smoot whine his way through one of the worst individual performances in the history of cornerbacks.
If you made it to the Vikings' locker room at Bank of America Stadium after this 38-13 thrashing, though, what you will remember are the tears in Daunte Culpepper's eyes and the cracking voices of large men.
The Vikings' season may have ended for all practical purposes Sunday, climaxing in a crescendo of ineptitude. As players of quarter slots might say, it isn't much of a loss.
Something more precious, though, became collateral damage.
Culpepper, the Vikings' franchise player, suffered the injury that will change him and thus the franchise.
Culpepper, desperate to make a play, ran for a first down at the end of the first quarter. As he hurtled forward, one Panther hit him high and another targeted his knee.
Soon Culpepper was pounding his fist into the turf and Ancient Mariner Brad Johnson was warming up on the sideline and there was Culpepper, this powerhouse, requiring the help of two strong men to limp to the sideline.
Most likely, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Most likely, that's not the full extent of the damage.
For a running quarterback carrying 260 pounds, this injury -- termed "devastating" by coach Mike Tice -- will change everything.
Don't expect him back this season, and don't expect him to be the same, physically, next season, and feel free to question where this leaves a House of Cards franchise begging to be excavated and rebuilt.
Even while ambulatory, Culpepper had performed poorly this season, for reasons ranging from the loss of Randy Moss, Scott Linehan and Matt Birk to his already nagging knee pain.
If Culpepper hadn't been himself the past two months, this injury promises to turn him into someone else altogether for the rest of his career.
As recently as last year, one could compare Culpepper to the quicksilver Michael Vick. As soon as next season, you may be comparing him to Byron Leftwich -- a stationary quarterback with a strong arm and a spotty résumé.
Vick is a once-in-a-lifetime player. Leftwich is an average NFL quarterback.
Comparisons may prove useful, because by the time Culpepper returns to action, he may not recognize the Vikings, nor they him.
That's why Culpepper was crying in the locker room. That's why offensive coordinator Steve Loney had to fight through his sentences like a running back through a goal-line defense. That's why, when asked about his conversation with Culpepper, Tice looked down and mumbled, "He said, 'I love you,' and I said the same thing to him. I love him, too."
In another setting, that would have registered as Tice's emotions run amok, but in this place, amid the detritus of a crumbling season, in the basement of the site of his latest failure, the words rang true.
Tice knew this would be the season that determined his football future. He entrusted it to Culpepper.
Now Tice's guy will need crutches and surgery and time, and time is no more a Tice ally than the Hennepin County Sheriff's Department.
After the game, Culpepper, a massive brace on his leg, pogo-ed on crutches to his locker. A crowd gathered behind him as he dressed, and he asked a Vikings official if the cameras really had to be there.
Eventually he turned and took two questions. "We don't know the extent of the damage right now," Culpepper said.
Should he have slid, to avoid contact? "It's just part of football," he said.
Johnson will replace Culpepper. Culpepper should watch closely.
Johnson won a Super Bowl not as the bright-eyed, gifted Vikings draftee, but as the battered craftsman the NFL forced him to become.
There is wisdom in Johnson's eyes, as surely as there were tears in Culpepper's.
Sunday, the tears meant a lot more.
Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on KSTP-AM 1500. • jsouhan@startribune.com
Copyright 2005 Star Tribune. All rights reserved