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Strange Brew..

Califin

Califin

Resident Witchdoctor
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Culpepper managed to make it through 6 years without duffing it up in a game so badly, that it would threaten to redefine who he is.

How could he suddenly appear so lost?

We observed him briefly in preseason, and while the timing looked a bit off, nothing triggered any alarms, that warned of any inpending doom ahead.
During the nationally televised Pittsburgh game, under heavy scrutiny, Culpepper seemed readily composed, three quarters into the game,
and though far from memorable, he managed to hook up with Welker, in quick decisive passes to keep us in it, then eventually with Booker and Chambers with reasonable consistency, considering ofcourse they were playing in Pittsburgh, against their championship defense.

Why would, and how could, the wheels come off so abruptly, at the flip of a coin, here at home, against rookies from Buffalo?
 
Well he did score his first TD of the season, cut down on the pics, got massive yardage, a nice completion pct, a 91.9 QB rating, he did look way off in the fumble and looked flustered by the pressure, he seemed to have a great feel of the pass rush in the Steelers game but in the Bills game he would just roll up on fetal position and take the sack, IMO it was the knee, he was afraid of risking an injury, something really wrong most have happened to his knee (big time swelling) after the Steelers game that threw him completely off.

He actually scrambled and bailed himslef time quite a few times in the Steelers game, actually I think the pressure was worse in the Steelers game than in the Bills game, but in the Bills game he would just give up the play in the moment he saw someone coming at him...
 
Joey 22 said:
Well he did score his first TD of the season, cut down on the pics, got massive yardage, a nice completion pct, a 91.9 QB rating, he did look way off in the fumble and looked flustered by the pressure, he seemed to have a great feel of the pass rush in the Steelers game but in the Bills game he would just roll up on fetal position and take the sack, IMO it was the knee, he was afraid of risking an injury, something really wrong most have happened to his knee (big time swelling) after the Steelers game that threw him completely off.

He actually scrambled and bailed himslef time quite a few times in the Steelers game, actually I think the pressure was worse in the Steelers game than in the Bills game, but in the Bills game he would just give up the play in the moment he saw someone coming at him...
Click to expand...

The way he was getting rid of the football in the face of the blitz in the Pittsburgh game was amazing. At one point I remember actually thinking, "what a difference a good QB makes". Then those picks seemed to not only crush his confidence for the rest of that game but carried over into the Bills game.
 
I think the ending to the Pitt game, was the WORST CASE SCENARIO for his first game BACK, Hostile Crowd, World Champs, New Offense(PLAYERS), 3 min left with the pressure squarely on him to win the Game, TOO MUCH PRESSURE FOR HIS FIRST TIME OUT AFTER THE INJURY....Carried over to Buffalo game(obvious by the beginning of that game).
 
Joey 22 said:
but in the Bills game he would just roll up on fetal position and take the sack, IMO it was the knee..
Click to expand...

Having worked all weekend without so much as a glimpse worth of my Sunday Ticket subscription, neither have I seen, nor could I imagine, Culpepper ever rolling up in a fetal position, to await a sack.

That would definitely lead me to believe the knee as the overwhelming culprit in this, whereby he was obviously concerned of re injury. As I recall, the guy has always been a tank, and far from willing to ever drag down behind the LOS.

This actually happened??
 
Yes it did more than once, and it was Ryan Freaking Denney who he was scared of...
 
I have the game TiVoed and then burned on DVD and I was watching the sacks over and over again... he stood still when a DB (Ko Simpson) sacked him... rather sad...
 
Sounds to me like Daunte just didn't expect Buffalos pass rush to be any where near as dominant as they were. If he prepared like he or they did against Pittsburg.. maybe they would've handled it better. We know daunte can play. But last week... the whole offense was off. Tells me they got out coached in that area of the game.
They say Daunte is a proud man... I hope to see some pride out of alot of players this weekend.
 
Joey 22 said:
Well he did score his first TD of the season, cut down on the pics, got massive yardage, a nice completion pct, a 91.9 QB rating, he did look way off in the fumble and looked flustered by the pressure, he seemed to have a great feel of the pass rush in the Steelers game but in the Bills game he would just roll up on fetal position and take the sack, IMO it was the knee, he was afraid of risking an injury, something really wrong most have happened to his knee (big time swelling) after the Steelers game that threw him completely off.

He actually scrambled and bailed himslef time quite a few times in the Steelers game, actually I think the pressure was worse in the Steelers game than in the Bills game, but in the Bills game he would just give up the play in the moment he saw someone coming at him...
Click to expand...

This is why I always say a theres more to the QB play than the rating. If ratings took into effect fumbling snaps, trying to make a throw and the ball going backwards, not being able to read progressions even though there is time, missing open WRs, throwing INTs while going in for a score.....his rating would be very low.

But since the QB rating is a mathematical formula, it leaves the weighting of variables to us who comment on such things.

I also don't know the reason behind Culpeppers full blown sudden ineptitude (quality of the defenses, health, his inabilities in reading coverages, etc) I just know that for the past two games he has been an utter failure, QB rating aside.

It appears that Saban also under-estimated the inadequacies of DCs game, or else he would have had a better plan going forward with this season.

And that poor decision by Saban has cost the Dolphins mightily this season. Its now ANOTHER year of no playoffs, no postseason, no hope...the only thing to look forward to is the draft.

This is a frustrating cycle for Fins fans.
 
I think the Dolphins players we're thing all we need to do is show up and the Bills game is ours.
 
Calling the season lost after two games is just wrong. You don't come back from major knee surgery and put up HOF #s in your first few games back. There is rust in both decision making, playing speed, adjusting to his new WRs and OL, wondering how the knee will hold up, pressure to take the team deep into the playoffs, etc.

Wait until midseason and see how Culpepper is doing then.
 
Joey 22 said:
Well he did score his first TD of the season, cut down on the pics, got massive yardage, a nice completion pct, a 91.9 QB rating, he did look way off in the fumble and looked flustered by the pressure, he seemed to have a great feel of the pass rush in the Steelers game but in the Bills game he would just roll up on fetal position and take the sack, IMO it was the knee, he was afraid of risking an injury, something really wrong most have happened to his knee (big time swelling) after the Steelers game that threw him completely off.

He actually scrambled and bailed himslef time quite a few times in the Steelers game, actually I think the pressure was worse in the Steelers game than in the Bills game, but in the Bills game he would just give up the play in the moment he saw someone coming at him...
Click to expand...
If i remember right I think there were at least 4 or 5 Quarterbacks who had been sacked at least 6-7 times last week. I haven't heard to many commentators talk about that. Some of the QB's were Manning, Collins-Young, and a few others i can't remember.
 
hellsapoppin said:
If i remember right I think there were at least 4 or 5 Quarterbacks who had been sacked at least 6-7 times last week. I haven't heard to many commentators talk about that. Some of the QB's were Manning, Collins-Young, and a few others i can't remember.
Click to expand...

I dont really know what you're trying to say. Those were different games, different QB's, different situations. Culpepper is in his 7th year, how he could hold onto the ball so long, make such a terrible throw at the end of the half that only a rookie would try to force. Culpepper DOES look lost, he IS making some mistakes uncharacteristic of a veteran, at least a veteran who should be an all-pro. I'm not expecting Daunte to never throw a pick, go 30/30 300 yards and 5 TD's every week. But i'm not impressed, a lot of his throws have been off. His knowledge of the offense doesn't appear to be as crisp as we all thought it would be. I want a big game out of him this week.....
 
Joey 22 said:
I have the game TiVoed and then burned on DVD and I was watching the sacks over and over again... he stood still when a DB (Ko Simpson) sacked him... rather sad...
Click to expand...

I know, the guy we thought would be shaking off linebackers because he's so big gets owned by a DB.
 
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