Jeff: Can Daunte Save the Season?

Ok so I'm not making deadlines for myself anymore. I haven't had internet at home until the past weekend, so I'm not sure when I thought I'd get all this time to write. Certainly not at work or school. But now that I have the net back (and cable) I'll be able to write some more- and of course do a lot less homework. Jer was having some computer troubles of his own, otherwise he would have posted about the Gophers win. Only he or Josho really should comment on this one, since they've been waiting like 16 years for this. IT's coming, trust me. I'll also get to the Whine List at some time.

Today, though, it's about Daunte. The Purple face the Chicago Bears this Sunday. They've had two weeks off, two weeks to prepare, two weeks to answer questions about what's wrong with the team and whether it can be fixed. I can't answer the second, but I can answer the first: Daunte is the problem. Minnesota needs the Daunte we've seen up until this season, not the bumbling, stumbling turnover machine we've seen through five weeks.

I probably can't repeat what you're saying right now. Probably something along the lines of "No $%^&!! EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT!!! Tell us something we DON"T KNOW!!" Thank you, I will. I was watching the Atlanta debacle at the Jer's place, and midway through the game, after Daunte made yet another terrible decision, Jer's housemate Ryno made the comment that Daunte "looked rattled and like the Falcons got in his head. He's completely lost his confidence!" Ladies and gentlemen, the light went on for me.

Culpepper has been one of the top quarterbacks in the league, and had it not been for Peyton Manning, he would have been league MVP last season. How in the name of Wade Wilson does Daunte go from MVP to moron in one summer? People point to two factors: Randy Moss and Matt Birk, and I agree that the absences of both are the reasons for Daunte's struggles- but for more than the reasons you hear. Yes, teams can defend the Vikes differently and much more aggresively than in seasons past. You HAD to commit at least two people to Moss, and sometimes even that wasn't enough. Now you have the option of blitzing any one of the 11 guys on defense. Nate Burelson, Travis Taylor and the rest of the Vikes receiving core have talent, but they're certainly not keeping D co-ordinators up at night. THey feel like they can blitz like crazy and not get burned. And so far they've been right.

Losing Birk hurts because he was absolutely your best lineman, and now you're reshuffling lesser players to fill the void. Very true. Birk was very athletic and a great blocker. BUt he was also excellent at recognizing blitzes at the line of scrimmage. It's the center's job to call out blocking schemes and blitzing players before the snap. Birk was exceptional at it, and seemed to always make the right call. The Vikes line and backs, for the most part, knew what was coming and who was coming, and it kept Daunte upright and able to throw the ball. And there in lies the key: keeping Daunte upright. Not just for his physical health (hey even 260 pound QB's can only take so many hits)- but more importantly for his mental health.

Ryno hit it right on the head: Daunte was rattled. He had lost his confidence. Our good friend Austin Danger Powers would say he'd lost his mojo. For his entire career, Culpepper's been a man among boys, and has had the time to use his incredible physical gifts. He played on a great team in high school, and played against lesser competition at UCF. Up until this season, he's played with a lot of talent in Minnesota, and it's allowed him time and space to do his thing. But this season opposing defenses are bringing the house on every play and Daunte is helpless to stop it. It's hard to believe that a quarterback that stands 6'4, 260 pounds with his incredible physical gifts could lose confidence in himself so easily but that's exactly what's happened.

Look at the Vikings losses this season to the Bucs, Bengals and Falcons: Minnesota was down early, and Daunte was down often. They blitzed the hell out of him early, got to him, and he was never able to recover mentally. In all three of those games, after getting killed early, even when Daunte had time to throw he was missing open receivers. No throw in the NFL is "easy" by any means, but he was missing passes that a starting NFL QB should make- let alone one of the best in the game. Now look at the New Orleans win. Daunte's first play from scrimmage he went right after the Saints and connected for a 27-yard TD to Taylor. Next series, he went after them again and it resulted in another TD. #11 got the mojo working early and the Vikings cruised to their only win of the season.

So how do we keep Culpepper, and his confidence, upright? I have as little faith as you do that Mike Ticey or Steve Loney can come up to a solution, but it needs to happen before the Vikings season slips away. Remember, Minnesota's looked as bad as any Vikings team in the last 2 decades, but they're still just a game back of Detroit for first place. The Vikes need to protect Daunte enough to let him be aggressive early, which means finding a way to block blitzes that will come from any direction. Keep Daunte upright and you keep the Vikes season and playoff chances afloat. But if you see #11 on his big keester a lot this Sunday against the Bears, the Purple's season will pretty much be sunk.