Raiders passing game is basic
Daunte Culpepper plays just well enough to get the Raiders beat. Most of Sunday, he looked like an inferior option to Josh McCown, which is tough to accomplish. He then exploded for a two-play, 80-yard drive, giving the Raiders hope, before retreating into a shell again.
I do a double-take every week when I look at Daunte Culpepper's stats. They aren't so bad. I've talked about this with Aaron Gleeman, a Culpepper expert; the numbers always end up better than you remember. The box score doesn't show the ball being held too long or all the bad decisions.
The Oakland passing game, to put it nicely, looks basic when Daunte is playing. Teams have stopped respecting the pass, and load the box to stop LaMont Jordan. There are big plays there, but they haven't hit many of them. His mobility isn't close to all the way back. Gleeman said that Culpepper wouldn't be starting if not for his history of success in the league. I agreed, until I thought more about the Oakland depth chart. If the Raiders had options, Culppeper wouldn't be in the starting lineup in the first place.
This message was brought to you by the partnership for a better Ronald Curry
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While we're on the Raiders, I had to include this section from the Sacramento Bee about Gunther Cunningham.
And if you caught any of Chiefs defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham’s profanity-laced act on the HBO Hard Knocks series, you can imagine what was overheard during today’s game.While it’s impossible to recount all the expletives Cunningham spewed during the game, the most memorable line came near the end of the game.
As Daunte Culpepper looked like he was in position to lead the Raiders to a potential game winning score with passes to Ronald Curry, Cunningham yelled “Ty Law, you piece of (crap).”
Comments
Keep this stuff coming. That is the funniest thing I've read all week. I hope Ty Law and Gunther stay with the Chiefs for a very long time.
Posted by: John Williams | October 22, 2007 07:44 PM
yeah, that is freaking hilarious. certain phrases stick in my memory, and whenever i hear a part of the phrase, it triggers the memory in the back of my mind.
for example, when i was a pot-smoking teenager, my buddies and i would frequent the local huddle house in the 2:00-5:00 AM range. my friend mike was always the most wasted person in the group, generally nodding off and mumbling when he spoke by that time of night. 4 of us got to the huddle house this particular evening (morning), and mike was, as usual, passed out in the back seat. we woke him, and went inside, only for him to doze off again once we got to our booth. when the waitress came to take our drink orders, it went something like this: "i'll have a coke." "water for me." "yeah i want water, too." Mike: silence. my other bud slaps mike on the arm. he cocks an eyebrow and slowly turns his head to the waitress, and says "I'll have a sweet motherf***in' tea", then promptly dozes off again. that was 10 years ago, and to this day every time i hear "sweet tea", i think "sweet motherf***in' tea".
and from this day forth, when anyone mentions Ty Law, i will think "Ty Law, you piece of shit!"
priceless.
Posted by: The Dox | October 22, 2007 08:02 PM
more relevant this time -
i haven't watched a raiders game all season, but the offense was clearly more productive with mccown at the helm.
so Gregg, are you saying the raiders are using a dumbed down version of the offense for culpepper, or just that he isn't capable of consistently making plays in the passing game?
Posted by: The Dox | October 23, 2007 01:20 AM
"Gleeman said that Culpepper wouldn't be starting if not for his history of success in the league. "
Not sure if truer words have been spoken.
Posted by: joe | October 23, 2007 10:38 AM
Dox - I think it's a little bit of both. The key part is I don't think he has what it takes to make the plays.
Posted by: Gregg | October 24, 2007 11:42 AM