The Week of the 37-Year-Old QBs

If revenge is a dish best served cold, Daunte Culpepper might as
well have been feeding snowcones in South Beach on Sunday.
The Week of the 37-Year-Old QBs

If revenge is a dish best served cold, Daunte Culpepper might as well have been feeding snowcones in South Beach on Sunday.

He only threw 12 passes for 75 yards, but Culpepper completed two touchdowns while running for three more against Miami, with the last score coming on a three-yard run with 23 seconds left to ice the game. He may have said that it was just nice to get a win in his first start of the year, but by repeatedly pointing to his surgically repaired right knee and flashing an “OK” sign to fans after scores, he was basically giving the finger to ‘Fins management.

This is the same quarterback who was escorted off Miami’s practice field by security in June because the new coach (Cam Cameron) didn’t want distractions or competition after bringing in Trent Green from Kansas City. The question that no one seems to be asking is, why was Trent Green viewed as an upgrade?

Culpepper was declared healthy for the first time this past summer (after playing hurt in four games last year), and Green is the same quarterback that looked shell-shocked all of last year after an early season concussion against Cincinnati. Green also turned 37 in July (QB of the future?) and played horrendous in a playoff game at Indianapolis in January, when the Colts were vulnerable after three Peyton Manning interceptions. Green and Steve McNair of Baltimore were the two worst players in last year’s playoffs with Rex Grossman’s Super Bowl performance right there as well.

On Sunday, Green’s line read: 14-25, 158 yards, 1 TD, 2 Int.

The only reason Culpepper was cut loose for Green, was the latter played in a system for Cameron almost a decade ago (before you had even heard of Kurt Warner, his backup in St. Louis a year later). Now the Raiders are 2-2 – they should be 3-1 if not for a missed kick in Denver – and Culpepper has redemption. He also should have the starting job at quarterback for the rest of the year, regardless of a healthy/injured Josh McCown.

– Speaking of 37-year-old quarterbacks, let’s focus on one who still has game. Jeff Garcia my not be a glamour guy, but after taking the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to 3-1, he is clearly a winner. And as “Talladega Night’s” Ricky Bobby once said, “Winners get to do what they want.”

Entering the offseason, the Bucs were by far the worst team in the NFC South. But, a dogfighting indictment has clipped the Falcons (1-3), the inconsistent Panthers (2-2) clearly have issues on both sides of the ball and the Saints (0-3) have yet to be seen marching anywhere but backwards.

When Garcia turned Philadelphia’s season around last year, most assumed that it was a ‘right-place, right-time’ situation. The Eagles had plenty of talent and just needed an infusion of energy and leadership to click. Well, the Bucs have significantly less talent than the Eagles, but all they needed was Garcia to make things click.

This week, however, the team lost its left tackle (Luke Petitgout) and best running back (Carnell “Cadillac” Williams) to injuries, which leaves the offense without two of its most crucial positions. If Garcia keeps the team going in the right direction now, he belongs with Manning, Tom Brady, Tony Romo and Brett Favre in MVP talk.

If not MVP, just write his name on the ballot for Mayor of Gilroy in the upcoming elections.

Do you doubt he would win?

– San Jose State beat my beloved UC Davis Aggies over the weekend 34-14. Two things worth noting; one, enjoy it while it last Spartans, we have you at home next year; and two, SJSU quarteback Adam Tafralis now has 42 touchdown passes in his career, putting him six behind Gilroy’s Garcia, who is third on the all-time list.

– Brett Favre, also 37 years old, is the modern-day “Cool Hand Luke.” He is the guy everyone wants to be friends with, he never backs down from a fight, he’s tough as nails and I heard he once ate 50 cheeseheads in an hour (just kidding on the last one). While Tom Brady, with his penchant for dating actresses and supermodels, has become the pinnacle of quarterback cool, I say Favre and Joe Montana should stand atop the list. Coming from a Detroit fan that has seen the man murder my team twice a year, I have never once hated Favre. I just wished my team had someone like him.

Congrats to Favre on passing Dan Marino’s touchdown record, who I bet is now trying to figure out if he will be considered a top ten quarterback in a decade, when all his records are broken and his fingers are bare.