Every Play Counts: Does Daunte Culpepper Have Anything Left?

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

Daunte Culpepper signed with the Detroit Lions on Monday, went through a playbook cram session on Tuesday, got the majority of the practice reps on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and was declared the team's starter on Saturday.

It was a busy week.

So how did Culpepper do when he finally took the field on Sunday? We explore in this week's installment of Every Play Counts.

Culpepper's first pass was an awkward one. He rolled out to his right, saw pressure approaching from Jaguars defensive tackle Rob Meier and defensive end Reggie Hayward, and hurried his throw, off his back foot, to Calvin Johnson, who was open just a few yards away for what should have been an easy completion. Instead, it was well behind Johnson and fell incomplete.

Meier and Hayward never really got very close to Culpepper, and the way Culpepper hurried the throw showed the nervousness either of a guy who hadn't played football in a while or a guy who shies away from contact because he doesn't want to re-injure his knee. If it's the former, that's something that should smooth out with time; if it's the latter, that could be a serious problem for him going forward.

Culpepper's second pass was a little bit better in execution, even if the result was worse. Lining up in the shotgun, Culpepper stood in the pocket and scanned the field until the Jaguars' pass rush started to get to him, then took a couple of steps forward to buy some extra time and fired the ball deep downfield.

The good news on that second pass is that Culpepper looked competent moving in the pocket. The bad news is twofold: First, he decided not to run even though there was enough room in front of him that the Culpepper of the Minnesota days could have picked up a first down. And second, when he passed, he threw it short of Johnson, and it was intercepted by Jaguars cornerback Rashean Mathis.

Culpepper has always taken a lot of sacks. Even in his best season, 2004, when he had 4,717 passing yards, 406 rushing yards, 39 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, he struggled with holding onto the ball too long, and he got sacked 46 times. That's definitely going to be a problem for him in Detroit. On a third-and-4 in the first quarter, Culpepper dropped back to pass and no one bothered to block Jaguars linebacker Clint Ingram.

Although it's not Culpepper's fault that the pass protection broke down, it is at least partially his fault that he didn't see the rush coming in time to throw the ball away. He took a sack on the play, and the way the Lions block, he should expect to take sacks as long as he's their starting quarterback.

Culpepper made his best play of the day midway through the first quarter. On a third-and-14, Culpepper took a shotgun snap, and with the Jaguars rushing four, he finally had time to set his feet in the pocket and wait for a play to develop. Standing on the left hashmark on his own 7-yard line, Culepper uncorked a brilliant pass to Johnson, who was streaking down the left sideline. Johnson hauled it in at the opposite 37-yard line. The ball traveled about 60 yards in the air and hit its intended target perfectly.

He had a similar throw in the second quarter; he stood on his own 25-yard line in the middle of the field and rifled one to Johnson at the opposite 26-yard line, outside the numbers. That ball came up short, with Johnson having to slow down and eventually missing the catch, but it looked more like Culpepper misjudged Johnson's speed than that he couldn't have thrown the ball far enough. The ball still traveled 50 yards in the air and looked like the kind of spiral you want to watch in NFL Films slow-mo while John Facenda narrates. Yes, Culpepper still has plenty of arm strength.

He also has sufficient mobility, as he showed on the very next play. After a play fake, Culpepper rolled to his left and looked downfield. He didn't see anything he liked, though, and as Jaguars defensive end Derrick Harvey started closing in on him, he turned back to his right and eventually hit running back Kevin Smith on the other side of the field. Smith turned it upfield for 27 yards, and just like that, the Lions had their two biggest plays of the game.

However, as good as that play was, please note that I said sufficient mobility. Five years ago, describing Culpepper's mobility as "sufficient" would have been an absurd understatement; at his best he was among the best running quarterbacks in NFL history. He's definitely not that anymore, but when he needs to move around, he can.

Later on that drive, on a third-and-goal, Culpepper showed what he's lacking as a runner; when he tried to run out of the shotgun on a designed quarterback draw, he looked like a plodding fullback. The play didn't count because Jaguars defensive tackle Troy McDaniel facemasked Culpepper, but the notable part of the play was the way Culpepper showed an awfully slow first step.

And more important than losing his running ability, Culpepper looked like he's lost some passing accuracy. His third-and-4 pass to Johnson in the second quarter was a perfect example of a play on which an accurate quarterback would have had an easy first down: Johnson ran a slant against single coverage and got good inside position. If Culpepper had led him a bit, Johnson would have had an easy time running to the ball and grabbing it for a first down. Instead, Culpepper threw it behind Johnson and incomplete, and the Lions punted.

But Culpepper can still make most of the passes an NFL team asks a quarterback to make. He hit wide receiver Shaun McDonald on three good mid-range throws on one drive in the second quarter and generally looked competent doing it.

Overall, Culpepper threw 10 passes. Five of them were complete: The long one to Johnson for 51 yards, three to McDonald for 14, eight and four yards, and the scramble and pass to Smith for 27 yards. Four fell incomplete: Three on which he missed Johnson and one that Smith dropped. One was intercepted. He was also sacked twice, and the one time he tried to run he didn't get anywhere.

Bottom line: I don't think Culpepper is one of the best 32 quarterbacks in the NFL, but I do think that with a little time to learn a playbook and develop chemistry with his teammates (whether in Detroit or elsewhere), he can certainly be one of the best 64. And that means that while I don't expect to see Culpepper as a solid NFL starter -- let alone back to his Pro Bowl Vikings form -- I do think he has enough left that there's a place for him in the NFL.