There is a shining ray of the old Daunte Culpepper now starting to peek through the storm of sacks and misreads and footballs held too long.
Miami’s embattled, often-criticized quarterback is actually playing pretty well lately. The last quarter against the Texans saw Culpepper complete 11 of 16 passes as the Dolphins attempted to salvage the game.
“His decision-making has improved, his accuracy has improved,” coach Nick Saban said. “His knowledge and experience in the offense and playing with the players we have is not where we’d like it to be, but it has improved dramatically.
“He’s played better in each game as we move from the Pittsburgh game. He didn’t play well at Buffalo, but he played a little better at Tennessee, and he played better last week.”
Culpepper’s interceptions are down, his mobility has been better and he was Miami’s offensive player of the week as chosen by Saban and his staff.
So might that improvement in the Houston game signal something lasting? Has Culpepper turned the corner on his early-season struggles?
“Well, I hope so,” Culpepper said. “I think the one thing I’m concentrating on is getting better every day, every game. I don’t know if I’d say it’s a turnaround, but obviously I hope I continue to get better. That’s my goal from Day One.”
Culpepper has, at times, been a shadow of the player he was in Minnesota, and the Dolphins think the reason is his rehabilitation from last season’s knee injury has left him less mobile and the adjustment to his new limitations has been slow.
But even on that front, Culpepper is showing glimpses of his old self. Twice against Houston, defenders had the quarterback in their grasps. Single-handedly, Culpepper salvaged a five-sack day out of what might have been a seven-sack day.
“He moved around better in the game,” Saban said. “I think some of that’s coming back.”
The Dolphins believe Culpepper will continue his progress, continue improving, continue his return to form, because repetitions, more rehabilitation and time are his friends.
“Every day I continue to work on the strength of my leg, and it’s just me getting more comfortable,” Culpepper said.
The Dolphins believe Culpepper’s physical improvement will pay dividends. But they also need him to find a comfort level with his receivers, particularly Chris Chambers.
Chambers has been open on a number of occasions in recent games, yet the Dolphins haven’t converted those into long-pass plays–the reason the team is 27th in net yards per pass play.
“It’s definitely important because he’s a great player and he’s a weapon,” Culpepper said of finding a comfort level with Chambers. “Not only that, but I have to get in sync with everybody. This whole offense has to get in sync.”