Daunte Culpepper Randy Moss

In the middle of a free agent frenzy that consumed the weekend, the remained uncharacteristically silent. Among the top moves, Edgerrin James was sent to Arizona, Antwaan Randle El to Washington, and LeCharles Bentley became a Brown. But no numbers were added to the Raiders roster-not even Daunte Culpepper's, who through an e-mail stated, "If a trade does not happen then I am asking the Vikings to terminate my contract as soon as possible."When the media pushed the intriguing "Culpepper to Moss" reunion possibility to its limit, it all but seemed like Culpepper had already purchased a plane ticket to Oakland. Now, with plenty of other breaking news to touch upon, it's coming to light that the Raiders were not even interested in 6'4" Daunte Culpepper.An undisclosed official close to the team reported that "there was no real offer because the Raiders weren't interested. They looked into it, but they weren't interested."The affirmed reason as announced by the team official was "the same reason Baltimore backed off, he [Culpepper] has bad knees that won't allow him to practice until August." Culpepper tore three ligaments in his right knee at Carolina in an October 30th 13-38 loss. Up until that point in the 2005 season, Culpepper had thrown six touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a seven-game quarterback rating of 72.But even if this was the only true reason why Al Davis shied away from Daunte Culpepper, it my have been for the better. For one, why would another Daunte-Randy lineup in different colored uniforms warrant the same success? Sure, they put up some pretty impressive numbers when they were together, but the team didn't always improve because of it. When Moss entered the NFL in 1998, he enjoyed two of the most successful seasons of his career-both relating to statistics and team record. But, Culpepper wasn't his quarterback in those years. In 1998, when the Vikings went 15-1, Randall Cunningham was behind center; and in 1999, when they went 10-6, Jeff George was starting and Culpepper was the backup. In 2000, Culpepper enjoyed his winningest season with the Vikings despite it being his first season as a full-time quarterback. He led the team to an 11-5 record and an appearance in the NFC Championship Game-losing 41-0 against the New York Giants. Perhaps that loss was an omen of things to come.In 2001, the team went 5-11. In 2002, they went 6-10. And despite the 11-21 two-year record, Moss still hauled in 2,580 yards in receptions-which is what Culpepper-supporters like to remember. In 2003 the team improved, going 9-7. But after starting the season 6-0, Culpepper and company dropped seven of their last ten and missed the playoffs for the third straight year. Finally, in 2004, the Vikings made it to the playoffs with a less than stellar 8-8 season. But ironically, Moss posted his worst career season while being plagued with injuries. Moss finished the year with just 767 yards and his team went on to lose 27-14 against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.If Culpepper did join the , he would pick up with much of the same state of affairs that he had left off with: Moss as his number one option, an inconsistent running game, and a weak and inexperienced defense. A mere change of scenery doesn't always constitute an improvement.