Daunte Culpepper, Please, Just Stop

I didn't even watch the game...and I doubt that I would have had I been able to.  The last thing I wanted to see was Daunte Culpepper playing against that Baltimore Raven defense on the road.

Sixteen of 34, 135 yards passing, 2 interceptions, and zero touchdowns.  Average gain on the pass?  Four yards, which is something you would expect out of your running back not your quarterback.

Daunte, you've had your day in the sun while in Minnesota, passing downfield to Randy Moss.  From 2002 to 2004, you were considered one of the best quarterbacks in the NFC North and talked about with the elite QB's of the league.

But injuries set you back and you bounced around a bit with the Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders.  When you landed with the Detroit Lions in the last half of 2008, you had hardly thrown a football in over a year.

Gamely, you tried to salvage something for the Lions' dismal 0-16 2008 record, but you were overweight and your passes were inaccurate, which is understandable since you hadn't played all that much over a year.

But 2009 showed some promise for you. 

A new head coach was coming in and you were going to be reunited with your offensive coordinator from Minnesota, Scott Linehan.  There was the young stallion Calvin Johnson, who was equal in talent to Randy Moss.  Kevin Smith was being regarded as a tough runner who could swing out on screen passes for big yardage as well as a huge target in Brandon Pettigrew.

Yes, the Lions drafted Matthew Stafford as the future of the franchise.  And everybody knew at some point, young Mr. Stafford was going to start for the Lions.  How long you could keep him on the bench was correlated on how successful you could be.

Sad to say, you never made it out of the preseason.

There were several people who thought having you start the regular season would have been more prudent, allowing Stafford to soak up the game on the sidelines—the real games, not preseason games where teams don't show you anything.

But the Lions' coaching staff sent a message to you, loud and clear:  You don't give us the best chance to win the game.

The Lions' coaching staff felt Stafford had better command of the huddle and a better connection with his teammates.

Daunte, hang 'em up.  You don't know it, but you're done.  Your body may say it's got a lot of football left and maybe even your brain believes it.  But check your heart...it's scared and it shows in your play. 

Passes completed constantly to your checkdown receivers for short-yardage doesn't move your team well.  Limited shots down-field to CJ (he caught four of your passes for a measly 37 yards after having back-to-back 100 yard games).

You can play this game with fear but you can't play scared Daunte.

Get out of the game before you embarrass yourself any further or get seriously hurt.