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Much to the disliking of Daunte Culepepper, Joey Harrington has been named the starter for the second week in a row when the Dolphins face the Jets in the meadowlands. News that Culpepper and head coach Nick Saban had been arguing in practice last week has started all sorts of rumors, and the truth is they are very justified. While Saban holds that Daunte was benched because of a nagging right shoulder, he also hinted that Cupepper’s mobility problems have been an issue.
It is not a surprise that the Dolphins have realized Culpepper’s running ability is more than an asset. Unfortunately, it’s a necessity for his game, and because of a brutal knee injury last year, this attribute of his game has been missing. With his usual mobility, Culpepper is used to holding the ball a long time and being able to make decisions at the very last moment, without his mobility Culpepper has tried to hold the ball just as long but with little success, as the pocket usually crumbles around him. One alerting statistic: Many blamed the offensive line for the 21 sacks Miami allowed before the Patriots game last Sunday. With Joey Harrington in that game, the Dolphins allowed just 1 sack.
No, noone can stare at you in the face and seriously tell you this offensive line has been anything more than mediocre, and the same line had 5 penalties and looked as average against New England as they had in the previous games. What must be concluded is that Harrington is releasing the ball quicker, and that he is more comfortable with his reads.
For the first time all season, tight-end Randy McMichael was a huge part of the offensive scheme, as well as other receivers that had been absent. It seems as though with Harrington there is a calm and confidence that lacks with Culpepper.
Harrington’s stats for his first start are nearly identical to that of Culpepper’s first four games, but stats fail too tell the whole truth. With Culpepper, good plays were inconsistent and sparse so that when they happened, they would be followed by two or three bad plays that would negate the good one. Harrington got this team on a role and instead of one good play followed by a few bad ones, the Dolphins saw a few good plays in a row for a change.
Culpepper’s abilities are well documented, and it would be silly to say that a healthy Culpepper should be benched for Harrington based on their careers thus far. Yet Culpepper is not healthy, and while the Dolphins staff seemed unaware of this before, they are now realizing that as much as he says he is 100%, Daunte Culpepper is far from that, and it shows on the field. A healthy, confident Harrington is a much better prospect than an inured, rusty Daunte Culpepper.
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