Picking Culpeppers

It's an interesting signing, Daunte Culpepper to the Raiders, to say the least. On the one hand, Oakland is picking up a veteran talent who, at the top of his game, is a Pro Bowl shoe-in -- a QB with the leadership and ability to shepherd a JaMarcus Russel (or, hell, even an Andrew Walter). But that hand is purely theoretical. The other hand -- the hand more grounded in tangible reality -- is the one favoring this signing as yet another stop-gap for the Raiders. Granted, those QB stop-gaps seem to be climbing the charts in relevance over the years (from Kerry Collins, to Aaron Brooks, to Daunte), but there's not much reason to cheer. Culpepper's body is broken and the distance to go to prove to the league that that is no longer the case is pretty substantial. Nevermind that every media pundit and fan happily overlooks Culpepper's penchant for turnovers (the man is "Captain Turnover," after all), even when fully healthy, the guy is stepping into an offense that is starting over from scratch. That includes having an inept offensive line. Yup. Culpepper will definitely get back on his A-game with all the protection he'll be receiving this year. Uh huh...

Anyway, the issue with JaMarcus is one that plagues the NFL and is one of those rare instances where football really can learn from the NBA. Regardless, I wouldn't have expected to see the #1 pick get any game action until around week 8 or 9. Now that Culpepper is in time, probably week 11 or 12.

Oh the Raiders... Amid all of this, however, I maintain that they'll beat the Lions in week 1. Booyeah!

Switching gears to the "other" football across the Atlantic, to a team regarded by many as the Oakland Raiders of the English Premier League (popular club that all opposition fans HATE, starved for success, serving to rabid, passionate, deprived fans amid constant turmoil), Newcastle United supporters didn't do themselves any favors when they descended upon unhappy star Kieron Dyer. You'll never see that kind of fervor over here. Imagine if Kobe Bryant's house was egged and surrounded the day he demanded a trade. Or his car mobbed by angry fans. Nope, not in this country. Not in a place where sports are considered a casual hobby rather than the only source of distraction from an oppressive, dreary existence in Northern England. I, for one, would laugh hysterically for days if Dyer went to West Ham. I'd pay money to see that reunion with Bowyer.

Only ten days 'til the return of the EPL! Me: excited. Liverpool kicks off with a visit to Aston Villa. Game on. I'll have to post some sort of predictions at a later time.