Daunte Culpepper is under the impression that he’s “the” QB for the Miami Dolphins and that he’s an “elite” QB.

“I’m an elite quarterback when I’m healthy,” said Culpepper in a recent AP article.

Oh? When has Culpepper ever been an “elite” quarterback? Does this mean he’s never been healthy?

If the Miami Dolphins think that Culpepper is the go-to QB for the 2007-08 NFL season—as Culpepper seems to think—they won’t be going anywhere. Start playing for the 2008-09 season right now.

Now before you get all excited and point out the 2003 and 2004 seasons, let us remember that he had one Randy Moss as his main receiver. Why is this important?

Culpepper is a jump-ball passer and Moss is tall, athletic and a jump-ball receiver. In 2003, Moss accounted for 68% of Culpepper’s TDs (17 of 25). So, over 16 games, Culpepper threw just 8 TDs to other players.

In 2005, Culpepper only played 7 games and he looked terrible. Some might try to blame it all on injuries, but I see something else. He was missing Moss. Culpepper now had to throw like a normal QB and he struggled. In those 7 games, Culpepper only threw 6 TDs and he threw 12 INTs—twice as many.

Last season Culpepper was injured still, but in the 4 games he played, the true picture came out again. He threw 2 TDs and 3 INTs. His passer rating was 77, which was 5 points higher than it was in 2005.

Culpepper put together some decent seasons with two pretty good seasons—that’s not elite. When you think of an elite QB, who comes to mind—Brady, P. Manning? It’s definitely not Culpepper.

The Dolphins drafted John Beck from BYU. He’s got good potential, but he’s not ready to guide a team to the playoffs.

Miami has Joey Harrington sitting around and they have been gunning for Trent Green. It’s unlikely that they get Green and it looks like everyone is buying what Culpepper is selling—too bad for Dolphin fans.