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Duante Culpepper's career is at a crossroads. A "T" in the road, if you will. To the left, he will establish himself as a productive veteran, able to thrive with more than one team, a testament to a quarterback's ability. To the right, he will show that Randy Moss, more than anything, was the reason for his success in Minnesota.

In 1998, the Minnesota Vikings were only the third team to ever post a 15-1 record, since the 16-game schedule took effect in 1978, following the 1984 49ers and the 1985 Bears. This was Randall Cunningham's best season as he led the triple threat receiver tandem in Jake Reed, Chris Carter and a then-rookie-sensation Randy Moss. It was the first and only time I've ever seen a quarterback walk to the line with a grin on his face as if to say, "this is almost too easy".

But Cunningham was in his thirteenth year and the Vikings had to look to the future. In 1999, they drafted Duante Culpepper out of Central Florida in the first round as their quarterback of the future. As the Vikings struggled early in 1999, Jeff George took the helm from Randall and led the Vikings to a 10-6 record and an eventual loss in the playoffs to the St. Louis Rams.

By 2000, Duante lost the clipboard for his first opportunity to run the ship. Although Jake Reed had left for New Orleans, Culpepper had quite the duo of receivers to toss the ball to; near a quarterback's dream for his first stint in the NFL. Most such opportunities begin with no such luxury. With Randy Moss (and Carter) stretching defenses around the league, Culpepper shot out of the gate for almost 4000 yards, 33 TDs and another 7 rushing TDs. He remained the general for Minnesota through 2004 when he tossed a career high 4,717 yards to include a whopping 39 TDs against only 11 picks to become an NFL MVP candidate. Unfortunately as Peyton Manning tossed an NFL record 49 TDs, MVP slipped away for Duante.

But in 2005 much of the NFL world wondered aloud how the disappearance of Randy Moss to the Raiders would affect the Vikings and Culpepper. The results couldn't have been more disastrous. Without Randy Moss to command opposing defenses' attention, Culpepper struggled to a 2-5 start, during which Duante tossed twelve picks against only six TDs. Eight of those picks alone came in the first two games. Needless to say, Culpepper's season was over long before a knee injury ended his 05 escapade. Questions abounded whether Duante could get it done without Randy Moss. The evidence was nearly night and day; someone had flicked the light switch.

In the offseason, Culpepper was traded to the Miami Dolphins, hopefully the missing piece on an otherwise solid team, with a return to his old form. Miami was scrutinized and picked as a Super Bowl contender. But in week one against the current champion Pittsburgh Steelers, Culpepper threw for 260 yards, many of which came from receivers' yards after the catch. Culpepper appeared to be playing with fire all night long on his out routes, culminating in a crucial interception by Troy Polamalu late in the fourth quarter with the game on the line and another moments later by Joey Porter to seal the deal.

Luckily for Culpepper, the Steelers had the toughest defense he will face, although he has other outings scheduled against Chicago and Jacksonville, as well. The bulk of his schedule, however, shows division opponents Jets and Bills two times each, as well as additional lesser opponents in Tennessee, Houston, Green Bay, and Detroit.

Truly, if Culpepper doesn't make it happen this year, the post-Moss data will continue to flow, the Dolphins will find themselves with the same dilemma in next year's offseason as they had this year, dialing 1+(800) QUARTERBACK, and Duante will find himself reduced to a permanent backup role for the remainder of his career.