Minnesota Vikings coaches used to teach players techniques to injure opposing quarterbacks, such as "trying to bust the quarterback's knee" and dislocate a shoulder, 1992-93 Vikings defensive lineman Brad Culpepper reportedly told an Orlando, Fla., radio station. Not true, says newly elected Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end Chris Doleman, Culpepper's Vikings teammate those two years. "That wasn't a part of it. I would know. I was a starter," Doleman told the Pioneer Press when reached by phone Friday, March 23. "It was never about hurting a quarterback. Intimidating a quarterback, knocking him around - absolutely. One hundred percent. But not injuring." Culpepper made his comments to the Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi, host of Orlando's 740-AM "Open Mike," in response to the New Orleans Saints' bounty scandal. Bianchi wrote about the comments on his Sentinel website Friday morning. "We practiced techniques to injure players," said Culpepper, a 10th-round Vikings draft pick in 1992, who played nine NFL seasons and now has a personal-injury law firm, Culpepper Kurland, in Tampa. "We would dive on a mat and aim for the knee portion of a pad like it was the quarterback, and we would practice going at that and trying to bust the quarterback's knee. You knock the quarterback out, you win the game." When trying to sack a quarterback, Culpepper said, "If you pull on their arm and land on their shoulder, you can dislocate (the shoulder) and then they're out. We used to practice that, too." Source: Pioneer Press
Funny how nobody really talked about it until now-ish. If these guys were so eager to run their mouths about bad crap that happens in the NFL, why havent they done it before now? Not necessarily saying I dont believe them, but the timing of it and the "caliber" of player making the accusations reeks of attention trampism.
Most will come out cuz their day in the sun is over & this somewhat brings them back in the mix...or it's the best they can get. The lure of the reporter's mic & camera is heroin to the ex-jock whether they're telling the truth or embellishing for the spotlight. Bottom line is it's always been a violent game based on blood, sweat, & beers...from the sandlot to the pros. Only thing changing is society's culture where it's more about digging up the skeletons & pointing fingers even tho a lot pointing the fingers were knee deep in the mess all along. It's funny watching the NFL efforts to sanitize a game they built/made billions of $s from where the more violence the better was the call of the day. If any actually think this is from some noble NFL plan, I pity the fool... There's only one reason, & only one, for this 'push/concern' for player safety & that's based on the litigious nature of today's society. The NFL has made their billions thru the years & don't want some of this to come back, bite them in the butt & take back a good portion thru the courts for their 'inactivity'. They're just covering their hypocritical asses. Meanwhile they're still making $ off the old NFL films where 'seek & destroy' was embraced every Sunday by 'NFL Greats'....or where every game day, players perform on artificial surfaces that are akin to concrete with a throw rug cuz it's more cost effective while the concussion finger pointing is at the players style of tackling (based on the same style that the NFL was built on). Etc., etc., etc... Smoke & mirrors...
It works pretty good. Just remember how Favre was beaten up, while playing for the Vikings :icon_cheesygrin: As I already said, every team runs this "program"
