Bears add veteran Culpepper
to boost defensive line
Bob LeGere, Daily Herald
Sports Writer
23 Aug 2000
Chicago Daily Herald, Page 1
(Copyright 2000)
It took two separate moves,
but the Bears might have turned a major problem area into a major
strength Tuesday.
They released malcontent
nine-year veteran Chris Mims, leaving themselves temporarily
short-handed at defensive tackle behind starters Mike Wells and Jim
Flanigan. But late Tuesday night, they agreed to terms on a two-year
deal with Tampa Bay's longtime starter Brad Culpepper, also a nine-year
veteran, who had been cut Monday.
Culpepper, 31, was released
by the Buccaneers in favor of second- year standout Anthony McFarland to
save money under the salary cap. Culpepper was scheduled to make $1.2
million this season in Tampa.
"Brad is going to make
more than the minimum ($440,000) and have a chance to approach his
salary at Tampa Bay (through incentives)," said Tim Irwin, his
agent. "He wanted to be with a team that wanted him."
The Bears certainly
qualified.
"We're concerned with
it, as we have been," coach Dick Jauron said of the backup
situation at tackle. "That's why Chris (Mims) was here, and he had
a great opportunity. He just didn't take advantage of it."
Culpepper will. He is
considered an all-out, extra-effort player.
Although two other teams
were interested in Culpepper, the Bears were considered the
front-runners. Culpepper played two seasons at Florida for Bears
defensive line coach Rex Norris, who was the Gators' defensive line
coach in 1988-89. Culpepper 's 3-year-old son Rex is named after Norris.
"He's seriously looking
at Chicago," Irwin said late Tuesday afternoon. "He's fielding
some different offers, but he likes Rex Norris."
The 6-foot-1, 270-pound
Culpepper is undersized for a defensive tackle, but he started his last
55 games in Tampa. He had 23 1/2 of his 33 career sacks in the past
three seasons.
"We know he's a real
fine football player," Bears coach Dick Jauron said. "He is
undersized for the position, but he's very active. I would say he's
somewhat like Jim (Flanigan) in terms of (having) a high motor. He never
quits and works real hard."
Aside from Culpepper, the
only backups to Wells and Flanigan are Ken Anderson and Russell Davis.
Anderson is still rehabilitating from arthroscopic knee surgery two
weeks ago, and he was unimpressive even before the injury. Davis also
hasn't shown coaches anything to be encouraged about.
Despite the Bears' desperate
need for depth at defensive tackle (before they added Culpepper ), they
had no problem axing Mims. He showed little interest in practicing
during training camp because of thigh and groin injuries, and he
supposedly slept through Monday's practice.
"He painted himself
into a corner, and there was really not a lot of options left,"
Jauron said of Mims. "I was really hoping that Chris would do what
he's capable of doing. He just really never got into the kind of shape
that he needed to get into.
"He still indicated
that he may want to play. But I can't tell you that I felt like he was
100 percent convincing to me. I'm not certain that he knows what he
wants to do in his own mind. It was unfortunate."
Mims was a first-round draft
pick of the San Diego Chargers in 1992, and he had 10 sacks that season,
followed by 7 and a career- high 11 in 1994. Although he was a full-time
starter the next two seasons, Mims had just 14 sacks in the past five
seasons and only 2 in the past two years when he encountered some
off-the-field problems.
His problem with the Bears
was that he wasn't on the field enough during practice time or in the
weight room during the off- season.
"I don't know that he
really took advantage of our off-season program," Jauron said.
"He had every advantage; we gave him every opportunity. In training
camp, we got very little out of him, and that's a big factor, too.
"If you carry eight
guys at a position and seven of them practice, those seven take all the
burden. Even if a guy's healthy by game time, it's really not the
situation you want for your team. You don't want a guy standing there
watching and then showing up on Sunday and playing when the other guys
are working all week."
Brad Culpepper Makes Case In Pursuit Of Law
Degree
Tampa Tribune
18 Jul 1999
Section: Sports, Page: 1
By Joey Knight
GAINESVILLE - The defense never rests in the case of Bucs defensive
tackle Brad Culpepper, who spends his off-seasons working on his law
degree.
He probably won't finish law school at the University of Florida
until 2001 at the earliest, but Brad Culpepper already knows plenty
about indisputable evidence and airtight cases.
Consider the one he makes for himself as the Bucs' steadiest interior
defensive lineman.
Exhibit A: Culpepper has just as many sacks (17.5) the last two
seasons as teammate Warren Sapp, who went to the Pro Bowl both years.
Exhibit B: Culpepper also has 20 more tackles than Sapp during that
same period.
"Brad Culpepper was our best defensive lineman last year,"
quarterback/character witness Trent Dilfer said recently in an Internet
chat. "Warren Sapp gets the notoriety, but Brad was our best."
That's not to say first-round draftee Anthony "Booger"
McFarland won't someday force Culpepper to approach the bench, but the
jury's still out on the touted rookie from Louisiana State University.
For now, Culpepper would seem to have a case that would make Matlock
cringe.
"People try to measure the bar on [Sapp], and that's fine, do
that. Measure my stats against his," Culpepper said.
"No knock against him, he's a hell of a player. But luckily,
I've been able to come into my own and have my own beliefs in myself and
say, "I'm going to dominate on this level.' And I've been very
fortunate and lucky with injuries that I'm able to do that."
You're not likely to find much rebuttal from One Buccaneer Place. The
Tampa Bay player who spends his off-seasons studying law also has defied
it. After all, the law of averages says an NFL career spans roughly four
years, yet the undersized ex-Gator appears to be peaking entering Year
Eight.
Translation: A potential career awaits Culpepper in the field of law,
but the field of play remains his green pasture. For now, law school is
a "hobby," providing structure for the 30-year-old veteran
during his down time. Talk about hitting the off-season lecture circuit.
"Sometimes it's a pain," said Culpepper, set to graduate in
two more semesters with dual degrees in law and sports management.
"I mean, in minicamp, all the guys are going out after practice,
and I'm going back to my hotel room to study for an exam that I've got
the next week. That's kind of a pain, but to tell you the truth, it's a
lot better that I have something that keeps me occupied all week."
And all winter. Because of his NFL demands, Culpepper furthers his
education only during the spring semester, which runs from January to
early May. As a result, most of the students he started with four years
ago have long since graduated.
"I kind of liken it to "The Highlander' TV show," he
said. "I live forever; I'm still in law school. I can't get too
close to anybody because they come through and I see them move on. I'm
the Highlander of law school."
Culpepper doesn't know exactly which area he'll pursue when he no
longer can do the same to quarterbacks. He just knows he'll have to do
something that includes a job title. Like attorney at law. Or sports
agent. Or maybe even University of Florida athletic director.
But why? His financial future is secure - he's not even footing a
dime for law school - and the golf and fishing is great in these parts.
Why bother passing the bar en route to a law career when you can spend
your retirement passing the bar en route to the first tee?
"More and more I think, with the way contracts are these days,
guys tend to say, "When I finish playing, I'm not going to do
anything,' " said Culpepper, whose wife, Monica, is expecting the
couple's second child this fall.
"But even if I was making $20 million a year and I retired at
age 35, I would have to do something. You can play with your kid and
that's fine, but I need structure."
So did Tim Irwin. So much, in fact, the former Bucs offensive tackle
structured his law school schedule during the NFL season, taking night
courses at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn., while
playing for the Vikings.
Now 40 and long since retired, Irwin is a successful sports agent,
attorney and role model for Culpepper, one of his 17 NFL clients.
"It's kind of funny that I represent Brad now because our
careers sort of mirror each other a little bit," said Irwin, based
out of Knoxville, Tenn. "It's admirable what he's doing. It's very
difficult. I think Brad will be a great success as an attorney."
Culpepper may have been destined for a law-related line - make that
bloodline - of work. His father, Bruce, himself a three-year Gator
letterman, is an attorney, as are his brother and sister.
Perfect-fitting genes, to be sure. Yet you won't find a wallet in any
pocket.
Brad doesn't need one, at least not for law school. He got $10,000 as
a result of receiving the 1991 Draddy Award, which annually goes to the
nation's top scholar-athlete, and also was among 15 recipients of the
National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame's $18,000 scholarship.
As a result, the student who could afford one of the nicer rides in
the UF parking lot is getting a free one financially. "[Some
classmates] think the rich get richer," Culpepper said. "But I
take care of them; take them out to lunch, spend $20 on them."
Such lunches are affordable when your career seems to be at a
crescendo marked by a succession of C-notes, which Tampa Bay is doling
out to Culpepper these days.
He signed a four-year contract extension worth roughly $3.5 million
in the fall of 1997. When that deal ends, the potential attorney hopes
to keep billing the Bucs for his services well into the next millennium.
Only when overwhelming evidence suggests his skills are eroding will
Culpepper consider tackling the law on a full-time basis.
"Right now, law school is a hobby. It's not a full-time
deal," he said. "I don't miss a minicamp for law school
because it's my job and I want to play as long as I can. If I can play
eight more years, that would be terrific."
Culpepper Ancestry: John Broward "Brad" Culpepper
is the son of Florida attorney Phillip
Bruce Culpepper, and grandson of former University of Florida Chancellor John
Broward Culpepper.
Bruce Culpepper, father of Brad Culpepper, played at
U. of Florida in 1960-1962. Both were captains of their teams (Bruce '62, Brad
'91) and both were inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of
Fame. They are the only such father-son duo in university history.
Last Revised: 18 Nov 2001
Brad Culpepper