Culpepper impressive in return to scene after knee injury
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Daunte Culpepper rolled out of the pocket and took off. He ran down the middle of the field for 8 yards and slid before he was hit.
Culpepper was impressive — and far from timid — in his return to the stadium where he tore three knee ligaments on a similar play last season. He completed 14 of 19 passes for 130 yards as his Miami Dolphins lost to the Carolina Panthers 19-10 on Thursday.
"I wanted to show everybody that the injury is not an issue right now," Culpepper said. "I don't worry about getting hit. I'm going to be smart when I run the ball and get down. Sometimes you've got to take a chance, but that wasn't the time for it."
Last October, while with Minnesota, Culpepper was hit by Carolina's Chris Gamble. The quarterback's knee was wrecked, putting his career in jeopardy — and putting into motion the events that led to his trade to Miami.
"I walked up to Chris Gamble and I told him, 'Thank you,'" Culpepper said. "If he hadn't hit me like that, I probably wouldn't be here right now."
While Culpepper was sharp, the Dolphins (1-2) couldn't get into the end zone in the first half. Chris Draft stuffed Ronnie Brown on a fourth-and-goal from the 1, and Thomas Davis made an open-field tackle on Wes Welker to force Olindo Mare's 23-yard field goal.
The Panthers (3-0) won despite being outgained 323 yards to 145, thanks to one big special teams play.
Rookie DeAngelo Williams likely locked up the kickoff return job, returning one 98 yards for a touchdown as Carolina built a 13-3 halftime lead.
Williams, the 27th pick in the draft, fielded the kick, cut to the right, broke a tackle to get to the right sideline and was gone. No Dolphins defender came close to catching the speedy Williams. Coach John Fox met him as he ran off the field, grabbed his helmet and hugged him.
"He wants to be good, which is one of the things we saw in him," Fox said. "He's really worked hard and spent extra time not just in the kicking game, but also as an offensive back."
Williams, who set an NCAA career record by with 7,573 all-purpose yards at Memphis, also made plays as a running back. His stutter-step and quick cut faked out Travares Tillman on the way to a 15-yard gain in the third quarter. It led to John Kasay's 53-yard field goal that put Carolina (3-0) ahead 16-10.
"I'm getting more comfortable with the offensive line and the blocking schemes," Williams said. "Overall, I'm doing a pretty good job."
Williams had nine carries for 41 yards, but Carolina's first-team offense struggled. Jake Delhomme was just 6-for-15 for 58 yards and failed to lead Carolina to a touchdown in nearly three quarters.
The Panthers, who again played without injured receiver Steve Smith, whose comeback from a strained left hamstring was slowed this week by an ingrown toenail.
Without their big-play threat, the Panthers didn't pick up a first down until 3:33 left in the second quarter and Delhomme was sacked twice.
"We came into the locker room tonight and you couldn't tell if we won or lost, and I think that's a good sign," Delhomme said. "Guys are mature and understand that we have to be get better."
Panthers outside linebacker Nai'l Diggs suffered what appeared to be Carolina's first significant injury of the preseason. Diggs injured his right knee while playing on the punt team in the first quarter. Diggs was eventually taken into the locker room on a cart and did not return. He's scheduled to undergo an MRI on Friday.
Joey Harrington replaced Culpepper to start the third quarter, and immediately led the Dolphins on a 76-yard touchdown drive, capped by his 6-yard pass to Chris Chambers. It was the first touchdown allowed by Carolina's first-team defense in more than five quarters.
Harrington did little after that, finishing 7-for-14 for 66 yards. Chambers had seven catches for 67 yards, but Brown was held to 27 yards on 13 carries.
But Miami's defense looked solid, holding Carolina to an average of 2.8 yard per play. Cornerback Will Allen came up with two big tackles on third down to stop Carolina drives.
"From a group standpoint, we're starting to learn together," Allen said. And when you learn each other, you know what your strengths and your weaknesses are and you're able to understand where guys are going to be. And that enables you to play a little more aggressive or actually do your assignment a little better."
