It was nearly a decade ago when avid NFL followers bared witness to one of the most high-powered and unstoppable duos the league has ever seen. Randy Moss, a young kid out of Marshall with the 6-foot-4 inch stature and blazing 40 speed, and Daunte Culpepper, a towering quarterback with a good track record of team loyalty, self-discipline, and a cannon for an arm. The Vikings organization put the two in the same offense to start the 2000 season and awed the football world.

For the next five seasons, Culpepper and Moss were perennial picks in the first round of nearly every fantasy league. Culpepper threw for 129 touchdowns by the end of the 2004 season, and Moss was on the receiving end of 72 scores of his own.

Since then, Moss’ problems with the Vikings and Raiders have been well documented, and Culpepper’s injury issues started his demise as an NFL quarterback and left him watching the first half of 2008 from his couch. But, as Culpepper suits up in blue and silver this weekend and looks to take the reins of a struggling Detroit offense, he’s stepping into a chance many people would kill to have: he gets a shot to relive the past.

The Lions are putting Culpepper under center and letting him heave the pigskin downfield to one of the most promising young receivers in the game today. Calvin Johnson has the size and speed exhibited by Moss early in his career. He’s an inch taller, 29 pounds heavier, and has a 40-time that parallels Randy’s.

In late 2004, Culpepper told Sports Illustrated he could throw the ball 70 or 75 yards. Add that to the physical presence of Johnson and “deep threat” doesn’t quite begin to cover the possibilities. These two athletes could wind up hooking up for huge gains and touchdowns worthy of SportsCenter top 10 nods.

At the very least, the new pairing of the winless Lions and the quarterback without a home will make Detroit games a little more interesting to watch. And as they look to take it to a disappointing Jags team in Week 10, the arrival of a capable passing attack in Motown could come sooner than we previously thought.

Fantasy Spin
While realizing the potential, however, you’ve got to look at the realistic outcome of this new tandem’s effect on the fantasy world.

The truth is that Detroit’s problems are bigger than the fact that its quarterbacks have been turnover machines when they’re not running out of the back of their own endzone. They have a severe offensive line issue, coupled with a lack of a real running game to divert pressure from the aerial attack. The Lions also have Jacksonville, Carolina, Tampa, Tennessee, Minnesota, Indy, New Orleans, and Green Bay on their docket. Five of those teams give up less than 200 yards through the air per game.

This plus the fact that Culpepper will be learning a new offense on the fly means that Johnson’s production may increase on a game-to-game basis, but Culpepper won’t serve as a permanent fix to your fantasy quarterback problem. If you’re struggling at the position, pick him up and play him against Jacksonville, Minnesota, and maybe New Orleans if you limp into the fantasy playoffs with that roster.