The only buzz around today's otherwise lifeless, Adrian Peterson-less exercise at the Metrodome is Raiders quarterback Daunte Culpepper starting against his former team. But even that doesn't overcome the combined 5-13 record of the two teams.

Just imagine how different it would be, though, if Oakland hadn't traded Randy Moss, Daunte's former better half in Minnesota, to the Patriots for a fourth-round draft pick.

(Note: This dream scenario also requires you to imagine Moss actually wanting to play for the Raiders, and he and Culpepper not wanting to scratch each other's eyes out since the breakup in 2005.)

The perception is Moss and his baggage were dumped because he and first-year coach Lane Kiffin couldn't co-exist in Oakland. The thinking was Kiffin's youth (32) and NFL inexperience (one year as a quality control coach with Jacksonville) immediately clashed with the SuperFreak's moody side.

Kiffin said that wasn't the case.

"Randy had never been here in person; I had only spoken to Randy over the phone," said Kiffin, the former Vikings ballboy and Bloomington Jefferson star quarterback. "Randy had made it very clear to me, his statement was, 'Coach, this has nothing to do with you. I have already heard great things about what you are doing there already, but I am not going to play for that organization, and I don't want any part of it. I don't like the way I have been treated there.'

"It was out of my control," Kiffin continued. "Randy wasn't going to play here and he made it very clear, so it was a direction that this organization needed to go because he wasn't happy and he wasn't going to play here for whatever reason, the things that happened before I got here."

Monster matchup -- yuck!

So how happy do you think the Vikings' marketing department is that the Dec. 9 game against San Francisco is at Monster Park?

Not only is it a game that features the league's two worst passing attacks currently, the 49ers (2-7) are on pace to produce only 3,497 yards of total offense. Even in their three worst 16-game seasons -- 2-14 marks in 1978, 1979 and 2004 -- the 49ers had at least 4,000 yards of offense. They had 4,047 in 1978, 5,573 in 1979 and 4,585 in 2004.

San Francisco averages 218.6 yards of offense per game. The next worst team, Buffalo, averages 268.3. The 49ers average 128.4 yards passing per game. Even the Vikes average 152.6.

Dynamic duo: Tomlin-LeBeau

The Steelers defense is responding in historic fashion to the motivational expertise of rookie coach Mike Tomlin and the renewed freedom of longtime defensive coordinator/Blitzburgh guru Dick LeBeau.

In fact, the Steelers (7-2) have a chance to join the 1975 Vikings (12-2) and the 1991 Eagles (10-6) as the only teams to lead the league in rushing defense and passing defense over an entire season. The Steelers lead the league in rushing defense (72.0 yards allowed per game), passing defense (157.4), overall defense (229.4) and, most importantly, scoring defense (14.0).

Two views ...

An optimist says: The combined record of the Vikings' final seven opponents is 29-34. Four of them have losing records. Four of them have to visit the Metrodome. And three of them are among the eight teams currently ahead of the Vikings in the NFC wild-card race.

A pessimist says: The Vikings won't make the playoffs, and even losing the next seven won't be enough to leap over the Dolphins (0-9) for the first pick in the 2008 NFL draft. Strength of schedule is the tiebreaker when it comes to draft positioning, but the Dolphins certainly aren't going to finish 3-4 or better.

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com