Maybe Delhomme Should Have Warmed Up More (Pic credited to Flickr User Matt Trostle)
Trying to put your finger on what went wrong with the Carolina Panthers on opening day Sunday is not very hard to do. Your finger will slowly raise up in front of you and point squarely in the direction of Jake Delhomme. The Cajun was simply horrific and brought back memories the Panthers had wanted to forget. Last season the Panthers watched a 12-4 regular season come tumbling down with each interception that Delhomme threw against the Cardinals. In a matter of moments, the Panthers season was over. Sunday’s opening day massacre against Philadelphia had much the same flavor, and once again the flavor was spicy…Cajun spicy.
During the entire offseason I defended Jake. Even as I watched the Panthers sign him to a five year contract worth more money than some cities see in a year, I stood up and reminded folks of all the games the fiery Delhomme had led us to wins in. I reminded everybody of the Super Bowl game where he magically looked like the mirror image of every great quarterback in history. I reminded them that he had won 54 games since taking over for the Panthers, which places him among the game’s elite. Then Sunday happened… Again.
The Panther haters said that Jake would stink. They said that he would cost the Panthers the game. They said he was an average quarterback at best. They lied. He was no where near average.
In perhaps the worst quarterback performance since…well since anybody, Jake Delhomme made the Panthers look like the worst team in history. Do not get me wrong. The Panthers offensive line did not do him any favors. He had Eagles flying in his face all day long, thanks to a defense that was blitzing every single play. The coaching staff did not do much to help out either. They threw their first screen pass at least four sacks into the game, long after the game was decided. How can you slow down the rush? Throw screen passes to the best player in the game – DeAngelo Williams. Make not mistake, however, the game was completely and squarely on the shoulders of Jake.
I am finally ready to say that the Panthers made a horrible mistake signing Delhomme to a multi-year lucrative contract. The move was pretty much a killer on the whole, and that is not based only on Sunday. Delhomme has not been the same for years. Yes, he led the Panthers to 12 wins in 08. How many of those wins was won in spite of Delhomme’s performance however? The Panthers are a team that is loaded with talent. They can overcome a great deal of problems. Even the talented Panthers could not overcome Delhomme this week. When you personally give the other team no less than 24 points, the game is pretty much over. Especially a top notch team like Philadelphia.
So where do the Panthers go from here? Who lines up under center? You have to know it will be Delhomme. Knowing Jake, he will come back in the next game and play fantastically. That or the great Steve Smith will carry him on his shoulders once again, and make Jake appear like he is better than he is. Whatever the case, the Panthers have way too much money invested in Delhomme to sit him. Moving forward, they are going to find themselves in an increasingly nasty situation. Jake must play, and he knows it. Even Jake does not seem too anxious to do that right now. He looks like a deer caught squarely in the headlights.
