| Randolph Charlotin. 18th September, 2009 - 6:39 pm
 It’s easy to root for Carolina QB Jake Delhomme. An undrafted University of Louisiana Lafayette product, he was signed as a rookie free agent by the New Orleans Saints in 1999. He played two stints in NFL Europe, once backing up Kurt Warner, and later leading the Frankfurt Galaxy to the league championship.
Delhomme signed a free agent contract with Carolina in 2003. Although he didn’t win the starting job during training camp, Delhomme came off the bench in the season opener to lead a come from behind victory over Jacksonville. From that point on, the job was his.
And Delhomme was great, leading the Panthers to a 49-30 record with Jake under center, including a trip to Super Bowl XXXVIII, where ‘Lina lost by just three points.
As much as I like the guy, it pains me to say this: Delhomme is done. His best days are over, and as he goes down, so will the Panthers.
Delhomme had his worst 16-game season last year, completing 59.5 percent of his passes with 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. It’s easy to say he leaned on the Panthers’ third-ranked rushing offense, but a passer with that level of run support should be more productive.
After a mediocre regular season, Delhomme had his worst game as a pro in January’s NFC Divisional game against Arizona. Jake made bad decision after bad decision that night and was responsible for six turnovers (five interceptions, one fumble).
It could had been ruled just one of those nights. Delhomme had a chance to put that game in the past in 2009’s season opener. Instead Delhomme committed five turnovers (four int, fumble) against Philadelphia.
One horrible game can be forgotten. But two in a row raises reasonable concern.
The Panthers will stick with Delhomme as their quarterback, but with the team signing QB A.J. Feeley, Jake has reason to look over his shoulder.
At least Jake is financially secure. After the worst game of his career, ‘Lina rewarded Delhomme with a five-year extension worth $42.5 million dollars, $20 million guaranteed. His job security is another story.
It might not take much more for the Panthers to bench Delhomme, but the options behind Jake don’t give reason for optimism. Feeley is new to the team and isn’t familiar with the offense. And Matt Moore is an undrafted veteran in his third year with very limited experience.
The Panthers believe they are a championship contending team with a strong defense and a dominant running game. But no contender can win without a productive quarterback.
If Delhomme’s play doesn’t improve, the Panthers’ playoff hopes will be dashed quickly and possibly for years. They invested a chunk of cash into a 34-year old quarterback.
Delhomme is the fourth oldest starting QB in the league, behind only to Minnesota Vikings zombie Brett Favre, Arizona fossil Kurt Warner, and Tennessee graybeard Kerry Collins. Rarely is a passer effective in their mid-30’s and beyond and the percentages aren’t in Delhomme’s favor.
And Carolina hasn’t prepared for life without Delhomme. The Panthers don’t have a developmental QB on the roster, preparing to take the reigns in the near future. The last quarterback drafted by the Panthers was Stefan LeFors, a fourth round pick in 2005, and he’s not in the league anymore. The good news is the 2010 Draft likely will have Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Mississippi’s Sam Snead, and Texas’ Colt McCoy to choose from in the first round. The bad news will be if the Panthers are in good position to draft any of them.
Delhomme needs to bounce back in a big way and soon, but he faces real tough challenges. Atlanta’s defense put on a commanding performance and nearly shut out Miami in the season opener. And Dallas can put up points in a hurry, possibly forcing Delhomme and the Panthers to air it out against a defense that has All-Pro OLB DeMarcus Ware bearing down every time Jake drops back to pass.
If the Panthers enter the bye week 0-3, the hole might be too deep to recover from. If Delhomme isn’t benched by then, expect it soon. But with the reserves behind Delhomme, a quarterback change raises the white flag, not hope.
Read more by Randolph Charlotin at his New England Patriots blog at . He can be reached at talktome@randolphc.com.
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