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Fast Recovery
Delhomme his a history of handling adversity well
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Quarterback Jake Delhomme of the Panthers threw four interceptions in last week’s win over the Raiders. He finished the game with 7 completions in 27 attempts.
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Published: November 16, 2008
Updated: 11/16/2008 01:05 am
CHARLOTTE - Jake Delhomme threw three interceptions and generally couldn't do anything right until it no longer mattered when the Carolina Panthers lost at Tampa Bay 27-3 last month.
Delhomme followed that with one of his best performances of the season in a 30-7 victory over New Orleans the next week, completing 14 of 22 for 195 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions ... a quarterback rating of 122.3. He matched that quarterback rating again the next week, completing 20 of 28 for 248 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in a 27-23 win over Arizona.
Those are pertinent numbers as the Panthers prepare to take on the Detroit Lions this afternoon at Bank of America Stadium.
Delhomme is coming off the worst individual performance of his 10-year NFL career -- and far and away his lowest-rated game in his six seasons with the Panthers. He threw four interceptions in the Panthers' 17-6 victory at Oakland, didn't complete a pass in the second half, finished 7 of 27 for 72 yards. That computed to a 12.3 rating.
History shows that more often than not, Delhomme bounces back.
He has an incredible ability to do something that is easier said than done, put a bad performance in the past and focus even harder on playing well the next game.
"Jake handles adversity and prosperity probably as well as any player I've ever been around," Coach John Fox said. "He's done it before and I don't anticipate any problems with him doing it again."
It's a part of Delhomme's makeup, a part of his positive and infectious personality. There's an adage in the NFL that cornerbacks have to have short memories because they are destined to get burned occasionally no matter how good they are, and that certainly applies to veteran quarterbacks, too. Delhomme has gone from a backup in NFL Europe to the Super Bowl, so he knows all about dealing with highs and lows ... or make that, lows followed by highs.
"You have to move on," Delhomme said. "I don't know how to explain it, but you have to get ready to get back out there and do well because this is a week-to-week business and you have to come ready to play.
"Hey, you are going to have rough days. Certainly (last week) wasn't a good day. I can laugh about it now because we were able to win. But certainly you have to learn from it, and you have to move on. There are other days when you feel like you can do a lot right and that is when you better not feel like you've arrived because you're going to get humbled."
Delhomme is emphatic that last week's performance was more a matter of making bad passes than making bad decisions. There have been questions about whether his passing arm, which required Tommy John surgery last season, might be tired or re-injured. The answer: an emphatic no. Any other explanation? Another emphatic no.
"We just never got into a rhythm," he said. "There is one decision I wish I had back. The rest, I didn't make good throws. So that is just one you have to chalk up. I think you get to a point where maybe we tried too much. I think we were trying to get something to happen and it never did."
Delhomme's teammates understand completely, to the point that they were able to joke with Delhomme on the flight back that he deserved to be nominated for defensive player of the week. That surely doesn't happen with all quarterbacks around the league, even after victories.
"Hey, sometimes you just don't have it," tight end Jeff King said. "It's like a pitcher in baseball. Sometimes you don't have your best stuff. Jake's a stand-up guy, he took ownership of it. But it's all of us, it's not just him. It wasn't a very good day for all of us, the offense as a whole."
There have been times in Delhomme's career when he has followed a bad game with another bad game. In 2004, he was intercepted four times in a loss at Philadelphia and finished with a quarterback rating of 38.4, then came back with a 47.8 rating in a loss to San Diego, going 17 of 36 for 155 yards. There are other examples. But most of those instances have come when the Panthers, in general, were reeling. In the seasons when the Panthers have had it together on all fronts -- the 2003 Super Bowl season, the 2005 NFC championship-game season, and this season -- it's a different story.
It goes back to his attitude, his personality, his competitiveness.
"You want to get back out there and play as quickly as possible," he said. "You want to get back out there and play ball and get a better taste in your mouth. You have to keep going. That is one thing, I will keep going. I won't be hesitant to throw the ball."
■ John Delong can be reached at delong@wsjournal.com.
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