Columnists
Email
Print
Oh, He's Back: Delhomme is rocking
AP File Photo
Quarterback Jake Delhomme is the biggest reason the Panthers are 2-0.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: September 21, 2008
CHARLOTTE - Jake Delhomme's arm feels good.
Delhomme's zest for football has been restored.
He is playing well and inspiring others to do the same.
It is the feel-good story of the Carolina Panthers' season so far, and it is one of the biggest reasons -- no, make that, the biggest reason -- that the Panthers are 2-0 going into today's game at Minnesota.
This is what those throughout the organization hoped for after Delhomme missed the final 13 games of last season with an elbow injury and underwent Tommy John surgery last October.
He has been Vintage Jake, leading fourth-quarter rallies as the Panthers stunned San Diego on the road and then beat Chicago at Bank of America Stadium last week.
Delhomme has talked about how much fun he has been having since the start of training camp, and his enthusiasm has grown in the past two weeks.
"There's nothing like walking into the locker room the last two weeks, when it's just the players and coaches -- there's something about it," Delhomme said before the team flew to Minneapolis. "It's a sense of accomplishment. A couple of years ago, it was more a sense of relief. ‘Whew, we got that one.' That's something you have now, that sense of pure joy, that ‘Man, we got it done. That week of work really came through for us.'"
Delhomme has been quick to say that he felt he was getting a bit stale two years ago, even if he didn't show it. He has led the Panthers to a Super Bowl and an NFC championship game in six seasons as the starting quarterback, but the 2006 season was full of frustrations, and then he was injured in the third game last season.
"You know, I kind of got away from how I viewed football around the ‘06 season," Delhomme said. "It just became more of a grind to me. You can't play good football when you're like that. Then I came into last season with a new (offensive coordinator, Jeff Davidson), a fresh approach, but I got injured quick. So you kind of, I don't know, you realize how much you miss it."
His teammates take exception to the notion that he ever lost any zest, because they see the same, enthusiastic leader they've always seen. But watching Delhomme come back from a career-threatening injury, and then seeing him have success upon his return has definitely reinforced their respect for him.
"I think he's just got so much confidence in himself right now, because he's really done everything the right way," tackle Jordan Gross said.
Gross sees Delhomme's leadership as his greatest value to the team. There are more talented quarterbacks in the NFL, no question. There are better pure passers, for sure. But Delhomme has intangibles that lead to fourth-quarter comebacks and what clearly is a better team morale this season.
"He's an honest guy and a real person," Gross said. "And I think that's what everybody really respects about him, and why he's the leader of our whole team, not just the offense. Because he's the same guy all the time.
"No offense to Jake, but you could find guys with his attributes a lot of places. If you walked right by him, he's not the 6-5, 240-pound quarterback. He's Jake. But the thing he's good at, when times are tough, when times are good, he's in there preparing the same way. If they're booing us, home or away, he doesn't care, he's going to keep going. I can get him hit five times in a row, and he's going to sit in there and throw the football and not look twice at me. So he's just the epitome of being a team guy and a leader.
"I wouldn't trade Jake for anybody in the league."
Delhomme likes the feeling of knowing that his enthusiasm is contagious.
"It's fun to go out there and compete, because you put in long hours going out there and studying film, and you want to see it come to fruition on the field," he said. "That's what it's about -- seeing guys work their tail off on the field. That's what I enjoy more than anything. You see young kids, 6:45 in the morning, almost an hour and a half before the first meeting, and they're watching tape. Things like that. That means the world to me, and that goes to show hopefully they're learning from the older guys.
"But they get it. They want to get it, and there's something about that. That's what I enjoy, seeing all the work you do pay off on Sundays. If you go out and play hard and get beat, you gave it all you got. And that's what I enjoy about this team so far."
The final drive at San Diego, which ended with Delhomme hitting Dante Rosario for a 14-yard touchdown with no time left, was Delhomme's 14th winning drive for the Panthers. Last week's winning drive didn't fall into that category because Jonathan Stewart scored on a 1-yard run with 3:52 left, but Delhomme had completed three passes earlier in the drive and hit Jeff King for 23 yards on the previous play.
"The Cardiac Cats, he's definitely the lead singer of that group," receiver Muhsin Muhammad said. "He's done an awesome job. He's just so poised. I don't know if he's so excited or so pumped up that he doesn't know what's going on around him, but for some particular reason, Jake has been so poised in those situations. I can think of the first time he stepped into the lineup against Jacksonville (in 2003). Throughout that season, we had more overtimes, more last-minute wins, than any team in the history of playoff football. And he's continued to do that throughout his career.
"I don't know, I guess you gain confidence and you feel you can do it again. ‘We've been here before.' He just does a great job of keeping guys focused and motivated. He's what you want at that position. You want your quarterback to be a leader, the vocal guy. You want the quarterback to be in charge of the huddle. And that's the way Jake is."
■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.
Email
Print
