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Unsung: Teammates say Delhomme doesn't get his due
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Jake Delhomme ls 54-32 as the Panthers’ starting quarterback.
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Published: January 4, 2009
CHARLOTTE - Jake Delhomme's legacy grew in the past week, even though the Carolina Panthers did nothing more than practice lightly and enjoy the benefits of having a first-round bye in the playoffs.
How's that?
Well, in one of the most stunning ballots in professional-football history; Delhomme didn't win the NFL's Comeback Player Award, which was announced on Wednesday. He finished woefully behind Miami's Chad Pennington, who won the award for the second time in the past three years.
Delhomme became the first starting quarterback in NFL history to successfully come back from "Tommy John" surgery and lead his team to a divisional title, but he lost to a player who qualified for the award by getting benched by the New York Jets last year.
If that doesn't cement Delhomme's legacy as the most unappreciated player in Panthers history, nothing will.
Or as one team official said, "He's the most taken-for-granted player in the league."
It is simply amazing, and utterly ridiculous.
The mere fact that Delhomme was able to play all 16 games this season, after having career-threatening surgery last October, made him worthy of the award. This isn't like coming back from arthroscopic knee surgery or half a season as a backup. He had a tendon taken out of his left leg and put into his passing arm. Only two quarterbacks in NFL history even played again after having such surgery, and both -- Rob Johnson and Craig Erickson -- were career journeymen.
The fact that Delhomme not only played but also usually played well should have made it a no-brainer. The Panthers shared the second-best record in the NFL at 12-4. That's why they're not playing this weekend. Delhomme led four fourth-quarter comebacks, including three winning drives in the final two minutes. The first came at San Diego on opening day, when he hit Dante Rosario for the winning touchdown on the final play and set the tone for the entire season. The most recent came last Sunday at New Orleans, when John Kasay's 42-yard field goal with one second left gave the Panthers the NFC South title.
He was awful in a loss at Tampa Bay, and was even worse in a win at Oakland, but that's two games out of 16. In his past five games, the Panthers have averaged 32.8 points, and he has completed 66.7 percent of his passes (68 of 102) for 1038 yards, an average of 207.6 a game. He had his highest quarterback rating of the year, 129.2, in completing 14 of 20 for 250 yards and one touchdown last week.
What some don't understand, or take for granted, is that he is this team's unquestioned leader. The Panthers fell apart and bickered among themselves last season after Delhomme went out in the third game, eventually missing the playoffs.
"You've seen the difference between last year and this year, having him and not having him," tackle Jordan Gross said. "He's definitely our leader and the whole team revolves around him. Having him in the huddle every day, it puts a lot of confidence in what we do offensively."
Gross said he understands why Delhomme doesn't get the accolades.
"He's not a flashy guy," Gross said. "He doesn't scramble and make big plays with his legs, and he's not someone you want to have the camera on. But he does the right things, and he's tough and he leads our offense. He's a guy that's not flashy, but he definitely does the job as well as anybody."
Coach John Fox put it succinctly earlier this season when asked about the lack of appreciation for Delhomme.
"Some things never cease to amaze me," Fox said.
Delhomme doesn't seem to let such snubs bother him. He knows he doesn't get any style points.
The satisfaction comes in having the weekend off, in going 12-4.
"It's about winning," he said. "That's what this league is about. Stats or no stats, when you win, look, everybody is happy."
That's the message he got from Fox and General Manager Marty Hurney before he signed with the Panthers as a free agent in 2003. He's 54-32 as the Panthers' starting quarterback.
"When I came on my visit here, it was March '03 and I'm sitting at breakfast with John, and Marty comes in after a while," Delhomme said. "John's biggest thing, he said, ‘I believe this is how you win in the NFL: You run the football, you stop the run and you play solid special teams.' He said, ‘I don't believe in stats. I'm just telling you right now.'
"If you're going to come play for somebody, you better jump on board with what he says. And he's right. It's all about winning in this league. It's all about winning…."
Delhomme also happens to be 5-2 in the playoffs, which computes to the best winning percentage of any quarterback in the playoffs this season. In the Panthers' two previous trips to the playoffs with Delhomme, they have gone to the Super Bowl and the NFC championship game.
Delhomme didn't win any significant postseason awards in those years, either.
That's another reason why his legacy keeps growing.
"I'm not trying to be anybody else," he said. "The playoffs, they're certainly on a bigger stage and there will be more media and everything. But the lives we lead going to work every day, its' the same as the regular season. You're still doing the same routine. That's how I've always looked at it. Don't make it bigger than what it is. You still have to do what you did during the season -- because obviously you did some decent things -- and carry it over."
■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.
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