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So this was Jakes problem.

Squirrel

By Squirrel,
in Carolina Panthers

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DaCityKats Newbie

DaCityKats

Posted
Posted

i'll buy it to a point. old dog...new tricks...yadda yadda yadda.

they wanted to play smart football. jake was holding them back. rip was a technician and davidson wanted a more complicated offense. jake couldn't handle either of those. he crumbled under the pressure and didn't have the guts to man up and say it wasn't working. you don't realize your limitations and try to get changes made to suit your skillset then you end up being a liability getting in over your head. there is nothing weak about asking for help. not asking for it when it's obvious you need it is weak.

jake shares a lot of responsibility in this but the panthers share a lot as well for recognizing the problem so late and waiting too long to make adjustments. that has been the case for the past several years of fox coached football. you wait too long to adjust out of ignorance or stubbornness and end up losing.

i like the drastic changes that have been made this offseason because to an extent it is a departure from the old way of doing things around here. still....it's not regular season yet. we still have yet to see what fox does when it counts.

none of this takes the blame off jake, though. his mistakes were his mistakes.

man all of this.

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Pox 08 Newbie

Pox 08

Posted
Posted

I think he was good the first part of the '08 season. It just seemed after the bye week that he started his slow descent into "meltdown city" that escalated against the Cardinals in the playoffs.

New faces, new city, he'll get back to his old self. King Delhomme will prove to be the hero that Cleveland needs in the absence of King James.

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CatMan72 Enthusiast

CatMan72

Posted
Posted

i'll buy it to a point. old dog...new tricks...yadda yadda yadda.

they wanted to play smart football. jake was holding them back. rip was a technician and davidson wanted a more complicated offense. jake couldn't handle either of those. he crumbled under the pressure and didn't have the guts to man up and say it wasn't working. you don't realize your limitations and try to get changes made to suit your skillset then you end up being a liability getting in over your head. there is nothing weak about asking for help. not asking for it when it's obvious you need it is weak.

jake shares a lot of responsibility in this but the panthers share a lot as well for recognizing the problem so late and waiting too long to make adjustments. that has been the case for the past several years of fox coached football. you wait too long to adjust out of ignorance or stubbornness and end up losing.

i like the drastic changes that have been made this offseason because to an extent it is a departure from the old way of doing things around here. still....it's not regular season yet. we still have yet to see what fox does when it counts.

none of this takes the blame off jake, though. his mistakes were his mistakes.

I think Jake was trying be a good soldier by listening to his new coach, especially after the debacle that was the 08 playoff game. Maybe he should have pushed back earlier in the season, but I don't think it would have made much difference... when Jake finally went back to doing things his way he was just as bad if not worse.

The bottom line is that Jake is used up, the Panthers knew it which is why they were willing to let him walk away with 12 million dollars. With the way this organization viewed Jake, if they thought Rip's coaching was the cause of Jake's difficulties last year then Rip would be looking for a job right now and Jake would be running with the 1's in Spartanburg.

I agree that the biggest mistake in all of this was how long the Panthers waited to pull the plug. I wish Jake the best and I hope he does well this season.

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carpanfan96 Veteran

carpanfan96

Posted
Posted

It's an interesting thought and if it is the case. Jake should have went to rip earlier and just flat out told him. This isn't working for me, I don't feel comfortable running the offense this way.

I like Jake, but last year was all mental on his part. If the above had something to do with it, so be it. Still doesn't change the fact that Jake had a QB's version of a mental breakdown last season.

Hopefully he can turn his career back around in Cleavland.

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outlaw4 Mentor

outlaw4

Posted
Posted

i'll buy it to a point. old dog...new tricks...yadda yadda yadda.

they wanted to play smart football. jake was holding them back. rip was a technician and davidson wanted a more complicated offense. jake couldn't handle either of those. he crumbled under the pressure and didn't have the guts to man up and say it wasn't working. you don't realize your limitations and try to get changes made to suit your skillset then you end up being a liability getting in over your head. there is nothing weak about asking for help. not asking for it when it's obvious you need it is weak.

jake shares a lot of responsibility in this but the panthers share a lot as well for recognizing the problem so late and waiting too long to make adjustments. that has been the case for the past several years of fox coached football. you wait too long to adjust out of ignorance or stubbornness and end up losing.

i like the drastic changes that have been made this offseason because to an extent it is a departure from the old way of doing things around here. still....it's not regular season yet. we still have yet to see what fox does when it counts.

none of this takes the blame off jake, though. his mistakes were his mistakes.

Pretty much. At the least, he was often quick to admit to his mistakes and flaws and take responsibility. It's going to be very interesting how post-game conferences after bad losses are going to play out this season since none of our QB's have been in those situations before.

Whether "letting Jake be Jake" work in Cleveland will work, I'm not so certain. Even if the change in environment boost his confidence and they don't mess with his ways, the team around him is not as good and I still think the Tommy John and all that down time sapped some of his arm strength and made his mechanics worse than they already were.

The one advantage, though, is that he could put up Rodney Peete numbers (which I consider to be his ceiling) and in Cleveland, that would be considered an improvement.

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Proudiddy Grand Master

Proudiddy

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Posted

I believe it. You could tell it weighed on him, and unless you've played competitive sports past the high school level, I think it's hard for someone to understand. The mental aspect of the game is huge, quite possibly more so than the athletic ability. Look at guys like Tom Brady... A 6th round pick, not a very good athlete, his arm is good but not great... He ends up being a HOF'er b/c the team let him play his game in their system and gave him confidence - that's the biggest thing.

Everyone on this board knows I'm not one of those polarized Jake Delhomme fans - either you love him or hate him - that's not how I was with him. I was proud of him, but when he started falling off, it was time to go a different direction. And as I said last year, I really felt it was a mental thing. To see the kind of zip he would put on some throws and then leave others hanging like a wounded duck, it was the only explanation.

I can relate to how Jake felt, I went through a similar thing with basketball... BUT, Jake is being paid to play the game and is a professional, so he is at fault in that he didn't tell the coaches their techniques weren't working. I wish Jake nothing but the best, and I hate it ended the way it did here, but hopefully he doesn't harbor any bad feeling towards us either... I hope he bounces back and has a great year.

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