Gantt: Delhomme here to stay

[Fireball77]

Delhomme is in his twi-lite years. What youve seen out of him in the past is what you will continue to see this year. There wont be any suprises. You cant teach an old dog new tricks. It just aint gonna happen.

I think his point was that Jake has proven he can play well enough to help his team win already even though he has had arm issues for years, not that he has to undergo some major transformation to become that guy.

I don't get the "twilight years" thing for a 34 YO QB though if you mean he is pretty much done...when you aren't some athletic marvel (and he is not), you aren't relying on athletic ability to play well and that's what goes the fastest, the pure athleticism.

[pantherclaw]

holy crap...yall are some over sensitive people.

I see I'm not missing much around here, but a whole lot of bullshit.

[carolinarolls]

jake is the man

..basically because they won't bring in anyone to challenge him

It is true that we enjoy a QB who more often than not does "more with less" rather than "less with more" as we have had twice in the fairly recent past. It is clear that the decision to remain with Jake year after year is primarily based on this truth.

With Weinke and Carr who were obviously more gifted physically and mentally than Jake prior to their arrival in Charlotte, a potentially big cap hit, a.k.a. "risk" came attached. To add, said risk could be (and was) accentuated by poor play when called upon. This scenario makes it much easier to stamp "FAILURE" right on their forehead from a fan and management standpoint and causes us all to speculate and scrutinize more harshly any potential replacement.

Jake on the other hand is enjoying the sweet life of low expectations. He has a good surrounding corps of talent around him and a virtual safety net has been place below him limiting his ability to fail and giving him some confidence that is sometimes much bolder than it should be. In this situation it is easy to paint him a hero and overlook his faults. After all, with Jake we are getting exactly what the Panthers hope to get and have programmed us to see. More than we should.

The questions are obvious. Will we get lucky enough to get the big one with this philosophy? Will his ability bolstered with the rest of the roster hide his limitations enough when it really matters? Can we keep the corps around him long enough for the averages to fall in our favor? I think not. We've seen great players and legitimate opportunities come and go already. Some of you feel differently. The bottom line is that we have come close and seen abysmal failure the last two times and to me observing this is less and less covered up by stats that are easily argued as misleading in terms of true ability and talent.

[Hairless Cat]

Tell that to Warner who was considered washed up a few years ago with his thumb injury and relegated to back-up status. Then Leinert sucks and Warner comes in and he is suddenly one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league again. You can't predict the future.

Warner always was better than Delhomme.

And I dont see Jakes poor decision making and poorer throws making some sort of miraculaous turn around.

[carolinarolls]

Warner always was better than Delhomme.

no poo. that comparison was a prime example of the delusional world some of these snugglers live in

[Sam Mills Fan]

I like how people always bring up the success Warner has had as an old guy. Kurt Warner is a Super Bowl champion, 2-time MVP, and probably Hall of Famer. He's one of the all-time greats.

This is the opposite of Jake Delhomme.

For every Warner success story, there are a million Brad Johnsons/Vinny Testaverdes/Jeff Georges/Trent Dilfers who were terrible in their later years as starters.

Kurt Warner is the exception and not the rule.

[monstercat]

Warner absolutely sucked a few years ago, and the majority of fans and media experts were sure that his days as a starting QB were over. That's a fact, not an opinion.

Also, all the complaining and Gantt bashing in the world will not change the way the Panthers feel about Jake Delhomme. Some of you either need to grow up and accept that fact, or find another team, because there's not a damn thing you can do about it.

[Fireball77]

IMO, Weinke actually lacked in the mentally tough/leader aspects of being a QB and that is a big reason why his physical talents did not translate @ the pro level. That's likely part of Carr's issues as well.

It looks like a few people misread P55's post to say that he thought Jake was OMGZ!!111! A HOF LIKE WARNER. All he said is that Warner was down and out for a couple of years and bounced back. It's common for some people to see what they want to see in order to discredit others' viewpoints though.

[Seamonk]

We stick to the Running Game, Delhomme becomes a non-issue.

He shouldn't have been throwing so much early in the game anyway. For whatever reason we came out trying to match Arizona's high octane air attack instead of slowing the pace of the game down and grinding it out.

For those of you who want a new QB to come in and shine, they'll need the Running game in order for them to be successful. You think Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco would have looked so good without their respective running games? They would have wound up as the next Alex Smith or David Carr.

In a sense, this would probably be the best time to get a new QB, but a rookie or veteran imcumbant would have to do better than what Delhomme would have done, otherwise It would be a regression, and people will call for Fox's head. (Actually that'd happen regardless, we could have Bill fuging Belichek and people would be calling for his head)

[Mr. Scot]

In a sense, this would probably be the best time to get a new QB...

Not if you look at what's out there.

Free agents, draftees, whatever. This is probably the lousiest time to be looking for a QB in years.

[MadHatter]

Not if you look at what's out there.

Free agents, draftees, whatever. This is probably the lousiest time to be looking for a QB in years.

Very well put.

In short, Delhomme is not a Top 5 QB. But he is damn better than any of the FA or Draftees that would be his replacement.

Replace Delhomme with what is available and this team takes 10 steps backwards.

[rayzor]

Not if you look at what's out there.

Free agents, draftees, whatever. This is probably the lousiest time to be looking for a QB in years.

leading into one of the best years to go after a QB draft-wise.

FA market isn't much better next year (some big names but what are the chances that these guys won't be signing new deals before the season is out).

most likely will be re-signed:

Jason Campbell

Eli Manning

Ben Roethlisberger

Philip Rivers

Tarvaris Jackson (maybe will be re-signed)

ours:

Jake Delhomme

Josh McCown

Matt Moore (one of only 2 RFAs in this bunch)

has beens (or old) -

Mark Brunell

David Carr - being nice to call him a has been

Jon Kitna

Chris Redman

the rest:

Kellen Clemens

Brodie Croyle

Kyle Orton

D.J. Shockley

Troy Smith

Brian St. Pierre

Andrew Walter

Charlie Whitehurst

of course then there are those who will be released in trying to make room for a new QB from that draft but who is that going to be?

[The Link]

Lets get Charlie Whitehurst.

[rayzor]

Lets get Charlie Whitehurst.

:eek6: