 |
| Jim McIsaac / Getty Images |
| Jake Delhomme signed a five-year extension that will keep him in Carolina through the 2014 season. |
As part of NFL Network's 32 teams in 32 days series, airing daily on Total Access, NFL.com takes a look at a key question facing each NFL team.
NFL Network analysts Solomon Wilcots and Brian Baldinger discuss the Carolina Panthers and Jake Delhomme. Did the Panthers make the right decision in investing long term in Delhomme?
Read their takes and then enter the discussion below.
Wilcots: Not sold on Delhomme The answer to this debate is no, because at the end of the day, Delhomme was coming back anyway. He had one more year left on his deal when they gave him the extension. Where was he going to go?
After throwing five interceptions and accounting for six turnovers in his last game, where was Delhomme going to go? Nowhere. Why wouldn't you wait and see with him? You can't throw that many interceptions in a playoff game and get rewarded with an extension. That's just crazy. Then the Panthers didn't go out during the offseason and get anyone to compete with Delhomme or get someone who they could go to on those days when he throws interceptions. The Panthers can only go to Matt Moore. I'm not sold on Delhomme as the long-term answer for the Panthers. I'm not saying I wouldn't have brought him back, because I would have. But I also would have certainly had an insurance policy at the position. And I don't know that I would have re-invested to the same tune as the Panthers did. Delhomme is an excellent team leader, he really is. He was the kind of QB who wouldn't play you out of games, but he already dispelled that in his last game. He can do it with the best of them. |
Baldinger: Delhomme is perfect fit I think they made the right decision. Delhomme is the perfect fit for this team.
The Panthers are never going to try and be an explosive offense. They'll be a run-first team. Even if the Panthers had John Elway, coach John Fox still wouldn't play the game any differently. Delhomme is the perfect guy for the Panthers. He knows he'll be in a lot of tough third-down situations because the Panthers will run the ball on first and second down a lot of the time. He's going to be asked to make a lot of difficult third-down throws, but he'll never complain about it. He also gets along with his teammates. I know it was a disappointing finish in the playoffs last season for Delhomme, but he was a big reason why the Panthers got that far in the first place. He's just a tough guy that personifies what Fox wants in his QB. He also proved that he could come back healthy from Tommy John surgery, which was a huge question mark. Remember the throw he made on the last play in Week 1 to beat San Diego? That was probably the difference between the Panthers making or not making the playoffs. I don't think you can just look at one game and evaluate Delhomme. He's had games where he's been awful. The thing about him is that he understands there's another week to play and he'll do his best to bounce back. Usually he doesn't let it get him down. |
