Jake is nothing flashy. He never was and never will be. But there is one thing you can say about him. JAKE IS A WINNER! Not only on the field but off the field. He is a real class act.
I think he is the Cal Ripken of football. What a great person.
Raising Cajun
Ragin' Cajuns Fan for Sure
Jake is nothing flashy. He never was and never will be. But there is one thing you can say about him. JAKE IS A WINNER! Not only on the field but off the field. He is a real class act.
I think he is the Cal Ripken of football. What a great person.
.
Delhomme does it again
Delhomme, Carolina hand St. Louis its first home loss in 15 games.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — When nerves should be frayed and the ball tough to grip, the Carolina Panthers feel right at home.
Even in a dome where visitors hardly ever win.
That’s especially true for former University of Louisiana star Jake Delhomme, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Saturday by producing one of the most dramatic victories in NFL playoff history.
After blowing an 11-point lead in the final 2:39, the Panthers beat the St. Louis Rams 29-23 in double overtime Saturday on Steve Smith’s 69-yard touchdown reception from Delhomme.
That capped one of the wildest, most thrilling finishes in NFL history, and sent the sellout crowd home in stunned silence at the Rams’ first playoff loss in the deafening dome.
Carolina, 10-3 in games decided by six points or fewer this season, advanced to the NFC championship game against either Philadelphia or Green Bay.
“We’ve been in so many and we just believe we can get it done in some kind of way,” Delhomme said after his pass found Smith in the seams of a zone. “I think the biggest thing is we stayed calm. Our guys don’t take a deep breath and hope.”
But the Panthers, in the playoffs for only the second time, made it plenty difficult in a back-and-forth game featuring momentum swings with just about every possession.
“It’s what we went through all year,” said Panthers receiver Ricky Proehl, a former Ram. “We’ve had so many tight games, we just keep fighting.”
The rest of the story
Associated Press
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. Delhomme works his magic yet again, but still won’t call himself a hero
ST. LOUIS — In your mind, go back to the Carolina Panthers’ opening game of the 2003 season.
There the Panthers were, trailing the Jacksonville Jaguars 17-0 at halftime. There were rumblings in the Ericsson Stadium crowd for the Panthers coaching staff to do away with veteran quarterback Rodney Peete in favor of this other quarterback, some good ol’ Cajun fellow by the name of Jake Delhomme.
No one knew much about Delhomme, other than the fact he played college ball at Louisiana-Lafayette and spent his entire NFL career as a backup with the New Orleans Saints. Even the hometown fans in the Carolinas had — and still have — trouble pronouncing his name.
Peete returned in the second half, and after the Panthers went nowhere — again — skinny No. 17 came trotting out on to the field to guide what was then a hapless offense.
Two quarters and a last-second, game-winning touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl later, Delhomme won over the hearts and minds of Panthers fans and made everyone forget all about Peete.
Now, in your mind, fast forward to Saturday’s divisional playoff game against the St. Louis Rams.
There the Panthers were, in the second overtime with the game and a chance to advance to the NFC Championship game on the line. The score was tied at 23. The Panthers were at their own 31-yard line. It was third down, and they had to gain 14 yards to get a fresh set.
Just like he had done in the Jaguars game and throughout the season, for that matter, Delhomme waved his right arm like a magic wand and roped a perfectly thrown pass to Steve Smith, who scooted past the Rams’ secondary on his way to a 69-yard touchdown.
The Panthers won 29-23, and suddenly, the NFC Championship game became a reality.
The old Panthers would have been left for dead after giving up an 11-point lead late in the fourth quarter. But these aren’t the old Panthers, not under Delhomme’s watch.
No way. No how.
There’s always a way with Delhomme. All you have to do is believe.
The rest of the story
By: Brit Fryer
Gazette Asst. Sports Editor
Raising Cajun
Ragin' Cajuns Fan for Sure
A true leader leads with out others knowing that they are being lead.
Jake is a true leader. He just does what it takes. And takes what he can get. Right now I think he will be taking his team to the Super Bowl. Then who knows what will happen.
. Delhomme is No Secret
An NFL team never drafted him, but now he's on the verge of leading his team to the Super Bowl. Before I get into why was it possible that the league could pass on this kid back in the 1997 draft, it appears that others have passed on this young man along the way. Of course, I'm talking about Jake Delhomme, the Carolina Panthers quarterback who has to be considered the best offseason acquisition of 2003.
Born on Jan. 10, 1975 in Lafayette, La., the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Delhomme came out of Teurlings Catholic High School (his hometown school), where he was an all-state defensive back -- even though he threw for 6,703 yards and 65 touchdown passes.
Did he get a major college scholarship? There wasn't a Louisiana State University, Texas, Southern Cal or Florida in his decision-making process. So Delhomme headed to the closest college -- Louisiana -- to his home, where he was the only true freshman to start for the Division I-A school in 1993. He finished up his college career with 9,216 yards and 64 touchdowns. Delhomme was even a better college QB than he was a high school signal-caller. But the NFL draft came and went and no one thought he was even worth a seventh-round pick. I'm telling you, NFL evaluators still don't know how to measure character, leadership and toughness properly. But along came Saints general manager Bill Kuharich, who offered him a free-agent contract.
Long before Delhomme was a household name, Kuharich would talk to me about this natural-born leader he signed after the draft. He said the kid had something magical about him. I once spoke with Kuharich after he had left the Saints organization and he told me, "If ever I get another chance to run an NFL franchise, I'm going to build it around Jake Delhomme." That was back in 2000 after a young Delhomme had a grand total of two NFL starts with three touchdown passes and five interceptions.
Jake Delhomme has the Panthers one win away from their first Super Bowl appearance.
The rest of the story
By Pat Kirwan
Special to SuperBowl.com
Thanks to BamaCajun & Zeebart21 for finding the story
Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana
It couldn't happen to a better guy. You like to see guys with true humility shine. He always impresses me a truly humble, well-mannered, southern gentleman and he would make an awesome champion.
. Delhomme is a pleasant surprise for Carolina
ST. LOUIS - You did not hear quarterback Jake Delhomme indignantly proclaim "Nobody thought I could do it," a seemingly popular chorus among triumphant athletes, after he successfully led the Carolina Panthers into the NFC Championship Game on Saturday.
Truth be told, Delhomme did not know if he could do it.
"I'd be lying to you if I [tried to] give you a straight answer," Delhomme said, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. "You know, I signed looking for an opportunity to play. Did I think, the day I signed, we'd be in a championship game? Probably not. I was just looking for an opportunity and to kind of take it and run with it."
His off-season search brought him to Valley Ranch last March, as the Cowboys were also looking for an opportunity.
It was never a matter of whether the Cowboys wanted to sign Delhomme, but how much they were willing to pay to sign him. What they decided was they did not want to pay what Carolina did: a two-year, $4 million deal. So Delhomme became a Panther, and Quincy Carter got a chance to prove himself.
What happened next has been well-documented. Both players had good seasons, and almost identical regular seasons.
Delhomme passed for 3,219 yards, 19 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and an 80.6 quarterback rating while leading the Panthers to an 11-5 record. Carter had 3,302 yards, 17 touchdowns, 21 interceptions and a 71.4 quarterback rating while leading the Cowboys to a 10-6 record.
Reputations, however, are built during the playoffs.
The rest of the story
By Jennifer Floyd Engel
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
(817) 390-7760
jenfloyd@star-telegram.com
. Would Jake have been as effective in New Orleans? YEP!
I have seen and heard reports that Delhomme would not be as good in New Orleans as he is in Carolina, they are SO wrong.
I know Jake would be just as good in New Orleans system.
When Jake went head to head with Aaron Brooks during the preseason of 2000, 2001, 2002 he never lost a preseason battle (except in the head of Haslett). In fact he was the highest rated preseason NFC quarterback for 2 of those 3 years.
Total numbers in their 3 preseasons together with the Saints
Att Comp Yds Comp % Yds/Att TD INT QB Rating 2000-2002 Jake 155 105 1188 0.68 7.66 11 5 100.69 2000-2002 Aaron 126 77 886 0.61 7.03 3 2 83.63
It should be noted that Brooks was in on more series in those 3 years. He was after all the starter and Jake the backup. The attempt edge Jake has is from sustaining his drives, this is also reflected in Jakes overwhelming TD advantage.
Haslett did give Jake a bit a chance to play in 2002, just not when Brooks was hurt. Jake was 8 of 10 for 113 yards, for a QB rating of 113.8
cajuncharlie
Ragin' Cajuns Fan for Sure
I don't know Turbine. I know statistics don't lie, but IMO it would take God to ressurect that franchise.
Jake would do well. No doubt about it, but the attitude of the franchise dictates mediocrity. The best thing that happened to Jake is having the opportunity to leave N.O..
Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana
jake would have never started at NO.
. Panthers betting on skills of low-profile QB Delhomme
CHARLOTTE - Tom Brady of the New England Patriots has a Super Bowl ring. Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles has the endorsements, and Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts has a National Football League MVP trophy.
The other quarterback still around in the NFL playoffs doesn't have any of those things. But that doesn't mean the Carolina Panthers have quarterback envy going into Sunday's National Football Conference championship game against McNabb and the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, who began the season as a backup to Rodney Peete, has proved he can compete with anybody when the game is on the line.
Seven times during the regular season, the Panthers won games after being tied or trailing in the fourth quarter. Comeback No. 8 came Saturday and was the most electrifying as Delhomme hooked up with Steve Smith for a 69-yard touchdown on the first play of the second overtime for a 29- 23 victory over the St. Louis Rams.
By comparison, Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers, who's made a living out of fourth-quarter heroics, has 30 comeback wins since 1992 and no more than four in any one season.
"Jake, he's grown a lot this year, he really has," Panthers receiver Ricky Proehl said. "I think coming in, he's not a guy where you're like, `Wow, this guy is unbelievable.' He plays with a lot of passion. He'll throw a bad ball, and it doesn't faze him."
By now, Delhomme's story is well-known. Undrafted out of Louisiana-Lafayette, Delhomme was signed by the New Orleans Saints and spent most of two seasons on the practice squad.
He made a name for himself in NFL Europe in 1999 by helping the Frankfurt Galaxy win the World Bowl.
The rest of the story
By Bob Berghaus, Sports editor
Contact Berghaus at 232-5866 or BBerghau@CITIZEN-TIMES.com.
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