The Peoples' QB
The Peoples' QB
CHARLOTTE, N.C., — Jake Delhomme is consumed. A little over four months ago, he played in the Super Bowl with the Carolina Panthers and Friday he was in minicamp with a new season not that far away.
But that is not what was consuming Delhomme. For the moment, it is all about the Belmont Stakes and Smarty Jones's chance to win the Triple Crown.
Delhomme loved horses before he loved football. He owns and trains racehorses with his family in Breaux Bridge, La., and he has spent a lifetime waiting to see a Triple Crown winner, having been too young to appreciate Affirmed's run in 1978.
This, he thinks, is his big chance, and he is not taking anything for granted. He already has his Saturday planned.
"I'm waking up, I'm lighting candles," Delhomme said Friday after a workout on the practice fields outside Bank of America Stadium. "I'm pulling for him so bad, you don't understand. I want to see it. What was it, Affirmed in '78 the last time? I was 3 years old, I don't remember. But I want to see it.
"Certainly, he looks the part. You hate to say the word cinch in horse racing, because those two words just don't go together, but gosh he looks like he's going to be tough to beat.
The rest of the story
By VIV BERNSTEIN
New York Times
Poor Smarty was intercepted
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Rob Adamson believes his professional football career has mirrored that of Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme.
Adamson joined the Panthers at minicamp Wednesday as their fifth quarterback after spending the past few months in NFL Europe backing up Ryan Van Dyke with the Cologne Centurions.
Like Delhomme, Adamson played at a small college (Mount Union) and was not drafted by an NFL team despite putting up good numbers. And, like Delhomme, he had to wait until a day after the draft before teams contacted him about signing as a free agent.
For now, that is where the comparisons end. Adamson hopes that his story continues as Delhomme's did.
Delhomme went on to lead the Frankfurt Galaxy to the World Bowl championship in 1999 during a second stint in NFL Europe.
He signed a two-year contract with the Panthers last year and led them to the Super Bowl in his first season as a full-time starter. Now he's on the verge of signing a big contract with the Panthers.
"Jake and I have talked a lot and he's a great role model for me," Adamson said. "I hope to do exactly what he did, obviously. But it's good to know that there have been guys (who) have went over there and didn't get to play a lot their first year and still ended up succeeding like Jake did. It sets a blueprint for me."
O'Sullivan wants to follow in Delhomme's footsteps at World Bowl
GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany (CP) - J.T. O'Sullivan of the Frankfurt Galaxy wants to follow in Jake Delhomme's footsteps at the World Bowl.
The Carolina Panthers' quarterback was allocated from the New Orleans Saints when he guided the Galaxy to victory in NFL Europe's championship game in 1999. But O'Sullivan admits he might struggle when his team faces the favoured Berlin Thunder on Saturday. His father died 10 days ago from cancer.
"There's no denying the fact it's part of what I'm going through at the moment," said O'Sullivan, the league's second-rated passer.
How wonderful for Jake. I think this is the day when Jake finally gets what he deserves...compensation for his hard work! Keep it up, Jake.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1823834
ESPN.com news services
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers rewarded quarterback Jake Delhomme for his Super Bowl season Thursday by giving him a five-year, $38 million contract extension that included a $12 million signing bonus.
Delhomme was entering the final year of a two-year, $4 million contract. He was scheduled to make a base salary of $1.37 million. This deal will keep him in Carolina until 2009.
The 29-year-old Delhomme came to the Panthers with only two career starts, for the New Orleans Saints. Delhomme relieved Rodney Peete at halftime against Jacksonville in the first game of the season and led the team back from a 17-point deficit to win 24-23.
He started 19 straight games after that, leading the Panthers to playoff victories over Dallas, St. Louis and Philadelphia.
Then he threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns in a last-minute 32-29 loss to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Delhomme completed 266 of 449 passes for 3,219 yards and 19 touchdowns.
"It's kind of a dream come true," Delhomme said after Thursday's practice. "When you're coming out of college undrafted, you're just trying to hang on by a thread. Luckily I did. It's funny how things work out."
The deal came on the final day of the team's three-week minicamp.
"Everybody in the league is trying identify their quarterback and when you identify that guy, getting him locked up for the future is paramount to your success," Panthers head coach John Fox said. "I'm glad it happened before we got away from here."
Delhomme was also relieved to get the deal done.
"I've been around guys who haven't performed their best with a contract lingering over their heads," Delhomme said. "Having that behind me, now it's just total football when training camp starts."
Like a lot of former backups who came out of nowhere to get starting jobs, Delhomme used NFL Europe as a proving ground. He played for Amsterdam in 1998 and Frankfurt in 1999. His 67.3 completion percentage for Frankfurt in 1999 put him on the map as a potential quarterback of the future.
The Panthers also used the offseason to wrap up Delhomme's favorite target, receiver Steve Smith, with a six-year, $28 million contract.
***John Clayton, senior writer for ESPN.com, and information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.***
Hey, Jake, I remember hearing Deuce McAlister donating a million dollars to his alma mater Ole Miss a few weeks ago...Now that you're a rich man, what do ya think?!?!?!?!?! We could name the indoor practice facility after Jake. I'm half kidding, guys, but really I don't know either Jake or Deuce personally, but from what you see and hear, these two have got to be two of the most classiest guys in sports.
Jake! You're my boy! .....Loan me some $$, I'm good for it!
![]()
Sweet!
![]()
Almost every day since the season ended, when I scan the web looking for "newscopy" I read some article on a kid looking to Jake Delhomme as an example.
Just this morning I decide to make a thread on the very subjucet and was planning on adding to it as I found articles on the subject. I should have no problem finding examples of guys want ing to be JAke.
I tell you I'm tickled pink.
CONGRATULATIONS
![]()
THIS SHOULD HELP HIS "CAREER AVERAGE" PAYCHECK
I can see it now....
"JAKE DELHOMME FIELD"
on the campus of Teurlings Catholic High School!!!!
"I’m not going to shower by the way I’m going right up to sign it. Just to let you know."
"It's kind of a dream come true. You never think coming out of college undrafted, you have to hang on by a thread. Luckily for me I did."
"It's funny how things work out. The good Lord put me here in Carolina. It's just been a great fit. I'm happy as can be here. My family's happy as can be. I'm 29-years-old and I don't see myself playing in another color. I want to retire a Panther and hopefully, I can do that."
"I'm certainly grateful to Mr. Richardson, Mark (Richardson), the Richardson family, Marty (Hurney), Coach Fox and my teammates most of all, because they helped me get this more than anybody else."
"I’ve never been in that kind of situation, but I’ve been around guys that I don’t think perform their best if there’s a contract lingering over them because they’ll get upset one day…but having that behind me now it’s total football when camp starts and now. I’m excited just to get it done. I think I found me a home here and I just want to finish up here."
"I didn’t let it bother me that much. I talked to (Rams quarterback) Marc Bulger at the Quarterback Challenge a couple of months ago, and his (contract extension) was coming up. He said, "If there's any advice I can give you, it would be “Don't get your hopes up or down.'" He said he was on a rollercoaster, up one day and down the next. So that’s what I did. I didn't let it bother me. That's why I have agents. They handled it with Marty and they did a great job and I'm as happy as can be."
"I didn't have any expectations going into this deal. They came to me and said, "Hey, this is what we're going to try to do this and that." I had a smile on my face. I said, "That sounds great. Let's get it done."
"I never expected that hey, I’m going to come in here and sign a big deal. My deal was hey, I got a two year deal and I’m going to try and come in and be a productive NFL starter and hopefully find a home. Because I think you guys know me well enough, I like to stay grounded. I don't want to move around a lot. I was in one place for a while and now I want to stay in this place. Things work out for a reason. Everybody knows the big man upstairs has a plan for you. Sometimes you don’t understand why things happen but in the end you sit back and try to analyze things and you just see why. I just got lucky that I came here."
Geaux Cajuns
There are currently 5 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 5 guests)