Pro. Jake Delhomme

[El Sidonio]

Did the Panthers win? I didn't catch the score.

God Bless.

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Delhomme lifts Panthers

Charlotte, N.C. - Eli Manning had a decent debut as a starter, but Jake Delhomme overshadowed the No. 1 pick in the draft by throwing for a touchdown and running for another in the Carolina Panthers' 27-20 preseason victory Thursday night over the New York Giants.

The game was the first test for Manning, who looked every bit the carbon copy of his brother, Peyton, pointing out the defense and calling audibles at the line early. He was 9-for-15 for 117 yards.

On this night, it was Delhomme who sparkled. He was 11-of-13 for 144 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Muhsin Muhammad for a 10-3 lead.

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[biged05]

There was a piece on sportscenter this morning about Jake. The commentator started out by saying Jake is no One hit wonder. Pretty good little piece.


I also saw a commercial last night after the 10:00 news on channel 10 with Jake and Kevin Faulk. I thought it was a real cool commercial having 2 of our biggest local stars that played in the super bowl in it. Looked like they had a good time ribbing each other.

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Quarterback Jake Delhomme met briefly with the media after practice Thursday at Bank of America Stadium. It was the Panthers first practice after training camp.

On playing Saturday: It's exciting to get back out and play. It's been a week already since we've played and it feels a lot longer. You want to play just to get closer to the season. That's the biggest thing. I look at it as a great test. (New England) is the best team in football. That's how you have to look at it.

On the Patriots: Things didn't go their way last week. I'm sure they're going to come out and really try to get after us, and we're going to do the same thing. It's a good measuring stick for us. We're looking forward to going out there and trying to play well.

On the Panthers passing so much early against the Giants: We started the game a little different than normal, but you have to realize that we were down on numbers at certain positions. We had one fullback last week, so we needed to protect him. By us being effective, though, maybe we can start games off like that more and open it up for Stephen (Davis) and DeShaun (Foster) later on in games.

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• GETTING GOOD MILEAGE: Of all the things the Panthers love about quarterback Jake Delhomme, the fact that he was a value is among their favorites.

They originally signed their leader to a two-year, $4 million contract last year, but have since replaced that with a six-year, $38 million extension.

Offensive coordinator Dan Henning gets a kick out of the fact people questioned them for their choice a year ago, when other better-known alternatives were available in free agency.

"Last year it was Jake Plummer and Jeff Blake and Kordell Stewart and they all went for big money," Henning said. "Jake didn't go for big money. And where are the other three?

"We got what everybody thought was a Camry and they thought they were getting a Cadillac and we're still moving along here."

Henning later backtracked, moving Delhomme a little farther up the car lot price range.

"I did not say Jake was a Camry. I kind of think Jake might be a Lexus," Henning said.

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SPARTANBURG — It was third and eight when Jake Delhomme stepped into the huddle with less than two minutes remaining. A first down would ice the victory. Anything else gave the visiting team a chance.

Delhomme dropped back, surveyed the field and hit his receiver.

Ten yards. First down.

That wasn’t one of the NFL-high seven games in which Delhomme led the Carolina Panthers to victory in the final two minutes or overtime, not counting the 69-yard touchdown pass that ended the second overtime of the NFC Divisional playoff game at St. Louis.

That was a year earlier when the former Louisiana-Lafayette quarterback came off the bench to replace an injured Aaron Brooks and secure a win for the New Orleans Saints against Tampa Bay.

The heart he showed on that play led the Panthers to make Delhomme their quarterback of the future before last season.

“Sometimes there is a tendency to get hung up on arm strength and all of that,” general manager Marty Hurney said. “A quarterback is a leader and is judged on his ability to win football games.

“Whenever he had those opportunities he took full advantage of them.”

It didn’t take long for Carolina fans to see that.

Delhomme entered last season’s opener in the second half with a 17-0 deficit against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He threw for three touchdowns, including a 12-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 16 seconds remaining.

In the seven last-minute or overtime rallies Delhomme completed 75.9 percent of his attempts and compiled a quarterback rating of 122.2.

“It could have been (one more) if we had won the Super Bowl,” said offensive coordinator Dan Henning, reminding the Panthers gave up the game-winning field goal after Delhomme rallied Carolina to a 29-29 tie with 1:08.

“I’ve seen Jake do some things I haven’t seen other people do. When that happens over and over again, that’s not a fluke”

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By DAVID NEWTON
Senior Writer

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CHARLOTTE - If we've learned anything from three preseason games it's this: it's time to take the handcuffs off quarterback Jake Delhomme for good.

Dan Henning, you don't have to worry about this kid making very many mistakes anymore.

He may have just one real season of NFL experience under his belt, but Delhomme plays like a seasoned vet. And when the Panthers go to the air, good things seem to happen. The offense starts to click and the Panthers become explosive.

It happened Saturday night against the New England Patriots.

The Panthers ran the ball five times on their first two series and failed to pick up a first down.

On the third possession, Delhomme went to the air and suddenly the Panthers started to move the football.

Granted, the Panthers hadn't game-planned for the Patriots and the Bill Belichick's base defense was prepared to stuff the run. It was little like running into brick wall carry after carry.

And granted, star running back Stephen Davis was sitting this one out with sore knee.

There's no doubt that as long as John Fox is head coach the Panthers will be a running team.

And I'm not suggesting the Panthers abandon the running game. The Panthers are not, nor should they strive to be the Minnesota Vikings.

But given the way Delhomme and the Carolina's receivers are hitting on all cylinders this preseason, it's time for the Panthers to flip from a team that runs the ball 53 percent of the time to a team that throws it 53 percent.

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STEVE REED
FREEDOM ENC

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Is Jake Delhomme the Cajun Carolinian, or the Carolinian Cajun?

It depends on whom and where you ask that question. This past offseason, when Delhomme went back home to Breaux Bridge, LA, he started noticing a startling transformation around him.

"It was nice to go back home, but the thing I was most proud of was that any time I got out and about to go do something I would see Panthers hats and shirts," said Delhomme. "I would talk to people and they would say, 'We can't get any Panthers gear down here, what's the problem?' Now you're starting to see more Panthers stuff in the sporting goods stores. That's what I'm most proud of, is that we were able to take some of the Carolinas and bring it down to Cajun Country, so that was nice."

It's not an easy thing to do so close to New Orleans, where "Geaux Saints" signs hanging in the Superdome let you know of the Cajun influence in the area.

"We're proud people," said Delhomme. "I am a Cajun boy, Louisiana-bred, through and through."

He's also the quarterback who stunned the NFL with seven game-winning drives last season, and a 106.1 passer rating in the postseason. Not bad for a guy who didn't even start the season opener, a game in which he led the Panthers from a 17-0 deficit to a 24-23 victory over Jacksonville.

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By Brett Borden
Panthers.com

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A year ago at this time, Jake Delhomme was an anonymous backup quarterback so obscure to the public that even knowledgeable football fans routinely mispronounced his last name.

Life has changed dramatically for Delhomme. Instead of playing second fiddle like he has most of his six-year NFL career, Delhomme is the leader of the band in Carolina. His clipboard is gone, and his press clippings have multiplied in a remarkable year that has seen his career skyrocket like a NASA missile fresh off the launch pad.

The no-name quarterback, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent from little-known Louisiana-Lafayette, enters the 2004 season as a household name.

So much has happened in such a short time that it's hard to believe Delhomme opened the 2003 regular season as an understudy to pot-bellied, past-his-prime Rodney Peete. Delhomme came off the bench in the second half of that game, sparked Carolina to a 24-23 comeback win over Jacksonville and never looked back, driving the Panthers to their first Super Bowl appearance.

Along the way, Delhomme led the Panthers to a flurry of comeback wins, threw for 3,219 yards and 19 touchdowns, while compiling a regular-season efficiency rating of 80.6. When the pressure of the postseason kicked in, Delhomme did what elite quarterbacks do. He raised his game to a higher level, improving his efficiency rating to 106.1.

Delhomme capped a dream season and reached folk hero status with a fabulous performance in Super Bowl XXXVIII when he threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 113.6, the highest in a Super Bowl since Steve Young's 134.8 mark in 1995.

So, what has Delhomme's sudden rise to the top been like?

"The biggest thing is I'm having a lot more fun," said Delhomme, in a conference call Wednesday with the Wisconsin media. "Last year, Rodney was going with the 1s (No. 1 unit), and I was going with the 2s. It's hard to get your timing down like that. It's like you're running the offense from March through August, then you're running scout team the rest of the year."

Although few could have predicted Delhomme's breakout season in his first season as a full-time starter, Delhomme (pronounced Duh-lome) wasn't a complete surprise to NFL coaches and executives. Originally signed by the New Orleans Saints in 1997 after being ignored in the draft, Delhomme developed into a highly regarded backup quarterback with the Saints, spending five seasons in New Orleans before signing with the Panthers last season as an unrestricted free agent.

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By Tim Froberg
News-Chronicle

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Mardi Gras, the festive tradition synonymous with New Orleans, is moving to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., for a night.

The rosters for Monday's regular-season opener between the Green Bay Packers and the Carolina Panthers feature four quarterbacks who hail within a 300-mile radius of the party capital of the South.

"It kind of reminds me of when we were in the Super Bowl in San Diego (during the 1997 season), when I was with the Packers and (fellow quarterback and Louisianan) Bubby Brister was with the Broncos," said Packers backup QB Doug Pederson.

Craig Nall, the other Packers backup, also hails from Louisiana.

Meanwhile, the starters facing off in the nationally televised game are natives of tiny towns separated by only 150 miles.

The Packers' Brett Favre was raised in Kiln, Miss., population 2,100. The Panthers' Jake Delhomme still makes his residence in Breaux Bridge, La., population 7,500.

Nevertheless, the two quarterbacks never have met.

"Certainly, I know about him," said 29-year-old Delhomme, who's five years younger than Favre. "I used to watch him when he was (in college) at Southern Mississippi and play against Southwestern Louisiana back in the day. It was always fun the way he played."

Though Louisiana is one of the smaller populated states in the U.S., with only 4.5 million people, it can make a strong case for yielding the largest crop of quarterbacks to the NFL. Peyton Manning, star for Indianapolis, and younger brother Eli Manning, rookie with the New York Giants, are New Orleans natives.

The list of great ones stretches back to Pittsburgh Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw.

"If you look back and did a little history lesson with some of the quarterbacks who have come out of there - the Bobby Heberts, the Bubby Bristers, the Terry Bradshaws, the Joe Fergusons, the Stan Humphries' ... There's so many guys," Pederson said. "For whatever reason, it's become a melting pot for quarterbacks.

"It would be an encouraging thing for a young quarterback in high school or college to consider that when deciding their future."

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By Todd McMahon
News-Chronicle

[Turbine]

If you missed the United Way Jake/Kevin videos the picture link below takes you to the page where you can download the files.

The small videos are humorous but the long one the "United we're Super" is heart warming. Check them out.

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Thanks to Jeremy Broussard for the links and pics.

His hope is to get people interested in visiting the United Way of Acadiana web site, and hopefully learning more about United Way and ultimately getting involved any way they can.