Pro. Jake Delhomme

[TuffGuy84]

yes, but it is great for Jake, a chance to start and get out of loserville.

Think about it this way, jake gets 2 wins every year!

Tuffguy

[snote]

Originally posted by Zeebart21
HATE TO SAY IT>>>>>>>>

thru my many mistakes in life.. i hope next time you can refrain from saying something you would rather not.. (smiles).. bil

ps. i wanted to say: -- "i saw your last week's compliment to the "Noter" -- and a thanks".. although, could not find that thread to answer, so i jumped in here to say so.. my best..

pss. the Clydes-Dales.. saturday close to the mcneese tent

[NewsCopy]

Panthers.com

The Carolina Panthers made their first acquisition of free agency by signing unrestricted free agent quarterback Jake Delhomme from the New Orleans Saints. In four NFL seasons, Delhomme has played in six games with two starts and has completed 50-of-86 passes for 634 yards and three touchdowns with five interceptions. Last season, he appeared in four contests and compiled a 113.8 quarterback rating on eight-of-10 passing for 113 yards in a back-up role.

On the decision to sign with Carolina: I was looking for an opportunity to compete for a team that is on the rise. I visited two teams, and they were Carolina and Dallas. I wanted the opportunity to have a chance to compete, which I probably would have gotten at both places, but Carolina really seemed like a good fit. I really had a great time being with the coach, general manager, offensive coordinator Dan Henning and the offensive staff. I felt comfortable there and look forward to try to be a piece of the puzzle. The ultimate goal is to get to the Super Bowl and win it. They had a great turnaround season last year, and I look to be a part of trying to move it forward into the future.

On what he brings to the team: I have a few years experience. I don't have that much experience on the field. This past year, getting to play a little bit, I think I am ready to play and ready to be a starter. I think I bring to the field someone who is very competitive, who will play with his heart on his sleeve, who will do anything for his teammates, and a quarterback who just wants to be a winner, plain and simple. You measure a quarterback, in my opinion, not by statistics but by wins and losses. That's what we are about in this League - production. Our production comes with a win on Sunday afternoon, and that's all I am about. That is just the kind of player that I am. That is why I want to be a part of this team because they are just about winning.

On his role with the Panthers: Rodney (Peete), I am assuming he is going to go in as the starter. Certainly, he did a great job last year. I have never met him but I respect him. Anyone that can play 14 years in the NFL as a quarterback is pretty good. I can promise you that. I am going to come in and want to compete for a job and I know he is going to want to do the same thing. It is going to be a good, healthy competition. May the best man win. Certainly, I will be disappointed if I didn't just as Rodney would be if he didn't win the job. I think that is healthy for a football team. Competition makes everyone better.

On his mobility: I am not going to be the fastest 40-yard dash guy. I can promise you that. But I feel like I am not a statue in the pocket, either. I think I can scramble around a little bit if need be. I can move in the pocket pretty well to try to create some throwing lanes and get away from the rush. That's the thing with the NFL nowadays. You have to be able to move around and beat the rush.

On when he will join the Panthers: I think the offseason program starts March 24. I certainly expect to be there day one. I firmly believe in offseason programs. First of all, I want to meet the guys. I don't know too many guys on the team. I want to get to meet them and start working with coach Henning and (offensive assistant) Mike McCoy and start learning formations. I think that is one of the toughest things. You need to learn formations and get your verbiage down because most of the same plays will carry over from team to team, as will protections. The big thing for me will be getting there, getting acquainted with the place, meeting some players and start to learn formations and try to dig into this offense.

On how he will separate himself from being a back up: I have been waiting my time. That's what I believe. I truly believe I can play in this League. If I didn't think that, I would have stayed in New Orleans and have been a back up because there was a comfort level for me back there. (My hometown is) only two hours away from there. My wife and I love the city. We have a newborn. It would have been very easy and convenient. I could probably have had a nice deal to be a back up. Deep down inside, I feel like when given the opportunity, I have done pretty well. I just wanted an opportunity to maybe try to win a starting job and try to lead a team for 16 games. Hopefully, I can go in there, win the team over, and just try to perform to the best of my ability, which I think is good enough to win games in the NFL.

On his leadership skills: You can't be appointed a leader. You have to earn it. That is one thing I will try to do. First and foremost as a quarterback, you need to know what is going on. Know the formations. Know the plays. Know where people line up. Get them in and out of the huddle. Be a conductor so to speak. Doing the right thing in the weight room, off the field, staying those extra hours during the week, learning the game plan, being totally ready to play, just being a true professional. That is how I think you become a leader. If you can do all those things, people will respect you, and they will want to play for you. I have been lucky enough to have five good years in New Orleans. I started at the bottom there and worked my way up and I think guys respected me and looked up to me as a leader even though I was a back-up quarterback. When I did get in there, they played hard because they knew I was coming in there to try to get the job done and I knew what I was doing. They knew I would fight for them tooth and nail to the end, and that's all I can ask in return is that they do that for me. That's how I have to earn their respect.

The source of the story

[snote]

curious ...

if i started having a "stirring" in my head .. (smiles)
that deep down, i might hope that brandon takes the Indy offer vs signing on with the panthers..

would it make sense to anyone but myself?

[NOCajun]

You ARE, Z, but I'll forgive you, THIS TIME!!

[Cajun Express]

Originally posted by snote
Bruce, not to nic-pick, although this next season will be his 7th chance (smiling)..

Well yea he did have 500k lotto tickets, but AB had thirty million tickets. Before that he had a chance, but Iron Mike beleived Danny Worthless would be picked before the 100th pick in the draft and had to justify his nonsense. Let us be honest this will be the first time he goes in with at least a realitic chance. But who the heck is nit picking?

[snote]

Originally posted by cajun express
Let us be honest this will be the first time he goes in with at least a realitic chance.

i normally make it a practice to "always" be honest.. have done so for quite awhile..
following link i share learning one of my first lessons with "stretching the truth".. http://sportsnote.com/archive/this&that/lying.htm

i went back and looked at what i typed to Bruce.. and what he typed.. Bruce did not use the adjective "realistic".. (smiling)

[snote]

Originally posted by snote
curious ...i might hope that brandon takes the Indy offer vs signing on with the panthers..

smiles

[NewsCopy]

Delhomme product of Panthers' philosophy

It seems like a fair swap. New Orleans gets the Hornets. Charlotte gets Jake Delhomme.

Delhomme, a career back-up for the New Orleans Saints, is Carolina's latest Quarterback of the Future.

Some of you wanted Carolina to hire the other Jake, Jake Plummer, whom Denver inexplicably signed to a $40 million contract. But the Panthers have gone the famous free-agent route before. They once were so eager to be good, they abandoned any pretext of a plan to fling money at the famous.

They hired Reggie White, Chuck Smith and Sean Gilbert. But these rich and famous together contributed less than Mark Fields, the free-agent linebacker whom the Panthers stole last March for little more than $1 million.

The Panthers' new philosophy is to avoid falling so in love with a player they become desperate, have to have him, and as a result overspend.

Yet, if they don't love running back Stephen Davis, who arrived in Charlotte on Thursday afternoon, they really, really, really like him.

Carolina has many needs, among them quarterback, running back, receiver, cornerback and offensive line. They would be foolish to abandon their budget and common sense and hand $40 million to Plummer, who was flashy and inconsistent at Arizona, or Kordell Stewart, who was flashy and inconsistent in Pittsburgh.

Delhomme cost $4 million for two years. This could be the greatest Louisiana purchase since the Louisiana Purchase.

Why so cheap?

"I haven't done anything, basically," Delhomme says by telephone Thursday morning from his home outside Lafayette, La. "That's the truth. When I did start (six times in four seasons), I did what I was supposed to.

"But if I didn't think I could be a starting quarterback, I could have stayed in New Orleans, in my comfort zone, and made a good living as a back-up. I can be a starting quarterback."

The rest of the story

TOM SORENSEN
Charlotte Observer
tsorensen@charlotteobserver.com

[NewsCopy]

Q. Why did you pursue Delhomme and not some of the more experienced quarterbacks available?

"Of the hot names out there, he was probably the least known and least productive. But I tend to look at that as a positive, not a negative. I played against Jake Plummer, Charlie Batch, Kordell Stewart and you knew a lot about them. I studied Jake on tape and he did really well every time he went in. His negative was he never really got in that much. But Brett Favre never got in that much and Kurt Warner never got in that much. I don't profess to have all the answers. There's just something about the guy and he has a lot of the intangibles that I look for in a quarterback. The only real negative on (incumbent starter) Rodney (Peete) is that he's older. He played well. He's a very accurate passer. But his movement and his age ... he may or may not hold up. We need to get a younger version of Rodney and we think we did. Time will tell."

The rest of the story

[NewsCopy]

Catching up with ... Jake Delhomme

Outside of New Orleans, not many people knew about Jake Delhomme until a 1999 game on Christmas Eve against Dallas. Delhomme, getting a shot in Week 16 because the Saints had only won two games with Billy Joe Tolliver and Billy Joe Hobert, romped the Cowboys and helped the Saints to an improbable 31-24 win. In his first NFL game, Delhomme passed for two touchdowns and ran for another while completing 16 of 27 passes for 278 yards.

Delhomme bided his time as a backup behind Aaron Brooks, not seeing any action on the playing field in 2000 or 2001. Last season, he played in four games, completing only 8 of 10 passes. It wasn't until this offseason that another team had a chance to sign Delhomme, who became an unrestricted free agent after five years in New Orleans. On March 5, coach John Fox and the Carolina Panthers stepped up to the plate, signing Delhomme to a two-year deal.

While participating in Carolina's offseason conditioning drills, the Louisiana native spent some time with NFL.com talking movies, cajun food and life as an NFL quarterback.

You're in North Carolina now. Is that where you'll spend most of your offseason?

Delhomme: The majority of my offseason is spent back in Breaux Bridge, La. That's my hometown and where my permanent residency is at.

Is there anything we should know about Breaux Bridge?

Delhomme: It is the crawfish capital of the world, and we are also home to a former Miss USA, Ali Landry. She was the girl in those Dorito commercials.

Whoa! She's cute. Did you know her?

Delhomme: Yeah, I knew her growing up a little bit.

You didn't happen to date her, did you?

Delhomme: No, never did. We went to different high schools.

You've been cut three times in your career, but you're only on your second team. How did this happen?

Delhomme: I got cut my first year in New Orleans in 1997 -- I kind of knew I was going to, I was a "camp arm," so to speak. Then I got brought back to the practice squad later in the year. Then the next year, I was on the roster for the first six weeks and then the Saints picked up Kerry Collins. Well, I got cut and went right down to the practice squad. I never really left, but don't get me wrong, I took a really big pay cut.

The following year, 1999, I got cut again, had a bunch of different workouts and the Saints signed me back toward the latter part of the year. I started the last two games for them [one was the game against Dallas, the other was a loss at Carolina]. Ever since the Jim Haslett regime came in, I've been there until now.

What were some of the positives of being a backup in New Orleans?

The rest of the story

By Dave Richard
NFL.com

Special Thanks to Bil of the SportsNote for finding the article

[Rebel02]

Is there anything we should know about Breaux Bridge?

Delhomme: It is the crawfish capital of the world, and we are also home to a former Miss USA, Ali Landry. She was the girl in those Dorito commercials.

Whoa! She's cute. Did you know her?

Delhomme: Yeah, I knew her growing up a little bit.

You didn't happen to date her, did you?

Delhomme: No, never did. We went to different high schools.


Everyone knows that Jake went to the better high school. Yea, they had Ali, but the Rebels had Jake!!