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Spotlight - QB Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers

Posted on 8/17, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Jason Wood's Thoughts

Jake Delhomme had served the Carolina Panthers well in his tenure as the starting QB.

• 61 (regular season) games played
• 1,101 completions
• 1,848 attempts
• 60% completion
• 7.2 yards per attempt
• 89 TD passes
• 58 INTs
• 153 rushing yards
• 3 rushing TDs

In his four seasons at the helm, the Panthers won 5 playoff games and made a Super Bowl appearance. From a fantasy perspective, Delhomme has put up respectable, but not star caliber, numbers:

• 2003 -- QB15
• 2004 -- QB7
• 2005 -- QB12
• 2006 -- QB21

In many ways, Delhomme is pretty easy to figure out. He's a good, not great passer that's done more than his fair share to drive the Panthers to playoff respectability. Is he an elite QB? Certainly not. But does he have to be in order for the Panthers to win? Clearly not. But fantasy owners care about THE NUMBERS not the intangibles that a QB brings to the huddle.

So why is there such consternation about the Panthers decision to sign David Carr as Delhomme's backup? A lot of people have predicted that Delhomme won't finish out the season as Carolina's starter, believing that the former Texans 1st overall pick will flourish behind a decent offensive line, something he never had in Houston. Does that make much sense?

I believe HC John Fox is conservative in everything he does, and he won't replace Delhomme with Carr unless Delhomme's play severely impedes the Panthers overall success. Although Delhomme's numbers last year weren't very good, they were hardly the main impediment to the Panthers success. If you look over Delhomme's numbers in 4 years as a Panther, they tell the tale of his fantasy outlook:

Positives

• Delhomme benefits from throwing to one of the league's best playmakers, WR Steve Smith
• He's a proven winner and has elevated his play in the biggest of games; that's not the kind of QB that's easily benched
• Thanks to a subpar 2006 season, Delhomme can be drafted as your QB in the latter part of 10- and 12-team leagues

Negatives

• Delhomme's play has been heading in the wrong direction, and he was at his worst when it mattered last year (the 4th quarter)
• Many believe Delhomme is TOO reliant on Steve Smith, and fixates on him which causes poor throws and too many turnovers
• The team's new offensive coordinator, Jeff Davidson, wasn't sterling with the Browns, it's unclear the Panthers have improved their coaching situation

Final Thoughts

Jake Delhomme is exactly what you think he is...a decent NFL QB who has more good games than bad ones. Yes, David Carr may actually be better than Delhomme if given the chance, but there's very little reason to think Carr will get that chance in 2007. Over his 4 years in Carolina, Delhomme has been the 14th most productive passer on a fantasy points per game basis; and that's about where his productivity probably will slot this year. Because I don't see much upside from him and I do believe he has one of the best backups breathing down his neck, I'm going to steer clear of him as my QB2, but I can't fault you if you choose otherwise.

Quotations from the Message Board Thread

FTRWRTR:
This is yet another sign that a lot of ff owners have a "what have you done for me lately" mentality. Delhomme is just three seasons removed from passing for nearly 3,900 yards and 29 TDs. In fact before last year he had three straight seasons of at least 3,200 yards. Even though last season was the worst of Delhomme's four years in Carolina statistically, he still completed 61.0 % of his passes and the 2,805 yards and 17 TD he threw would still be David Carr's 2nd best season yardage wise and more TDs than Carr has ever thrown in a season so I doubt that Delhomme will lose the starting job as some people are speculating. Also over the course of his time in Carolina Delhomme has a respectable TD - INT ratio of 1.5 : 1 throwing a total of 89 TDs and 58 INTs. His lack of mobility is his biggest flaw: he averages only 55 yards rushing per season but it gets worse when you realize that includes an "amazing" 71 yards on the ground in 2005 and in the other three seasons Delhomme had less than 27 rushing yards per season. However if there is a silver lining to be found it's that he has also rushed for a TD in three of his four year's as Carolina's signal caller.

shadyridr:
Everyone was high on Delhomme last year but I wasn't. To me this will always be a run first team with a strong defense. The one great year he had was because Carolina basically stunk and had a horrible defense due to injuries and was always throwing from behind. And maybe Delhomme was hurt by Smith's injury in the 1st 2 games but he never seemed to take off despite having 2 stud WRs. Now they lose Keyshawn and still have 2 very good RBs. I just cant see Delhomme putting up Qb1 #s but Id love to grab him as my backup QB. Hes a better NFL QB than fantasy QB. I'm not too worried about Carr taking over because I think Delhomme is a winner and will get the job done.

BassNBrew:
Just a quick FYI folks...Delhomme won three consecutive playoffs (two on the road) in 03 and two road playoff games in 05. You don't bench a guy like that for David Carr. Delhomme represents value this year.

Jake Delhomme Projections