Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox isn't the type of guy who will just call out a player in public for poor performance. So when he tells reporters that he's not even thinking about benching Jake Delhomme, we have to read between the lines to determine what he's really saying.Quote: "I think he's proven he's the right guy. Until he proves otherwise, we'll stay the same."
Translation: Jake looks (and has always looked) much better in practice than Chris Weinke.
Quote: "When you drop back to pass the ball it's a team effort. Whenever you don't play well enough to win I'm not sure it's one guy. It's definitely not just Jake."
Translation: The offensive line is screwing the pooch. Big time.
I think it's that last part that's really defining the Panthers' inconsistent performance this year. Losing veteran Travelle Wharton and free agent acquisition Justin Hartwig has left the Panthers with a patchwork mess that seems unable to establish a consistent rushing attack, making the offense one-dimensional and exposing Delhomme's weaknesses as a quarterback.
Jake has proven more than once that he cannot function without a solid running game behind him, and when the run blockers get no push off the line, it doesn't matter who your running back is. By all accounts, DeAngelo Williams should have gotten more than 100 yards against the Redskins. Instead, he had one 23-yard run and averaged only 2.5 yards per carry beyond that. You cannot pin that on the quarterback.
Personally, I think the Panthers could do better than Delhomme, but Fox made it clear yesterday that upgrading the offensive line will be a much higher priority in the offseason than upgrading the quarterback. That won't make a lot of Panthers fans happy right now, but it might make more sense in the long run.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-28-2006 @ 3:55PM
MS GreatGranny Sweets said...
I agree with Fox on this one. Right from the beginning of the season even back to the pre-season games the team has been fumbling and bumbling on the field. This has got to cause a QB to lack confidence in his team.
But more important what has happened? Too many changes? Too many new players and good players let go. No one is making plays. They act like they don't even like football let alone getting paid to play.
John Fox is very closed mouthed to the media and keeps things in the locker room and rightly so but something is wrong in that locker room and he needs to fix it.
I know one thing why would you hire Keyshawn Johnson and let Ricky Proel go? Where is Carter? Too much of a constant turnover with players.
Fox and Co. need to go back to the drawing board and figure out what they are doing wrong. Water always trickles down hill.
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11-28-2006 @ 10:02PM
Joy Bissette said...
How about replacing Dan Henning who calls plays of run on 3rd down and 11. I believe Jake can not handle pressure and we may not have a backup QB that could replace him but free agency will be here soon and we should look. I know that I have to buy my playoff tickets by Dec. 11th and this is after they loose to the REDSKINS and the cost is double your regular seat value maybe the offensive line or Jake would like to front me the money right here at Christmas time because unless some great act of God happens I will not be watching them at Bank of America Stadium.
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11-30-2006 @ 12:36PM
CHARLES L CROWE said...
I THINK THE PROBLEM ISNT JAKE AS MUCH AS ITS IN THE CALLS MADE UPSTAIRS SITUSATIONS WILL DECIDE WHATS WORKS .A SMASSHMOUTH GAME IS OK BUT DONT BE AFRAID TO OPEN IT UP JAKES CONFIDENCE WILL IMPROVE .DEFENCE IS STILL THE BEST . THANK YOU
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11-29-2006 @ 4:28PM
M Whalen said...
Dan Henning is probably a wonderful man. However, he calls the plays, and his play calling has been abysmal!
It isn't the QB or the O-line. It's the offensive co-ordinator who needs to move on. We really have no idea what either the QB or the O-line can do with this three and out approach to football. If the team is up by one in the first quarter Henning's approach is to shut the offense down and hope that the defense will hold on to the lead. That philosophy doesn't work in the NFL. Someone needs to recognize that it's there where the problem lies. The approach hobbles the offense. We have no idea how good they could be. Play every minute of every game as if you're down by two touchdowns. It would unleash the offense, make the games more enjoyable, and allow us to find out how good (or bad) the QB and the O-line really are. Right now all we know is that the current philosophy is boring and doesn't work.
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