Carolina Panthers: Still Jake's Team

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

John Fox and Marty Hurney headed into 2008 with their jobs on the line after an underwhelming 2007 that featured a whole lot of Mittens and not a lot of excitement in Charlotte. They decided to throw caution to the wind and play for "now" by trading their 2009 first-round pick for a chance to pick up both Jeff Otah and Jonathan Stewart in the first round of the draft.

With a healthy Jake Delhomme, Julius Peppers finally deciding to care, a road-grading offensive line and a rejuvenated Smash and Dash running game that featured DeAngelo Williams and Stewart, the Panthers surprised some people by winning the NFC South and looking like a Super Bowl-caliber squad.

That was before an ugly evening in Charlotte led to six Delhomme turnovers and a staggering home playoff loss to the future NFC champion Arizona Cardinals. But don't let Delhomme's performance fool you: he's not going anywhere. The Cajun biscuit hawker will be back leading the Panthers in 2009, despite what many fans might want. And besides, with Peppers trying to force his way out of town, Delhomme is the least of the Panthers' problems.

Free Agents: Donté Curry (URA), Geoff Hangartner (URA), Mark Jones (URA), Jason Kyle (URA), Frank Omiyale (URA), Adam Seward (URA), Darwin Walker (URA), James Anderson (RFA), Gary Gibson (RFA), Jeff King (RFA) Nate Salley (RFA)

Draft Picks: 2 (61), 3 (93), 4 (126), 5 (157), 6 (188), 7 (219)

Needs

1. Defensive Line. Peppers is still a Carolina Panther. So there's no particular reason to think that the team needs a defensive end ... right now. However, Peppers has said he doesn't want to remain a Panther, so unless the team thinks that it can ink him to a long-term extension, this is something worth addressing sooner rather than later. The good news is that if Peppers stays, the line can hold up for the moment. And if he goes, at this point, there should be enough compensation coming back to the Cats to give them a shot at a nice, upside-filled d-lineman like Robert Ayers, Brian Orakpo or Michael Johnson, depending on what kind of pick they might get back.

2. Cornerback. There's a decent possibility that Ken Lucas isn't on this squad next year (they've actually already discounted his uniform, along with Peppers'.) If that's the case, Chris Gamble and Richard Marshall are left defending opposing wideouts. While they're a decent duo, it would be pretty helpful to pick up a second/third/fourth-round DB with some versatility for the safety position as well. I know, those are ample, right?

2. Quarterback. Delhomme will keep calling the signals for the Panthers; any change in 2009 seems rather unlikely. But the Cats have always kind of made do with mediocre backups, never really planning on drafting a franchise quarterback for the future -- that just seems to be how Fox's game plan works. But there are a few guys (Nate Davis, Graham Harrell) that would be nice investments, if the Panthers can grab some more picks before the draft kicks off. Otherwise, there's always the possibility of waiting until a stronger 2010 QB draft class. But if someone talented falls to the Cats in the second round, it wouldn't be entirely shocking to see them draft Delhomme's successor.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-25-2009 @ 1:29PM

soulcitysigma1914 said...

I am soooo dreadfully tired of NO ONE (and when I say no one, that also includes Hurney and Fox) considering the idea of tapping the potential of the young quarterbacks on Carolina's roster who have shown promise. I stick to an assertion I made a year ago that the Panthers should have signed Basanez from the practice squad instead of getting McCown. The club should have retained Moore and Basanez and groomed them both and eventually chosen one as Delhomme's successor; and if Jake went down, they needed to plug Moore back in and let him build off the promise he showed as a rookie in 2007.

Now the Bears have signed Basanez. Jake obviously didn't recover adequately from his surgery and his elbow is shot just like Beuerlein's was when we let him go on to Denver. I actually watch Panthers games, so I can tell you that Jake had been throwing lollipops all season, too much power in every pass. But no one really took notice until the Cards game and by then it was too late. I have always supported Jake but he was off all year except for the San Diego game in week one; the panthers won all their other games on the ground and should not have been passing against the Cards like that either.

Fox has since made it clear that jake will start in 2009 and I see yet another writer talking about what the Panthers will do at quarterback as if they don't already have a young guy with promise in Moore. So what could become the scenario? I won't be surprised to see Basanez emerge as a solid - though not great - qb for the bears (and solid qbs are "great" by bear standards). And I won't be surprised if Moore, who was inexplicably downgraded to third string last year despite the fact that he's already proven he's better than McCown, is allowed to walk once his contract is over and he too ends up starting for some other team.

to see the lack of attention paid to moore, one only needs to look at 2007, when Mittens was horrid and they still had him play, then when he went down, they signed a senior citizen in Testaverde instead of playing the young guy.

2-25-2009 @ 4:52PM

I'llBecomeTheSea said...

I still refuse to stand behind the Panthers until Jake is gone.

No. Can. Do.

2-26-2009 @ 10:30AM

JK said...

Delhomme is a hack. He has never been anything better than a back-up QB. It has been nothing less than tragic that a talent like Smith has had to endure having a mediocre QB. What a waste. Imagine what he could have done with a good QB. I too can not stand behind this ridiculous plan. The Panthers are in a perfect position to rectify this lunacy with a Peppers trade.

2-28-2009 @ 2:29PM

busa13 said...

its not jakes fault, i believe its the head coach. why cant we use steve smith like the cardinals use larry fitsgerald? we not only need a new qb we also need a new caching staff to get everything the panthers have to offer