The debacle has not been forgotten.
Certainly not by Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme.
The 34-year-old's five interceptions in the NFC divisional playoffs against the Arizona Cardinals essentially doomed the Panthers' chances of reaching the NFC championship game.
Now, Delhomme is looking forward to another shot to redeem himself after such a haunting performance. And he doesn't lack for accountability.
"I'm going to get asked that question in training camp, I'm going to get asked that question leading up to the first game, and if I have a bad game this year, that's going to be brought up, but you know what?" Delhomme told Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe. "It's part of the deal. It's part of the contract I signed in third grade to play quarterback. I didn't play well and I'm the first one to admit it.
"Then you ask yourself, 'Would I have done anything different preparation-wise or practice-wise?' The answer is 100 percent 'no'. I would have done the exact same thing, because it was the same way I've been preparing to play since I've been a starter. It wasn't our night, and it wasn't my night."
Delhomme finished the game 17 of 34 passes for 205 yards, one touchdown pass along with the aforementioned five picks for a putrid 39.1 quarterback rating. He also lost a fumble, giving him six turnovers for the game.
After that devastating performance, Delhomme pointed the finger in exactly the right direction.
Himself.
"I should get the blame," Delhomme said, per the Charlotte Observer. "It's inexcusable. It's disappointing."
But he nevertheless received a five-year, $42.5 million contract extension this offseason. Now, he's got to justify it.
To do so, it's essential that Delhomme not dwell on a head-scratching outing that prompted a lot of concern from the Panthers' fan base.
"It's easy for me to say, 'I'll forget about it,' but no, because it burns, it bothers you," Delhomme said. "Sometimes when you want something so bad, you don't just get it right away. You have to get knocked down. I know myself, I'm looking to get back up.''
Well, at least he's willing to accept the blame. We'll have to wait and see if his body will actually let him get back up like he wants to.
Coach Fox said it best after the Cardinals game: "We picked a bad night to have a bad night." This team - especially Delhomme - is not the type to let a bad game hang around in their heads. With guys like Beason leading the way, they'll be just fine this season.
What else is he going to say? Honestly?
How he has a starting job in this league let alone get a contract extension is beyond me. We would be speaking too highly of him if we called him a poor mans favre, and not when brett was in his prime. He is a chucker, bottom line.
Probably the worst meltdown I've ever seen by a quarterback in the playoffs at home who's team was a big favorite. Delhomme is like a box of chocolates.
Yes, Jake, you turned the ball over six times. However, Jeff Davidson deserves some of the blame for abandoning the offensive game plan in the second quarter. The Panthers were down 14-7 after the first quarter, and suddenly Davidson decides that running the ball isn't going to get the job done and tries to win the game with Delhomme's arm alone. Hopefully, this season will go much better.
Am I the only one who thinks Jake is wildly overrated?
He's a serviveable starter, but for the most part, he's barely above average. He's had 2 seasons of 20+ TDs....
I don't know. I just never really got it.
Delhomme has always thrown the ball all over the field. But he's a "gunslinger" which in his case means throughout his career he has constantly thrown the ball up for grabs and let Steve Smith, Muhsin Muhammad or Wesley Walls try to make the play. He throws way too many balls into double and triple coverage but gets away with it because of the quality of his receivers but the percentages finally caught up with him. He's a poor man's Favre.
Delhomme is a choke artist. Every time the Panthers have a legitimate chance at the Superbowl, he chokes. He either throws ton of picks, fumbles, or just can't complete a damn pass. The Panthers are a good QB away from having maybe the strongest team in the NFC
I don't get the negativity about Delhomme. He's had a good career so far -- no he's nothing close to Hall of Fame material so if you're expecting that then go elsewhere. As for a medium-term contract for a 34 year old, most good QBs perform well even in their mid-late 30's and Delhomme had a fairly late start to his career so he hasn't been banged up nearly as much as other similar age QBs such as Bulger and Hasselbeck.
Would you rather have Bulger or Hasselbeck than Delhomme? No way. Delhomme hasn't had a single below average year in his career (once he became the starter) whereas both of those other two have recently had very bad years.
So it's all about comparisons. Would you rather have Aaron Rodgers than Delhomme? Of course! How about Jason Campbell? Hard to say, probably yes but he has issues with his team. If we were to list all of the QBs in the league and "would you rather have him for the next 4 years?" Delhomme would probably be middle of the pack but I'd take middle of the pack any day over some unknown not-super-high draft pick or some other veteran.
I lived in Charlotte for 2 years and that city has no clue about football. They all love this guy and have more patience for his lack of talent than any other city does for their QB. They all live on that one superbowl several years ago. The Panthers notoriously underproduce every year and Marty Hurney and John Fox still have jobs for some reason. Without Deangelo Williams breakout year last year that team wouldnt have been in the playoffs.
Delhomme isn't really overrated b/c I don't ever hear anyone saying he is a top 5 QB. He is important to that team though. Look at the year before, when they went 7-9. Not a bad record considering they had David Carr and Vinny Testaverde all that year. They get Delhomme back (and a running game of course) and they go 12-4 and win the division. Even if they had a disappointing loss, he does help that team alot. Everyone can choke at some point. Peyton Manning is pretty much the ultimate choke artist with the exception of the one year they won the super bowl. He always comes up short in the playoffs...
But yeah, 5 pics is definitely bad. If they would have just committed to the running game and short passes, it could have been a different story against the cardinals.
"It's part of the contract I signed in third grade to play quarterback."
Did Jake go to school with Drew Rosenhaus?
Delhomme never threw a pass to Walls because they've never been on the same team, you moe.
The reason they all have their jobs is because every two or three years, they get themselves in a position that is better than 14 or 15 other NFC teams. Does your team do that?
You don't just tear everything down for not going all the way; see Reid, Andy.
killachap you're an idiot I live in charlotte while we have some dumb fans like every other nfl city we also have smart fans. Delhomme isnt going to put up brady numbers, we have the best backfield in the nfl, so we dont need a great passing QB. as long as we can have a good run attack delhomme can freeze db's all day with a simple play action. remember the tampa mnf game? all this hate on delhomme is stupid we had a bad game at the worst time, but he had a great season before that. i cant wait for the phili game so the cats can show some revenge.
I don't really see what the big deal is......
QBs throw INTs
RBs fumble
WR drop passes
Defense miss tackles
Kickers miss FGs
It's all part of the game.
So Delhomme threw 5 INTs in a game. Many top notch quarterbacks that throw many multi-INT games.
Delhomme is a solid QB...future HOFer...NO.
Delhomme had a terrible game and the Cards had one of their best and besides that game was last season...let's look forward to the upcoming season rather than dwell on the past.
Gasp! Ya think Delhomme?!
If throwing interceptions is the only criteria for rating a QB, then I guess Brett Favre is as about as low as you can go. He holds the record for interceptions, not to mention WHINING. At least Jake has the kahonas to take the blame when he feels he deserves it. And never takes the credit when they win. He always gives it to the rest of the team.
Some Panther fans please explain to me what's up with Delhomme's tongue sticking out every time he throws the ball?
I know MJ did it, but it really seems juvenile to me!