Looking closer - the quarterbacks
We all know the story. Jake Delhomme was off the best start of his career, completing 64% of his passes and throwing for 8 touchdowns against just one interception throughout 2 and 3/4 games. Then, on a 2-yard pass to Brad Hoover against the Falcons in Week 3, Jake blew out his elbow and was forced into season-ending Tommy John surgery. The Panthers offense was never the same after its Ragin’ Cajun leader went down.
But Jake’s rehab from the surgery is looking good and he is on time to fully recover without missing any time. Apparently, he has been dealing with slight pain in his throwing elbow for several years now, and only just had the surgery. Delhomme is optimistic that the procedure could even help prolong his playing career in the long term, and Steve Smith believes it could provide better arm strength for his quarterback immediately.
“He’s starting to look muscular, which is a plus for quarterbacks. You know, some of them aren’t the most athletic ones, and some of them are. Jake actually has a (pectoral) muscle, so I’m pretty proud of that,” quipped Smith.
So, while Delhomme does look ready to go, there is still a bit of uncertainty. Tommy John surgery is not a common procedure for NFL players, it is typically used for baseball players. The preseason games in which Jake gets playing time will be critical and nerve-racking for Panthers fans.
Currently behind Jake is second-year man Matt Moore, who led the Panthers to two victories out of three starts against three playoff-bound teams late last season. Moore is a love/hate guy with most of the fans out there - some can legitimately see him as being a future starter for us, and some are convinced he’s nothing, and that the Panthers should draft a QB early in the draft. I, for one, don’t want to waste a pick on a QB that won’t play next year, and think that Moore is fine at #2 for now.
Coming in at third-string is Brett Basanez, undrafted like all our other signal-callers. John Fox and the Panthers are reportedly high on Basanez’s potential, and view him as a younger Jake Delhomme. How long he stays around will be determined somewhere in the future.
There’s lots and lots of unknownst surrounding the Panthers QB situation this year. While Jake Delhomme looks to make a full recovery and not miss any time, there’s always that nagging fear and the “what if?” factor. Matt Moore was promising, but didn’t exactly set the world on fire when he started last year, and Basanez is unproven. Three undrafted quarterbacks, and yet John Fox has said he feels more comfortable about his QB’s than he ever has. We’ll see how the story unfolds for 2008. I give the Panthers QB’s a C+, mainly because I think Jake shouldn’t have any problems coming back.
April 24, 2008 at 12:53 pm
What you say makes sense and the Panthers certainly seem to have a lot of holes to be thinking about quarterback.
But - like everyone else I have an opinion and we want even know if I’m right for years. From all the junk I’ve read, I am convinced that Brian Brohm is THE quarterback of the draft. I don’t understand why he fell off so much considering he had a knew coach and a terrible O-line. And his TD-Interception ration was still amazing.
So, in my fantasy, the Panthers use their 2nd round pick and one of their 3rd round picks to move back into the first round and snatch Brohm right up.
Why would this be good for a coach/GM crew that is on the hot seat?
Well, I personally feel like the quarterback position last year is what got the Panthers into the position they are now. But I think Fox is a really good coach and, if he rolls the dice (which he doesn’t often do), he might find that Brohm can show some flash while he learns from Jake.
So would the Panthers still have some holes? Absolutely.
But for the Panthers, this draft is going to be more about the 3rd through 7th round because that is where they’ve struggled recently. So they need to come through with some really good picks in those rounds because the ’sure things’ (or close to it) in the first two rounds aren’t going be enough.
April 24, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Wow, you just won the award for longest comment.
I agree about Brohm. The big rag on him is the fact that he could just be a system QB, and of course since Louisville went 6-6 last year. I think he’s way ahead of Matt Ryan. However, I still don’t want to spend early draft picks on a QB with so many other needs. A possible sleeper guy out there is Josh Johnson from San Diego State.
(http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/profile.php?pyid=61532)