Apparently I am officially a blog to be reckoned with. I received my first spam comment today and, ironically, it was for a gambling site. I wonder what that says about my blog?
I am wrestling with a topic this week and it's entirely my fault. I had intended to break my silence about Danica Patrick this week but because I didn't bother to check the schedule I only now realized the Nationwide series (Busch to you fellow hold outs) has the week off. It just doesn't seem timely to talk about her yet. I have been putting it off for as long as possible, both because I think there has been too much media coverage of her already and because what I have to say on the matter will likely go against conventional opinion. In fact, I'm probably going to at least slightly miff some people, no matter what their opinion of her. I'll talk about her next week. That's what we call a tease by the way.
So, Danika's out, what to talk about? How about the Panthers, my home state's struggling football team. Today general manager Marty Hurney made an announcement we have seen coming for a long time. The Carolina Panthers have released Jake Delhomme. I have been calling for the Panthers to drop Delhomme as their starter for several years now, regardless of his being the only QB to lead them to a Super Bowl. I like Jake. He's a great guy, he's given everything he's got to the Panthers and on the whole he had served them well, but he has never been more than an average quarterback. After last years disastrous season with Jake's career high 18 interceptions, 23 of which were in his last 12 games, this was a move that has been a long time coming. That said, I think Carolina has made a dreadful mistake. Not in releasing Jake, but in the way they have done it.
The Panthers have remained steadfastly loyal to Delhomme over the years, even with naysayers like myself calling for at least dropping him to second string. Last year they extended his contract in a move that will now cost them quite a lot of money as they have to buy it out. In addition to this, they have also allowed Julius Peppers to go free agent, thus losing a large part of their bargaining power. By extending Jake's contract one year too many, the Panthers have passed on several very good QB's I think they probably could have signed. With all of this, what are they left with? Matt Moore.
Moore did an outstanding job this past season, stepping up and scoring a 61% completion percentage with 9 sacks. That's pretty good considering his situation, but I fear we have dropped one average quarterback for another average quarterback. Much of this can be chalked up to inexperience, and maybe the Panthers have seen something in him that makes them think he will turn in to something great. I actually am holding my breath.
I think there is another issue the Panthers need to consider in addition their QB situation. Jake had 23 sacks on 321 attempts last year. Matt had 9 sacks on 138 attempts. That suggests to me either their receivers aren't getting open, or the offensive line isn't giving them enough time. That's something coach Fox is going to have to look at very closely this coming season.
I have officially crossed the line. This post marks my movement into the realm of Monday Morning Quarterback territory. I am probably the least qualified person to be second guessing the Panthers coaching decisions, and I hope coach Fox, Jake, and Matt will all forgive my uninformed criticism, I'm merely voicing the opinion of a fan.
This is the first Jake Delhomme highlight reel I came across. I apologise for any issues with the audio, I actually selected this video on a computer with no sound, so I have no idea what is said or what the soundtrack might be.
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