| Brandon Helton. 3rd March, 2009 - 1:27 am
 What is the most important position on a football field? This question posed to any fan of the game will most generate the same answer: Quarterback. The level of player does not matter. From teenagers to those paid to play on Sundays, it is essential to have a good quarterback lead your team.
I am not trying to say that, to be successful, your team’s quarterback needs to be the best player on the field or even the best player on the team. There are many qualities and attributes that make some players more successful than others. Teams win every week of the season with quarterbacks that do not throw for 300+ yards or have multiple touchdown passes in a game.
A great example of this are the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger finished the season ranked #24 in the NFL’s passer rating. Roethlisberger may not put up gaudy numbers every Sunday, but he is one of the toughest players and best team leaders the league has ever seen.
The Carolina Panthers are in a similar position as the Steelers. The Panthers have Jake Delhomme under center each week if he is healthy to play. Delhomme will never be confused with some of the greats at the quarterback position, but he has the leadership quality that management seems to crave. And even though the Panthers did not advance to and win the Super Bowl, they were still very successful winning 12 of their 16 games in the regular season.
It sounds like the Panthers are in great shape right? Well, not exactly. There is an old saying in sports, "if you aren’t getting better, you are getting worse."
I bring this up because the Panthers could stand to improve at the quarterback position. Delhomme is 34-years-old and had major elbow surgery less than two years ago. His last two full seasons (he missed most of 2007 with the elbow surgery) have left much to be desired despite playing with one of the best receiving targets the NFL has to offer in Steve Smith. Delhomme didn’t help his job security the last time he took the field either, as he had one of the worst performances in playoff history committing six turnovers in the home loss to Arizona.
Complicating matters even more is the fact the team does not have a trusted backup waiting in the wings, with Josh McCown second on the team's depth chart. McCown has seen some success in his career, in fact long time Panthers fans probably remember McCown passing for 398 yards against the team in 2005. You also have to remember that, for whatever reason, McCown has played for four different teams the past four years. This isn’t exactly a stat that builds confidence, especially since two of the teams were the Lions and Raiders.
Matt Moore, who is the third option, came to the Panthers before the 2007 season. He went undrafted out of Oregon State and spent time in training camp with the Cowboys before being part of final roster cuts. The Panthers jumped on him, and with Delhomme hurt, gave him a chance to play later in the 2007 season. Over the final three games with Moore running the show, the Panthers went 2-1 to finish 7-9. Moore averaged nearly 200 yards passing per game and more touchdown than interceptions. This is impressive considering Moore was eight months removed from going undrafted and wasn't even part of Carolina's training camp.
With free agency underway and the draft in April, fans in Charlotte want to know how Head Coach John Fox and General Manager Marty Hurney are going to make the team stronger not just for 2009 but the future as well. Do the Panthers roll the dice and draft someone this year?
If this is the route the team decides to take, who do the Panthers release or attempt to trade? Delhomme is the current starter and has practically no shot of going anywhere. McCown and Moore both know the offense and have valuable NFL experience. Will a draft prospect, that most likely will be a late round selection, even be able to make this team?
If you want to bring in a free agent to give Delhomme competition you must remember the team has very little money left under the salary cap. A couple guys are out there who could probably make a difference (Byron Leftwich, Kyle Boller, Rex Grossman), but would cost the Panthers most of their cap space and leave little money for other free agents. David Carr was Carolina's most recent free agent experiment at quarterback and those results were disastrous.
The Panthers have work to do this offseason, but I don't expect a monumental move at quarterback. Word is the team hopes for at least two more healthy years from Delhomme and Fox is happy with where Moore is early in his career.
Will Jake Delhomme be able to lead the Panthers back to the top of the NFC? Will Josh McCown or Matt Moore be around to take the job when they have the chance? Can the Panthers find a Tom Brady the late rounds of this year’s draft?
If it seems like a team’s present and future depend too much on one position, then talk to a fan whose favorite team doesn’t have a reliable quarterback. It will most likely be a team with a top ten pick in the April 25th NFL Draft. |
