saintz08

Forget the fake stuff, this Jake's a real winner
Jan. 26, 2004
By Pete Prisco


In this very space, way back before anyone outside of the Carolinas or Louisiana had any idea how to pronounce his name, these were some not-so-kind words used to describe Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme.

He was called Jake the Fake, a media-made phenomenon who had no business getting the attention he was receiving as a free-agent quarterback.


Jake Delhomme steps into the bright of the Super Bowl spotlight. (AP)
How could a career backup with two NFL starts -- a resumé that would make a roadie proud and the type of game that kept him on the bench in 2002 in New Orleans even though starter Aaron Brooks was hurting with a shoulder injury -- be the quarterback to lead a team to a Super Bowl?

Some eight months later, Delhomme is proving all doubters -- led by the guy writing this story --- wrong in a big, big way. On Sunday, Delhomme will start for the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium against the New England Patriots, one victory away from another where-did-this-guy-come-from story.

It will cap a wild season that has seen him open on the bench behind Rodney Peete and included his leading the Panthers to a 7-0 record in games decided by a field goal or less. Delhomme threw seven touchdown passes in the fourth quarter of games during the regular season, prompting the idea this was his magical season.

We know the kind. A guy comes from nowhere, battles all kinds of odds, plays in any league for any team that will have him and then winds up as a Super Bowl quarterback. And the hero of his hometown -- in Delhomme's case that means Breaux Bridge, La.

It happened with one Kurt Warner, and then Tom Brady. Who says you need to get your passers in the first round of the NFL Draft?

"That quarterback will still cure a lot of ills," one NFC personnel director said. "But you can bet with what's happened the past couple of years, teams will study the not-so-premium quarterbacks, too.

"What Brady and Delhomme have done is going to make a lot of people take note."

The feeling here is premium passers will still make up for not having strength in other areas. Quarterbacks still drive this game. But what Delhomme is doing in getting his team to the Super Bowl is showing what a quarterback can do when he "manages" a game.

That's a buzzword these days around the NFL. Teams want to play good defense, run the ball on offense and just ask the quarterback to manage the game. It's a kind way of saying the passer can't win it with just his arm, but it also appears to be a secret to success.

"I really haven't seen a lot of him, but I would say the big thing is he is a winner," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "He is making the plays that he needs to make for Carolina to win.

"That is what a quarterback's job is. It's not about stats. It's about wins."

Delhomme, in the Panthers' system, is a winner. Carolina went 11-5 during the regular season and is 3-0 in the playoffs, including a 14-3 victory over the Eagles last week in the NFC Championship Game.

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/7037114

[Edited on 28/1/2004 by saintz08]