Naive Delhomme Column

I can't tell you how angry I got after reading this column. The idea that if their QB is okay, the Panthers are too is, at least to me, a complete joke. Combine that with the idea that Carolina doesn't need an "insurance policy" if Delhomme gets injured, and you have a really moronic column. Delhomme is 33 years old. For 3 seasons (starting in 2003) the Panthers had Chris Weinke backing up Jake Delhomme. Which means they have had nobody developing, nobody waiting in the wings. The reliance on a QB at an age where retirement would not be considered unorthodox (although who probably has 2 or 3 years left) CAUSED the problems the Panthers had during this season after Delhomme went down and his backups were: an undrafted rookie named Matt Moore, a clearly failing David Carr, and a ridiculously old Vinny Testaverde. Good teams have good backups, preferably ones who are younger than the starters so that they can eventually take their place. I'm a Saints fan. I would love to see Carolina sit on their hands for two or three years, have Jake Delhomme retire, and then implode. For the sake of their fans though, sanity would urge Carolina to seek a backup quarterback who can develop behind Delhomme and take his place when he retires.