Delhomme looks to continue outstanding play in the postseason
January 4 Gaston Gazette
"Jake Delhomme has been a pretty darn good quarterback for the Carolina Panthers in the regular season, winning 49 of 79 starts.
But when the postseason arrives, he becomes a great quarterback.
Delhomme is 5-2 for the Panthers in the playoffs with four of those wins coming on the road.
He has a postseason passer rating of 95.0, which is better than any of the other 12 quarterbacks heading into this weekend's playoffs, including former Super Bowl champions Peyton and Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner.
"I've said this many times, I think when Jake's been in the game, whether it's playoffs or regular season, we've had better opportunities -- and I think that record speaks for itself," Carolina coach John Fox said. "Unfortunately, we went for a stretch there where we didn't have him 16 out of 20 (games), which is no day at the beach. I think it's fairly obvious that I'm happy he's in there, whether it's regular season or playoffs."
Of the seven playoff games Delhomme has started, he's played well in all but one -- which happens to be the last one, the 2005 NFC Championship game against Seattle.
But it's a little unfair to blame Delhomme for that 34-14 loss. By the end of the first quarter the Panthers were down to their fourth running back in Jamal Robertson and Delhomme had nobody to throw the ball to other than Steve Smith. The Seahawks triple-teamed Smith and Delhomme finished just 15 of 35 for 196 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Prior to that, Delhomme had completed 98 of 157 passes for 1,446 yards with 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions, including an MVP-worthy performance in Super Bowl XXVIII, where he threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns in a 32-29 loss to the New England Patriots.
The Panthers, who will play Jan. 10 against Minnesota, Atlanta or Arizona, are much better equipped for the playoffs than in 2005 with far more weapons in both the running and passing game, which has Carolina fans confident Delhomme can get them back to the Super Bowl -- and this time finish the job.
When asked the key to his postseason success, Delhomme responded, "I don't know, I've been on a good team. I'm not trying to be anybody else… (And) don't make it bigger than what it is. It's still another game and you still have to do what you did during the season-- because obviously you did some decent things -- and carry it over."
Despite his postseason success, Delhomme still inexplicably fails to command the respect from the national media that other NFL quarterbacks do.
For instance, earlier this week Scouts Inc., ranked Delhomme 11th among this season's 12 playoff quarterbacks, ahead of only Minnesota's Tarvaris Jackson, who has never played in a playoff game. Even Baltimore rookie Joe Flacco was ranked ahead of Delhomme.
That's a bit interesting considering only Warner and Roethlisberger can match Delhomme's postseason record (5-2) as a star"Link
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