Delhomme Recovery Progressing Well

by Jaxon on Jan 9, 2008 12:19 PM EST in Panther News & Notes

I'm not sure how I missed this last week, but apparently Charlotte.com blogger Stan Olson had a conversation with Panthers QB Jake Delhomme recently. As far as his recovery from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, Stan had this to report:

He (Jake) believes his recovery is going remarkably well, and that he will be at full strength well before training camp.

I know it's not much but it's always good to hear Jake will be back, at full strength no less. He still has 5 months of recovery time and I would say he is due to start throwing pretty soon, maybe in February or March.

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champions

Champions are made in the offseason. WHen he starts throwing in a couple months, who's going to be catching the ball. Jarrett, Colbert and Carter should be practicing eveyday on blocking, catching and running routes. With a solid two months of work with Jake and Smith, all four should be much improved at the start of training camp. Training camp is not the time to memorize the playbook and build chemistry. That is what the offseason is for. Training camp is to refine it. Ever wonder why Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison are in mid-season form with Peyton the first scrimmage of the pre-season? It's called offseason practice.

by usana_gaines on Jan 9, 2008 2:54 PM EST reply actions

Practice practice

I agree with the practicing in the offseason, but I'm not so sure Colbert could catch a cold. I would think they would look at picking up another WR in the offseason. Jarrett definitely has his work cut out for him if he is to step up in 2008. Carter has shown some great ability at times, but is he consistent enough to keep on the roster or will they look for a big time playmaker for that position????

by Davejinxer on Jan 10, 2008 8:23 AM EST reply actions

i agree

I agree about Colbert, he needs to go. Drew Carter is the fastest player on the team, and he learned to catch last season a little. When he learns to block and run routes, he could be great. I think if he really applied himself, Jarrett wouldn't have a chance to be the #2, but we'll have to see. Carter has been on the team for a few years now and he's still learning. He's taking too long. I think another playmaker would be great, but we don't have the money for the kind of talent that would truly outperform our non-Smith receivers. Our money needs to be spent on the offensive line. I think D-Will is all the playmaker we need, but we have to give him the ball more. Let's sit and wait to see if Foster gets cut.

by usana_gaines on Jan 10, 2008 9:04 AM EST up reply actions

Carter Gets One More Try

Colbert should be cut though.

by Jaxon on Jan 10, 2008 10:44 PM EST up reply actions

i agree

One thing you have to look at is whether or not a player has any upside. We have seen the very best of Colbert and Foster. They need to go because they aren't worth the money they're paid. We've seen the best of some other players, too, like Smith and Peppers, and that's worth a lot of money. Carter and Gamble have been around a while, but I don't believe they've finished their maturation process yet. They can get better, and be paired with Smith and Marshall, which will be a key to our 12-4 Superbowl season in 2008.

by usana_gaines on Jan 11, 2008 9:15 AM EST up reply actions

Peppers and Smith

You say we've seen the best of both.

Smith will turn 29 in May, perhaps we've seen the best of him, but it could be argued the best of him is better than anyone else! I still think health permitting there are a lot of plays left in Smith at a v high level if not his absolute best, perhaps his career Zenith was that third touchdown against the Texans this year; but perhaps his best is still to come.

Peppers turns 28 in 3 days time (happy birthday Julius!). What is to come from the big man is tricky to predict as I'm sure Marty Hurney is pondering the same thing. But he should be in his physical prime for at least another year or two. We hope this year was an anomaly, the reasons for it are probably a complex combination of factors (aside from the obvious ones like its hard to get sacks against a team that is running cos they're winning) as Julius is apparently a shy introverted lad; from what I've read he seems a fascinating character. But lets not completely write off Peppers' 07 contribution, he didn't look himself at times and the sack numbers are poor, but he still contributed at other times, 3 forced fumbles, an interception and 2 blocked field goals in 14 games. Lets say 3 or 4 of his QB hurries had turned into sacks and he had managed to scrape a sack or two in the last two games, would everyone have been so down on him?

I know people are mentioning trading Pep, but he brings a lot to the Panthers in terms of identity. I feel its worth paying for him and being patient through what is hopefully a temporary down period.

Also are you suggesting Marshall is more mature than Gamble then?

by JIMcK on Jan 15, 2008 8:51 AM EST up reply actions

good comments

I think we've seen the best Smith has to offer; however, you're right, his best is better than 95% of the other receivers in the league. The same is true with Peppers.

I think the issue with both is coaching and schemes. Smith doesn't have the ability to go up and get the ball like Moss or Burress, so these basic fade patterns don't work. He needs the QB to get more time to throw so he can work the zone or go deep with double moves. He dropped a couple, but he also spent a lot of time wide open watching the QB run for his life.

Peppers is the same way. The coaches need to devise game plans to take advantage of his talent. He lines up in the same spot every play and either drops back in coverage or rushes the passer. I want him to line up all over the field. Imagine a 3-4 with him playing OLB two or three plays a game. The RB thinks he has a mismatch in the secondary, but a safety gets him and Peppers blitzes. On plays when Peppers is double-teamed, LBs and CBs should be blitzing. The bottom line is we can get a lot more out of Pep with better game-planning even if it doesn't show up on the stat sheet.

Marshall is better than Gamble. He's a better tackler, better at bump and run, and he had more interceptins despite being the nickel back.

by usana_gaines on Jan 16, 2008 8:47 AM EST up reply actions

Fair enough

Well Jarrett is supposed to be the tall go up and get the ball option. Its about time someone other than Smith stood up to be counted as a weapon, lets hope something happens to make that happen next year.

I completely agree using Peppers in more varied roles could be a great idea. I've heard he's even been used as a receiver in the past and apparently he played tailback in High School, I'd love to see him on an end around! You said you wanted a power running back! But certainly occasionally dropping him back to OLB in a 3-4 would pose problems for an offensive co-ordinator, and it would be great to give him the opportunity to use his speed in the open occasionally. The concern would be the strength of the front 3 without him, particularly if they lose Jenkins. Being more conservative, simply switching which side he lines up on from play to play might spice things up a bit.

I still think its a bit premature to say he's past his best at 28 though (and to an extent Smith at 29). I almost wish he'd read that just to prove you wrong next year!

by JIMcK on Jan 16, 2008 10:54 AM EST up reply actions