Panthers Fox: "No veteran back-up QB needed"

Panthers Head Coach John Fox stated he is confident that his current stable of QB’s, Jake Delhomme, Matt Moore and Brett Basanez will get the job done in 2008.

"I feel as good about our quarterback situation as I ever have in my tenure," said Fox, who's entering his seventh season as Panthers coach.

Of course this is primarily based on a healthy Jake Delhomme, who started the 2007 season on a 8 TD in three game tear before suffering a season-ending elbow injury. Here’s the latest prognosis for Jake’s recovery:

"Every indication is that Jake is making great strides, possibly even being stronger than he was before his surgery," Fox said.

Yeow! That would be sweet. Many pitchers have gained speed on their pitches after TJ surgery so it’s feasible to think it could happen for Jake. We might see a few more Jake-to-Smitty TD’s this season! (Pardon my outburst)

I’m surprised by this move if it holds true, not because I think it’s a bad move. It’s because it seems unusually risky for John Fox considering how our season tanked when Jake went down last season. Sure, Matt Moore would do an admirable job, but he doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzy Jake does when he’s behind center. I’m ok with Matt Moore taking another year to learn the system. I also thought bringing in a veteran back-up QB to mentor Moore would be a good move too. The only thing I can think of is that either it’s simply the money involved in signing a FA QB or that they see something in 3rd stringer Brett Basanez to warrant not risking him to the practice squad. The latter seems even less likely when you consider Basanez is coming off a serious injury himself.

If I wanted to really over analyze his comments I might think the Panthers are posturing to draft a QB early in the draft. I’ve seen a few mock drafts that have made that selection for the Panthers but I usually blow it off. It’s usually coming from someone who didn’t watch the team, just the highlights. Truly though drafting a QB early doesn’t make sense.

As I stated earlier, I’m ok with the current QB depth chart as long as Jake is healthy. I’m ok with Matt Moore on a short-term basis but I certainly don’t want a repeat of last season (I’m not going say it). That would be a very unlucky event and one that John Fox may not be prepared for.