I want to first welcome Jamie Clayton to the blog and thank him/her for putting up a Fanpost that spurred this story. You'll see his post in the right side bar and in it is a poll you should take a look at. He has lots of options but let's first examine the premise of the question and overall gist of the post. First lets set the conversation.

Jamie isn't the only Panther fan that seems to think the Panthers would be better off with a QB of than Jake Delhomme running the show. I see it on other sites and blogs a good bit. In my right sidebar poll you'll even see where the #2 vote getting is ‘QB' for next years draft focus.

So I'm going to go in the other direction and say he is the Panthers MVP for this season. I realize I have been a heavy advocate of RB DeAngelo Williams for NFL MVP (won by Peyton Manning) and I still believe he should have at least gotten some votes. As good as D'lo has been the Panthers would not be the #2 seed without Jake's heroics. Just off the top of my head Jake's late game passes have won at least three games, the Chargers, Packers and Saints games. Being able to drive an offense when the game is on the line is not a quality that is easy to find (just ask the Cowboys).

More after the jump...

If your measure is statistics then sure, Jake is a middle of the road QB. He was 15^th in passing yards (3,288), 17^th in passing TD's (15) and 22^nd in completion % (59.4). In his favor he is 4^th in avg yds/completion at 7.9. You also have to consider that Delhomme was 22^nd in passing attempts meaning he threw 200 less passes than Drew Brees. This Panther offense focuses more on the run than the pass. Regardless there is no denying that statistically speaking Jake is middle of the pack. But here's my point, half the QB's you would rate higher than Jake didn't make the playoffs.

So let's look at the poll I mentioned in the outset. In the question he points out three of Jake's biggest flaws as a QB:

The three things he needs to work on is:

1. stepping into the pass
2. movement in the pocket
3. checking off receivers

On ‘stepping into the pass' is Jake some rookie just trying to get a start? No, he's been in the league 10 years, been to the SB and has a winning record in the playoffs. This like telling Manny Ramirez he needs to keep his eye on the ball if he wants to play better. If your point is that Jake has floated some passes then I might agree after the 2006 season, but not this year. Of the few Jake has floated it was because the pocket collapsed in front of him preventing a step forward. Overall Jake's arm has been plenty strong and I don't see anything wrong with his throwing motion mechanically.

Movement in the pocket - Jake is definitely not the most mobile QB and he rarely scrambles. So you want a Michael Vick at QB? You want a QB that can throw on the run? How about we instead get an o-line that can hold the pocket together instead? I think we can all agree a pass thrown from a stable pocket is more likely to be completed than one thrown on the run while being chased by 300 lb behemoths. No, Jake is not fleet of foot but I still prefer ‘engineering game winning drives' over ‘avoiding a sack' as a preferred QB characteristic any day.

Finally ‘we have checking off receivers', something I have been critical about Jake myself. But upon further examination I firmly prefer Jake to throw the ball down the field and let his WR's make a play than to throw a 3 yd ‘check down' pass on 3^rd and 8. That was one thing that drove me nuts about previous OC Dan Henning. Besides, Jake has at least one WR that can go and get those floater passes and turn them into game deciding passes.

One last point, why do you think Matt Moore is next in line to start? Moore is actually the #3 QB behind #2 Josh McCown. The Panthers traded a draft pick for McCown and has confessed they have always been interested in obtaining him. At 29 McCown is 4 years younger than Jake and has pretty extensive experience. I think it's safer to say McCown will get the next crack at starting QB before anyone else. I firmly believe that includes any rookies that might be available at the end of the 2^nd round in the upcoming draft. If it's a flashy first round draft pick you want running this team then you'll need to find another team. This Panther organization doesn't operate that way, they prefer to acquire QB's that already have a professional body of work to evaluate. Besides, why would you want to pay 1^st round money to a guy who hands off more than he does anything else? Only two other team threw the ball less than the Panthers so more than anything the Panthers need a QB who can manage a game, hit some key passes and instill confidence in the huddle when the team is down. Hmmm...I think I know just the guy, and I have no problem calling Jake Delhomme 2008 Panthers Team MVP.

Thanks for the Fanpost Jamie and know that your opinion is always welcome here. Though I may have disagreed with you this time I look forward to hearing from you again.

Here's one thing we can agree on: Go Panthers!