Few adages are more true than the old one that says the backup quarterback is the most popular guy on the team. Unless he’s the backup for Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, of course, and then no one knows who he is.
Who the hell are these guys?
Whenever an NFL team drafts a great college prospect or signs a hot free agent, fans are quick to call for the head of their starter, even if that starter is a Pro-Bowler who has led their team to a Super Bowl in the past five years.
Carolina Panther fans are no exception.
From the moment David Carr signed with the Panthers, many Carolina fans have been clamoring for Carr to start over Jake Delhomme. If you read any message boards, or even the comments at the bottom of foxsports.com articles, you’ve seen these rabid Panthers fans calling for Delhomme to be benched.
Personally, I believe this to be unfounded. Sure, Delhomme makes bad decisions at times. Sure, he tries to force it and often throws interceptions. But Delhomme is the leader of his team and as such has led them to two NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl since taking over for Rodney Peete in 2003.
And besides, this is David Carr we’re talking about, people. The same David Carr who has more career interceptions (67) than career touchdowns (61). The same David Carr who has more career sacks (254) than interceptions and touchdowns combined. The same David Carr who led the Texans to absolutely nothing. The same David Carr who the Texans didn’t even bother trading when they signed Matt Schaub; they just let him go.
David Carr isn’t, at this point in his career, a legitimate starting quarterback. It’s not like the Panthers have Kurt Warner back there. It’s David Carr. You know what Carr’s best at, other than lying underneath a defender after a sack? Standing on the sidelines with his impeccably groomed hair.
David Carr doing what he does best
But, these are many of the same people who called for Chris Weinke last season. How well did Weinke do when Delhomme went down with a thumb injury? And again, these fans are going to get what they wished for. Jake Delhomme has decided to undergo elbow surgery, ending his season. Get ready Panther fans, because you’re about to see a lot of David Carr.
Sure, the Panthers beat the Saints this week, but I’m pretty sure the Pittsburgh Panthers could beat the Saints right now. And how much of that victory can we attribute to Carr? His numbers weren’t terrible, going 10 for 17 for 119 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. But he’s not exactly lighting up the scoreboard, is he?
And more importantly, he’s not doing what any successful Panthers quarterback must do: get the ball to Steve Smith. In the past two games combined, Smith has had nine receptions for 79 yards and one score. Not bad, but not Steve Smith good, either.
Making things even better, turns out that Carr got hurt last week. Won’t it be great, Panthers fans, if you need a backup for your backup. The guy below David Carr. And who would that be, exactly? Matt Moore. Who’s that? Yeah, you got me too.
The bright side for Panthers fans: If Carr continues to be Carr, you’ll be in a better position now to draft one of the hot quarterbacks out of Kentucky. But, knowing the Panthers, you’ll probably go with a linebacker.
Quick thoughts on the NFL
Speaking of the Delhomme injury. How many quarterbacks are out now this season? Matt Leinart is being placed on IR today. Trent Greene’s career is likely over. Trent Edwards showed flashes of decency last night in the spotlight, filling in for J.P. Losman. I’m sure there are others I’ve forgotten. Bottom line: good time to be a backup.
Speaking of the Bills. Last night, Ron Jaworski asked, “What do the Bills need to do to win this game?” I don’t know, score some offensive points perhaps? The Bills had every opportunity to put Dallas away last night, and they failed every time.
Speaking of Monday Night Football. I watched the first quarter, and then turned my attention to other matters. When I turned it back on in the fourth, I saw Terrell Owens wearing a rally cap. “Can this be,” I thought, “has T.O. really turned into a team player?” I was about to go flush my toilet just to make sure the earth’s polarity had not reversed. And then on the next position, Tony Romo threw his fifth interception, and T.O. went right back to the sideline and started yelling at everyone he could and throwing a general tantrum. And I knew that all was right in the world.
As a Texans fan, I can assure you David Carr is the answer to no one's QB problem.
I was a defender of his and blamed the O-line for his troubles for 5 years and now that Matt Schaub is putting up great and consistently good games at QB with virtually the same line in front of him, it's obvious that Carr was not, and is not, an NFL caliber quarterback.
Nice post.
OSL
Last edited by onesouthernlion on October 9th at 6:39 PM.
As a Panthers fan it's tough to see Delhomme's season end. He was the third-ranked QB in the NFL at the time of his injury and he was actually having a very good season. With Carr at the helm for the rest of the season, the Panthers have to rely on their running game more than ever. Not a good sign considering they are in the bottom third in team rushing. And also they have to face in the next three weeks Arizona, their bye week, and Indianapolis. Arizona's defense is emerging as a powerhouse, and Indy is Indy. As I posted in a blog last week, this team has 6-10 written all over it. There's going to be some good QBs in the 2008 draft; hope the Panthers take one of them and draft Jacob Hester of LSU in the second round. Hester's a BEAST and would be a complement to DeAngelo Williams.
Matt Schaub had a running game the first couple of games with Ahman Green. After Green went down and he was left with what Carr had all those years what happened? Dominick Davis(yeah remember him?) had a couple of good seasons at most and Carr's #'s reflect that. Shoot give Carr a good running game in Houston and things got done. Give him Ron Dayne and Wali Lundy and get trashed. Matt Schaub hasn't faired much better w/o a running game.
texasbagger, if Carr had Ahman Green while with the Texans, the running game would have been far more consistent and he'd have had much better numbers. I'm convinced that the Texans set up Carr to fail. Notice that when they got Schaub, they ended up getting Ahman Green and improving their O-line? They NEVER did that when Carr was with Houston.
jon_464,
Thanks for the additional information. I forgot to mention what a good year Delhomme had before getting hurt. He was off to a good start.
And you're right that the running game is very important for this Panthers team. The year they went to the Super Bowl they had Stephen Davis. If I'm not mistaken (and I'm feeling lazy and sleepy, so I don't want to bother looking it up) that was the last year they had a 1,000 yard rusher. DeShaun Foster isn't the answer.
texasbagger,
Thanks for the input, and thanks for reading.
I think too often we underestimate the importance of the running game and give too much undo credit (and blame, conversely) to the quarterback.
And I have no idea where David Greene came from. Absolutely none. I've never heard of David Greene in my life, but that's what came out. Freud could have a field day with that slip.
I personally don't think either of these quarterbacks is the answer for them.
I think Delhomme's magic is gone from a few years back and teams have finally figured out that a lot of the time he will try to force it to Steve Smith, which is where the bad decisions come in. He is a solid quarterback but nothing spectacular.
As for Carr, I used to think he just needed an offensive line or a running game but we know now that he's pretty much a bust. He could prove me wrong now that Delhomme's gone for the year (he did lead the Panthers to a win last week, even if it was over the winless Saints), but I wouldn't be too optimistic if I was a Carolina fan. Getting a QB in the draft, which someone else mentioned, might be the way to go.
FloridaFlavor,
I don't think that either is the long-term answer, perhaps, but Delhomme was off to a good start to the season. I think he's a better option than Carr any day.
But, as I said in another comment, I really think the running game has a lot to do with it. When the Panthers had Stephen Davis, teams had to concentrate on the run. Foster has good games every now and then, but never on a consistent basis. Teams know all they have to do is double- or triple-team Smith, as the Seahawks did in the NFC championship game, and it doesn't matter who's throwing the ball.
Thanks for reading and commenting. I enjoy hearing others' takes on this.
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