Tag: Jake Delhomme

Steve Smith Sr. names favorite, best Panthers QB he played with

Who was Steve Smith Sr.’s favorite QB from his time with the Panthers? And who was the best? Here are his answers:

For Carolina Panthers all-time leading receiver Steve Smith Sr., Jake Delhomme and Cam Newton were special to him in their own of ways.

Smith Sr. was joined by current Panthers linebacker Shaq Thompson on a recent episode of his “Cut To It” podcast. The conversation, thanks to some intrigue from Shaq, ventured into which Carolina quarterback was Smitty’s favorite.

Here was his answer:

“I grew into an NFL wide receiver with Jake Delhomme. I lost and participated in a Super Bowl with Jake Delhomme. And most importantly, we grew together and got paid together . . . with Jake Delhomme. And I had, I believe, seven years with him.

“I’m not a person about brands. I’m loyal to people. And so, if I have a relationship in which our kids had birthday parties together—my kids had a birthday, his kids had a birthday party, our wives went to dinner together, we had events, we did things together for six, seven years and we got paid together.

“For me to say that Cam is my favorite [quarterback] when playing football with Cam for [three] years . . . I didn’t experience a Super Bowl with Cam. At the time, I was 30-something years old. I was in my 20s. So for me, it’s Jake Delhomme is my favorite quarterback because I also have the most tenure with Jake Delhomme.”

Delhomme and Smith Sr. played together from 2003 to 2009—a seven-year run that included an NFC championship, three Pro Bowl nods and a triple crown for the latter. So, it’s not surprising that Jake is Steve’s personal favorite.

He did, however, have his own distinction for Newton.

“Who’s the best quarterback I’ve ever played with on the Carolina Panthers? Has to be Cam. I’ve never seen a more athletic quarterback,” he added.

“With Cam, I’ve never seen a guy—6-foot-4, 6-foot-5, 230, 250 pounds—run right and throw across his body. Flick of the wrist like you’re pitchin’ quarters.”

Newton pitched quarters to Smith Sr. for three years. Between 2011 and 2013, he reeled in 216 balls for 3,313 yards and 15 scores from Cam.

Anyway, on a totally unrelated note, is anyone else hungry for some chicken and biscuits . . . ?

[lawrence-related id=677796,677946,649037]

WATCH: Panthers Hall of Honor members welcome Julius Peppers, Muhsin Muhammad

Julius Peppers and Muhsin Muhammad may have to wait for their official Hall of Honor inductions, but they got some warm welcomes from some its current members on Monday.

On Monday morning, the Carolina Panthers announced that a pair of franchise legends—former defensive end Julius Peppers and former wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad—will be joining their Hall of Honor later this year.

And even though they’ll have to wait for their official inductions, they didn’t have to wait for their warm welcomes.

In a 57-second video subsequently released by the team, Pep and Moose were greeted into the club by a handful of its current members. The welcoming committee included Jake Delhomme, Steve Smith Sr., Wesley Walls and Jordan Gross—four of the hall’s six honorees

Take a look:

Five of these six men—Peppers, Muhammad, Delhomme, Smith Sr. and Gross—were a part of the 2003 Panthers squad, which went on to capture the first NFC championship crown in franchise history. While they came up just short to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII, they’d all make their mark in Carolina lure that season.

And soon, on Oct. 29, all of their marks will be made across Bank of America Stadium.

[lawrence-related id=639728,674818,649037]

Who belongs on the Carolina Panthers’ Mount Rushmore?

Three cheers for the black, white and process blue! Here are our picks for which Panthers would occupy the franchise’s Mount Rushmore.

Happy Fourth of July, folks! Now, let’s celebrate the red, white and blue with a little black, white and process blue.

Here—based on which players have put forth the most productive, successful and impactful careers in franchise history—is our Mount Rushmore for the Carolina Panthers.

Panthers fans recall franchise’s most painful ‘what ifs’ on Twitter

Panthers fans were in their bag on Wednesday . . . if that bag was one big sorry sack of sad, sick and unsightly moments.

Carolina Panthers fans don’t root for the sorriest franchise in football, but you wouldn’t know that by their turnout on Wednesday.

The NFL on ESPN Twitter account posted a prompt for users, asking what they think is their team’s biggest “What if . . . ?” And, in what was a sad and impressive showing, the Panthers faithful responded with plenty of downers.

Here are just some of their most painful replies . . .

5 Panthers greats named Modern-era nominees for 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class

Five Panthers greats were named as Modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2023 class.

Less than two months ago, we witnessed one of the greatest moments in Carolina Panthers franchise history—the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement of Sam Mills. So, will we be witnessing another next summer?

On Tuesday, 129 Modern-era nominees for Canton’s 2023 class were named, and among them are five Panthers greats.

Here they are:

Who does Jake Delhomme think has upper hand in Panthers’ QB competition?

Although Baker Mayfield is the early favorite in the Panthers’ QB competition, franchise great Jake Delhomme thinks Sam Darnold may have an edge at the moment.

Jake Delhomme once captured himself the starting quarterback job for the Carolina Panthers. So although we’re in a much different time and place for the organization, his two cents on this year’s competition is worth a bit.

The franchise’s second all-time leading passer and current radio color commentator was hosted by The Zach Gelb Show this week to speak on the upcoming battle between Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. And Delhomme, even despite Mayfield being the clear frontrunner for the position, believes Darnold has an inherit advantage going in.

“I think the only thing that’s working against him [Mayfield], and it’s a big task, is—this is late,” he said. “Very late in the year. And not having any familiarity with a Ben McAdoo offense, that’s a tough task. And so, Sam Darnold has the upper hand, for the last few months being introduced to the offense.”

In addition to the less-than-optimal timing, McAdoo’s system isn’t exactly the easiest to digest. Wide receiver DJ Moore said as much last month during organized team activities, describing the system as “long” and “treacherous.”

But it’s not all foreign to Mayfield. As Delhomme went to state, the former No. 1 overall pick does have a prior connection that’ll help the learning curve.

“Now, the one thing working in Baker’s favor—James Campen, the new offensive line coach who was with him in Cleveland,” he added. “So, some of that language—offensive line language and speak—Baker probably will have some recollection of that. But that’s a difficult task—not knowing anyone, not knowing the plays. It’s one thing to know the plays. But until you start to know the players and their body language and how they move and how they come in and out of breaks and routes of things of that nature, that’s a tall task.”

Well, as of this writing, Mayfield has exactly 58 days to tackle that task with his old buddies coming to town for Week 1.

[pickup_prop id=”26084″]

[lawrence-related id=654669,655228]

[vertical-gallery id=655127]

Giants’ Daniel Jones would love to pick the brain of these quarterbacks

Find out which quarterbacks — both past and present — New York Giants QB Daniel Jones would love to sit down with and pick their brain.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx61yex5whq8aq player_id=none image=https://giantswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is now in his third season and playing at a relatively high level. However, there’s still much to learn about the professional game.

Luckily for Jones, he’s had team legend Eli Manning no more than an arm’s length away since coming into the league. But outside of Manning, whose brain would Jones like to pick?

While appearing on the “All In” podcast with USA TODAY’s Art Stapleton, Jones was asked that very question.

“That’s interesting. I think [Tom] Brady is one of those guys. [Aaron] Rodgers,” Jones said. “Those guys who have played at a high level. You know, growing up for me, it was Peyton Manning and in Charlotte, Jake Delhomme.

“So, I don’t know… You asked for one but that’s a few guys. But I think you can learn so much from a bunch of different people — it’d be awesome to talk to any of those guys.”

Brady, of course, just recently tossed his 600th career touchdown pass — the first player in NFL history to reach that milestone.

“That’s an incredible stat when you think about it. How well he’s played for how long. Obviously a tremendous amount of respect for that,” Jones said.

Jones, who has just 40 career touchdown passes, laughed off a question about potentially throwing 600 TDs himself. Instead, he says, he’s merely focused on picking up a win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night.

The Giants are currently listed as 9.5-point road underdogs in that game, per Tipico.

Giants’ Daniel Jones grew up a Panthers, Steve Smith fan

New York Giants QB Daniel Jones grew up a Carolina Panthers fan and specifically cheered for Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith.

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones grew up in Charlotte so it should come as little surprise that he was a Carolina Panthers fan. In fact, several of his friends and family members still are.

On Sunday, Jones will square off against his hometown team for the first time in his career — something he simply views as “cool.”

“It’s cool. I grew up pulling for them in Charlotte, and certainly still have a lot of friends who are Panthers fans, so I think that’s cool to be able to play them,” Jones told reporters on Wednesday. “But it’s another game, we’re preparing like we always do.”

Specifically, Jones was a big fan of quarterback Jake Delhomme and wide receiver Steve Smith.

“I liked Jake Delhomme a lot and Steve Smith. Growing up, I was a big Steve Smith guy. Just the way he played and his toughness, the way he competed, I always loved watching him,” Jones said.

Although they play different positions, you can see some of Smith’s toughness in Jones. In fact, Jones plays so tough it’s almost to a fault. Never was that more evident than during a Week 5 game against the Dallas Cowboys when he got his bell significantly rung while trying to score a touchdown.

But the real question is, who will Jones’ family and friends be rooting for come Sunday? The Giants or the Panthers?

“I hope they’re rooting for me. I’ve probably got some who are still Panthers fans,” Jones said with a laugh.

[pickup_prop id=”13858″]

[lawrence-related id=678363,678356,678354]

Panthers great Jordan Gross excited by Cameron Erving’s focus at LT

Former Panthers LT Jordan Gross thinks current Panthers LT Cameron Erving has a distinct advantage coming into 2021 that he hasn’t had in years prior.

Carolina Panthers greats Jordan Gross and Jake Delhomme had both been apart of a few special teams in their day. So when they see something brewing, they might know what they’re talking about.

On this week’s episode of their podcast Jordan and Jake, the duo brings up a few intriguing positives they’ve both observed about the team. For Gross, he notes a tighter focus for left tackle Cameron Erving could do wonders for him and the rest of the offensive line.

“He very well said how excited he is that he’s getting, for the first time in his career and it’s his seventh season, the first time he’s getting to play one position,” Gross said of Erving’s talk with the media on Wednesday. “He’s being asked to play one position and how enjoyable it’s been to be able to work on the little details, just being a left tackle.”

Through his stops with the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys, Erving had indeed been assigned multiple positions along the line. In fact, he’s played at every spot. But Gross, who shifted around a bit during his career before settling in on the blindside himself, knows how important this move can be.

“Being an offensive lineman and being asked to play center, guard and tackle, you never get really good, you never really have the opportunity to be excellent at any of ’em because every position is just a little bit different. So he’s so excited to be here.”

Fortunately for Erving, he’s been playing left tackle more exclusively in recent years between his time in Kansas City and Dallas. So, whether or not he ultimately pans out for Carolina, the focused transition already has some legs behind it.

[vertical-gallery id=639778]

Jake Delhomme: Teddy Bridgewater was ‘trying to do too much’

Former Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme says he thinks Bridgewater fell into the classic QB trap of trying to do too much.

The Carolina Panthers are expected to acquire a new franchise quarterback this offseason, whether by trade or the draft. That’s because Teddy Bridgewater is on the trade block only one season into his three-year, $63 million contract. So, what went wrong? Former Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme says he thinks Bridgewater fell into the classic QB trap of trying to do too much.

Here’s how he assessed Bridgewater’s season, per the Charlotte Obsever.

“I just think from watching Teddy and watching the quarterback play because I have fallen into that trap many times, sometimes you try to do too much, and it comes back to bite you. I just think Teddy was trying too much … And I just think it became pressing.”

Asked what specifically Teddy could do to improve if he winds up starting again in the 2021 season, Delhomme said this:

“Well, I think the biggest thing in his mind is you want to have more touchdown passes and fewer interceptions and don’t turn the ball over, fumble-wise. As a quarterback, you never want to give it away.”

Sounds obvious, but of course that’s easier said than done. Bridgewater’s 15 touchdown passes in 2020 were a career-high, which doesn’t bode well for his future as a starter in this league. Limiting the turnovers that troubled him would obviously help, but Bridgewater’s ceiling is relatively limited by his athleticism and more importantly a lack of aggressiveness or killer instinct compared to other franchise QBs around the league.

Delhomme told the Observer he thinks the team would be fine if they started Bridgewater in 2021 if they added more pieces around him.

While that’s probably true, it also speaks to the dilemma with Teddy’s game. Some quarterbacks need all the pieces around them to have a successful season – others can transcend mediocre teammates and even awful coaching to lead their teams to wins. Until the Panthers can find a QB like that, they should keep looking.

[lawrence-related id=634575]

[vertical-gallery id=634506]