JAKE DELHOMME

'Jake Christopher Delhomme' (born January 10, 1975 in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League.

Contents

Early life

College career

Turning pro

Carolina Panthers

Personality

Personal

Career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

External links

References

Early life

Delhomme was born in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana to Jerry & Marcia Delhomme, both Cajuns. Jerry's father Sanders was a jockey, racing horses since the age of eight years old.^[1] Jake's grandfather Sanders Delhomme bred horses, and he passed his love of horses onto Jerry; Jerry later passed it to Jake and Jake's brother Jeff. Jake went on to attend Teurlings Catholic High School in nearby Lafayette.^[2] Delhomme played both quarterback and defensive back for Teurlings; he made the all-state team in high school ironically not as quarterback, but on defense.^[3] Future Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning played high school football in the state at the same time as Delhomme, but the two never faced each other. As a senior, Delhomme led his team to the state semifinals.

College career

Delhomme played college football for the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, his mother's alma mater. The only true freshman quarterback to start for a Division I school in 1993, his passer efficiency rating ranked second among NCAA freshmen quarterbacks. Playing on a team with future NFL wide receiver Brandon Stokley and offensive lineman Anthony Clement, the Ragin' Cajuns won the Big West Conference twice, and finished with three winning seasons.^[4]
Delhomme finished his career as the school's all-time passing leader in yards and touchdowns. He started the last 43 games of his career, which was the longest among active quarterbacks at the time. Upon graduating, he was ranked 22nd in NCAA history for passing yards and 28th in total offense.

Turning pro

Delhomme went undrafted in the 1997 NFL Draft, but was later signed by his hometown New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. After spending the first season on the practice squad, he was assigned to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe as a backup quarterback to future NFL and Super Bowl MVP, Kurt Warner. After another stint on the Saints' practice squad, he was sent back to NFL Europe, this time as a member of the Frankfurt Galaxy. The Galaxy operated under a rare two-quarterback strategy, utilizing both Delhomme and Pat Barnes; the pair was known as the "Double-Headed Quarterback Monster".^[5] The unorthodox strategy worked, as the Galaxy won World Bowl VII over the Barcelona Dragons. Delhomme would later say about his time in Europe:
Following his success in Europe, he was brought back to New Orleans as the full-time third-string quarterback. In his first NFL start against the Dallas Cowboys, he threw two touchdowns en route to a Saints victory, the team's third.
Delhomme continued to see limited playing time the following three seasons, as he was the backup to Aaron Brooks and Jeff Blake. He managed to lead all NFC quarterbacks in overall passer rating during the 2001 and 2002 preseasons. His success, coupled with the team's struggles, led fans to chant "We Want Jake, We Want Jake".^[6]

Carolina Panthers

With Aaron Brooks cemented as the starter in New Orleans, Delhomme was interested in fighting for a starting spot in the NFL.^[7] In the 2003 offseason, he met with representatives from both the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys.^[8] He eventually signed with Carolina as a free agent. Ironically, it was his performance against Dallas in 1999 that made new Panthers coach John Fox take notice.
The Panthers had been struggling, and were just one season removed from a dismal 1-15 season, during which they set an NFL record for consecutive losses.^[9] Although Rodney Peete was the Panthers' starter, Delhomme was looked at to be the future of the franchise. It did not take long for him to take over. At halftime of the 2003 season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Panthers were down 14-0. Delhomme took over from Peete and threw three touchdowns, the last coming in a fourth-down situation with just 16 seconds left in the game, to lead the Panthers to a comeback victory.^[10] He started the following week against the Atlanta Falcons, and proceeded to start every game during the 2003 season. He then led the Panthers on a Cinderella^[11] run through the playoffs, including a double-overtime victory against the St. Louis Rams.^[12] The Panthers made it through to Super Bowl XXXVIII to face the New England Patriots. Despite his personal success in the game (16-of-33 for 323 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, no interceptions, and a 113.6 passer rating), as well as setting a record for longest offensive play from scrimmage in Super Bowl history (an 85-yard pass to Muhsin Muhammad), the Panthers fell on a last-minute field goal by Adam Vinatieri. Delhomme was seen standing on the field during the Patriots' post-game celebration; he later commented:
The 2004 season proved bittersweet for Delhomme, as he posted career highs in pass attempts, completions, overall yardage, and touchdowns.^[13] Unfortunately, the team was stricken with injuries, fielding five different combinations in their offensive line alone. Starting the season 1-7 after the early losses of running backs Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster^[14], as well as Steve Smith^[15], their leading wide receiver, the Panthers rallied for a fantastic second half of the season. Delhomme finished the final eight games of the season with a passer rating of 102.8, fourth best in the league during that period. He also threw 17 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions en route to winning six of their last eight games. They ultimately positioned themselves for a playoff berth, but lost that chance with a final game loss to Delhomme's former team, the New Orleans Saints.^[16]
2005 saw Delhomme return the Panthers to the playoffs. In addition to the team's success, Delhomme had one of his most productive seasons as a quarterback. His 11 victories as a starting quarterback set a team record, and he set career highs in completion percentage (60.2) and passer rating (88.1). In addition, his success led to Steve Smith leading the league in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, becoming only the third wide receiver to accomplish the "triple crown" in league history.^[17] Once again, he led the Panthers through the playoffs, including a shutout of the New York Giants, although the team ultimately fell to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship game.^[18]

Personality

Delhomme has garnered popularity as a pitch-man for the Cajun fast food restaurant, Bojangles', where he is often depicted as a single-minded fried-chicken addict who audibles Bojangles' "fixin's" at the line of scrimmage. ^[19] One commercial parodies the film ''Jerry Maguire'' and the line "Show me the money!"; teammate Steve Smith is featured in a cameo. ^[20] Another commercial with Smith portrays the duo as the Dukes of Hazzard, driving The General Lee with a large chicken head on the roof.^[21]
Delhomme has also done SunCom Wireless limited edition cell phone commercials that feature a Panthers logo and his signature.^[22]
ESPN's Chris Berman calls him "Jake 'daylight come and you gotta' Delhomme", a play on the Banana Boat Song by Harry Belafonte.^[23]
The official Panthers website features a regular discussion with Delhomme during the regular season, known as "Cajun Up with Jake".^[24]

Personal

Delhomme has been married to the former Keri Melancon since 2000. They have two daughters: Lauren Elizabeth, who was born on December 17, 2001, and Lindsey Marie, who was born on February 25, 2007. Delhomme wears #17 because it is the date of his first daughter's birthday.

Career statistics

Regular season

				Passing								Rushing
Season	Team	League		GP	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	INT		Att	Yds	TD
1998	Amsterdam	NFLE		1	15	47	31.9	247	0	4		0	0	0
1999	Frankfurt	NFLE		11	136	202	67.3	1410	12	5		21	126	0
1999	New Orleans	NFL		2	42	76	55.3	521	3	5		11	72	2
2000	New Orleans	NFL		0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0		0	0	0
2001	New Orleans	NFL		0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0
2002	New Orleans	NFL		4	8	10	80.0	113	0	0		4	-2	0
2003	Carolina	NFL		16	266	449	59.2	3219	19	16		42	39	1
2004	Carolina	NFL		16	310	533	58.2	3886	29	15		25	71	1
2005	Carolina	NFL		16	262	435	60.2	3421	24	16		24	31	1
2006	Carolina	NFL		13	263	431	61.0	2805	17	11		18	12	0
Regular season totals				67	1151	1934	59.5	13965	92	63		123	233	5
NFLE totals				3	151	249	60.6	1657	12	9		21	126	0

Playoffs

				Passing								Rushing
Season	Team	League		GP	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	INT		Att	Yds	TD
2003-04	Carolina	NFL		4	59	102	57.8	987	6	1		6	5	0
2005-06	Carolina	NFL		3	54	90	60.0	655	5	4		5	24	0
Playoff totals				7	113	192	59.0	1642	11	5		11	29	0

External links

★

★ Jake Delhomme fantasy news and stats from Sandbox Fantasy News

★ Jake Delhomme's page at Panthers.com

★ Football Database.com

★ Jake Delhomme at The Internet Movie Database

References

1. Delhomme's Cajun spice is just nice Jon Saraceno
2. Jake Delhomme
3. Jake Delhomme
4. Interview with Jake Delhomme
5. Early Start to Week Two "Pat Barnes and Jake Delhomme split playing time right down the middle and famously became known as the '"Double-Headed Quarterback Monster".'
6. The Real Deal:Jake Delhomme Ryan McPherson
7. A Rising Star in the NFL
8. First and Ten: Jake Delhomme
9. Patriots whip Panthers 38-6, clinch AFC East title
10. NFL Game Center:Box Score - Jacksonville Jaguars at Carolina Panthers
11. Hockey Digest analysis: the season after Alex Gordon
12. Panthers stun Rams 29-23 in double overtime
13. ESPN-Jake Delhomme
14. NFL Recap: San Diego at Carolina
15. NFL Recap: Green Bay at Carolina
16. NFL Recap: New Orleans at Carolina
17. Steve Smith
18. Box Score=Carolina at Seattle
19. Delhomme's Player Profile
20. NBC story about commercial
21. Delhomme & Smith Bojangles commercial on YouTube
22. Jake Delhomme on Suncom
23. Mountain Times column
24. Cajun up with Jake: Phil-osophical