If Ya Beat 'em, Join 'em: Kurt Warner to Panthers in 2009

Carolina Panther fans will be unanimous on one question Sunday morning. What to do with Jake Delhomme. All other analysis of the loss to Arizona, and possible changes for 2009, pale in comparison to this.

It is clear there are problems with the defense. It is clear there are some problems with coaching. I don't think many will question that improvement is needed in those two areas and probably some others. Although a 12-4 regular season is certainly nothing to sneeze at, you can make an equally compelling case for no major changes and keeping the same team intact for 2009.

But these are not really great areas of debate. You can debate how much improvement is needed and what kind of improvement is needed, but there really isn't much debate on IF improvement is needed.

But at quarterback, there is and will be debate on IF improvement is needed. And by "improvement" I'm not talking about better play. Obviously better play is always needed and Delhomme's play Saturday couldn't have been much worse. The question of improvement here is really one of "replacement" or not.

That is where the debate will be. And the bottom line is simply "Is it time for a new QB in Carolina or not"?

So, I'd like to explore the options and offer a solution.

1—Bring in a new free agent QB and have open competition or trade/release Delhomme and give the new guy the job.

2—Draft a new QB and have open competition.

3—Keep Delhomme and McCown and hope for the best in 2009.

I think No. 2 is impossible because the team would have to trade up considerably to acquire a QB that might be capable of being next year's Matt Ryan and they simply don't have the goods to trade.

I think No. 3 would actually be a reasonable choice, but certainly makes for no fun discussing this.

So we're left with No. 1. Here's where it gets surreal. Out of all the options for free agent QBs, the single best one, and one that will no doubt bring about a few chuckles, is Kurt Warner! Yes, that's right. The guy who beat out Delhomme in Europe and beat him again Saturday and was counted as "washed up" at the beginning of the year, is a free agent next year.

And the Cardinals have a guy named Matt Leinart that they wouldn't mind handing the reins of the team to. Even if Warner takes them to the Super Bowl, pressure will still be there to look to the future and dump the old guy who undoubtedly will command a nice salary in 2009 in spite of his age.

So, Marty Hurney, sign Kurt Warner next year, release Delhomme, draft a second round QB as his backup and disciple and see what this former MVP can do in 2009 with a team that can genuinely run the ball! Interesting, huh? And what a story it would make!

Anyway, let me say that I love Delhomme as the Panther QB and always have and recognize that he's won far more games for the team than he's lost. But then, if I wrote about that, this wouldn't be a very interesting editorial would it?