Carolina Panthers Fans: Is Jake Delhomme Totally To Blame?

The football fan's memory typically remembers as far back as last week. Only when there are unforgettable plays that were huge and had great significance, or when our teams win championships, do we fondly remember those specifics.

I am calling out every Panthers fan who says Jake Delhomme needs to go. Get real.

We have a man on this team with so many intangibles that it would take a long time to find another quarterback with half his strengths and leadership abilities.

In case some of you have forgotten, Jake Delhomme is the quarterback who took us to the Super Bowl in 2003, his second season, and first season as the full-time starter.

The argument that we had lots of talent and Delhomme wasn't reliable, etc. can be made, but there were times when Jake pulled the Panthers' fat out of the fire and pushed our team forward.

In double-overtime of the 2003 Divisional Round in the playoffs, who fired that beautiful, 69-yard pass to Steve Smith to vault the Panthers into the NFC Championship? Jake Delhomme. I bet you didn't want Delhomme to be gone then, did you?

In the game at the Chargers, who fired the ball into the back of the end zone to little-known tight end Dante Rosario back in Week One this season, with no time left in regulation to win the game? Jake Delhomme, again. I bet you thought we were going to lose that game from the beginning.

We also didn't have Steve Smith in the first two games, yet between Jake Delhomme and our duo of "Double Trouble," we started the season off 2-0.

In Week Two, the efforts of Jake Delhomme and "Double Trouble" took us to a come-from-behind win against the Chicago Bears.

Who threw for 294 yards, with a long of 56 yards, against the Atlanta Falcons in Week Four, in a 24-9 win? Jake Delhomme.

In Green Bay, wasn't it Jake Delhomme who threw a 54-yard pass to Steve Smith in double-coverage to set up a DeAngelo Williams touchdown? I thought so.

By now you're probably getting bored with my facts, but here's one more: Against the Saints—so the Panthers could have the bye week and win the NFC South Division Title—it was Jake Delhomme who would once again connect with Steve Smith on a 54-yard bomb to set up kicker John Kasay to seal the deal on another Panthers come-from-behind victory.

We all knew the Panthers have a rough time playing out of the bye week, and this game against the Cardinals proved no exception. However, I didn't know that the bye week would have an impact on our coaching staff as well.

Jake Delhomme is not the only one at fault here. This is a team sport. No matter whether it's pee-wee or professional football, there is no one person at fault for a team's loss, no more than there is one person to credit for its win.

I want to know what happened to our running game that was ranked third in the league? Did you know that the Cardinals didn't stop our running attack? The coaching staff did!

Did you also know that Jake Delhomme doesn't decide when the running plays are called? Yeah, he can audible, but he is listening to that speaker in his helmet, one of the play-callers giving him a play.

I don't know who calls the offensive plays, whether it's John Fox or offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson, but the offensive play calling was despicable. After Carolina was down 14-7, there should have been running plays called up, but we continued to pass the ball.

After the third interception, I began to question the credibility of this coaching staff that they continued on the path to destruction that they were headed down, making little or no adjustments whatsoever.

The other area I have a problem with is the defensive secondary. Mike Gillhamer should be reprimanded for not having his guys ready to go and keeping the reins tight on the Cardinals' wide receivers and tight ends. That has been the defense's weakest link for this entire season.

You can also point your fingers at some of the unnecessary penalties, most notably that of cornerback Richard Marshall, who received an unnecessary roughness penalty which was totally uncalled for. Thank him for the loss as well.

Try being an Eagles fan, a fan of a franchise that hasn't won a Super Bowl title so far in 75 years. Or a Buffalo Bills fan, a franchise that went to the Super Bowl four years in a row, and lost every single one!

This franchise is still a baby, folks, and for a baby it's doing pretty good.

Now I ask you, the "fans," are you really a Panthers fan? I know some of you are true fans, and like myself, we understand that these things happen and it's not always the desired outcome, but anyone else who calls themself a "fan," and not just of the Panthers, but any team. You should have your "fan" status revoked as you are not a true fan.

True fans know what it takes and the amount of time it takes for a team to become successful. "Rome wasn't built in a day," but if it were run by the people who call themselves "fans," it would most certainly crumble in a day.

Stop acting childish, fan up, and stand behind your team. As of right now, you are on notice. You are a disgrace as a fan, and I am ashamed of you.