Jake Delhomme: The Right Fit at the Right Time for the Cleveland Browns
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I think the arm was an issue in 2008... but he had the surgery in 2007, so 2009 shouldn't have been related.
The truth is this: It was a really shitty year and it's tough to put your finger on why he was THAT bad. He's a play-action passer who had one of the best running games in the league. Some blamed Davidson's playcalls, where he was going downfield too often, but it's basically the same offense we run.
Stopgap is a dirty word, so I'll call Delhomme a bridge... between the failed Anderson/Quinn debacle and whatever's next. He's 35, which isn't exactly ancient but it's certainly his final act, either one or two years as a starter.
The truth is that Delhomme has never been a great quarterback. He's been a pretty good one, a guy who puts up QBRs in the low 80s when the best in the league are around 100 over the past five years or so. He's always thrown a lot of picks, always fancied himself a "gunslinger," but he's not a Brett Favre kind of physical talent. Honestly, I've never really thought all that highly of him. In Carolina, he went from folk hero to "weak link" a few years ago. That's how he was talked about.
Still, that said, I have a strange sense of optimism about Delhomme in Cleveland. Again, he knows and understands the offense, the arm looks healthy, he looks fit, and he's certainly motivated to redeem himself at the end of his career. The Browns look to have a really nice stable of young running backs and the best left tackle in football. The final element is pass-catchers, but I think we'll end up better than most people think there.
I don't expect greatness from him (unfortunately) because he's never really been great. But a passer rating in the low 80s would look pretty decent compared to what we've seen recently.
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I have never been a fan of Jake's. I feel like he benefitted from two excellent WRs in Smith and Muhammad as well as quite possibly the best backfield in football. But, he is what this team needed after the DA/BQ drama. He's smart, he's a leader, and he's won. He won't throw for 4,000 yards, but I do hope to get a 2/1; TD/INT ratio out of him at the very least. Give me 16 TDs and 8 or less INTS and I'll be really happy with the pick-up.
RUN THE BALL!!!
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don't be drinkin the cool-aid yet brownies!
the panthers got rid of him for a reason, and it wasn't because his stellar on-field preformance was driving up his "fair market value".
with all i've heard about Big Ben being a rapist and i go to a online sex offender registry and look up cleveland and Pittsburgh and what do i find? cleveland has a CRAP load more sex offenders (and expecially child molesters) than Pittsburgh.......over 4X as many over all. 2055 of them to Pittsburgh's 421. www.familywatchdog.us better never hear one of you date raping, can't get a woman with my tiny peep unless i hold her down, child molesting hypocrits say anything else about Ben. -
don't be drinkin the cool-aid yet brownies!
the panthers got rid of him for a reason, and it wasn't because his stellar on-field preformance was driving up his "fair market value".
Nafreleets said:
don't be drinkin the cool-aid yet brownies!the panthers got rid of him for a reason, and it wasn't because his stellar on-field preformance was driving up his "fair market value".
This is the hard, cold reality of it. The signing raised a lot of eyebrows.
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Nafreleets said:
don't be drinkin the cool-aid yet brownies!the panthers got rid of him for a reason, and it wasn't because his stellar on-field preformance was driving up his "fair market value".
This is the hard, cold reality of it. The signing raised a lot of eyebrows.
This is the hard, cold reality of it. The signing raised a lot of eyebrows.
i think most browns fans are just looking at this situation from a broader perspective than the one that most of the national media is putting out there. i haven't seen anyone in this thread avoid jake's struggles in carolina or the fact that he was cut from that team. speaking for myself, i just want to see what he can do here for the browns and judge him on that.
jake pinpointed his mistakes in carolina, that's the first step in the right direction. he also didn't throw anyone under the bus in regards to the panthers failures on offense (even though it wasn't all of his fault). now it's all a matter of correcting his mistakes so he can atleast be a leader/offensive manager for the browns.
jake might not have been an elite qb, but he was a good one. i think the browns just need him to be a good manager of their offense. he's looked healthy and crisp so far slinging the football in mini-camp (i know it's just mini-camp, but you can still notice certain things). now let's see how he looks in training camp and go from there.
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The biggest challenge the Browns brass is facing with Delhomme is knowing when to take the foot off the accelerator or push it through the floor. The Browns hierarchy has talked occasionally about "re-molding" Jake into a QB who manages the game. Well, that's WAY easier said than done. Especially with someone like Delhomme who can get hot. And I mean Kelly-Holcomb-in-the-playoffs-in-Pittsburgh hot.
And there's the rub. We have a very good running game that's on the verge of being great. But if Jake starts to manage the game well, do the Browns allow him more freedom and the opportunity to go off on opposing secondaries or not?
I think that will be something interesting to look for as the season unfolds because you have a head coach who loves stuffing it down people's throats and the all-seeing, all-knowing president who loves stuffing it over the top of people's heads.
So, if Jake starts out really hot, that will be a great "problem" for Daboll to figure out with Mangini and Holmgren tugging on either arm. It'll be like two devils on either shoulder: "Run it!" -- "No, throw it!"
I know Holmgren has said he is NOT coaching the team, but I for one, would love to be a fly on the wall in the president's luxury box when Daboll calls for that 3rd and 7 draw play for the first time. Think Mr. Holmgren might have a random headset in the box that just might be tuned in to the OC's headset? I'm just sayin'.
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don't be drinkin the cool-aid yet brownies!
the panthers got rid of him for a reason, and it wasn't because his stellar on-field preformance was driving up his "fair market value".
Nafreleets said:
don't be drinkin the cool-aid yet brownies!the panthers got rid of him for a reason, and it wasn't because his stellar on-field preformance was driving up his "fair market value".
Hello, McFly. Is anybody home?
What is it about those words used here: "Stopgap" "bridge" that you don't understand.
No one is expecting him to be the reincarnation of George Blanda.
However, now that his name comes up....Blanda played another 13 years after he reached age 35.
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good post, nw. the browns coaching staff will have to do a little managing of their own. they'll definitely have to figure out how to use jake and put him in the best position.
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I liked most of your post NW , but fail to understand why you doubt Mangini's ability in recognizing when something is working . I think that if Jake is tearing it up through the air , Mangini will capitalize on the moment . He is not averse to winning . jmho
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The biggest challenge the Browns brass is facing with Delhomme is knowing when to take the foot off the accelerator or push it through the floor. The Browns hierarchy has talked occasionally about "re-molding" Jake into a QB who manages the game. Well, that's WAY easier said than done. Especially with someone like Delhomme who can get hot. And I mean Kelly-Holcomb-in-the-playoffs-in-Pittsburgh hot.
And there's the rub. We have a very good running game that's on the verge of being great. But if Jake starts to manage the game well, do the Browns allow him more freedom and the opportunity to go off on opposing secondaries or not?
I think that will be something interesting to look for as the season unfolds because you have a head coach who loves stuffing it down people's throats and the all-seeing, all-knowing president who loves stuffing it over the top of people's heads.
So, if Jake starts out really hot, that will be a great "problem" for Daboll to figure out with Mangini and Holmgren tugging on either arm. It'll be like two devils on either shoulder: "Run it!" -- "No, throw it!"
I know Holmgren has said he is NOT coaching the team, but I for one, would love to be a fly on the wall in the president's luxury box when Daboll calls for that 3rd and 7 draw play for the first time. Think Mr. Holmgren might have a random headset in the box that just might be tuned in to the OC's headset? I'm just sayin'.
The biggest challenge the Browns brass is facing with Delhomme is knowing when to take the foot off the accelerator or push it through the floor. The Browns hierarchy has talked occasionally about "re-molding" Jake into a QB who manages the game. Well, that's WAY easier said than done. Especially with someone like Delhomme who can get hot. And I mean Kelly-Holcomb-in-the-playoffs-in-Pittsburgh hot.
And there's the rub. We have a very good running game that's on the verge of being great. But if Jake starts to manage the game well, do the Browns allow him more freedom and the opportunity to go off on opposing secondaries or not?
I think that will be something interesting to look for as the season unfolds because you have a head coach who loves stuffing it down people's throats and the all-seeing, all-knowing president who loves stuffing it over the top of people's heads.
So, if Jake starts out really hot, that will be a great "problem" for Daboll to figure out with Mangini and Holmgren tugging on either arm. It'll be like two devils on either shoulder: "Run it!" -- "No, throw it!"
I know Holmgren has said he is NOT coaching the team, but I for one, would love to be a fly on the wall in the president's luxury box when Daboll calls for that 3rd and 7 draw play for the first time. Think Mr. Holmgren might have a random headset in the box that just might be tuned in to the OC's headset? I'm just sayin'.
Great post. Thing about Delhomme is he doesn't stay hot for long, proven out by a TD/INT ratio and a completion percentage that lags well behind the top quarterbacks. He's streaky. I'd be inclined to ask him to play like a mature, veteran quarterback in an offense being influenced by the WCO, at least a little. The standard for completions is getting to be 65, not 60, and 2/1 TD/INT ratios are no longer super awesome... just par for the course among winning teams.
The QBR is becoming as closely related to team success as any stat in football. But passing YARDAGE, once seen as something piled up by teams scrambling to catch up, is now a great barometer, too. Go check out the leaders in passing yardage last season and notice how they're almost all of the top teams.
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