CHARLOTTE -- Even after the most crushing losses, the ones in which he was nearly alone in responsibility, Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme always stood up and took it and looked ready for the next fight.
On Sunday night, as he stammered for the right words in the wake of his team's 20-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Delhomme for the first time looked like a guy losing his grip on his position, his job, his grasp of what was real and what was nightmare.
Calling the loss “crushing” and himself “numb,” Delhomme had no tangible answers for the latest meltdown, a three-interception performance that had him questioning his own status.
“I mean, in my heart, yeah,” Delhomme replied when asked if he deserved to start next week in Arizona. “But let's be honest. I don't think I'm a dummy. When you're not playing well offensively, you always have to look at the quarterback. I don't think there's any doubt.
“I'm certainly not looking to give it up by any means, by any stretch of the imagination. But let's be real here. Two big turnovers today really affected us.”
Those were the two that led to short-field touchdowns by the Bills, who appeared uncertain as to how to graciously accept the gifts. Their touchdowns came on drives of 7 and 27 yards, which was good because their offense was incapable of going any farther. The Panthers outgained the Bills 425 yards to 167, but because of Delhomme's twin picks to safety Jairus Byrd, short drives were all they needed.
Panthers coach John Fox has always stood firm behind Delhomme — who still has a 56-37 record as the Panthers' starter — but for the first time Sunday night left the door open for a change. He said he never considered taking Delhomme out of the game, just as he never considered replacing John Kasay after he missed two makeable field goals.
But an endorsement for the future it was not.
“Like all positions, we will evaluate it and whatever changes we need to make we'll make,” Fox said.
The decision is a monumental one for the Panthers, both in the short-term and the future.
They staked themselves to Delhomme when they signed him to a contract extension this offseason, one which effectively pays him $25.5 million for the next three years, with a guaranteed payout that's sizable but far lower than the regularly reported $20 million.
It's hard in the near term because there's not an obvious fix on the roster at the moment. Backup Matt Moore has done little to inspire confidence after his caution-to-the-wind debut in 2007, and A.J. Feeley hasn't done enough in his short time in Charlotte to supplant Moore.
But all that discounts the emotional element to the move, because Delhomme has been such an accountable leader for this team for so long, he has a considerable following despite his poor play. He leads the league with 13 interceptions, but he still seems to lead the Panthers.
“I went up to him at the end there,” left tackle Jordan Gross said. “I said ‘He's our guy.' He's won too many games here. We've been down the road of the quarterback shuffle a few years ago, and that didn't work out too well. There's a lot of time to evaluate quarterbacks, from the spring all the way through camp. It's not like there's some magic hidden gem. I've got faith in our backups, but that seems like a break-glass, pull-handle type of thing to do that.
“It's not my call. But Jake's my guy. I have faith in him.”
Even the defense, which performed so admirably throughout the day, only to be betrayed by forces beyond their control, refused to abandon him.
“At the end of the day, people can say what they want,” linebacker Jon Beason said. “This locker room is a unified locker room. We take our cue from our coaches and our head coach. And what goes on in the outside world, what people say, doesn't necessarily affect what we do because no one's out there with us on game day. I'm not too worried about it.
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