Panthers Mulling Options at Quarterback

NFL News - October 27th, 2009 - Written by John

To-date, Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox has been the only supporter of quarterback Jake Delhomme. And he had reason to be, after Delhomme delivered Fox to his only Super Bowl appearance. But that luster has long worn off, causing spats between Delhomme and wideout Steve Smith.

On Monday, Fox finally shifted his stance after watching his once-Pro Bowl caliber captain throw three interceptions in a loss to the Buffalo Bills. Two of those picks resulted in 14 of Buffalo's 20 points.

Although he didn't outright condemn Delhomme, Fox admitted he wasn't sure if “status quo is the answer or not.

"We'll do whatever it takes to develop some confidence in that phase of the game," Fox continued. "We need to do what helps us win. If that's Jake he understands and if that's not Jake he understands."

In essence, that means he is finally considering alternatives. Next in line would be either Matt Moore, a third-year player out of Oregon State, or A.J. Feeley, who's six-year career was mostly comprised in Philadelphia.

In 23 career games, Feeley has a 55.9-percent completion rate and has 27 touchdowns to 29 interceptions. Moore's last action was in the season-opener in which he threw 11 passes before being knocked out of the game with a knee injury. Before that, he hadn't played since 2007, where he threw for three TDs and five picks.

Still on the free agent market is Jeff Garcia, who has a positive touchdown-to-interception ratio and was rumored to sign with the team before he was scooped up by Philadelphia.

Delhomme has 13 interceptions so far this year, which is most among quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts. His plummet into the ranks of the NFL's worse has been a relatively recent one, starting in last year's playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

This week, it's the same Cardinals that the Panthers travel to, in which another bad performance might effectively end his tenure in Carolina.

Visit USA online sportsbook to find Week 8 NFL Betting Lines and see who is favored to walk away with a victory in the upcoming game against Cardinals and Panthers.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/