This is what an offense looks like when it has a quarterback it can rely upon.
This is what Panther fans forgot could happen for the final 13 games of 2007, when Carolina played everyone but your mother at quarterback and likely would have been better off starting her on several occasions.
It's weird, because Jake Delhomme is so emotional on the field that you sometimes want to put him on a nothing-but-decaf diet. But Delhomme actually calms the Panthers with all that hysteria. They shake their heads and smile and say, "That's just Jake," because they know when it comes down to it, he's the best quarterback Carolina has ever employed.
Delhomme was at his efficient best again on 21 of his 22 passes Sunday. In Carolina's 34-0 win over Kansas City, Delhomme threw for 236 yards and a couple of TDs. Delhomme, of course, was still fretting about the one inefficient pass he threw -- his interception in the end zone where he tried to force one to Steve Smith.
"I'm very upset about that," Delhomme said.
It didn't matter. Delhomme had a quarterback rating of at least 110 for the second straight week Sunday. Not coincidentally, the Panthers have won those games by a combined 58-9 score.
Delhomme is slinging frozen ropes to receivers 20 yards away, making the Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow seem more and more a thing of the past.
Now this isn't to say that the Panthers are 4-1 just because of Delhomme. Even David Carr could have quarterbacked Carolina to a win Sunday, because Carolina's defense was unbelievable. It held Kansas City to one first down in the first half and only 127 yards overall -- the fewest yards the Chiefs have gained in a game since 1986. And the Panthers are running the ball well enough that Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammad both are getting one-on-one opportunities.
But Delhomme plays the most important position on the field. In six seasons at Carolina, he has also turned into the team's most effective leader. And now he's getting his confidence back.
Said Panther coach John Fox of Delhomme: "A lot was made of his arm in the offseason. A lot was made of whether he'd be healthy to play. Once we got going, I never really thought about his arm. ... The difference this time around was that he sat out a year [due to the elbow injury]. I don't care who you are at what position, that takes a minute to get back into it. I've seen him play a lot better in the last two weeks."
Said Muhammad: "Jake just makes such good decisions."
Delhomme seems to make them a little quicker, too, with the notable exception of the sack he took at Minnesota that led to the Vikings touchdown that turned that game sour for Carolina.
For the most part, Delhomme has gotten the ball out fast, like on the blitz Kansas City threw at him Sunday that he burned with a 25-yard swing pass to DeAngelo Williams for a touchdown.
Delhomme isn't perfect and never will be. The next time the Panthers lose a game, many fans will call for his head again. Always happens. But the Panthers have been better with him than without him since 2003.
And he's the most indispensable player on this team. With him, this Carolina team might actually reach the Super Bowl. Without him, the Panthers would be fortunate to make the playoffs at all.
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