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WCNC BLOG |
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October 2009
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The sincerity in Jordan Gross's voice means even more than the words. More than inspired, Gross was touched by what Jake Delhomme had done. "I told him that's why I love him, he's fighter and I don't care what people say. He's a winner," Gross said. Sure, Jake looked slow and awkward and worse than that on the nine yard run that clinched Carolina's first win of the season. But he made it. He stiff armed DeAngelo Hall (kind of) and squirmed forward just far enough to do what his team needed. It's been a long time since we've been able to say that. All the way back to December of last year. Think about that. A player who's smart enough to measure himself solely on the essence of his job - winning and losing. That's it. Jake knows he's not pretty. He makes fun of himself in front of the media, but is stone serious about helping his team and his teammates succeed. He did that on Sunday. When we sat down to talk before the Dallas game I could sense the hurt. The kind that can eat you alive if you forget how strong you can be. Jake didn't care so much about the ugly interceptions for interceptions' sake. He hurt because he had let his team down. Now about that run. After covering the NFL for 15 years I know Jake's teammates let him hear it in today's film study. DeAngelo Williams told us that he laughed when he saw Jake do it in person. Williams also said he thought DeAngelo Hall had fallen for the old "banana in the tail pipe trick." Mike Minter warned me last night that when Jake gets fired up you do NOT want to be the first person to try to high 5 him. He'll run you over and try to hit someone else because he's that pumped. The Panthers flaws are still obvious, but for the first time in 9 ½ months they feel good. That awkwardly delicious run from Jake has everything to do with that. 2 CommentsLeave a comment |
just remember we beat a team that is not a good football team. wait until we play a good team and see what happens. plus we are a day late and a dollar short already!
It's a good thing there were a lot of Redskins fans at the game Sunday because they were the only ones who had anything to cheer about during the first half. The stadium was pretty quiet except for the Skins. The Panthers didn't seem to be in a hurry until the last 2 minute drill they ran. Why do the Panthers beat themselves so often? The other NFL teams capitalize on their flaws and repititions - throw it to Smitty, run up the middle, get Jake out of the pocket and he's like a deer in the headlights. Thankfully he does take the initiative to carry the ball now and then, but it's too little too late most of the time.