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Rocky Mountain High
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Jake Delhomme takes the field at Dallas tonight with a clear head. I think.
There's probably enough pressure on Tony Romo for both quarterbacks playing at Cowboys Stadium tonight; he's taken more media and fan hits by far than the Giants threw at him in his three-interception game last week. But Delhomme, the amiable Louisianan, thinks the pressure's been lifted off him with his let-it-all-hang-out performance last week at Atlanta (25-41, 308 yards, one touchdown, one interception). It wasn't one of his best days in football, but at least he played football instead of thought football.
Delhomme said all offseason he was completely over the nightmarish five-interception game in the NFC playoffs against Arizona. But as it turned out, he wasn't. He told me thoughts of the playoff game would creep into his mind often, and that they not only crept into his mind during Philadelphia's rout of the Panthers in the season-opener ... but also prevented him from playing the game he thought he could have played. It's funny -- big, tough football players aren't supposed to have these mental blocks. But sometimes they do. Delhomme did.
"I thought quite a few times in the offseason that I hadn't been there for my team during the playoff game, and it really bothered me,'' Delhomme said. "I thought, 'Why? Why?' And I couldn't figure it out. And the Eagles' game, it was like I was playing and thinking, 'You can't make another mistake.' I was thinking like that on every play. Not good.''
"So,'' I said, "there was a carryover from the playoff game.''
Delhomme threw four interceptions and was yanked for backup Josh McCown. "Without a doubt,'' he said. "Without a doubt. I brought something to that game. I brought something to that game I shouldn't have brought. Josh even said to me later, 'You're trying to aim it.' ''
Delhomme said he thinks he has the problem fixed now, and he did it by, in essence, talking to himself, and by caring about nothing but the next play, and by having an attitude of Bleep it. What's interesting is what he felt from his teammates. He said he's not the type of person who ever needed to hear congratulations from teammates after a win, or after a great performance. That's what he's supposed to do, play well. But after the Eagles debacle, he needed someone to tell him he wasn't worthless, and that someone was tackle Jordan Gross. After the game, Gross literally grabbed him and said, "You're still our guy. Got it? Understand?''
"And now,'' Delhomme said, "I feel great. I really do. Not just saying that. I just want to play. See the field, throw the ball, play, run the offense.''
Starting in Dallas tonight, Delhomme could save the Carolina season if those aren't empty words. God knows the Panthers, at 0-2, need a good jolt to stay in the running for the defense of their NFC South title.
link
There's probably enough pressure on Tony Romo for both quarterbacks playing at Cowboys Stadium tonight; he's taken more media and fan hits by far than the Giants threw at him in his three-interception game last week. But Delhomme, the amiable Louisianan, thinks the pressure's been lifted off him with his let-it-all-hang-out performance last week at Atlanta (25-41, 308 yards, one touchdown, one interception). It wasn't one of his best days in football, but at least he played football instead of thought football.
Delhomme said all offseason he was completely over the nightmarish five-interception game in the NFC playoffs against Arizona. But as it turned out, he wasn't. He told me thoughts of the playoff game would creep into his mind often, and that they not only crept into his mind during Philadelphia's rout of the Panthers in the season-opener ... but also prevented him from playing the game he thought he could have played. It's funny -- big, tough football players aren't supposed to have these mental blocks. But sometimes they do. Delhomme did.
"I thought quite a few times in the offseason that I hadn't been there for my team during the playoff game, and it really bothered me,'' Delhomme said. "I thought, 'Why? Why?' And I couldn't figure it out. And the Eagles' game, it was like I was playing and thinking, 'You can't make another mistake.' I was thinking like that on every play. Not good.''
"So,'' I said, "there was a carryover from the playoff game.''
Delhomme threw four interceptions and was yanked for backup Josh McCown. "Without a doubt,'' he said. "Without a doubt. I brought something to that game. I brought something to that game I shouldn't have brought. Josh even said to me later, 'You're trying to aim it.' ''
Delhomme said he thinks he has the problem fixed now, and he did it by, in essence, talking to himself, and by caring about nothing but the next play, and by having an attitude of Bleep it. What's interesting is what he felt from his teammates. He said he's not the type of person who ever needed to hear congratulations from teammates after a win, or after a great performance. That's what he's supposed to do, play well. But after the Eagles debacle, he needed someone to tell him he wasn't worthless, and that someone was tackle Jordan Gross. After the game, Gross literally grabbed him and said, "You're still our guy. Got it? Understand?''
"And now,'' Delhomme said, "I feel great. I really do. Not just saying that. I just want to play. See the field, throw the ball, play, run the offense.''
Starting in Dallas tonight, Delhomme could save the Carolina season if those aren't empty words. God knows the Panthers, at 0-2, need a good jolt to stay in the running for the defense of their NFC South title.
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: Perhaps our defense can grow a spine and a heart and force Delhomme to remember his 5 INT game against the Cards?
