Jake Delhomme takes the heat: 'I've got to be smarter,' says Browns QB

[BernietheKid]

Jake Delhomme takes the heat: 'I've got to be smarter,' says Browns QB

Published: Sunday, September 12, 2010, 8:41 PM Updated: Sunday, September 12, 2010, 8:46 PM

Mary Kay Cabot, The Plain Dealer


John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer
"I think I'm more disappointed and it hurts more than anybody," Browns QB Jake Delhomme said after the offense turned ineffective in the second half Sunday against Tampa Bay. "You want to start the season 1-0."

TAMPA, Fla. -- Jake Delhomme took full responsibility for the interception at the end of the first half that sent the Browns on a downward spiral en route to their 17-14 loss to the Buccaneers.

It was the first of two Delhomme interceptions -- and the first of three Browns turnovers overall -- but it was the one that destroyed the Browns' momentum for good.

The Browns were leading, 14-3, and Browns safety Mike Adams had just picked off Josh Freeman with 1:33 left in the half to give Cleveland the ball at their own 47. Four plays later from the Bucs 39, Delhomme, leaning far to his right to avoid pressure, sidearmed the ball out to tight end Ben Watson in the right flat. But cornerback Ronde Barber picked it off, returning it 64 yards to the Browns' 3.

On the next play, Freeman hit Mike Williams for the score to pull the Bucs to 14-10. So instead of 17-3 -- or even 21-3 -- the Bucs closed within four, and the Browns couldn't muster another point.

"Yeah, it's disappointing," said Delhomme. "They kinda let Ben go free there and I was trying to get it to him. Ronde was able to come off of whoever was in the slot and get it. He's a savvy veteran. But it's very disappointing. I'm the one with the ball in my hands, so I've got to be smarter than that. Certainly that's in my mind, a 10-point swing naturally right there."

Delhomme, hit after the throw, admitted he shouldn't have taken the chance.
"I'm not using that as an excuse," said Delhomme. "I probably should've just taken the sack."

Browns coach Eric Mangini was quick to take the onus off his starting quarterback -- one who played last season not to make mistakes instead of to win.

"I thought he was effective throughout a lot of the game," Mangini said. "I think we could've helped him more in terms of creating plays offensively. On some plays, we should've been open or able to get open. But I have full confidence in him and thought he ran the offense well throughout the course of the game."
Mangini even defended the pass to Watson.

"I saw what Jake saw in terms of [Watson] being open." he said. "He was wide open. I think Jake made a good decision and the throw just wasn't ... they made a nice play."

Despite the vote of confidence, Delhomme -- who also threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi in the first quarter -- felt as bad as anyone.

"That's nice of him to say that, but I think I'm more disappointed and it hurts more than anybody," he said. "You want to start the season 1-0. We had great preparation and a great week's work and we lost the turnover battle. That was the difference in the game."

Delhomme admitted his ankle stiffened up on him at the end of he first half, "but that's no excuse. It's fine."

Delhomme also had a miscommunication with Massaquoi on a deep pass earlier in the second quarter, which prevented the Browns from going up 14-3. Massaquoi got behind his man, but went left instead of toward the middle. From the 40, Delhomme threw the post and it fell incomplete.

"That's his read," said Delhomme. "He had a choice to go down the middle or to the corner and it was his decision. I felt I needed to get rid of it and I was anticipating where he could've gone. That's something we're all working through. It's our first live bullets playing together and something we can all learn from."
Massaquoi blamed himself.

"Hindsight is always 20-20," he said. "But going back, I would've gone inside. We'll look at the film and correct it and get on the same page."

Delhomme's second interception came in the fourth quarter with the Browns trailing, 17-14, and backed up near their goal line. On third down, he threw deep for Massaquoi and was picked off by E.J. Biggers with 6:17 left. The Bucs failed to convert when T.J. Ward forced a fumble at the Browns' 2 and Eric Barton recovered.

"I didn't get enough on it," said Delhomme. "If I could've gotten enough on it, he would've had more of an opportunity to make a play."
Delhomme said he wasn't trying too hard to make a good first impression.

"No, not in the least bit," he said. "The thing is how do you respond? How do you come back from it? That's the true character of a man."

Despite the picks, Delhomme's teammates offered their support.

"Jake is our captain and whatever Jake did, I'm behind him," said Lawrence Vickers.

"So if he threw 100 interceptions, I'm right behind him. That's my quarterback. He did his job today. We just came up short."

Jake Delhomme takes the heat: 'I've got to be smarter,' says Browns QB | cleveland.com

[Greythan]

Look, I'm no Delhomme fanboy but its one game. There's no way we should make a switch this week. We have to show a little patience. How quickly folks forget the disasters of recent years' QB merry-go-rounds.

[Enigmatic Evil]

THAT is why he was voted a leader on this team by his teammates, THAT is why Holmgren has believed in him since bringing him in. Jake's a veteran, and he knows the game and there's no reason why he should be taking the bulk of the blame for this loss but he IS, regardless. That shows great leadership to me...

I really hate how this INT is being emphasized by everyone, because it wasn't the only turnover but it was a big one. His teammates still have his back, Delhomme knows what needs to be improved upon and he's ready to bounce back from this.

Our team knows where we went wrong, and we will bounce back with a stronger effort against KC, a team who is arguably in the same boat we are. Looking to show they're better than last years record, an up-and-coming team. Thanks for posting this, Bernie, I don't think it will quell the detractors but it may give them something to think about. It was a good read.

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by Greythan

Look, I'm no Delhomme fanboy but its one game. There's no way we should make a switch this week. We have to show a little patience. How quickly folks forget the disasters of recent years' QB merry-go-rounds.

Exactly!

But, it seems "we" can't help thinking the grass is always greener...until we find out it's fake grass that's been painted or something.

[Shep]

I think we're confusing two different things: Is Delhomme a good guy, liked by just about everybody?

Absolutely.

Is he a viable NFL starter right now, at this point in his career?

That's a tougher one.

[mohican]

Originally Posted by Shep

I think we're confusing two different things: Is Delhomme a good guy, liked by just about everybody?

Absolutely.

Is he a viable NFL starter right now, at this point in his career?

That's a tougher one.

Especially if Holmgren thinks McCoy is a three year project at QB. But it's still to early to panic.

[Shep]

Originally Posted by mohican

Especially if Holmgren thinks McCoy is a three year project at QB. But it's still to early to panic.

Panicking won't help anything. But I think we signed a guy who isn't good enough to start now and drafted a guy who isn't good enough to start later. I felt that way when the transactions happened and I feel that way right now.

In between is Seneca, who might be our best hope and could also start next year while we wait for Oliver Luck to get learn for a year. McCoy would make an ideal long-term backup.

[Danamal]

Originally Posted by Shep

Panicking won't help anything. But I think we signed a guy who isn't good enough to start now and drafted a guy who isn't good enough to start later. I felt that way when the transactions happened and I feel that way right now.

In between is Seneca, who might be our best hope and could also start next year while we wait for Oliver Luck to get learn for a year. McCoy would make an ideal long-term backup.

Seneca Wallace is a career journeyman.
Looking for him to save the day is like asking DA to comeback because he had a decent game yesterday,it's one game,the opener as a matter of fact.
Wallace,lol
Be careful what you wish for...

[Crow]

Again, if you pull Jake, you end him. It's the deathblow for his career. There's no coming back. His confidence will shatter like an egg thrown against the wall of a Ground Zero mosque.

How much better do you really think Seneca could really be? Derek Anderson in 2007 was an anomaly. It was also an illusion. More likely than not you're just going throw a guy out there who sucks more than your current guy.

Jake has shown some promise. If he sucked that bad in comparison to Wallace, he wouldn't have made it out of camp the starter. He had a good preseason and a good first half. We actually complete passes now, so at least the rookies are learning SOMETHING. One game is Brady Quinn-esque abrupt.

Don't even get me started about starting Colt McCoy. It'd be like Tim Couch all over again, but stiffing him with concrete shoes.

[Shep]

Originally Posted by Danamal

Seneca Wallace is a career journeyman.
Looking for him to save the day is like asking DA to comeback because he had a decent game yesterday,it's one game,the opener as a matter of fact.
Wallace,lol
Be careful what you wish for...

I'll go out on the limb a little for Seneca. I've long wondered how he'd do if somebody really gave him a full season as a starter, and his career passer rating doesn't dampen that (it's like 83, I think). He has more arm and more mobility than Delhomme, and we could seamlessly move in and out of Wildcat sets.

Also, tough to be a journeyman when you spent your entire career with one franchise (Seattle).

I was in KC when Wallace was at Iowa State, and I was a fan, then, too. I like him. Could turn out that he CAN'T be a full-time starter, but I'm intrigued to find out.

[Crow]

"I'm really tired of watching us lose, so I'd like to watch us lose in a different way, even though it may be less beneficial to the team?"

[Enigmatic Evil]

I'm not opposed to giving Seneca a shot IF we're sitting at week 5 or 6 (maybe the Pitt game for sure) and we're still sitting here going.

"Come on, Jake's a veteran bla bla bla, let's stand by him? He hasn't played THAT bad!"

It's Brady Quinn/DA all over again. Shep is it too much to ask you to be a little more pensive on the topic? I get how passionate you are about quarterbacks and that you really don't believe in Delhomme (you didn't directly say that but...) but give him some room to work with y'know? It was one game, the guy was beat up, he's a veteran and he knows that he could have made some better decisions. Give Jake a shot to win you over before you move your focus to Seneca.