Don't Back Down

During the game against the Atlanta Falcons two weeks ago - yes, the one where they barely squeaked by with a win - Jake Delhomme came out of the game grasping his elbow in what appeared to be a serious amount of pain. What was perhaps the strangest thing about the injury is that no one appeared to touch him.

We found out over the next few days that Jake's elbow was strained or sprained or otherwise damaged, but that it should heal up with some minor rehab - nothing major, and though surgery was mentioned, that's just because surgery is usually mentioned in these things as a possibility. Worst case is that it would happen after the season. He'd be back. As it turns out, Jake won't be back this season, and it's currently looking like he may not be back in time for next season. In fact, he might not be back at all.

The operation that Jake is going to have is called Tommy John Surgery, and is designed to help the body in the process to repair the ulnar collateral ligament. Not as commonly injured as some other ligaments you might hear called in professional sports, this one connects the bones in the arm - specifically Jake's throwing arm, and the UCL will get a tendon lifted from another part of the body, or perhaps even a cadaver. This tendon will attach the bones, and then Jake's body will hopefully realize that it has a new place to regrow his own UCL.

That's the gist of what will happen as he goes under the knife. What we don't know is what will happen after that.

Baseball players have - mostly pitchers - have had the surgery many times, and they have done so successfully. Tommy John, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was the first professional athlete to successfully get the surgery (in 1974), and that's why the surgery has the nickname that it does. When he did, he was given odds of 1 in 100 that he would recover. Obviously he did.

Today, odds of recovery stand at 85 to 90 percent. Rehab time for pitchers takes approximately 12 months, so it would seem reasonable that a quarterback would see a similar time frame for recovery. What doesn't seem terribly reasonable is that the paper today predicted Jake would be back in training camp next summer. That is perhaps 8 months away. Sure, it could happen, but the worst thing this team could do would be to hang their hopes on that happening. It's more likely that Jake will be out until this time next year, meaning it may be 2008 before he plays again, and even that may not be a realistic possibility - there are players who may never regain their form.

Regardless of whether he does play or not, the Panthers need a quarterback now. David Carr probably isn't the answer. I don't care if it's that wacky sidearm motion of his or what, but he just doesn't seem to have what it takes. I'd love it if Brett Basanez had the chance to step up, but he was hurt in the preseason. That leaves Matt Moore on the active roster, and he looked good on Sunday, so I say give him the chance. Sure, Carr is playing now, but he looked like he was in some serious pain himself. Rather than play Carr hurt, give Moore a chance. Bring in a veteran backup if you have to, but give Moore a shot.

The other interesting tidbit to come out is that Jake has apparently been playing with pain for three years. If you've watched the Panthers play, you know that he's never been terribly accurate. Sure, the guy has heart, and to think that he's played injured for three years makes it seem even more so. But it sure can explain a lot.

Update: It looks like it's Testaverde. Nothing wrong with Vinny and all, but I still wish they'd give Moore a shot.