All in all, it was kind of a disappointing year for Steve Smith. In PPR leagues, he finished WR19, and considering he was typically being taken WR5 to WR10 in fantasy drafts, owners didn’t really get what they expected out of him.

But from a QB standpoint, he just couldn’t get any consistency out of Jake Delhomme, who threw just eight TD (versus 18 interceptions) in 11 games, and generally couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. During that span, Smith averaged 4.2 catches for 55 yards and 0.4 TD per game. This was a far cry from his four-year average of 5.9 catches for 87 yards and 0.6 TD per game from 2005 to 2008.

Is Smith slowing down? While he is on the wrong side of 30 — he’ll turn 31 this May — his yards per catch in 2009 (15.1) was his third-highest in the last five years, and looked every bit as quick as he did three years ago. His 130 targets weren’t far off his four-year average (141.5), so he’s still a huge part of the Carolina offense even though the Panthers are more of a running team. Those 130 targets were the 14th-most amongst wide receivers, so barring something unforeseen, Smith should have plenty of opportunities to make plays in 2010.

But what about Matt Moore? Even though he started the final five games of the season, he’s still going to be a question mark for fantasy owners heading into drafts this summer. He averaged 198 yards, 1.6 TD and just 0.2 INT per game over that five-game span. From 2005 to 2008, Delhomme averaged 211 yards, 1.3 TD and 0.8 INT per game, so Moore’s 2009 numbers already compare favorably in terms of Smith getting good play at QB. (If you’re wondering about his competition, the first four games were against defenses ranked in the top 20 in pass yards allowed and he threw seven of his eight TD in those games.)

To gain a better understanding of Moore’s prospects, I asked our NFL guru, Anthony Stalter to chime in. Here’s what he had to say:

Read the rest of this entry »

The New York Giants owe their fans an apology after the horrendous effort they gave today in their 41-9 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Despite having their playoff hopes on the line and the fact that they were playing their final game at Giants Stadium, New York couldn’t have cared less. Their effort was pathetic on both sides of the ball and it was clear from the start that their players wanted nothing to do with football today.

This is a loss where somebody losses their job. It won’t be Tom Coughlin, but I can’t see any scenario in which defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan is retained for next season. The Panthers were without DeAngelo Williams, yet the Giants allowed Jonathan Stewart to rush for 206 yards and a touchdown, and for Matt Moore to throw for three scores. I realize Stewart is a fine back and Moore is gaining confidence week to week, but there’s no excuse for a team with playoff aspirations to allow 416 total yards and 41 points at home. None.

Sheridan has to go; New York has to hire someone that understands that the team’s best attribute defensively is its defensive line. That said, his players should be embarrassed with the way they played today. They didn’t tackle, they didn’t play disciplined and they played with zero emotion.

The Giants didn’t deserve to go to the playoffs this year and maybe this was a fitting end to their season.

In the offseason, the Carolina Panthers thought that it wasn’t wise to start developing a young quarterback under Jake Delhomme, even after the veteran turned the ball over 586 times during the playoffs last year. Instead, the Panthers signed Delhomme to a five-year, $42.5 million contract extension through 2014.

We’re not even halfway through the 2009 season and Delhomme has been as bad this year as he was on that fateful night in Charlotte last January. Right now, he’s on pace to throw a whopping 35 interceptions and ranks dead last in the league in passer rating.

After his brutal effort in a loss to the Bills yesterday, head coach John Fox wouldn’t commit to Delhomme being the team’s starter in Week 8. The problem Fox has is that Matt Moore and A.J. Feeley are listed behind Delhomme on the depth chart, so it’s not like he has a viable option even if he wanted to replace Horrendous Jake.

The Panthers absolutely dominated the Bills 425 to 167 in total net yards, yet because of Delhomme’s three interceptions they couldn’t beat a below average Buffalo team. Save for his injury-plagued 2007 season, the sad part is that Delhomme hasn’t been consistently good in four years. The running game bailed him out last year or else the Panthers wouldn’t have made the playoffs.

Fox and his coaching staff should have realized that Delhomme’s better days were behind him and should have done something about it in one of the past two drafts (if not one of the last three drafts). Now they’re left with either Moore or Feeley if they want to replace him, which means the Panthers can kiss the rest of the season goodbye.

Giving Delhomme an extension in the offseason was foolish. Not having the foresight to develop another quarterback behind him is flat out inexcusable.

Former Steelers running back and current SI.com writer Jerome Bettis says that somebody needs to be fired in Carolina after quarterback Jake Delhomme followed his atrocious outing in last year’s playoffs with an equally brutal performance Sunday in a loss to the Eagles.

Fox saw that playoff game last year firsthand. He had an entire offseason to evaluate his passers. And he didn’t take the necessary steps to ensure the franchise’s success down the line. Whether it was a free agent — Matt Cassell, Sage Rosenfels, Michael Vick — or even a rookie in the draft, he didn’t demand a quarterback to challenge Delhomme.

Instead, the Panthers gave Delhomme a five-year contract extension, and now they don’t have anyone else who can compete for the position. Fox went through the whole darn depth chart yesterday and didn’t see a positive thing from anyone.

To me, that all goes on the coach. Coaches live and die by their quarterbacks, and Fox is riding Jake Delhomme to his grave. If he wants to save his job, he ought to be looking for options, whether it be a veteran who got released in the preseason or someone in a trade. Maybe it’s time to call Minnesota about one of its backups.

While I don’t know what “To me, that all goes on the coach” means, I agree with Bettis. Regular readers know that I have ripped the Panthers in the past for not planning for their future at the quarterback position and now they’re stuck with Delhomme, the underwhelming Matt Moore or the recently signed A.J. Feeley.

I always hear about how good of a coach Fox is and how he gets the most out of his players. That may be, but he seriously screwed the pooch in evaluating Delhomme this summer, because it’s apparent that the QB has lost a ton of arm strength. Not only that, but his decision-making and awareness have been terrible and he’s prone to throwing into tight coverage.

Delhomme isn’t the quarterback he once was and as soon as Feeley learns Jeff Davidson’s offense, Fox will probably make a switch. Either that, or Fox will probably go down in flames with Delhomme, just as Bettis suggests.