CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Donovan McNabb will soon share snaps with Michael Vick and remains burdened by his 1-4 record in NFC championship games. Jake Delhomme is coming off one of the worst playoff performances by a quarterback.
Sure, the two friends have led Philadelphia and Carolina to a combined 136 wins. Their clubs rank 1-2 in victories in the NFC since 2003, too. It just doesn’t make the scrutiny any less intense as McNabb’s Eagles visit the Delhomme’s Panthers in Sunday’s opener.
The only difference between the two may come down to the vastly dissimilar cities they play in.
“I’m out and about a good bit in Charlotte, naturally, with kids, soccer fields, school, things like that. I never, mark my words, had one person say anything,” Delhomme said when asked if he’s faced the fans’ fury over his six-turnover performance against Arizona. “I had to prepare myself to bite your tongue. But never one time…”
McNabb chuckled when asked if he’s faced the fans’ scorn after his low points.
“Here in Philadelphia? Never,” said McNabb, dripping with sarcasm.
Southern hospitality may not have reached Philly, but both cities have gotten used to these guys behind center. Delhomme will make his sixth straight opening day start for Carolina. It’ll be 10 in a row for McNabb with the Eagles.
Yet it would seem both quarterbacks need solid games Sunday.
McNabb has publicly supported Vick’s arrival, declaring he wishes Vick wasn’t suspended for the first two games to complete penalties for bankrolling a dogfighting ring.
But if the 32-year-old McNabb struggles — even if he played well in his fourth NFC championship game loss to the Cardinals in January — it’ll lead to calls that Vick should supplant the man who’s been the regular starter since 1999.
“Not too many people can say that they’ve done that on a consistent basis with one team,” McNabb said. “I’ve been blessed to be able to do that. But again, there is one thing that I want and I’m searching to get and willing to do whatever it takes, and that’s winning a Super Bowl and bringing it back here to Philly.”
Delhomme led Carolina to a Super Bowl loss in his first season with the Panthers in 2003 after beating McNabb’s Eagles in the NFC title game.
Yet Delhomme looked lost in Carolina’s last real game. On his 34th birthday he threw five interceptions — one shy of the NFL playoff record — and lost a fumble against the Cardinals. The performance put an abrupt end to a 12-win season and Delhomme’s successful return from reconstructive elbow surgery.
And even in polite Charlotte, Delhomme was peppered with boos.
“I probably pressed way too much too early in that game,” he said. “That was something that I was so frustrated with myself for: I let my teammates down. I always felt like I was the one who could try to come through for them. That was the thing that bothered me more than anything.”
His teammates and coaches rallied around him. Delhomme received a lucrative contract extension, faced no competition in training camp and was voted a captain.
Now he hopes to lead an offense that still features speedy receiver Steve Smith and running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, who last season combined for the most yards rushing by NFL teammates since 1984.
It’ll be up to an emotional Philadelphia defense to stop them in its first game since longtime defensive coordinator Jim Johnson died of cancer.
“Despite all the glitz and the things he presented to the opposing quarterback, which I definitely enjoyed, you talk about a guy who would do whatever it took to help his team win,” coach Andy Reid said of Johnson.
The Panthers replaced defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac with Ron Meeks in the offseason after allowing 30 or more points in five of their last seven games.
The preseason wasn’t pretty. They lost run-stuffing defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu to a season-ending Achilles’ tendon tear in the first practice. Linebacker Jon Beason then went down with a knee injury, but has recovered quickly and should play Sunday.
They’ll try to slow McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook, who’s healthy after sitting out the preseason. The rebuilt offensive line was also banged up and didn’t take a snap together in the preseason.
Led by Julius Peppers, the Panthers hope to put plenty of pressure on McNabb. They did that in the 2003 playoffs, when McNabb was sacked five times and threw three interceptions, one of his ugliest NFC championship game memories.
McNabb was out with a knee injury the last time the teams met, a 2006 Philadelphia victory on a Monday night that included Delhomme throwing two fourth-quarter interceptions.
“We’ve had similar but different careers,” McNabb said. “We’ve laughed and joked about just our paths and just where they go. He’s just trying to do the same thing and that’s lead his team to a Super Bowl.”
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