Clausen's future begins today

[Laetitia]

It’s one of Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney’s core beliefs, the idea that you can’t fairly judge individuals when the whole team has gone south.

But one of Hurney’s pet projects is going to have to perform now to keep a job, even if that’s contrary to his patron’s philosophy.

As meaningless as the final six games of the season may appear, they could be nothing short of career-defining for quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

The rookie will start today, in a setting and situation similar to what he’s familiar with from college. It’s going to be cold, it’s going to be raw, and he’s going to be surrounded with sketchy talent.

But unless he starts proving himself ready to rise above the surroundings, his chance to become the Panthers quarterback of the future may be a short one.

The reality is that if the Panthers continue to sink and end up with the first pick in the draft, it’s probably going to be hard to bypass Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck (assuming he enters the draft). He’s big, he’s strong, he’s smart and tough, and plays in a system drawn up with the pros in mind (and his coach Jim Harbaugh might be thinking package deal).

Scouts who’ve watched Luck closely this year insist he has the potential to be better than Ryan, than Flacco, than Sanchez or Stafford or Bradford. One who’s seen each of Stanford’s games said last week: “I’m not sure what the questions are going to be with this kid.”

With Clausen, as well as with his entire team, there are still plenty, and he has six weeks to start answering them, or risk being covered up.

Before the concussion he suffered on the final play at Tampa Bay, he was in the midst of his best game. He was efficient early, and made a few adult passes as the game went on, the kind of 20-yarders and third-down conversions that a starter has to be able to make when conditions aren’t perfect. The end result wasn’t much to look at, but those handful of throws were the first clear signs that Clausen’s beginning to get it.

Clausen was drafted because Hurney thought he had a little of that Jake Delhomme toughness, the kind of edge that makes some uneasy at times. It’s been hard for Clausen to show it this year, so arbitrarily jerked in and out of the lineup. But today’s a golden chance, an opportunity to compare himself to the guy the Panthers are going to compare quarterbacks against for years to come.

If he can finish this season with a flourish, it might be enough to convince them he’s still the guy. If he flops, it’s going to be hard to ignore the latest, greatest thing.

Regardless of what Clausen does down the stretch, replacing him after this season would be unfair at it’s core. But go ask Brian St. Pierre and Tony Pike about fair this season.

Fair doesn’t stand in the way of a reclamation project, and if the Panthers have to good/bad fortune to be in position to draft Luck, even Hurney’s long-held beliefs may not be enough to ignore him.

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[Spaceballs83]

rather have #1 pick. screw the season.

[Anybodyhome]

Really? Thought it started when he was drafted...

Nice that someone can arbitrarily decide when his career starts. Guess that helps his stats or league life-span at some point... sure, we'll just forget everything else he's done or not done up to this point.

Oh, great idea! How about Brett Favre's future begins today!

[JungleCat]

Yeah, it sounds like someone had this game circled for whatever reason.

[mick eye]

rather have the 2nd 3rd or whatever pick and take either a shutdown corner who yesterday against Arkansas was returning kicks for 55 and 45 yrds at a time. OR a heir to the throne of Smitty as our go to receiver such as AJ Green. I don't know. I know this love affair with Luck is ridiculous. A sophomore QB is NOT gonna be a quick fix for this team EVEN if we somehow get Harbaugh too.

[Doyle]

:party::party::party::party:I love optimisim. F*ck it. Clausen rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ricky Spanish]

rather have the 2nd 3rd or whatever pick and take either a shutdown corner who yesterday against Arkansas was returning kicks for 55 and 45 yrds at a time. OR a heir to the throne of Smitty as our go to receiver such as AJ Green. I don't know. I know this love affair with Luck is ridiculous. A sophomore QB is NOT gonna be a quick fix for this team EVEN if we somehow get Harbaugh too.

I'm not looking for a quick fix, I'm looking for multiple super bowls down the road

[CarolinaCatBrigade]

I'm not looking for a quick fix, I'm looking for multiple super bowls down the road

Go resurrect Vince Lombardi

[Fox007]

What I took from that:

We should draft Luck.

[panther4life]

My take was pretty much what the huddle consensus has been all along.

If Jimmy plays well enough to win and take us out of the running for the # 1 overall, he's the guy by default at the very least.

If Jimmy cant bring us enough w's(and it may only take one) then we will get the # 1 overall pick and take Luck.

[Fox007]

My take was pretty much what the huddle consensus has been all along.

If Jimmy plays well enough to win and take us out of the running for the # 1 overall, he's the guy by default at the very least.

If Jimmy cant bring us enough w's(and it may only take one) then we will get the # 1 overall pick and take Luck.

Hey slow down there mate. First he must throw the ball OVER the line of scrimmage, then we can start talking about winning games.

[panther4life]

I still have faith in Clausen at this point. Granted he hasnt shown us much good yet and the fumbling problem was alarming there for a while.

Reasons to give him a pass.

1.Jeff Davidson/John Fox combo

2.Limited experience with Smith

3.Every other reciever is another teams trash, or a rookie

4.Offensive line has been terrible and its affected other players as well

5.Its too easy to gameplan against us right now because of the factors listed above

This week Lafell,Gettis,Smitty, and all of our tight ends will be all be on the field today.

Stewarts back and Goodson has been playing pretty damn good. The shell shock factor of having shitty o-line play in front of you should be gone by now. You can now afford to make more risk/reward throws without fear of being benched.

So with that being said its now time to start showing signs of life and treat this game and every other one foward like your career depends on it,cuz it likely does. So he needs to be the reason we won, or least had a chance to win. So if we lose today it needs to be because of Fox/Davidson, or special teams or anybody but Clausen. So every chance he gets to drop back today, he needs to make the most of every opportunity.

Clausen play good today and every game foward and you may get A.J Green and a better o-line next year.

If you dont, the Huddle wont be mad at you, most will actually be glad that you sucked and allowed us to have Luck.

[FuzzyDuck13]

I'm a little worried that Clausen already has the stink of Scherer on him. Whatever coach comes in next year is going to have to spend extra time removing that stink from him. He's already developing bad habits.

Think I'd prefer to start with a fresh slate in Luck.