Jake Delhomme hits the bullseye with his dark take on the 2024 Carolina Panthers

Former Carolina franchise quarterback Jake Delhomme summed it all up in one depressing quote.

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 01: Former Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme is seen on the sidelines during the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Bank of America Stadium on October 01, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina. / (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

At a certain point there's a fine line between being positive and delusional about your favorite football team. Carolina Panthers fans have learned that the hard way during this now seven-year stretch of losing seasons. Today's road loss to the Chicago Bears underscored once again just how far this team has to go to to be a contender again.

To recap today's humiliating 26-point loss, nobody could get open for the Panthers against a lethal Bears secondary, Andy Dalton's magic totally disappeared against the first strong defense he's faced this year, and the Panthers ran the ball well but also almost immediately gave up on it. On the other side of the ball they couldn't cover, couldn't rush the passer and couldn't fit the run, either.

Former Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme summed up the situation with one grim quote during the team's radio broadcast of the game.

Jake Delhomme on the 2024 Panthers

Former #Panthers QB Jake Delhomme on the radio call: “No one is coming to save us.”

— Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) October 6, 2024

Dark but true.

If we play this out, odds are Carolina holds the number one overall pick in the draft once again next year, but that hasn't helped them climb out of this hole the last two times. Should they take two-way superstar Travis Hunter and get a big upgrade both at wide receiver and cornerback they'll still have the worst roster in the league by a wide margin. Even if they land a very special rookie quarterback like Jayden Daniels or C.J. Stroud they simply don't have the supporting cast in place to set them up for success. Should they trade down (they should) and land several promising starters they'll probably still be far from even being a playoff team.

The biggest issue is that this is already the worst defense in franchise history, and with new injuries to Jadeveon Clowney and a few others today, it's probably going to get even worse. At this point how the Panthers can possibly turn this thing around is a question beyond our pay grade.

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