25 Seasons of Panthers Football: The Delhomme-Muhammad connection in 2004

Sir Purr

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Mar 16, 2019
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And that wasn't all. Muhammad, Carolina's second-round draft choice in 1996, also impressed his quarterback with his blocking ability and overall work ethic.


"I got hooked up with Moose in year seven of his career," Delhomme said. "He just had an even-keel attitude about him. He came to work every day and did the same thing. He was Mr. Consistent. He would come out to practice every day and have (wide receivers coach) Richard Williamson start by throwing him a bunch of awkward, hard-to-catch passes.


"But in a game, when he was asked to block, it was like something possessed him and he had to demolish whoever he was assigned to block. He took pride in it with those big vise grips that he had (for hands). He was someone I just respected so much because not only was he so good at catching the ball - that was obvious - but also because he took so much pride in all the other aspects of the game. All of his teammates respected him for that. Moose loved the dirty work. He thrived on it."


At 6-foot-2 and a muscular 215 pounds, Muhammad often would find himself being defended by smaller defensive backs, and Delhomme would look to exploit Muhammad's size advantage.


"Anytime you can get some smaller cornerbacks on you, you've got to take advantage," Muhammad said.


In 2004, Muhammad earned first-team All-Pro honors and was selected to the Pro Bowl after recording a career-high 1,405 receiving yards and setting a team record with 16 receiving touchdowns on 93 catches. Delhomme, meanwhile, established career highs with 310 completions, 3,886 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns while completing 58.2 percent of his passes.


The season before in 2003, the Panthers had been built primarily around the running game, and the offense was designed the same way in 2004. But that quickly changed when top running backs Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster both suffered season-ending injuries early in the year, just like Smith at wide receiver. As a result, the Panthers turned to Delhomme's arm and Muhammad's hands and feet to win games.
 
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