Henning had right approach with QB

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During his 25-year NFL career spent with nine different franchises, there have been a lot of adjectives used to describe crusty ol' Dan Henning, but nurturing hasn't been cited very often, if at all.

That the Carolina Panthers are playing in the NFC championship game, however, is due in significant part to the manner in which Henning has so adroitly nurtured the development of quarterback Jake Delhomme in his first year as a starter.

AP/Mark HumphreyDelhomme has thrown for 563 yards with 2 TDs in Carolina's playoffs wins.

"When you look at them now (on tape), they aren't the same team we played earlier in the year," said Eagles free safety Brian Dawkins. "They're making more plays in the passing game. They aren't as one-dimensional. You can really see them emerging. They're really coming up big on third down."

That's because Henning, having shepherded Delhomme through a period in which the play calls were about as rudimentary and low-risk as possible, began opening up the attack on first down. The Panthers still aren't as daring and on-the-edge as some offenses on first-and-10, but the package clearly has been expanded.

In the first eight games, Henning called running plays on 63.3 percent of the Panthers' 199 first-and-10 snaps. For much of that period, Carolina was successful by pounding Davis into opposition defenses, eroding front-seven units and gobbling up real estate with plenty of muscle. But during those first eight games, Carolina had just six completions of 20 yards or more and only two completions of 30-plus yards, on first-and-10. And there came a point when defenses consistently brought their strong safety down "into the box," to create an eight-man front, and simply running Davis became counterproductive.

Over the first eight games, the Panthers averaged but 9.1 pass-play calls (including sacks) on first-and-10. There were four games in which Henning called six or fewer pass plays in first-and-10 situations.

At about midseason, though, confident that Delhomme was starting to emerge, Henning provided the young quarterback, who had started only two regular-season contests in his first six NFL campaigns, a bit more leash.

The result: Counting the final eight regular-season games and the Panthers two playoff victories, Henning has called pass plays on 45.3 percent of the first-and-10 snaps. The Panthers, in that period, have 21 completions for 20 or more yards on first down and nine completions of 30 yards or more. There are seven games in that period in which Henning called at least 10 pass plays on first-and-10.

If the Panthers still don't remind anyone of the pass-oriented St. Louis Rams, the team they defeated in the divisional round, neither are they confused anymore with a single-wing offense. The rise in confidence on offense in general, and specifically in Delhomme, has been palpable. Clearly, the clever Henning has done a textbook job of bringing along a quarterback, sheltering him at first and eventually allowing him more latitude. To say that Delhomme has responded nicely would be an understatement.

Credit head coach John Fox, too, for heeding his instincts in the first game of the season. With the Panthers trailing by 17 points against Jacksonville in the opener, Fox yanked starter Rodney Peete, and replaced him with Delhomme. The youngster has started every game since then.

"What they have done," said Delhomme, "is to put me in an (environment) to succeed. I understood why the play-calling was the way it was early in the season. And as a team, we were winning games with that formula, and playing well. But I think everybody here, as the season wore on, gained confidence in me. And I gained confidence in myself. It's really worked out well."

It will, at some point in the offseason, work out even better for Delhomme, who is certain to get an upgrade on the two-year, $4 million deal he signed last spring as an unrestricted free agent. But before he goes to the bank, Delhomme wants to go to the Super Bowl, and because of the nurturing of Henning, he and the Panthers have a shot.

Around the league

	Davis

Make no mistake: No league owner has ever been more color-blind, or worked harder to advance the stock of minorities than Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders, who became the first of the modern era to hire a black head coach, when he elevated Art Shell in 1989. But this week, unwittingly or not, Davis blocked the advancement of a solid, young minority coach, and one can only surmise he allowed his own pettiness to get in the way. ESPN.com has learned that Oakland tight ends coach Jay Norvell, regarded by some as an eventual head coach candidate at the college or pro level, was offered the job as offensive coordinator at the University of Nebraska. It is believed that Norvell would have been the first black offensive coordinator in Big 12 history. Certainly the move would have bolstered Norvell's career, perhaps made him an NFL head coach candidate in time, and league officials were quietly thrilled by that prospect. But Davis blocked the move, declining to release Norvell from a contract that has just one season remaining, and keeping him around the Raiders offices, essentially with nothing to do. It is notable, of course, that the new coach at Nebraska is former Raiders sideline boss Bill Callahan, a man against whom Oakland veterans successfully conspired against. The Raiders, and thus, Davis, are in saber-rattling mode on this one. The NFL's most litigious franchise is threatening to launch a tortuous interference suit against the university for attempting to hire a coach still under contract. The fact Norvell could have made a career-enriching move, one that would have made all sides look good, apparently is lost on Davis, who wants to exact his pound of flesh from Callahan's hide. It is believed there are eight assistant coaches from the Callahan staff still under contract to the Raiders for a year. One of them noted this week that they "mostly do nothing" during the day because they have no instructions from Davis or his few remaining lieutenants. Should the Raiders eventually hire a coach who doesn't want the assistants -- although Davis has told the candidates he has interviewed that he would like to keep most of them -- they will be hard-pressed to find new jobs. By the time Davis decides on a head coach, most teams will have already filled their staffs, and the market will ostensibly be shut down. Already one market has been shut down to Jay Norvell, just a guy caught in the middle of a Raiders-Callahan spitting match. While Davis has every right to hold the young assistant to his Raiders contract, it was unfair to do so just for the owner's own vengeful motives. As for the ongoing search for a head coach, as usual, Davis will move at his own pace. Word is that Dallas assistant head coach Sean Payton had a very solid interview earlier this week. But don't rule out the possibility of someone flying under the radar, like former Colorado and Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel, being in the mix.

	Bledsoe

One of the strengths of Mike Mularkey in his interview with Buffalo officials was his familiarity with the Bills' roster and his presentation on how he might revive an offense that struggled mightily in 2003. An exceptionally innovative offensive mind, the first order of business for Mularkey is to resurrect Drew Bledsoe, who had just three games of 250-plus passing yards in '03. Mularkey made productive quarterbacks, though, out of Kordell Stewart and Tommy Maddox in Pittsburgh, and so there is reason to assume he can't likewise rehabilitate the more talented Bledsoe. He and new offensive coordinator Tom Clements will have to protect Bledsoe better, and get the ball out of his hand a lot sooner, but also present him more options. Bet the house Mularkey is already drawing up ways to enhance the production of current Buffalo players. One guess on who could be the most improved player under the Mularkey system: Two-year veteran wide receiver Josh Reed, who caught just 58 passes and scored only two times in '03, after replacing Peerless Price as a starter. Reed doesn't quite possess the same skills-set as Hines Ward or Antwaan Randle El, but Mularkey will implement for him some of the things he did for the Steelers wideout pair. He also understands that Reed is most effective working out of the slot. And don't be surprised to see Mularkey figuring ways to have tailbacks Travis Henry and Willis McGahee on the field at the same time.

	Bruschi

Everyone talks about the strength and flexibility of the New England defensive line, especially the versatility of Richard Seymour and run-stuffing skill of Ted Washington. In the backend of the Patriots' defense, no less an authority than Bill Belichick feels the unit is the best cover quartet he has ever had. But coaches from both the Patriots and Colts agree the hallmark of every Belichick defense is the linebackers and point to them as a big key in Sunday's conference championship tussle. Typical of the Pats, their 'backers are hybrid-type defenders, guys who can stand up and play well or put their hands on the ground in a three-point stance and turn a 3-4 front ostensibly into a 4-3. In the regular-season meeting between the two teams, Tedy Bruschi made a ton of plays, Mike Vrabel had two sacks, Willie McGinest came off the bench to make the game-saving tackle, stopping Edgerrin James to culminate a goal-line stand. Peyton Manning has read the opposition coverages as if they were primers in the first two postseason games. For the Colts to move on to the Super Bowl, he must now discern pre-snap just what the Pats' linebackers are doing and, in blitz situations, from where they are coming.

	Volek

The Tennessee Titans failed to sign backup quarterback Billy Volek before the start of the '03 season, when agent Ken Staninger sent them a proposal, and now it may be too late to keep him. Volek will test the free agent market and, given the Titans salary cap woes for 2004, they might not be able to afford to compete for his services. Given a forum when Steve McNair was injured, Volek played exceptionally, demonstrating great poise, and plenty of teams took note. "He could be this year's Jake Delhomme," said one general manager with an interest. "We liked what we saw and he's a guy on whom we are doing our homework, believe me."