When the game in on the line … who are the NFL's best performers in the clutch? We have the list, which includes Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme

Football Digest, Nov, 2005 by Andy Friedlander

YOU'RE TRAILING. TIME IS RUNNING out. The game, perhaps even the season, hangs in the balance.

Jake Delhomme wants the ball.

In the past two seasons, the Carolina Panthers quarterback has proven that he knows what to do with it in pressure situations. In 2003, his first season as a starter, he led the Panthers to eight victories on the game's final possession, including a double-overtime road win over the St. Louis Rams in the playoffs. In drives for the winning points in the final two minutes that season, he completed 22 of 29 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns for a passer rating of 121.6. Last season, despite a string of injuries that devastated the Panthers, Delhomme added three more fourth-quarter comeback victories.

Most of the time, Delhomme is an ordinary quarterback, certainly not what you'd call a superstar. In crunch time, though, few are better. Which is why Delhomme is among the NFL's 10 most clutch players, the guys any coach would want on his team when the odds are longest and the stakes are highest.

"Certainly, you believe you have that ability [to perform in the clutch], because if not, this league will eat you up." Delhomme says. "We have been in a lot of close games, and that's kind of by our design. That's our blueprint, I guess you can say. But you just have that confidence to know that, hey, we have done this already a few times. Let's just do it again."

The ability to do it again and again trader pressure is rare, and those who possess it are among the NFEs most treasured 'commodities. The New England Patriots, for example, are thrilled that their quarterback is the unflappable Tom Brady, that disruptive safety Rodney Harrison patrols their secondary, and that they can rely on Adam Vinatieri to make the last-second, game-winning field goal. The New York Jets are secure in the knowledge that running back Curtis Martin can get that big yard when they need it most. Brian Westbrook and Brian Dawkins make plays in important games for the Philadelphia Eagles, and Ray Lewis is immovable when the Baltimore Ravens must have a key stop.

"There are these theories out there that there's no. such thing as a clutch player. That's baloney," New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi says. "There is such a thing as being a Clutch player. I know. I've competed. I've had to make a five-foot putt with a tournament on the line. Don't tell me the collar doesn't get tight. I know it gets tight. There's just something about an athlete who's able to do it under pressure. The difference between good and great players is their ability to play under pressure.

"It's really something that's not definable in words. There are just some guys who you think, when the game is on the line, they're not going to make the play. And there are certain guys who, when the game is on the line, you know they are. There's just something about guys like that. They're going to win the game for you. That's just they way it is."

Having one or more of those clutch players on the roster can make a coach breathe easier when a game gets tight, or when the season comes down to winning or going home. It affects the plays he calls and the strategy he uses, as he tries to get the ball in the hands of his playmaker.

"In football, everybody is expected to do his job," Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher says. "There are only a few people out there who can do more than their job in critical situations. As coaches, we talk about it. Who on our team could make a play to win a game? Not only who has the athletic ability, but whom do you trust? And the more of that kind of player you have on your team, the better off you're going to be."

The hard part, of course, is finding that kind of player in the first place. While scouts can measure the basic physical characteristics--size, speed, and strength--the ability to perform in the clutch is one of those intangibles that doesn't always show up in film study.

But that doesn't mean the clutch factor is ignored by scouts. Indeed, it can dictate whether a team drafts a player high or whether or not it signs a flee agent.

"Absolutely. It's why I go to games," Accorsi says. "When you watch tape, you're looking at the offense and the defense and you're not getting the sequence of the game. That's why, if we're going to make someone a high pick or there's someone we have to make a decision on, I want to see that player play. Because when you're in the stadium, you feel the tension in the situation, and you want to see how somebody's going to perform when the game is on the line. That's what you need to see."

And what is it exactly they are looking for? It's an ability not only to keep from tightening up and making mistakes, but to actually raise one's level of play under the most difficult circumstances. Some of that is simply a player's temperament--either he has it or he doesn't--but it is also tied to the work he puts in before the game every starts.

"I think a lot of it is about confidence," Houston Texans coach Dom Capers says. "There's pressure in every situation in the NFL. It's as much a part of our jobs as the food you eat or the air you breathe. But pressure in and of itself is neither good nor had. It's how you use it.