Should an elbow-repair procedure continue to be known by its common tag of "Tommy John" surgery? Or is it time for a switch to "Jake Delhomme" surgery?

John, the baseball trailblazer, went into the great unknown and became the first to have the eponymous surgery on his left elbow in 1974.

John returned in 1976 and won 288 games in an illustrious major league career that ended in 1989. He is on the current Hall of Fame ballot.

Delhomme, the Football trailblazer, had the surgery on his right elbow in October 2007 and this season has become the first NFL quarterback to be successful after "Tommy John."

With a healthy Delhomme slinging the ball all around the field, Carolina is 10-3 and leading the NFC South going into its home game Sunday against the Broncos (2:15 p.m. CBS 4).

"We're really lucky that we get to play a kids' game," Delhomme said. "I have more of an appreciation of it now.

"I don't know how long this will last. We're always one game away, so just enjoy the heck out of it."

John understands.

He lives in the Charlotte, N.C., area and follows the Panthers. Before Delhomme had the surgery, John talked with Panthers general manager Marty Hurney about the possibilities and offered his services should problems arise.

As of yet, the Panthers have not needed John.

"Jake is having a great year," John said. "The longer he goes without anything happening, the better he is going to be down the road. When he got through the first six months (after the surgery) without any problems, he was on his way."

Last straw

By September 2007, Football had become a grind for Delhomme. The joy that showed in his game was gone.

No matter what Delhomme did, the right elbow ached. The last straw came when Atlanta defensive lineman John Abraham jerked Delhomme around like a rag doll in the third game last season.

Delhomme did not play again that season.

It was time, he admitted, to stop the cortisone injections, the sleepless nights because of the pain and the post-practice dash to put cooling ice on the elbow.

Delhomme would roll the dice and have "Tommy John" surgery to repair a torn ligament in the right elbow.

It has become a routine operation for baseball players, primarily pitchers. Only two NFL quarterbacks are known to have had it: Craig Erickson and Rob Johnson. Neither was effective afterward.

"Maybe I was being naive, but my arm had to be fixed," Del-

homme said. "I wasn't going to keep on going the way I was going, being miserable."

Dr. Patrick Connor, the Panthers' physician, performed the surgery. Connor removed a tendon from Delhomme's left hamstring and attached it to the elbow in place of the ruptured ligament. With that, Delhomme almost was as good as new.

"When guys tell you, 'It's the best I ever felt,' they're lying," Delhomme said. "When you're 22 and wake up in the morning, that's the best you ever felt. But I feel good. My arm's stronger because it's been fixed."

Delhomme had an easier time getting back than most baseball players.

According to Dr. Tim Kremchek, the Cincinnati Reds' team physician and nationally recognized orthopedist, pitchers require about nine months of rehabilitation, but a quarterback can return in about six months. There is more strain on the arm of a pitcher than a quarterback, he said.

A pitcher throws more often and harder, with a whiplike motion, putting additional stress on the inside of the elbow.

The normal three-quarters delivery also increases stress on the elbow much more than the over- the-top action of a quarterback does, Kremchek said.

Fatigue also is a bigger factor for pitchers, Kremchek said. A starting pitcher can throw about 175 pitches, including warm-ups, a game. A quarterback rarely goes beyond 40 throws a game, and many are low-stress tosses on screens and dump-offs.

"The positive side of the operation is that it is essentially easier for a quarterback because the comeback time is shorter," Kremchek said. "The surgery is the same, but it's more advantageous for a quarterback."

Delhomme's success could lead to more quarterbacks having "Tommy John" surgery.

Kremchek said he increasingly is performing the operation on quarterbacks below the NFL level. Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals is considering having the procedure or trying to come back through rehabilitation.

Palmer has not played since injuring the elbow Sept. 21 against the New York Giants.

The surgery also is a possibility for Broncos quarterback Patrick Ramsey, whose season ended in October with a move to injured reserve because of elbow soreness.

A center almost joined the list.

Chicago veteran long snapper Patrick Mannelly experienced elbow problems a few years ago and asked his father-in-law for advice. It helped that John is his father- in-law. Mannelly received treatment and avoided surgery.

"You might start seeing it more in Football," John said of the surgery. "The Football mentality is reps, reps, reps and throw, throw, throw in practice. Modern coaches are starting to realize 'Hey, we've got to do something for these arms.' "

Mr. Comeback

Delhomme's numbers this season are pedestrian: 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with an 81.1 rating.

Rough games in the first meeting against Tampa Bay and Oakland, with Delhomme throwing for one touchdown and seven interceptions, skewed the numbers.

The Panthers say Delhomme's value shows most on the scoreboard.

In recent seasons, Carolina has had a better chance of winning with him in the lineup. Since 2003, the Panthers are 47-29 in Del-

homme's starts, 7-10 in all other games.

With Delhomme, Carolina reached the NFC title game in the 2005 season and lost to New England in Super Bowl XXXVIII.

"He's a great competitor, a clutch performer," Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said after a win against Carolina in October. "Just when you think you've got him, he jumps out and gets you."

The surgery did not change one aspect of Delhomme's game. He can put his team in a hole with misdirected throws, but he also specializes in comebacks.

The Panthers have trailed during the fourth quarter in three victories this season.

In those rallies, Delhomme produced the winning points with less than four minutes remaining each time.

"Jake has a lot of the stuff you can't measure," Carolina coach John Fox said. "Obviously, that's why we missed him a lot a year ago. In that spot, he's always been pretty productive."

John roots for Delhomme, but they never have met. If they ever cross paths in the Charlotte area, a thank you would be appropriate. Delhomme is the latest thrower to revive a flagging career through a surgery Tommy John helped pioneer.

INFOBOX 1

Name game

An eponym is the name of a person most closely associated with a specific development. Because left-hander Tommy John was the first major leaguer to undergo tendon-transplant surgery in the elbow, the procedure is known as "Tommy John" surgery. Some other sports eponyms:

* BIRD EXCEPTION

The NBA allowed Boston to exceed the salary cap to keep a veteran free agent: All-Star Larry Bird. The creation of this loophole led to "Bird free agents" and teams going well beyond the payroll maximum to keep their stars.

* FOSBURY FLOP

In winning a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics, Dick Fosbury revolutionized high jumping. Fosbury abandoned the traditional straddle technique and introduced a "backward at the bar" style that produced more lift and led to a shoulders-first landing.

* GORDIE HOWE HAT TRICK

In the NHL, a player who has a goal, an assist and a fight in a game is celebrated for combining skill and combativeness as Gordie Howe did in his Hall of Fame career. The curious point is Howe had only two eponymous hat tricks in his career.

* HACK-A-SHAQ

As Dallas' coach, NBA freethinker Don Nelson would put the opponents' worst free-throw shooter on the line as often as possible with intentional fouls. Nelson first employed the tactic against Dennis Rodman, but it caught on when he used it to frustrate Shaquille O'Neal. He called Nelson "a clown coach" for the strategy.

* LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Lou Gehrig, the New York Yankees' Hall of Fame first baseman, had his consecutive-games streak end at 2,130 in 1939 because of the disease. He died in 1941.

* MENDOZA LINE

After infielder Mario Mendoza batted .198 with Seattle in 1979, a sub-.200 hitter was said to be "below the Mendoza line." Bruce Bochte, Tom Paciorek and George Brett have been credited with coining the term. Rob Deer, who hit .179 with Detroit in 1991, is the last full-time major league position player to finish below the "Mendoza line."

INFOBOX 2

Good when it matters

Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme has been at his best in the fourth quarter this season.

Quarter Com Att Pct. Yds TD Int Rating

First 48 83 57.8 558 1 2 72.3

Second 61 106 57.5 746 3 3 77.0

Third 41 76 53.9 622 6 5 80.0

Fourth 54 84 64.3 674 3 1 129.5

Air Delhomme

Since joining Carolina in 2003, Jake Delhomme ranks among the NFL leaders in touchdown passes. Quarterback, team TDs

Drew Brees, San Diego/New Orleans 142

Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle 123

Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia 119

Jake Delhomme, Carolina 110

Marc Bulger, St. Louis 100