Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
This is just pathetic.
Bryce Young sat dejected in the Panthers locker room on Sunday afternoon waiting to address the media. His teammates had begun cycling out of the facility and heading home, but the 22-year-old understood his role as the lightning rod for criticism, readying himself to stand at the podium and take his lumps.
It was Young’s third start of his NFL career, his third straight loss, and another game decided by a single score which should have been a win if the Panthers offense was able to do … anything. That’s not hyperbole. When a defense holds Kirk Cousins to 139 yards passing and picks him off twice, once for a pick-six it should be a win — it’s that simple.
Credit is certainly due to Brian Flores and the Vikings defense. Minnesota came up with a delightfully devilish plan to disrupt Young’s pre-snap analysis by throwing dozens of blitzes, fake blitzes, and trick looks at the rookie designed to cause him to fall in a trap. For the most part Young did a spectacular job managing the defensive complexity being shown to him, but that doesn’t help a stat sheet.
The real issue, once again, is the pathetic Panthers passing offense. Offensive linemen who can’t hold a block, receivers who can’t get NFL-level separation, and plays coming from the top which neuter Young’s best traits as a player. Head coach Frank Reich said after Week 3 that he felt the offense was close to “clicking,” but nothing looks further from the truth right now.
Frank Reich’s playcalling is killing Bryce Young
One of the biggest selling points for Reich as head coach of the Panthers was his history with quarterbacks. That resume really can’t be downplayed. He managed to elevate Peyton Manning’s game in Indianapolis as a quarterbacks coach, did the same for Philip Rivers in San Diego, and managed to turn Carson Wentz into a monster during his time in Philadelphia.
When it comes to understanding quarterback play Reich really is that guy, but his system is failing Bryce Young now. It’s increasingly apparent that trying to run the offense and oversee the team is too much for Reich, who was so underwater at one point on Sunday that he called a play for Adam Thielen, without even realizing Thielen was on the bench.
It’s abundantly clear what the core issue is: Reich is trying to mitigate the lack of receiving talent, while also wanting to maintain control over the offensive decision making. It would be a good plan for most quarterbacks, but painfully fails to understand who Bryce Young is as a player — which is remarkable considering this was the team who scouted him and fell in love with him to the point of trading away the future for him.
Bryce Young needs offensive freedom
What Young offered out of the 2023 NFL Draft class that nobody else did was processing speed, offensive intelligence, and the ability to make things happen when a play broke down. His ability to throw out of structure was at an advanced NFL level before stepping foot in the pros, and that is a trait which translates exceptionally well to the next level.
It’s one of the traits that Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson all possess, and it’s predicated off the notion of buying time when a play breaks down and finding open outlets. This has happened scant few times in the Panthers offense this season, but Young has shown he’s every bit that player when given the chance.
Young gets to his drop and there’s absolutely nobody open. Any pass he makes would be broken up or picked off. He climbs the pocket to avoid the rush, keeps his eyes downfield until a play develops, and finds Thielen who finally shakes his man for a first down.
This should be a bread-and-butter concept for the Panthers. In a perfect world you wouldn’t need out of structure heroics on every down, but at least presenting this opportunity allows Young to show his “point guard” abilities as a passer. It works, it moves the chains, and it builds confidence that Young’s natural tendencies as a passer will work at an NFL level.
It’s impossible to achieve when this is your playcalling.
Yes, that’s ELEVEN screen passes, eight of which go to the identical part of the field. It would be one thing if this was being used because Young was struggling downfield — but he was 7-of-9 on passes beyond 10 yard depth.
A coordinator calls screens when a quarterback can’t do anything else. When you don’t trust a quarterback to be able to make a play. It’s one way to beat the blitz, except it still didn’t work despite Reich trying it over, and over, and over again.
More importantly: These passes take away any post-snap decision making from Young. There’s no room to execute that “point guard” role when the plays being called ask for the ball to come out in two seconds. It’s not the quarterback’s job to change plays at the line of scrimmage, because fundamentally screen beats blitz, so he’s just executing what’s asked of him — it’s just he’s being asked to play watered down, boring football that provides no opportunity to shine.
Reich keeps preaching patience, but there’s nothing left. Something has to change.
There are so many people who could help fix this
Other than his work with quarterbacks, the biggest boon for hiring Reich was his connections around the NFL. He used these immediately to form an all-star cast of coaches around the Panthers organization, and the belief was that they would collaborate to create an offense that would allow Young to shine.
Right now, right this second the Panthers have these guys inside their team and not being allowed to do anything to help.
Thomas Brown — Offensive coordinator in name, and former assistant head coach to Sean McVay in Los Angeles.
Jim Caldwell — Senior offensive assistant and former head coach of the Stafford-Johnson Lions.
Parks Frazier — Passing game coordinator and former offensive coordinator of the Colts.
None of these men, who all understand NFL passing, are being allowed to call plays or try something different. Reich remains resolute that it’s his show, and that his system will work if given time.
There’s nothing being shown to earn that faith. Young is getting so few opportunities to throw downfield that it’s magnifying the small mistakes he is making. There was a play late on Sunday when Young potentially had an open deep touchdown throw to Adam Thielen — but he missed seeing it develop. One play. One missed read from a rookie.
As long as we’re all being honest here, can we agree that Adam Thielen was open for a TD on the play before Harrison Smith’s clinching sack? Not sure why Bryce Young didn’t throw after the double move. pic.twitter.com/nacyo3rlzg
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) October 2, 2023
The opportunities for these types of plays are so few and far between that Young isn’t able to learn on the job. The question “why didn’t Bryce throw this?” is answered very simply: He’s a rookie, and rookies miss stuff. If you see these opportunities multiple times a game you learn from them, but when you’re just throwing screen passes all game it takes away chances to try and execute on these plays.
The Panthers need a new plan
It’s nice that Reich thinks it’s all about to click, but it isn’t. Receivers aren’t going to learn how to get separation mid-season. The offensive line isn’t going to be able to spring 30-yard gains off screen passes overnight. The ego behind the playcalling needs to go, and Young needs to be put in positions where he can take his lumps.
Covering him in bubble wrap and playing boring football is terrible for the team, it’s bad for fans, and it hurts Bryce Young. There is no reason to keep trying this madness, but Reich seems intent on riding his spiral to the bottom.
It’s a damn shame, and Young deserves better,
