Panthers coach Dave Canales deserves immense credit for Bryce Young’s upward trajectory

The deck was stacked against Dave Canales on his first day as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. It took two games for said deck to disintegrate into an abject disaster.

His Panthers team, devoid of talent due to poor decision-making by former front office shooters, was a rudderless ship, struggling in part because of poor play at the game’s most important position. Bryce Young, the quarterback selected with the first pick in the NFL draft just 18 months earlier, was out of shape, out of favor and, the day after a Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, he was eliminated. of a starting job. Canales was at a crossroads, and to improve his job security, the other 52 men on the roster, and the young quarterback himself, he decided to bench Bryce Young in favor of Andy Dalton .

The decision was twofold. On the one hand, Young’s inability to push the ball to his improved weaponry in clean pockets made it impossible to evaluate the Panthers’ roster. Canales and Dan Morgan needed to find out who could hack it in the NFL, and with Young under center, it was impossible to know. On the other hand, Canales needed to win football games and Bryce Young, in his current state, failed to get the Panthers a victory. Plain and simple.

After two weeks of riding the magic carpet that was the Andy Dalton experience, things quickly fell apart for the Panthers. Dalton’s warts began to show and the team’s performances became uglier and uglier the longer he had the reins.

All the while, Young sat and waited, biding his time to return to his job as the Carolina Panthers’ starting quarterback. His return to the first team was hastened by Dalton’s involvement in an unfortunate road accident, and he hasn’t looked back. Young has been phenomenal in his three starts in the saddle.

The statistics don’t seem incredible. Bryce Young has eclipsed just 200 passing yards in one of his three starts, he’s thrown three interceptions, and the offense has yet to put together an explosive, all-around performance when Young takes the reins. However, you don’t need a doctorate in ball to know that everything about Bryce’s game improves after his respite on the bench.

The confidence Bryce Young has in the pocket has been night and day since his last action under center. In Week 2 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Young was a deer in the headlights. He was jumping to see over his linemen, trying to throw the rock without any basic semblance to gain power and speed. In this competition, he did not attempt a pass longer than 15 yards. His Week 2 Next Gen stats hit chart is one that depicts a broken man under center.

In the last two weeks alone, Young has fired 12 balls that are considered “deep” pass attempts. Most importantly, he trusts his strong offensive line, steps up in the pocket and attempts shots downfield that will truly unlock Dave Canales’ offense. The Panthers head coach came from Tampa Bay where he devised a plan that allowed much-maligned signal-caller Baker Mayfield to thrive. In Canales’ offense, Mayfield had carte blanche to rip posts, go-balls, digs and other long-developing routes that opened lanes for Rachaad White to cross and the quarterback to attack underneath. Young is finally starting to attempt some of these throws. Two clips from last week’s victory in Germany show a quarterback with growing confidence.

These throws are reminiscent of the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who took the SEC by storm, and his head coach deserves some credit for rekindling Young’s confidence.

Canales has been hailed as the quarterback whisperer. Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield enjoyed Baptist-like career resurgences under Canales’ tutelage, and David Tepper hired the California-born head coach for the first time to do the same for his number one overall pick . For two weeks, Canales’ rescue mission was a complete failure. For ten weeks, Canales appears like a genius.

Some time on the bench is exactly what Young needed. A chance to mentally reset, watch a veteran work on offense and, most importantly, take a deep breath and remember that he has the tools to play football at a high level. We’ll never know what happened at Mint Street in those six weeks Young backed up Dalton, but whatever happened in the quarterbacks’ meeting room was just what the doctor had. ordered.

Young still has a long way to go to live up to his draft billing. He’s still a long way from reaching the level of perception that was thrust upon him during the 2023 NFL Draft process. But he’s closer, he’s competent, and he looks like a functional quarterback capable of running the one-man game. high level. Give Young another perimeter playmaker, continue to invest in the offensive line, and let Canales do what he was brought to Carolina to do: coordinate a top-notch NFL offense with its young quarterback under center .

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