Bryce Young likely has reached the point where all the offensive plays are merging into one sticky mass. The Panthers quarterback probably is thinking too much and trying too hard. That’s what happens when your team is the only winless squad in the NFL.
So with a road game coming up Sunday against the sizzling Miami Dolphins, what do you do? Carolina coach Frank Reich is trying to simplify everything for Young, the No. 1 pick of April’s NFL Draft. That way, his young quarterback will play by instinct and not struggle with thinking about the intricacies of each snap.
“Every coach would tell you when you’re 0-5, what’s the answer? Do more? No, it’s do less,” Reich told reporters during his Wednesday press conference.
“Does that mean we gave him too much — maybe, maybe not,” the first-year Panthers coach said. “I don’t know the answer to that. I just know we have to get better. … It’s not just for the quarterback but the whole team. We did it on offense, defense and special teams — simplify, simplify, simplify. Do the basics, and let the players play fast.”
But it does all start with the quarterback, whether he’s a playmaker or a game manager. Young has started four of his team’s five games. He missed the Seattle game because of an ankle sprain. He ranks 25th in the NFL in QB rating. And he’s thrown almost as many interceptions (four) as touchdowns (five). Toss in the fact he’s also lost two fumbles, and the stat line looks even worse. This belies his reputation he earned when he won the Heisman at Alabama.
In a 42-24 loss last Sunday to the Lions, Bryce Young threw two picks. By halftime, the Panthers were down by 18 points. It’s true that the Lions are one of the top teams in the NFL, but it showed the chasm between the two programs.
Andy Dalton, Young’s veteran backup, said he doesn’t want fans to think that simplifying the offense means that Young isn’t learning.
“I don’t want anybody to think that he’s not able to handle this,” Dalton told reporters. “That’s not it at all. We’ve been at this thing for five weeks. And what we’re trying to find out now is who we are and what works. You may think you’re going to be one way when you start the season, but as it goes on you evolve and adapt. And I think that is where we are right now.”
Dalton added: “It’s about finding out what he is comfortable with and having different ways of doing that.”
When Dalton did start for Young last month, Reich called more down-field pass plays. Reich explained that Dalton asked for the specific plays.
Reporters asked Bryce Young about the changes. He says he has no issues with simplification.
“For us it’s an opportunity to hone in on details and focus on execution,” Young said.
It probably doesn’t help that rookie quarterback CJ Stroud, the No. 2 pick of the draft, is doing so well with the Texans. Through five starts, he’s yet to throw an interception. Colts QB Anthony Richardson, who went No. 4 behind Bryce Young and CJ Stroud, has shown flashes of good play, but he’s on IR as of this week.
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