Panthers called more deep throws for Dalton, Frank Reich assures no slight to Bryce Young
After watching the game film, it became clear that the Carolina Panthers dialed up more deep throws for Andy Dalton than they have for rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young. Though it came in a 37-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Dalton played an impressive game. He threw for 361 yards and […]
After watching the game film, it became clear that the Carolina Panthers dialed up more deep throws for Andy Dalton than they have for rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young.
Though it came in a 37-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Dalton played an impressive game. He threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns. He also did the one thing Young hasn't, as of yet. Dalton pushed the ball downfield in the vertical passing game, connecting with DJ Chark Jr. on a 47-yard touchdown scamper and a handful of intermediate and deep balls to veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen.
On Monday, Panthers head coach Frank Reich admitted that the Panthers offense threw more deepballs than previous weeks. But he also said it had nothing to do with Young's ability to connect with wide receivers downfield.
"I probably called a few more," Reich admitted. "And there were one or two things that Andy specifically asked for, which I don’t wanna go into detail on. But there were a couple of things that he specifically asked for.”
In one game, Dalton surpassed Young's full-season stats. To this point, Young has collected 299 passing yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. The offense, with Young, has looked stagnant. What hasn't helped either was the lack of flair in the run game. But Miles Sanders' production — or lack thereof — will be discussed in a future column.
Still, Dalton threw seven passes that traveled at least 20 yards in the Panthers Week 3 matchup. Young has totaled four in two games.
Yes, Young is a rookie, and Dalton has over a decade of experience in the NFL. But the reality is that Young has shown very little when compared to his peers CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson.
Stroud on Sunday became the first quarterback in NFL history to have at least 900 passing yards, four pass touchdowns, and zero interceptions in his first three career starts.
Richardson has fewer passing yards than Young but has four total touchdowns on the season.
The Panthers are still waiting for the moment that shows the franchise they drafted the right guy. Maybe it will come in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings if Young is healthy enough to play.
As for the deep ball that earned Chark some praise on gameday, Reich said he couldn't take credit for the play call. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown and passing game coordinator Parks Frazier drew that one up.
“And the one we hit to DJ for the touchdown—that was, obviously, great execution by the offense,” Reich said. “But also a good job by Thomas and Parks Frazier and the whole offensive staff—that was a play design that we saw something in the way they played their coverage that we thought we could expose something.”
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Feature image via Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports.
