Panthers fall flat in Bryce Young's debut against Jets; no cause for worry
For all the fanfare Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young possessed going into the first preseason game of his NFL career, it didn't go as well as planned. Young played in three series and picked up 21 yards on 4-for-6 passes. The Panthers lost the game 27-0. But it's no cause for worry, at least not yet, […]
For all the fanfare Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young possessed going into the first preseason game of his NFL career, it didn't go as well as planned.
Young played in three series and picked up 21 yards on 4-for-6 passes. The Panthers lost the game 27-0.
But it's no cause for worry, at least not yet, because Young is doing what several other young star quarterbacks are unwilling to do — take accountability.
“It was a lack of execution starting with myself,” Young said. “I definitely could have done better and us as a unit all have to take accountability. … We have to own this and get better.”
Young could have taken the poor performance in several directions. He could have blamed the offensive line, which didn't look strong. He could have blamed the playcalling, which lacked cohesion. He could have made an excuse, but he owned it. He owned the reality that the Panthers have to get better and fast before Week 1 of the NFL season.
Meanwhile, Frank Reich, the new coach in town, who was hired to be somewhat of a quarterback whisperer, wasn't too worried about how Young — and the rest of the offense — played Saturday.
He even went as far as to claim that he used more of a generic game plan because he didn't want to show the league too much of his offensive hand.
"Obviously, we had a little too much pressure at times," Reich said of the offense. "Bryce was accurate, he got rid of the ball quickly. We had to try to overcome some bad field positions, which we did not do. We got our second drive, we're backed up there, pretty much. Those are great situations, we talk about this all the time. Let's get the tough situations in and put ourselves to the test. We had a couple of those today. We didn't pass those tests, but those are good to learn from."
It is just one preseason game, but if you are a Young believer, you are walking away feeling okay.
The slender quarterback didn't set the league on fire. But in 11 plays, he looked fine. And after the game, he sounded like a well-seasoned veteran. It may not have been the outcome the Panthers wanted, but that hasn't changed the reality that Young is going to be the quarterback of the future. It can clearly be seen in the way he carries himself.
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Feature image via Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports.
