d-dave

Honestly, probably several. But the bigger issue is can Bryce finally break his own ceiling? Last Sunday was an incredible game. We can't expect that level of incredible, but we'd like to see consistency. If Bryce can add a solid game this week, that's a good first step. I saw an interesting video from Brett Kollmann (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABoLgCdTgZc if you're interested) about the perils of pulling support to quickly on coaches, QBs and staffs in the NFL. I still think we ride the Bryce train in 2026, add legit competition from FA, and see what kind of guy he's going to be. Bryce can't be a week 10-17+ QB. He's got to be more consistent on a game to game basis. I hope we can see that soon. You can absolutely count a pretty high number of "better qbs" but you'd also have to compare their situation.

Some folks say it's because teams are playing more shell defenses preventing more longer passes. The analytics folks would rather you pass for 7 years every down. As you state, the crop of QBs is mixed as far as quality. I think when you put it all together, it's a recipe for less passing yards.

I'm also worried about the long time off of football. In his limited snaps with the team, he had some spark. I'd love for him to pan out, but I'm also not pretending it's a certainty one way or another. He'll have next spring to show that he belongs or not. He's 22, 23 in July. He's still a kid. I think you have to give him a shot this spring in camp. Maybe he makes the roster, maybe he doesn't. He's such a nice kid, I'm rooting for him.

I've been doing it too much, I have to stop. I find it funny because it reads like far too many people here...

Hard no there Crocodile Dundee! We all know the true leader, Alpha Chad, macho-macho man QBs never get YAC. They throw the ball so well that the WR has to stop and take a knee and pray to Angry Jesus the beauty of that pass while the whole stadium gives a quiet golf clap in awe. In case no one could figure it out, I'm kidding. I'm not an alpha chad, lol

Such a loser stat. Don't you know that true Alpha Chads lead their wolfpacks to 70-0 wins all the time! Real QBs never make mistakes, never had bad games or halves, and all of their perfect throws just WIN the game! That's how some people sound around here...I find it funny. Good analysis. QBs always have gotten an outsized amount of credit for wins and losses, certainly in drives.

Honestly, we have no clue. I really like what Dave Canales is building in the locker room. It looks good. But we have finally turned a real corner? Or was Sunday just "we play Falcons gud?" I don't expect Bryce to throw for 400 yards again. I'd LIKE to see the Panthers run the ball well and make plays in the passing game. Sometimes, it's going to be a short throw in an important moment. Other times, it's going to be an explosive play or scoring play. I want to see our defense minimize mistakes and try to slow down Kittle and CMC. Brock Purdy can get hot. Also, the 49s under Shanahan have been a really well coached team. They aren't going to be a pushover at all. They are going to be a very tough test to see how far our Panthers have come. I hope for a win!

To the OP, I don't think we're "stuck" with Bryce for 3-5 years. No, IF he continues to play well, then we see him back and competition brought in for 2026. If Bryce lays a BUNCH of turds out there, then you have to move on. Period. Ideally, I'd love to see aggressive, fire in his gut Bryce Young out there. If that's the guy we have, then we have a shot at being meaningful. This was always the year Bryce either proves himself worthy of the 5th year and possible extension or that he's just not the guy for the job here. Realistically, I think the Panthers are going to go with him and competition next spring. If Bryce wins, great! If competition wins, great! But they can't delude themselves thinking that Bryce has arrived. I get that the team is really behind Bryce. There's meaning there. But if he's not doing his best to win the games, playing safe, that's just not enough.

Yep, that's where it's been. "NFL QBs" should produce on bad teams. Now he's going into the thick of the playoff hunt. He can't hide. As much as I enjoyed the win Sunday, the reality is that Bryce hasn't been particularly good all year. He'll have moments, but he's not been consistent in games. I want to see Bryce come out and play with urgency. I want him to attack defenses when they stack the box. I want DC to let Bryce air it out, if that was ever a real problem. Seeing so many of these weapons get involved Sunday was great, is it sustainable? It needs to be. I'm not super convinced there's a QB answer in the 2026 NFL draft so I'm cool running it back with Young, but he needs competition. We need someone how is going to come after his job, not just be a buddy.

It was an insane watch on TV! I think the biggest question for most of us, floor, ceiling, in between is WHY today? Why in ATL? What changed today? In my own moron's opinion, Bryce has looked better than years past when he was overwhelmed and lost. He hasn't look like that at all. Instead, it looks to me more like it was just HARD. There were very few easy plays. Certainly Bryce has had some terrible games this year, but to me, most games have felt WAY harder than they needed to be by in large. I think part of that is coaching. DC has a lot of growth still to do as a play caller and coach. He's not putting his players in the best places to win. I'm wondering how they were able to switch on "intermediate passing game" when you have zero running game and Young getting pressured, hit and sacked a lot. I still have a lot of questions. I LOVE the win. I'm happy for Bryce. I'm happy for the team. How do they go from here to push hard for the division? Can they find that FIRE that Bryce played with? You can't say this team isn't at least interesting

Yep, this team has me riding an emotional rollercoaster...lol Love for them to find better consistency.

I'm super pumped by this game. Look, Bryce has not always looked like the guy. Today, Bryce was gutsy and tough as hell. You have to give him props there. That first time he got dinged and came off, when he came back in, he was pissed. I want to see Bryce with the fire in his belly. That guy is a franchise guy. The Bryce that plays almost detached, no thanks. So let's find out how to keep the fire burning in Bryce's gut for games. Cool, right? I wouldn't be anointing him anything yet. He had a GREAT game, but he's laid some real stinkers this season. Let's see consistency, and see if the coaching staff can figure out what needs to be done to keep him "angry." I'm all for a late round guy and/or a FA to replace Dalton. Who said the only one happier than Bryce Young going back after his injury was Andy Dalton not having to play. LOL

Ahh yes, Bryce's superpower: making middle aged forum dudes lose it! I'm sure I'd be lumped into the Nut Hugger category since I started the season pretty measured, and I can admit when he makes some good plays. So flame on? The reality is that Bryce has shown he's good at the subtle aspects of being a quarterback. The gamesmanship, those quick twitchy movements to get a pass off. Those are some good plays he's made, but they results in a 12 yard play. This season, when going down the field (a rarity) he's been pretty much a turd. The moment seems to big for Bryce. I'm glad he got mad yesterday, but the only person he should be mad at is the one who he sees when he brushes his teeth. Bryce isn't the guy. We're just kind of stuck right now with a middling QB class in 26. So what do we do? I think we're stuck with Bryce playing for at least next season. I think the Panthers NEED to go get a young vet QB to push him. Time and development are important, but Bryce has had plenty of time right now. He's not developing. I want Bryce to do well because that means my Panthers do well. But I think it's pretty apparent that Bryce Young is not a franchise QB. He's a back up level player. We swung hard and missed.

I hear you, the sense of anger and resentment on the Huddle is bad even by Huddle Standards... I've tried to be pretty measured on Bryce lately. I want him to succeed. And I do think he does some things well, and makes plays. When he throws with anticipation, things look good. The problem is we're not seeing Bama Bryce anymore. We drafted Bama Bryce. We get 5.0 YPA Bryce. It's not exciting football. I love the wins, so I don't care that much about how pretty things are. The reality is fantasy football and sports gambling have overrun many people's perspectives on football and sports at large. Most fans want to see the big plays down the field for their own excitement. Most knowledgeable fans want to see it as a way to keep a D honest, close the door on an opponent, and just better execute good football. Remember the old Bill Belichick expression: "Stats are for losers." I'd much rather have ugly wins than pretty losses. But I can still enjoy a pretty loss on the HOPE that next time we'll get that bounce of luck our way. Wins and losses are often stated as a QB stat when football is a team game. We saw how Flacco has a career day but the Cincy D let him down. Does that loss count against Flacco? It shouldn't because W/L should be a Head Coach stat. As far as game winning drives as a stat, it's not overly important. It's cool, certainly so. It's also a team stat. If WRs don't catch the ball, if OL don't block, etc it's a moot point anyway. Like we had in Philly last year. Ideally, you shouldn't be in that position at the end of the game. Now as far as Bryce himself, I want him to do well. I want him to take the position of franchise QB instead of have it placed gently upon his head. I just don't think he's that guy. We'll finish this season with Bryce, and if he proves he's the guy and puts us in a winning position, great. If not, then we bring in competition for him. Or we trade him.

There's not doubting Lance has immense physical talents, and he's young (was a 20 year old rookie). The problem is by this point, he should be showing real signs of being a guy who can play in the league. Someone will gamble on him based on pedigree and hope a change of scenery after some organizational stability will be good for him. Should the Panthers? If Bryce continues to play "meh" then I'm all for looking anywhere for competition and/or a replacement.

I'm not sure we're backed into a corner with Bryce. The trade to pick him up is spent and over. Not worth trying the mental gymnastics to get any of that value back. He plays until we find a better option OR he finally "gets" it. If he wants to sit out instead of playing on the 5th you trade or you cut him. It requires a hard line in the sand. You either believe 100% in Bryce or you wish him well in his next endeavor. This year was Bryce's put up or shut up year. While we're at a 5-4 record which is fantastic for a change, his play hasn't looked like a $50 million a year guy. That's just the reality. He can claim it all he wants, but ultimately the market will bear out his contract demands.

Sorry, someone probably said this, but I'm not going back over 9 pages QBs get an outsized amount of credit for wins and losses. Bryce is the same way. He was far from good except for a handful of plays. That's not a recipe for success long term. On the flip side, with the running game and defense playing so well, he's not being asked to do too much. He doesn't look like "the guy." I'm all for bringing in real competition with Bryce this year.

That's such a great confidence builder for a young kicker. That was great!

Very fair point. I guess when Bryce get's to play spreadout, that works for him, but Canales won't do that because it's not going to hold up for a 17 game season. To me, this has always been a make or break year for Bryce. Year 3, you need to know what you have. We just don't have a full time, starting NFL QB. I will hedge that on the fact that he's only 24 years old. It's a small hedge, maybe just a shrubbery at this point since Bryce has had three full training camps as QB1. I guess I'm struggling with the balance between patience and performance. My desire is to be patient since he's 24, but he's also had plenty of time to improve. I just don't want to use send him off for peanuts and watch him reach his potential elsewhere.

Anyone who is calling for Bryce to get a big fat $50m per year extension are high. Look, anyone can see that Bryce is a mid level QB, who if he went to the right system would be pretty good. Bryce does have some things going for him - the clutch play (sorry, not getting into the good QBs are never bad or put their teams in holes), his athleticism, and ability to make plays though not the big plays we want. And he makes adult men go wild...lol y'all are obsessed. Dalton played like poo. Andy had some good throws, but his low points were just horrific. Andy made a bunch of mistakes that the smart, vet backup shouldn't make. If I'm being smart - I'm going to keep looking for QBs. Bryce has not demonstrated that he's the answer. He's far too inconsistent in his play (and his mid line is LOW). Bryce knows how to play, how to do all the QB things but it's not showing on the field consistently at a high level. Is that a Canales problem? Yes. He saw what Bryce did well last year when allowed to "cook" and brought Bryce back to a system that is not what Bryce is good at. Look, I'd love for Bryce to put it all together. He's still very young, but as a physical outlier in size, time is not on his side. What happens to Bryce's game when he loses his athleticism? He's not settling down like he should. Then again, most young QBs are really struggling.

I can't remember if this was said, but I'll reiterate: Bryce Young's greatest super power is getting dudes all hot and bothered on the Huddle. I am struggling to remember a time when the huddle was this TOXIC of a small dude with an OK arm and a lot more less than mediocre games than good games. He's not quite as bad as the downers say, but he hasn't shown he's good enough to be the long term answer. I guess we'll see once he comes back from his ankle injury what's up.

Bryce haters gunna hate. Can't change that. Bryce has been pretty durable all things considered. A couple minor injuries considering how much he was hammered year 1. And he still takes hits. Dude is tough. The play in question is a football play, poo happens. That's ultimately what happened. Guys running around, trying to stop Young and stuff happened. Sucks but that's how it goes. For me, I'd rather see Young play. He will either prove that he's the Dude, a JAG (leaning heavily right now), or an outright bust (some of you were there on draft night, lol)

Awesome! Thank you for the smart person input! I almost feel as smart as someone who slept in a Holiday Inn Express! (My god, what a terrible reference!) It makes sense. I'm a large person with a lot of muscle mass (but saw how terrible my endurance has gotten this year yesterday - WTF life!), and I never get seriously hurt despite smashing my fingers, hands, feet, head and all sorts of limb on doors, desks, 3/4" sheets of plywood, etc. I do on a daily basis. I just thought I healed faster than others, small biological win. But that it's just my body is just bigger and better at allocating resources. Again, super interesting!

I'm a dumb dumb, what do you mean that he's a type of athlete that not going to heal? No sarcasm, snideness, just being honest. Personally, I've never heard of different types of athletes ability to heal or not. Or maybe I'm over/under thinking...or I'm distracted. You seem to have a lot more knowledge than I do about how feet and ankles work Please enlighten me!

Remember, hindsight is always 20/20. It's very simple to look back and say "we should have drafted this dude instead of that dude." The team took a HUGE risk on the physical outlier. Then instead of building and fostering a team around him, they turned it all upside down on him, jerked him around, and basically sabotaged his rookie season. Year two started off in the pits, and then got better towards the end. This year has been so up and down. I'm not sure this is the right place for Bryce. Honestly, let's see what Dalton does and how different the game looks this weekend. The biggest problem with young QBs is that it's so hard to figure out if you have the guy or not. So much is situation dependent. Look at what's happening to Cam Ward, and how he's getting put through the same Bryce Blender his rookie year. It seems like teams just don't have the patience to develop QBs anymore. If you don't hit it off by the time you're in your 2nd year, you're done it seems.