SCO96

Icky is a good player. He deserves to be resigned. BUT, there is NO WAY any knowledgeable football fan believes that Icky is a top 5 player at his position in the NFL. The point of my post was that a guy who may not even be in the top 10 at his position SHOULD NOT RESET the market for Left Tackles just because he's the next guy up to have a contract extension. If he does, then that puts even more financial stress on a team that may have resign a QB to "record deal" in the next year or two. The NFL salary structure is ridiculous. Merit is what is really meaningless. In some cases you don't even have to be that good in the NFL at the top of the NFL pay scale. You just need to be the next in line to get a new deal.

When I see those figures my stomach gets queasy at the thought of Bryce getting a similar deal. I think it would be a wise for the FO to speak to him and his agent before the deadline for 5th year option. If Bryce expects a similar deal prior to his 4th year...or even after his 4th year...Morgan needs to try to work out a trade deal and move him.

The above scenario would be a nightmare for Carolina. It's tough having to make decisions on who to keep and who to let go. You have to look at which position can I spend less on and still get similar production. In our case I think it would be the quarterback position. For most teams with a legitimate franchise QB, that decision would/should be easy. It's hard to replace a guy like Mahomes, Allen, or Stafford in terms of production. Those guys can make any throw and can carry a team on their backs to compensate for the weaker areas of the roster. However, a starting QB who does not produce at an ELITE level and needs the team to carry them is easier to replace than solid LT. I'm not giving Young a 45+ million deal prior to his 4th year at the expense of a solid left tackle when the said QB isn't even a top 10 QB in his own CONFERENCE.

If we somehow won our division and made the playoffs in 2025, I could understand the reasoning behind picking up the 5th year option on Young. However, I would let him know not to expect any renegotiations until the deal expires (end of 2027). If Bryce became crazy productive in year 4 and Carolina returned to the playoffs in 2026, I could understand the reasoning behind giving him a new deal prior to 2027. Under no circumstances would I make him the highest paid QB in the NFL. There is no way I'm letting BY get a deal that is going or "reset the market"...unless we win the SUPER BOWL. If he wants to "reset the market" you let him play out his final year and acquire or draft a QB prior to the 2027 season with the intent to start that person in 2028.

I think Icky was shown steady improvement and really should be entering the prime years of his career that position. He's a first round draft choice that panned out and I think he needs to be resigned. That said, your above formula is correct, but concerning. Icky is Good player and could potentially become great. But, should a 4 year starter at LT that has never been selected for an 1st or 2nd All-Pro team or been selected to a Pro Bowl become receive a new record setting contract and become the highest paid LT in football? We may have to do as you suggested in your post. If he does get that deal, then the financial situation at QB becomes even more concerning. If Young and his agent insist on a contract in line the "QB Market" and you want to retain him you either have to hope he takes a hometown discount (i.e. below market value contract) or have a guy in the wings to replace him when he decides to hit the open market. We still have crucial holes to fill at EDGE, LB, S. It's fun to pretend to be a GM, but in real life we can only imagine how stressful that job really is.

The Saints game is what really concerned me. We were playing a 1-8 at home and they were starting a rookie QB. Bryce played one of the worst games I've seen him play. Those type of performances (and the one in SF last Monday) are why most of us are not on board with extending him, or even picking up the 5th year option.

Your chart confirms what I noticed yesterday. No real success passing the ball in the middle of the field. Everything is pretty much confined to the area outside the numbers and hashmarks. I didn't realize he only completed 2 passes that were 10 yards beyond the LOS until you mentioned it in an earlier post. BTW, where did you get this chart?

Yes sir. And sometimes they'll even have a graph with a distribution of where the ball was thrown: to the left, to the right or over the middle. I feel that I've noticed a trend with Bryce in terms of how he attacks the field. I want to know if the analytics back me up or if I'm just imaging things.

Sometimes after a game one of the Huddlers will post a picture of Bryce's past distribution chart. Where do you get that data? And has anything been posted for yesterdays game?

Actually, that was all me my man. I looked at the YPA numbers in ESPN. Bryce is 6.4 this year, 6.3 last year, and under 6.0 in 2023. I just typed in the wrong number and forgot to average the 3 seasons.

Oops, thanks for catching that. That's even worse news.

Yep. I've known about the importance of Yards/attempt for years but it was nice to see it all summarized in an easy to read format.

I found the below information on the web this morning. It's rather long, but it pretty much sums up Bryce's career (to date) with the Panthers. When he plays well, we play well. When he delivers a typical "Bryce Young Performance" the team struggles. The segment detailing the meaning of a his career YPA completely describes his tenure in Carolina ------ In the modern NFL, anything around 7.5 yards per attempt (YPA) or higher is considered good, and 8.0+ YPA is typically viewed as very good to excellent. YPA Benchmarks (Modern NFL) 6.5 and below — Poor (As of yesterday Young's career mark is 6.4) 6.6 to 7.2 — Below average to average 7.3 to 7.6 — Solid/Good 7.7 to 8.2 — Very good 8.3+ — Excellent / top-tier QB efficiency (Yesterday Young posted a mark of 10.3) Why 7.5+ is “good” League-wide YPA in recent seasons typically sits in the 7.1–7.3 range. So once a quarterback is consistently above ~7.5, he’s operating above league efficiency and generating chunk plays without excessive short passes. What a Sub-6.5 YPA Typically Means 1. Inefficient passing You’re gaining fewer yards per throw than the league norm (~7.1–7.3). This usually correlates with: Fewer explosive plays Struggling to sustain drives Lower scoring offenses YPA is one of the best simple efficiency indicators, so being under 6.5 usually means the passing game isn’t functioning well. 2. Overly conservative passing A low YPA often reflects: Too many checkdowns Short, low-risk throws Not pushing the ball downfield Play calling designed to avoid mistakes rather than gain yards This is common with rookie QBs, backups, or teams with poor pass protection. 3. Difficulty completing intermediate and deep throws Low YPA can mean: The QB isn’t hitting big-play throws Accuracy issues Arm strength limitations Receivers not getting separation 4. Poor supporting structure Sometimes it’s not the QB—low YPA can also result from: Weak offensive line (forcing quick dump-offs) Below-average receivers Predictable or safe play calling Injuries limiting the scheme 5. Usually correlates with losing Historically, teams with <6.5 YPA tend to have: Below-average offensive efficiency Poor 3rd-down conversion Lower points per game Losing records YPA correlates strongly with winning; sub-6.5 teams often finish near the bottom.

I wonder if he'll receive any consideration for COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR. Because of the knee injury, D. Brown practically missed all of the 2024 season.

I still think Brown is not playing his natural position. He seems tailor-made to play the 4-3 NT, and even a 3-technique in some cases. Imagine him playing for Ron Rivera alongside Kwann Short with Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson coming off the edges. His sack totals would go up because he wouldn't be getting most of the attention like he does now.