cranky

I got the 3rd down stats from statmuse. They show the Panthers at 18, not 24. I'm not trying to inflate his numbers to make him look better. I am just going by what I see in the table. If you have a problem with my claim he's about average, you will have to take it up with them.

Actually that part abuot the Bears is not my opnion. I was watching some show and they were talking about how lucky the Bears have been this year. That's the only reason I brought it up.

The sign of growth is the Panthers The fortunate bounces is the Bears (+ 16 turnover differential which is unheard of )

All I can say is the Panthers have gone for it on 4th downs more than any other team this year - 27 times - and have converted 67% of them. The next two are the Giants and Lions @ 25 and 23 attempts converting 52% and 56% respectively. So Bryce/Panthers are converting at a higher rate than Geoff/Lions. The only teams with at least 20 attempts doing better than the Panthers are the Chiefs (76%) and Colts (81%) - I looked up the Colts and the majority of theirs comes from rushing. So basiclly Young is between Geoff and Mahommes on 4th down completion efficiency. If you are wondering if they are having to go or it because of poor third downs numbers, they are converting 37% on third downs which is about average so it really isn't that.

Against Miami, the Panthers were behind by 17 in the 2nd quarter facing a 4th - 5. Young completed a 21 yard pass and they went on to score 7 on that drive. Then in the 4th, down by 4, they faced a 4th - 5 and again, he completed a 17 yard pass and they went onto score a TD for the win. He also accounted for 2 of the 3 TD's. As I said, he got them in that mess and no doubt, Rico gets credit as well, but missing on either of those 4th down conversions hands the ball over and results in 1 or 2 less TD's giving them a loss. As you said though, that's just a small quibble. The real question is how does the FO see it? I am guessing they see it as something to build on. I think most peope here see it as a total loss and fully expect the FO to see it that way as well. Time will tell.

I am not ready to make that call yet but, if the rest of the season goes like I think it will, then yes. Basically with 8 games I am a weak yes - maybe no - but with 9 wins, I absolutely would agree with the call.

Unlike most of you, I do not assume the FO thinks he is beyond repair. For the first time since 2017 the Panthers have a chance to be in the playoffs. One more game will tie them for the most wins since 2018, 2 more wins will put them at 8 wins - the most in 8 years. Hate all you want but a big part of that success has come from Bryce. He got them in the hole with Miami but he got them out of it as well and was a big part of that win. Against Dallas, he played very well throughout the game plus he converted on a 4th down in the final minutes putting them in FG range for the win. He may not have had a good game against the Packers but he did convert on two 3rd down conversions in the final minutes to help seal the win and of course the Falcons game was his best yet. Tepper likes him and they have a huge investment in him as well. You don't just throw that away unless you have something concrete lined up behind him - which I just don't see.

Everyone can hate all they want, but Bryce will be here next year. The draft isn't good enough to go after anyone and I don't know of any QB that will be available that will turn the Panthers in a playoff contender. Do not be surprised when they sign him to his 5th year option.

I don't know who that guy is but he was great! He not only showed the play but clearly explained everything leading up to it. Big thumbs up!

Love him or hate him, it was well earned this week.

The best part is they compliment each other. Chuba is a more patient runner, patiently waiting for gaps to form while Rico is more explosive. I wish they would use Rico more like McCaffery was used - getting him the ball in space to take advantage of his explosivness and violence. Then have Chuba pound the middle for the tough yards.

Yeaaahhh, I'll learn to just stay quite one of these days.

We all see what we want to see I guess. I've watched the video a couple of times and it looks to me like he was actually falling - not jumping off his feet. Against the Falcons, he turns his head at around the 5 YRD line and tracks the ball as it comes in. In the Saints video, he turns at the last minute and almost stumbles reaching out with one hand. The effort between the two games is different. It's almost like he knew Bryce was going to throw it with the Falcons but wasn't as ready against the Saints. Again, we all see what we are looking for I guess.

I appreciate the time you took to get this together but would like to point out that in the Cowboys game, they faced a 4th and 4 at the Cowboys 40 near the two-minute mark. Canales calls for a pass play and Bryce completes a 7 yard pass putting them at the 33 - in FG range. If they don't get that fourth down, the Cowboys get the ball back with 2 minutes remaining and only needing around 25 yrds for a FG. That play was huge - it not only put them in FG range but also allowed them to run out the clock. So yeah, I think BY should get credit for that drive. Against the Packers, he and Rico did have equal yards but Bryce converted two third down conversions. Rico picked up a first down on a 19 yrd run but he dod not convert any third downs. Yes, he had help but, again, I think he deserves credit for the drive. I know all of this is nitpicking but given how little support he has around here, I feel obliged to point out any successes he may have had lol

I'm not going to post the NFL video here for copyright reasons but you are welcome to look at both videos on youtube. The Saints occurs at around the 6:10 mark and the Falcons occurs around the 8 minute mark. Just because I like Bryce and point out how a receivers' efforts improved does mean I am trashing them to make Bryce look better. It's simply an observation. Bryce isn't perfect. If you look in this thread, you will see were I joke about him throwing behind receivers in previous games.

Two hands:

One hand:

LOL, yeah I can assure you no one around here has given me any slack with my opinions. Regardless, I appreciate the flak!

I remember him talking about was how slow Theilen was - over and over and over. Never could understand why he disliked him so much.

Panthers win a tough one. Think Cowboys type victory.

Yes, he was consistently throwing it in front of them instead of behind like he has in the past lol

I do think some of their success was from Canales putting them in position for YAC. I didn't give him enough credit in the OP but he called a really good game.

Cokers first catch was IMPRESSIVE!

No doubt Young had a great game but a big part of that success was because of his receivers (and by receiver I mean anyone who caught a pass). Young passed for a record 458 yards but 250 of those yard came after the catch so he had a lot of help. Tremble turned a 5 yard pass into a 54 yard reception putting them into FG position for the win Dowdle took a 3 yard pass and turned it into a 32 yard reception putting them in position for a TD pass from Young to TMac TMac took a 15 yard dig route and turned it into a 39 yard gain. Legette took a 5 yard pass in the flat and turned it into a 20 yard reception. More importantly, he ran a go route and unlike the previous week where he made a half hearted, feeble attempt at catching it, he extended out and grab it for a 37 yard TD reception this time. Cooker only had 5 passes his way but caught every single one averaging 13 yards/catch and he caught the 2 point conversion. Evans caught a 25 yard pass on a 3rd down. Sanders caught a 10 yard pass on a 4th - 4. Again, Bryce played a great game. He was poised, looked comfortable and more importantly, consistency made the correct read to exploit the defense. But the receiver group played just as well and I would argue made him look great. I am a Bryce Young fan and have gotten a lot of slack around here for attributing some of his struggles to the receivers youth and lack of experience. Not today - they were fantastic and I just wanted to make sure they got the recognition they deserved.

For what it's worth, Young had 3 INT's his first 2 games (1.5/game) but has only had 3 in his last 7 (.42/game). Last season, Young had 3 in his first 2 ( 1.5/game) and then only 7 in the last 11 (.63/game). Basically what I am trying to say is his numbers are skewed with his early struggles. And for whatever it is worth, he also struggles early in the games: 5 of his INTs have come in the first half of games, only 1 has occured in the second half.