What Exactly Caused Bryces Turnaround?

[Hoenheim]

I've been thinking to myself how this happened. I'm a known "Bryce hater" but even I can admit he's been performing well since he's came back from his benching.

But this is more about why or how it came to be. It seemingly happened in a fairly short amount of time. What exactly could he have learned in a few weeks he didn't learn in over 1 years worth of time in the NFL? 

Does that mean his earlier performances were just some sort of mental block? I know we had problems last year. But maybe the early games this year he was mentally shell shocked and that's what caused him to keep performing badly early on? 

It's just such a sudden in season change of dramatic increase in ability that you typically wouldn't see unless a longer time period passed. Or at least an off season.

Did Canales tell him something that sparked something in his psyche? Or did Bryce just realize when he was benched that nothing is promised and that attitude check made him lock in more and perform better? 

Curious what your theories are. And whether you think he can sustain it. 

Kinda funny how CJ balled last year and AR Bryce and Levis were down bad. Now seemingly they flipped a bit. And also with the Bears going down in flames recently. I see alot of fans up and arms saying see CJ sucks now!! I told you so !! Lol 

[falconlynx]

I’m in the same boat. I thought Bryce was toast and the smallest bust ever. 
 

However, he now looks like Bama Bryce the last 3-4 games and I’m now excited to watch his development. 

[PantherBoy95]

I think Bryce was a victim of bad coaching, a bad team, and allowing those to create bad habits.

You can watch any of his college tape and see that he'd launch the ball and make some great plays. Out of nowhere in the NFL he became a Checkdown machine. It was almost as if he was afraid to throw more than 15 yards (on top of not even having the time for it.)

Something about that benching has led to him letting it rip, which opens up the field a lot more. The line is playing better, and there's a swagger that he has now.  That's the largest difference I'm seeing in his game.

[d-dave]

He read the forum guys!

(ha!  I get to be the first with that joke!)

[jfra78]

Maybe it was really just watching Dalton trust the oline and push the ball down field, or maybe the game has just slowed down to him. I hope he continues to trend upwards.  I'm still not 100% sold on him but I'm warming up to it, which I never thought would happen

[LinvilleGorge]

Seems like he's loosened up and playing freer. I think Canales is doing a better job scheming to his strengths too.

[PNW_PantherMan]

He's much more confident in the pocket and he's keeping his eyes downfield.  He's letting it rip downfield more than he ever has since being drafted.

[Manna]

"Bryce hater" here and I could be wrong, but his football journey involved him being one of the best players wherever he went, and surrounded by all the best players. I don't know if it's entitlement or overconfidence, but that mindset didn't translate to the NFL. Maybe he put a lot of pressure on himself being the #1 overall pick, but his demeanor his first 18 games of his NFL career exhibited someone who didn't care. Maybe after his benching it gave him some much needed maturity and perspective. 

He's definitely a different player on the field now and I hope he continues to grow. I went from team Stroud, to cautiously optimistic Bryce supporter, to cut and trading that fool, to now a Bryce defender. The guy has earned my support by the way he has handled the benching and actually growing from the experience. 

but in all seriousness...Andy Dalton's thumb helped the turnaround. 

Edited December 2, 2024 by Manna

[Gapanthersfan]

Someone, something, somewhere helped him to get his head right. A knowledge deficit would not have been overcome to this level this quickly. Likewise for physical. His give a damn was shattered. I’m sure Andy has played a large roll, but it’s more than just that. It’s hard to ask for a better mentor. Maybe he’ll open up at some point. 

[SmokinwithWilly]

I think it probably had something to do with his career about to be over. He's always been surrounded by the best talent and with that comes some ease in doing your job. When everyone on your team is at least 2 or 3 star better recruits than 90% of the opposing team. In the NFL everyone is 5 star recruits. I think it was probably a wake up call that either he starts actually putting in the work, or he was going down as one of the biggest busts in NFL history. 

[PNW_PantherMan]

8 minutes ago, Gapanthersfan said:

Someone, something, somewhere helped him to get his head right. A knowledge deficit would not have been overcome to this level this quickly. Likewise for physical. His give a damn was shattered. I’m sure Andy has played a large roll, but it’s more than just that. It’s hard to ask for a better mentor. Maybe he’ll open up at some point. 

Who would have thought that the only way to fix Bryce would be to break him first?  The Canales whisperer legend grows.

[countryboi]

I think it was likely a combination of poor coaching, needing time to step back and observe from the sidelines, and some bad habits.

once, Canales got him to buy in followed by Bryce experiencing a bit of success, really reignited his confidence.

[Jon Snow]

He started to believe in himself again. For all the talk about an Allstar coaching staff nothing they did showed they believed in him.

The benching for that hail mary broke him last year. Frank didn't want him and wasn't going to do anything to help improve his macanics until year 2. It was a bad situation all around. 

Now he seems to say f*ck it, I'm going to do this on my own if I have to. I hope he can pull it off.

[Tbe]

Going from not being able to complete a pass to save his life to a 300 yrd, 3 TD, 0 INT game in one season is nuts.

It must have been all mental.

Theilen alluded to trying to help Bryce understand he didn’t have to be perfect on every play.