Carolina's Biggest Flaw According to NFL.COM (It proves what we Huddler's have noticed for YEARS!)

[SCO96]

Forgive me for this length of this post, but it has some interesting data which proves what we have been harping on since Bryce was drafted in 2023.

https://www.nfl.com/news/one-potential-fatal-flaw-for-every-team-in-2025-nfl-playoffs

Biggest weakness: Passing attack

Bryce Young had his most efficient game in more than a month in Week 18, posting 266 yards -- just the third time he hit the 250-yard mark all season -- with a TD and an INT, yet the Panthers still put up only 14 points against a Bucs defense that hasn’t exactly been stingy against the pass this season. Among 26 quarterbacks with at least 300 pass attempts, Young's -0.08 EPA per dropback ranks fourth-worst. The only other playoff QB in the negative is 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers (-0.4). Since beating the Rams in Week 13, Carolina has put up more than 20 points in a game once in four tilts. With the run game slowed -- Rico Dowdle averaging 3.3 YPC and Chuba Hubbard 3.4 over the past four weeks -- the Panthers need Young to deliver. The Panthers' offense ranks 27th in net yards per pass attempt and 22nd in passing first downs and 26th in passing yards. No other playoff team ranks below 20th in passing yards entering Wild Card Weekend.

---

I wasn't familiar with the EPA stat so I decided to research it.

What –0.08 EPA per dropback means

• EPA/dropback measures how much a QB increases or decreases his team’s expected points on each play.

• –0.08 means the Panthers are losing about 0.08 expected points every time Young drops back to pass.

• Over 35–40 dropbacks per game, that’s roughly –3 points per game attributable just to passing efficiency.

That –0.08 EPA/dropback ranking signals that Young’s passing game has been one of the least effective in the NFL, not just below average.

EPA per Dropback Tiers

Very Poor

–0.15 or worse

• Offense is actively sabotaged by the passing game

• Backup-level or rookie-in-trouble territory

• Benchable over a full season

Poor (This is where we currently place with Bryce...so far)

–0.10 to –0.05

• Bottom-quarter NFL starter

• Drives frequently stall due to sacks, failed 3rd downs, or lack of explosives

• Can win only with elite defense/run game

Below Average

–0.05 to 0.00

• Replacement-level starter

• Functional but inefficient

• Requires strong supporting cast

Average

0.00 to +0.05

• League-average starter

• Keeps offense on schedule

• Can win games without carrying team

Good

+0.05 to +0.10

• Clear top-12 QB range

• Efficient on early downs and 3rd downs

• Sustains drives consistently

Very Good

+0.10 to +0.15

• Pro Bowl–caliber season

• Strong situational mastery

• Makes surrounding talent better

Excellent / Elite

+0.15 or higher

• MVP-level impact

• Offense scores meaningfully more because of the QB

• Rare — usually only 3–5 QBs per year

Bottom Line

EPA is best thought of as:

“How much does this QB move the scoreboard in the right direction when he drops back?”

• 0.00 = treading water

• +0.10 = consistently winning plays

• –0.08 = putting the offense behind schedule

---

The stats above clearly show that are passing game is our biggest liability as a team. Until the coaches improve that element of  the team, Carolina will not ever reach the status of a perennial contender

 

 

[Panthera onca]

Paging Cranky to refute reality again.

[jfra78]

[Sup]

Of course bro sucks. Only a handful of dead enders on here and especially Panthers Reddit think otherwise.

Strangely it's helpful to see big media pointing out what a liability he is, because them doing the opposite most of the last three years has fooled a lot of low-information fans into thinking he's a legit starter.

[Chief Keek]

That should be obvious to anybody with two eyes except the BYDF.

[kungfoodude]

26 minutes ago, Sup said:

Of course bro sucks. Only a handful of dead enders on here and especially Panthers Reddit think otherwise.

Strangely it's helpful to see big media pointing out what a liability he is, because them doing the opposite most of the last three years has fooled a lot of low-information fans into thinking he's a legit starter.

Only people in our fanbase consider him starting caliber. Ask any other NFL, non-casual fanbase and they will laugh when you ask the question about how good they think he is.

It's no different than the Matt Moore stans, the Weinke stans, the Pickles stans, the Kyle Allen stans, the Darnold stans, the PJ Walker stans, etc, etc, etc, etc. You just end up with a portion of the fanbase that is irrational and illogical. 

[jfra78]

1 hour ago, kungfoodude said:

Only people in our fanbase consider him starting caliber. Ask any other NFL, non-casual fanbase and they will laugh when you ask the question about how good they think he is.

It's no different than the Matt Moore stans, the Weinke stans, the Pickles stans, the Kyle Allen stans, the Darnold stans, the PJ Walker stans, etc, etc, etc, etc. You just end up with a portion of the fanbase that is irrational and illogical. 

A Dallas fan at work said they would trade Bryce for Dak straight up

[kungfoodude]

3 minutes ago, jfra78 said:

A Dallas fan at work said they would trade Bryce for Dak straight up

Ask him to call Jerry. I'll take that bloated contract minus the prorated bonus money. He would be $40 mil, $45 mil and $55 mil and after 2026, none of that money is guaranteed. 

Dak at $40 mil for one year is actually a steal.

Plus they would immediately incur a $130 mil dead cap hit. Triple win.

Edited January 9 by kungfoodude

[Castavar]

You can throw away EVERY statistic there is about Bryce Young (good or bad), if people just turned on a Panthers game and watched him with their own eyes, the eye test will tell you everything you need to know...............he fuggin sucks ass. The amount of validation I hear on the basis with Bryce truthers is nauseating. People let statistics fool what their eyes are showing them too much nowadays. 

Edited January 9 by Castavar

[Candler Cat]

Some ppl ain't gonna like this

[PadresPanthersFan]

But what about big time throws and game winning drives, the only made up stats that matter

[Montsta]

2 hours ago, Chief Keek said:

That should be obvious to anybody with two eyes except the BYDF.

BYDF….ASSEMBLE!!

[strato]

2 hours ago, Candler Cat said:

Some ppl ain't gonna like this

Great. Understated but right on time. 

[X-Clown]

2 hours ago, jfra78 said:

A Dallas fan at work said they would trade Bryce for Dak straight up

Dallas fans are really dumb when it comes to Dak. There’s a decent part of their fan base that still believes they would be better off with cooper Rush. Then there are others that think he’s the best the entire league and that you could put him on the chiefs and that he’d have more super bowls than mahomes. Very little in between.