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

[PadresPanthersFan]

4 hours ago, SCO96 said:

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.

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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

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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

 

 

[SCO96]

45 minutes ago, PadresPanthersFan said:

.

I actually had more I could have posted about EPA but I left it out because I thought the post was too long and the additional content was a little hard to understand.

[TD alt]

5 hours 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. 

Who in our fan base thinks he's a starter? I was thinking the other way around. 

[Jackie Lee]

5 hours 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. 

Darnold and PJ at least made some insane throws occasionally lol. 3 years in I haven't been seen a BY throw that has made me say wow like at least those two guys occasionally. Moore and Allen were fun to root for as backups that played basically BY level football for very cheap. Luckily didn't have a tv the Pickles year

[SmokinwithWilly]

1 minute ago, Jackie Lee said:

Darnold and PJ at least made some insane throws occasionally lol. 3 years in I haven't been seen a BY throw that has made me say wow like at least those two guys occasionally. Moore and Allen were fun to root for as backups that played basically BY level football for very cheap. Luckily didn't have a tv the Pickles year

Allen had that ridiculous ducking out of JJ Watt's grasp that was on highlights for a week or 2. 

[Jackie Lee]

3 minutes ago, SmokinwithWilly said:

Allen had that ridiculous ducking out of JJ Watt's grasp that was on highlights for a week or 2. 

Yeah, I mean like Darnold hitting a 50 yarder from the end zone to (barf) Ian Thomas, or PJ with the deep ball to DJ Moore. If BY had ever hit that level of big time throw I'd be more optimistic about his future, and also defenses would play us a lot differently if they knew there was even a chance of that happening 

[kungfoodude]

47 minutes ago, TD alt said:

Who in our fan base thinks he's a starter? I was thinking the other way around. 

Bro, the forever Brycers are not rare.

26 minutes ago, Jackie Lee said:

Darnold and PJ at least made some insane throws occasionally lol. 3 years in I haven't been seen a BY throw that has made me say wow like at least those two guys occasionally. Moore and Allen were fun to root for as backups that played basically BY level football for very cheap. Luckily didn't have a tv the Pickles year

Yeah but all these guys share the same illogical, rabid fans. It's fuging wierd.

[PootieNunu]

5 hours ago, Jackie Lee said:

Yeah, I mean like Darnold hitting a 50 yarder from the end zone to (barf) Ian Thomas, or PJ with the deep ball to DJ Moore. If BY had ever hit that level of big time throw I'd be more optimistic about his future, and also defenses would play us a lot differently if they knew there was even a chance of that happening 

Did someone say Big Time Throw? 

[Waldo]

[MechaZain]

7 hours ago, TD alt said:

Who in our fan base thinks he's a starter? I was thinking the other way around. 

Everyone saying we should be thankful and move forward with him because we made playoffs, ignoring that we got lucky and stumbled in despite a bottom 10 starting QB.

[AggieLean]

7 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

Bro, the forever Brycers are not rare.

Yeah but all these guys share the same illogical, rabid fans. It's fuging wierd.

They’re all over social media. Everytime I see a cluster of them I say they can’t be watching the games in whole. It is hard to watch Bryce and the offense play. 
 

Most of my friends who are fans of other teams think Bryce is trash, though. In my best friend group is quite a few saints fans. Needless to say, they want us to keep rolling with Bryce 

Edited January 9 by AggieLean

[frankw]

24 minutes ago, AggieLean said:

They’re all over social media. Everytime I see a cluster of them I say they can’t be watching the games in whole. It is hard to watch Bryce and the offense play. 
 

Most of my friends who are fans of other teams think Bryce is trash, though. In my best friend group is quite a few saints fans. Needless to say, they want us to keep rolling with Bryce 

And we were swept by that team. No Drew Brees no Sean Payton. Rebuilding roster. New coach. Rookie second round QB.

All I know for sure is Bryce and this team better not go out there and take a steaming dump on the field Saturday.

[CRA]

2 hours ago, PootieNunu said:

Did someone say Big Time Throw? 

[PootieNunu]

21 minutes ago, CRA said:

At least The Golden Calf of Bristol had the running ability.....

Bryce has the BTT and GWD though....