The misery of Carolina’s 2023 season has been nothing short of many losses. This comes with territory in what’s been “keep pounding” to “runaway until 2024.” If you could write a book on a bad team drafting in the last few years, Carolina is near the top. To say the season is a forgone conclusion, might as well be. There will be no growling from the Panthers. More like whimpers and battle wounds gashing with each loss.
The arrival of Head Coach Frank Reich had all the fans excited. They finally had an offensive minded coach who was a branch off the Doug Pederson coaching tree. Frank’s exit from Indianapolis came with if he’d lost confidence in his ability to coach and develop quarterbacks. As football has become more of a passing league, the question is Coach Reich's adjustments to his personnel? He’s never had a quarterback under six feet and fans are seeing why this hasn’t worked.
Bryce Young, Heisman Trophy Winner, and Alabama superstar with a great college career. All the hype, hoopla and “must watch television” was all I heard over the NFL offseason. Carolina went into full rebuild mode and Frank Reich knew this prior to taking the job. To say he didn’t have any input far as what quarterback to take with the number one pick. Trading former receiver D.J. Moore to Chicago for their number one pick. From there, this was already a bad move by Carolina. What’s Frank Reich to do in this scenario?
In hindsight, everybody was very high on Bryce Young; even with Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud possibly being taken first overall. When the pick was made… The excitement was there… But only for a short time due to overall concerns by fans who felt the height advantage would hurt any developmental scheme improving Bryce’s quarterback portfolio. Here we are passed the midway point and nothing to cheer about.
To say the incompetence is on Frank Reich… To a degree yes, in part of he knew this roster wasn’t capable of competing. Free agency has been a flop; considering the subpar talent Bryce must work with. Veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen is a shell of himself; Miles Sanders hasn’t been much of the player he was in Philadelphia. Hayden Hurst looks the part but not much impact. Very bad offensive line doesn’t help Bryce in any capacity. Defense is just as bad if not worse considering Brian Burns was the subject of trade talks.
Panthers fans are still showing up to support their team, but can they sit through each week knowing the odds are against them? A quarterback who’s already missed time due to injury and Coach Reich's playcalling isn’t meshing with Bryce. This further proves trading away your future for right now doesn’t equip to success for a team who hasn’t
made the playoffs since 2017. That was last time Carolina seen a postseason game and Cam Newton was the quarterback. Since then, they’ve been in purgatory with the most important position in football.
To say Bryce Young has busted in his rookie season doesn’t serve justice. He alone can’t turn it around overnight and make it right. Being undersized and not seeing the field can’t be refuted. Stepping outside the pocket and delivering the football is his forte. He doesn’t have the offensive line he played behind at Alabama. No real skilled receivers or running backs at his disposal. He’s in for a very long battle in keeping fans in the stadium each week. Patience is the word I used in my previous article for “NFC Midseason Report Cards.”
Will the fans give Frank Reich and Bryce Young enough time to make it right? As this season feels lost deep in the jungle of no return, the Panthers must learn to win as one. If the leader of your pride is Bryce Young, he must mature and show why the number one pick was worth drafting him over his contemporaries. A lot of things can be corrected, but it starts with getting “Reich with Bryce.” Talent alone can’t win games… It takes everyone in the organization to revive the mantra of “Keep Pounding.”
Stai tuned…
