No doubt: Panthers QB Bryce Young mired in mediocrity

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Bryce Young's first NFL season has been a struggle, especially over the last six weeks where he's tossed only two touchdown passes compared to five interceptions for the  1-12 Carolina Panthers.

The Carolina Panthers displayed a rare offensive pulse on their second possession last week against the New Orleans Saints.

Taking over after a missed field goal attempt, Chuba Hubbard opened with three consecutive runs to earning a first down. Bryce Young then hit D.J. Chark for an 18-yard gain.
Things were starting to look good. Until less than two seconds into the next play – the time Young had to drop back and scan the Saints defense.

Taking advantage of the Panthers’ injury-plagued offensive, seven defenders were within the point of impact, forcing Young to lose a fumble and any momentum they were building.
From then on, things didn’t look so good for Young.

Struggles ‘make you more hungry’

Young, April’s first overall draft pick, completed just 13 of 36 passes for 137 yards in a 28-6 loss to the Saints. Young’s 36.1% completion rate was the league’s lowest this season. Over his past five starts, Young has thrown one touchdown pass – none in his last three.

After reviewing game video, Young said Wednesday the 1-12 Panthers’ struggles “make you more hungry.”

As he has for much of the season, Young didn’t attempt to deflect his share of responsibility for the Panthers becoming the first team eliminated from playoff contention.
“Looking back on myself, there were definitely some misses in there,” he said.  

None were more glaring than the deep overthrow of rookie wide receiver Jonathan Mingo.

Young’s questionable footwork could have played a role in the missed opportunity at the end of the first half, which could have pulled the Panthers to within 14-10 at halftime.

Instead, Young’s unsettled pocket presence has been seeded by the countless times he has been planted into the turf by rushing defenders. Poorly protected by a carousal of replacement guards and underperformances by tackles Taylor Moton and Ikem Ekwonu, Young has been sacked 48 times in 12 starts.  

With four games remaining, interim coach Chris Tabor does not plan on benching Young for veteran Andy Dalton, despite near historical struggles.

Here’s a closer look at Young’s six-game slump:

• A completion percentage of 52% (204 attempts).

• Average passer rating (59.5).

• Total touchdowns (two).

• Interceptions (five).

• Average passing yards per game (165.0).

Atlanta Falcons next

The depth of problems facing Carolina’s passing game has been well-documented this season. The offense’s inefficiency played a role in former coach Frank Reich enduring the shortest NFL coaching tenure since 1978.

Entering Sunday’s game against Atlanta at Bank of America Stadium, the Panthers rank 30th in yards per game (270) and points per game (15.2).

The culprits? Young’s rushed development under constant harassment has proven to be a consistent problem. So has faulty offensive schemes, ill-advised play calls, ragged routes by the receivers, dropped passes, bad throws and worse luck.

On a last-gasp fourth-and-one play against the Saints, Young made the right read and threw to an open Raheem Blackshear, but the backup running back lost his footing and dropped the pass.  
Tabor said he was confident in Young’s mental toughness.

"I think he’s come back,” Tabor said Monday. “That's what a competitor does. I think all players do that to a certain degree. All you can do now is let it drive you and I think that’s what Bryce will do."

Young, who is averaging 182.7 passing yards per game, has performed far below preseason expectations and is the last to dispute his numbers. He was asked about the Panthers’ motivation over the final four weeks, which includes three home games.

“Just focus on ourselves,” he said. “How can we clean things up? That’s the main motivation. We have to be better and improve on a lot of things. Just trying to get more reps on some throws.”

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