Monday Morning Thoughts: One Big Epic Failure

Final thoughts on the Panthers loss to the Saints.

Typically when you take a quarterback with the number one overall pick, the organization does everything it can to put that rookie in a position to succeed. At some point throughout the season, there's usually a turning point where the light bulb comes on and he looks like the franchise guy you had hoped he would be.

For Bryce Young, it hasn't happened yet and probably won't happen at any point over the final four games of the season. That's not his fault, though.

He was thrown into an impossible situation right in front of our very eyes but we all bought in to the idea that the all-star coaching staff Reich assembled would overcome the roster's shortcomings. You were wrong, I was wrong, we were all wrong. The Panthers duped everyone around the league too. 

Even after Reich gave up the play-calling, the offense remained anemic. In the two games since Reich's firing, the offense has managed to put up a whopping 24 points. On Sunday, Young had by far the worst game of the season completing just 13-of-36 pass attempts (36%) for 137 yards and a fumble. How is this worse than the three-interception game against the Colts, you ask? Because he completed THIRTY-SIX percent of his pass attempts. 

How in the world does this happen?

Bad scheme, play-calling, protection, receiver play, and yes, some bad throws. Young isn't immune to some of the issues the Panthers are having in the passing game. He missed more than a handful of throws yesterday, most notably the deep ball to Jonathan Mingo which would have went for six had he not overthrown it. 

But there were a ton of drops and situations where a receiver lost his footing (Raheem Blackshear on 4th & 1) and play calls that just flat out made zero sense. Thomas Brown fell in love with taking shots downfield in this game and kept going to it despite the results not being there. I am still floored by the decision to throw it deep on 4th & 1... not once but twice. Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders averaged 4.9 yards per carry on the day combined. Turn around and hand it off to them.

The Panthers have really put themselves in a pickle. They're about to hand over the No. 1 overall pick to the Chicago Bears and this team could certainly use its first round selection. Couple that with how bad the roster is AND all the drama that surrounds ownership and you've got one big mess that someone is going to be tasked with cleaning up. Many around the NFL thought the Matt Rhule era was bad, but this is an epic failure under the biggest microscope thanks to the blockbuster trade that hasn't paid off.

What Chris Tabor Said Following the Loss to New Orleans

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