Andy Dalton Needs to Play Out the Rest of 2023

The veteran should start the rest of the season.
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At this point, the Panthers’ offensive struggles have been covered extensively.

If you've watched the games, none of the following statistics will come as a surprise.

- Bryce Young has thrown for one touchdown or less in every game but one this season.

- Young has thrown one touchdown pass in the past five weeks.

- Young hasn’t thrown a touchdown in three weeks.

- Of the 28 quarterbacks that have played at least 250 plays, Young ranks last in EPA/play and last in success rate.

- Of the 29 quarterbacks that qualify for ESPN’s QBR statistic, Young ranks last.

Monday Morning Thoughts: One Big Epic Failure

It’s time for Bryce Young to take a seat on the bench and let Andy Dalton run the offense for the rest of 2023.

At this point, what does it do for the future of Bryce Young to continue throwing him out there to the wolves?

The play-calling is a disaster. Carolina faced eight situations where they had a third or fourth down and two yards or less. They ran the ball five times and converted all five. They passed the ball three times and only converted once. There’s significant noise in the results of those situations, but the offense ran for 215 yards. Keep the ball on the ground to convert in those situations.

The skill position players struggle with drops. Young has had his struggles, but the receivers and running backs are doing the rookie quarterback no favors. Dropped passes and poorly run routes are killing any momentum the offense has.

The offensive line continues to be detrimental. Young took four sacks yesterday, and his fumble came from instant pressure from the defense when eight players stayed in to block for Young.

All of that is true. Young was asked to play quarterback with the worst supporting cast in the NFL.

But Bryce Young has not been a good quarterback in 2023.

Going 13/36 for 137 yards is not solely the fault of the surrounding cast. The poor statistics Young has put on paper are not squarely on the shoulders of the pieces surrounding the quarterback. The lack of production by the offense isn’t just because the front office and coaching staff are in full disarray.

Young has run for his life all season, but when he’s given time to throw, he still misses open receivers. The deep throw to Mingo from yesterday will be overanalyzed, but Young’s deep ball inaccuracies are concerning.

Bryce Young has to be better, and hitting the bench may be the best thing for him long-term.

People may say, “What will getting benched do to Young’s confidence?” To that, I would say, “What would four more weeks of getting piledriven by opposing defensive linemen do to his confidence?

If Carolina wants to get out of the cellar and not give the first overall pick to Chicago, Andy Dalton is the man to drag them out. Asking Bryce Young, a below-average quarterback in 2023, to drop back 30+ times to win a game isn’t happening.

The most important man to the future of the franchise is Bryce Young. Keep him healthy, let him learn from Dalton for the rest of the season, and spend the next ten months building an infrastructure around Young for him to thrive in week one of 2024.

We’ve seen all we need to see from Bryce Young in 2023; Let Dalton cook.

Monday Morning Thoughts: One Big Epic Failure

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Matt Alquiza
MATT ALQUIZA

Matt is a resident of South Carolina who grew up in Charlotte, and attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Matt has been writing for All Hornets and All Panthers since 2020.