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Panthers coach Dave Canales deserves immense credit for Bryce Young's upward trajectory

Matt Alquiza

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
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The deck was stacked against Dave Canales from his first day as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. It took two games for said deck to disintegrate into an abject disaster.

His Panthers squad, bereft of talent due to poor decision-making from past shot-callers in the front office, was a rudderless ship, flailing partially due to poor play at the game's most important position. Bryce Young, the quarterback that was selected with the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft just 18 months earlier, was out of sorts, out of favor, and as of the the day after a week two loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, out of a starting job. Canales was at a crossroads, and for the betterment of his job security, the other 52 men on the roster, and the young quarterback himself, he decided to bench Bryce Young in favor of Andy Dalton.

The decision was two-fold. On one hand, Young's inability to push the ball downfield to his improved weaponry in clean pockets made it impossible to evaluate the Panthers roster. Canales and Dan Morgan needed to find out who could hack it in the NFL, and with Young under center, it was impossible to know. On the other hand, Canales needed to win football games, and Bryce Young in his current state was unable to quarterback the Panthers to a win. Plain and simple.

After two weeks of soaring on the magic carpet ride that was the Andy Dalton experience, things came crashing down quickly for the Panthers. Dalton's warts began to show, and the team's performances became increasingly uglier the longer he had the reins.

All the while, Young was sitting and waiting, biding his time to reclaim his station as the starting quarterback of the Carolina Panthers. His return to the first team was expedited by Dalton's involvement in an unfortunate traffic accident, and he hasn't looked back. Young has been phenomenal in his three starts back in the saddle.

The statistics don't look incredible. Bryce Young has only eclipsed 200 passing yards in one of his three starts, he's thrown a trio of interceptions, and the offense has yet to put together a holistic, explosive performance when Young has the reins. However, it doesn't take a PHD in ball to know that everything about Bryce's game looks better after his respit on the bench.

Young passes the eye test

The amount of confidence Bryce Young has in the pocket is night and day from his last action under center. In week two against the Los Angeles Chargers, Young was a deer in the headlights. He was jumping to see over his linemen, trying to toss the rock with no semblance of a base to garner power and velocity. In that contest he didn't attempt a pass over 15 yards. His Next Gen Stats passing chart from week two is one that portrays a broken man under center.

Bryce Young week 2 passing chart
Next Gen Stats

In the last two weeks alone, Young has fired 12 balls that are considered "deep" passing attempts. More importantly, he's trusting his stout offensive line, stepping up in the pocket, and attempting shots downfield that will truly unlock Dave Canales' offense. The Panthers head coach came from Tampa Bay where he engineered an scheme that allowed much maligned signal caller Baker Mayfield to thrive. In Canales' offense, Mayfield had free reign to rip posts, go-balls, digs, and other long-developing routes that opened up lanes for Rachaad White to run through and for the quarterback to attack underneath. Young is finally starting to attempt some of those throws. Two clips from last week's win in Germany show a quarterback with growing confidence.

These throws are reminiscent of the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback that took the SEC by storm, and his head coach deserves some credit for reviving Young's confidence.

Dave Canales played his hand perfectly

Canales was hailed as the quarterback whisperer. Both Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield had Baptist-like career revivals under the tutelage of Canales, and David Tepper hired the California-born first-time head coach to do the same thing for his flailing number one overall pick. Through two weeks, Canales' rescue mission looked nothing short of a gigantic failure. Through ten weeks, Canales looks like a genius.

Some time on the bench is exactly what Young needed. A chance to reset mentally, watch a veteran work the offense, and most importantly, take a deep breath and remember that he has the requisite tools to play football at a high level. We'll never know what happened on Mint Street in those six weeks that Young backed up Dalton, but whatever did happen in the quarterback meeting room was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Young still has a long way to go to live up to his draft billing. He's still nowhere close to reaching the perceived ceiling that was slapped on him in the 2023 NFL Draft process. But he's closer, he's competent, and he looks like a functional quarterback that can manage the game at a high-level. Give Young another perimeter playmaker, continue investing in the offensive line, and let Canales do what he was brought to Carolina to do: coordinate a top-notch NFL offense with his young quarterback under center.

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Matt Alquiza
MATT ALQUIZA

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