Sadly, the Bryce Young era in Carolina hasn’t gotten off to a great start. The offense managed just three points with Young under center in the team’s second preseason game. It certainly wasn’t all his fault though. The offensive line had massive struggles throughout the entire night. And Young got a glimpse of what it might be like in the NFL for his rookie campaign, for the second straight week of the preseason.
Bryce Young Needs Protection
The Panthers lost 21-19 to the New York Giants and the Young-led offense created three points in three drives. Shortly after the game, reporters asked head coach Frank Reich about his rookies showing and he said, “I thought Bryce looked sharp. Put together a nice drive, obviously I would’ve liked to have finished it off. I just felt like he was comfortable and poised in the pocket and seeing what he was supposed to see.” Reich did mention that he thought their protection was better. Which is a little weird considering the beating that his young gunslinger took in just a few drives. Then again, nothing could have been worse than the first week of preseason action.
In the first game, Young and the Panthers were stomped 27-0 by the New York Jets. Young went as the starter for three drives in that game as well, scoring no points and getting pressured on 28.6 percent of his drop backs, being sacked once.
That game didn’t see him get anything going on the offensive end, and every time it felt like they had some momentum, a big pass rush would wipe it away. On Friday against the Giants, Young was pressured on 42.9 percent of his drop backs while taking another sack. He only completed three of his six passes for 35 yards. Reich was then asked if Young would play in their third and final preseason game, but he was very noncommittal on whether or not we would.
He’s Got Insane Potential
Young has the talent and potential to be one of the best rookies in the league. The problem is that he is not showing much efficiency with the lack of an offensive line in Carolina. The one field goal drive that he led saw him muster 40 yards of offense. Not to mention that it was a 12-play drive that took over seven minutes. That’s not the type of efficiency or production that you want. Unfortunately, these types of performances happening in back-to-back preseason games show that the Panthers truly do have a problem. A problem that needs to be addressed offensively ahead of the season.
The Panthers do have to be careful though. Bryce Young is a smaller quarterback than most. He isn’t a guy that you would like to be taking hits repeatedly throughout the course of an entire NFL season. If you give him time in the pocket, he’ll deliver some good results. If you can’t give him any protection, it’ll be hard to win games or create offense at all. I mean, even during the New York Jets Hard Knocks, we’ve seen Young get under pressure constantly during their joint practices with them. It’s an issue that is becoming glaringly obvious.