Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! Most of the questions this week revolved around moving on from Bryce Young and Dave Canales, subjects I was hoping we wouldn’t be getting into this early in the regular season, but here we are! Let’s dive right in, and join us next week for another edition of the mailbag!
e4*: Will I ever play the the violin?
If the Panthers continue to have horrific games like the last two weeks, you might have an extra
four hours a week come November or so to learn the violin. Or become an Eagles fan. Maybe learn to play “Fly Eagles Fly” on the violin too? Seriously though, I hope the team can at least stabilize its performance soon.
schrodingersblackcat: What happens if Bryce pulls off a trajectory similar to last year? (With or without benching.)
I went ahead and linked the whole comment since you asked several questions, I will try to hit on all the asking points.
- I think if Bryce ends the season on the upswing again and the team finishes around .500, you probably have to consider bringing in some form of competition. I don’t know if that’s a first round pick at QB, but maybe a mid rounder or a free agent option. Then as the head coach/GM, you let those guys fight it out in camp, and build the rest of the roster up as best you can around them. I don’t think it makes sense to move on entirely from Bryce Young in this scenario unless you find a team willing to make a decent trade, but what exactly that would look like is hard to project right now.
- I don’t know if bringing Jameis Winston in makes a lot of sense for this team, but it would be fun. If by some miracle the Giants are playing Jacxson Dart over a healthy Russell Wilson prior to the deadline, maybe you can get Winston on a cheap trade, but I don’t think he’s saving the season if we see the Panthers continue on the current trend. I am still of the mindset that we give it a few more weeks before deciding the 2025 season is completely lost.
brake23: Last week I said Bryce had to have a big game and throw for over 300 yards for me to have any optimistic view on his future. Surprisingly, he followed through BUT it also came with the typical Bryce turnovers and against a very banged up Arizona secondary with no pressure up front for a large chunk of the second half. What kind of performance do you think Bryce needs to have in order to show the fanbase that he isn’t regressing?
Really, to me, it has to be starting the game fast rather than a horrific turnover, and staying somewhat consistent on offense throughout the game. Atlanta’s defense looks pretty good right now, specifically the pass rush, so that unfortunately means we’ll probably see some pressure on Bryce on Sunday. But I think starting the game strong and keeping it competitive throughout would be a good start, even if the Panthers don’t find a way to win.
Bruce Guild: What are your thoughts on how this defense will fair this year particularly if offense can minimize turnovers?
I’m hoping this week is the starting point with Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen on the edges. It looks like at least Scourton will get a much bigger role with Pat Jones already ruled out, but hopefully that also means Princely will get mixed in a bit more as well coming off his first sack last week. The rush defense did well last week, but how much of that comes from the Cardinals letting off the gas in the second half remains to be seen. If the Panthers edge rushers can continue to progress and acclimate, the defense could be alright. Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, and Chau Smith-Wade seem to be doing very well as the CB tandem all things considered. The safeties and interior linebackers have been meh, but a stronger pass rush can help mask a lot of these things. Its all going to start with the defensive line in my opinion, but I’ve seen some flashes of good from the defense as a whole throughout two weeks where bad offense hurt everything else.
Panthers75: Is it my fault? I have a confession. I took a flyer on Bryce as my last pick on one of my fantasy teams. I thought that maybe, just maybe the offense would be legitimate. I apologize to the Panthers fandom at large for this transgression
I feel you, Panthers75. In my big money Dynasty league, I drafted Bryce Young last year (it was the inaugural draft) with a later round pick. I dropped him after he was benched, picked him back up after he started trending upward and have him as my QB2/3 this year. It might be both of our faults.
schrodingersblackcat: How many more weeks of awful play and awful-er effort will it take for our coaches to overlook XL’s draft status and bench him?
I think if his struggles continue, once Jalen Coker is back and healthy he might drop down the roster to WR4/5. Currently, Hunter Renfrow is getting open and doing well with his catchable opportunities, and it seems Brycen Tremayne is making a real case to continue to see passing snaps on offense. If Legette can’t get it together his role may be overtaken by Coker, so that decision might just come down to getting the best guys on the field.
right_turn_clyde: How hot is Canales’s seat right now given that yet again the Panthers are the worst prepared and worst performing team to start the season?
If Dave Canales is fired this season or during the off-season, this organization and David Tepper would lose pretty much all of the good faith I have that they’ve moved on from the snap decisions that caused them to be in the situation they’ve been in for the last 5 seasons. The way they’ve drafted, handled free agency, and general strategy all seem to indicate they are finally taking the long approach towards team building, and I think the idea with hiring Canales, as inexperienced as he was, is that there were going to be growing pains, and this wasn’t supposed to be a situation where the Panthers were going to be playoff contenders within two seasons. Obviously, the slow starts over the last two years, specifically on offense, are very concerning. But I would not consider Canales’s seat hot right now, maybe a conversation we would have following year 3. If they move on from him this soon, I have major concerns about this team ever rebuilding properly.
Shifty Fish: At what point does Will Levis enter the conversation?
Maybe towards mid season if we’re continuing to see this version of the offense at that time, though I’m not convinced they won’t turn it around at least in some capacity. If the Panthers are still winless and Bryce Young looks like a shell of what he was to end last season and in flashes this year, it might be worth bringing Levis in, but I don’t know how much that would help. He’d have to pick up a new offense entirely on the fly, and he’s not a veteran QB with experience in several schemes throughout his career. It would be a dart throw at best, but I wouldn’t completely oppose it if things continue to be this bad.
KeepPounding88: Why do we continue watching this team even though we know damn well they’re just going to find new ways to disappoint us?
I think I’m at the point where it has to end eventually, and they seem to be building for the long term now. But I can understand why people are at their limits with the team. Hopefully a get right game is around the corner where we can at least be entertained.
Chef: Is it ok to not expect every single week to be a disaster? Hope is a fragile thing, but I just can’t watch continually expecting the worst possible outcome. Will the overall sentiment surrounding the team change when we beat ATL?
I think like the Raiders game last season, all it takes is one strong victory to get the fans at least invested again. Hopefully this time it doesn’t have to come with Bryce Young being benched for a period.
Revshawn: Does it make sense for the Panthers to trade for a QB when the NFL Draft QB class is this good? How much of a shot do you give the Panthers at landing Arch Manning if we stay the course and start Bryce all 17 games?
I’m not sure what QB they will target if things really go that way. I’m thinking the team has to stabilize at some point, but how many games they’ll win is a different matter.
Galadhron: Why are we acting like this team is cooked? I mean, the GD Chiefs are 0-2, too!
I’m glad we’ve still got some optimism out there, I know this community has been through some really challenging seasons for several years in a row, so I understand the quick response to give up on this season. Again, if they can turn it around and find a strong victory this week or next, we might return to optimism. Keep up the good vibes!
positivebob: 1st win? Don’t think it’s Atlanta, haven’t followed the Pats much yet, but it’s on the road, so not likely, but Miami at home. That’s the one. Sound about right?
Weird stuff always happens between the Panthers and Falcons, no matter how good or bad each team is. So I genuinely have no idea what to expect on Sunday. The Falcons defense is being praised as good, the Panthers offense has been bad outside of the 2nd half last week. But this week could be the week. Pats and Dolphins are also both winnable games, but I think that will depend on what the Panthers look like this week too. Momentum is a thing. Even if they don’t win, a competitive performance will be more uplifting than the defeating performances to start this season.
Kimbersdad: Does XL make the team next year???
I don’t see why he wouldn’t, but its a bit early to be having that conversation. Let’s at least give the guy the rest of the year to get his head right.
Zing311: Can we trash this 3-4 crap and go back to what we were good at yet?
The base defense the team plays really doesn’t effect a whole lot, but the Panthers don’t have the personnel to go back to a base 4-3 anyway. They currently play more of a hybrid defense, and when the team is in nickel/dime defense the only real difference between 3-4 and 4-3 is whether the edge rushers have their hands in the dirt or not. Changing back to a 4-3 is not going to solve the defense’s problems, the linebackers aren’t going to be any better. The two edge rushers they drafted are better fits as 3-4 edge rushers as well.
