Mage

I'm just talking about how they played the game. I don't really care about the size part of it. Otherwise you limit the comps you can make. I mean even look at the player you mentioned - Brees. Him and Garcia were the same size and yet Garcia played way different. And one of Garcia's problems was his weak arm (like Bryce's). And for his time, Garcia was pretty small. Not Bryce or Flutie small, but still far from a big guy. Just on a quick google search, a lot of people say Doug Flutie had a pretty strong arm. That alone makes it hard for me to compare him to Bryce.

Don't worry, fellow degenerate. I stand with you.

Jeff Garcia OBVIOUSLY Garcia >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bryce. But I thought coming out of Alabama, that was the best comp for Bryce. I can't really speak on Doug Flutie because I haven't seen much of him.

Good, quality thread. Not enough people are talking about this.

I mean, he's a professional athlete. What you think as a fan vs what he should think as a player are completely different. Being bad doesn't mean you should lack confidence in yourself, and really that is true in all forms of life. Do everything you want to do with confidence. Justin Fields sucks, but does he ever play like someone who doesn't believe in his own abilities? Obviously you need more than confidence to be a high-level NFL player, and Bryce will never be that. But he could still create 2-3 extra plays a game if he allowed himself to play more "free" like he did in the second half of last season. The fact he refuses to use his legs to pick up yards nowadays hurts this team. Simple things like that would go a long way for us, even if not for him.

The main issue is Bryce Young. Not the only issue, but certainly the one who has played the biggest role in our lack of a vertical pass game. What is frustrating is that while I don't think he will ever be an Allen or Mahomes in that department, obviously, he is more capable than what he's shown (which isn't saying a whole lot). But he refuses to play like someone who trusts themselves. While he is better than he was as a rookie, the best he's ever looked IMO was the second half of last year. And I would say it all the time in the GameDay Threads - he had a confidence to him, a freedom to his play-style, that was so clearly playing a role in his improved play. But this year he is back to playing so rigid. Case in point: how has he not eclipsed 10 rushing yards since Week 1? He averaged 26 rushing yards over his last 8 games last year. That might not seem like a lot, but it matters and it is reflective to how freely he was willing to play last year. It is even more obvious when you see it in person. He doesn't trust his instincts. No doubt there are physical limitations at play, but I think that is one thing he really lacks. Trust in himself.

Choose whatever stats across whatever amount of time you want. The difference is still almost negligible. Yes, Lawrence > Bryce. But Lawrence still sucks.

But those teams traded Darnold and Baker. Sure, Panthers could trade Bryce Young, and that would be a smart option if they can find a willing partner. But outright cutting him isn't going to happen, and I can't see the Panthers trading him without a solid plan in place. Jets traded Darnold because they got Zach Wilson. Browns traded Baker because they got Watson. Who are we bringing in that would incentive us to trade Bryce? We won't be in a position to draft a guy as highly as the Jets did Wilson and while things in this league change fast, I can't imagine any QB that was as highly touted as Watson was at the time (on the field) requesting a trade in the offseason. LIS anything could happen. Maybe Stafford is done with LA and we can get him on the cheap. Maybe the Colts don't lock up Daniel Jones and we bring him in. Maybe Rodgers sticks around for one more year and comes here. Maybe we get lucky and one of the top QB prospects falls to us. But right now it doesn't feel like a situation where Bryce is likely to get traded. I would bet a lot of money he's on the team next year in some capacity, even if that means negotiating a higher-paying one-year deal to stop him from holding out.

You think so? I feel I have been steadfast that I think Bryce Young is a bad QB. He sucks. But so has Lawrence for the last two seasons. Quite frankly I don't know how you can call him a mid-tier QB. Off the top of my head, who are you saying he is better than right now? In no order: Mahomes, Allen, Jackson, Burrow Prescott, Goff, Love, Stafford Hurts, healthy Purdy, Darnold, Baker Healthy Jayden Daniels, Maye, Herbert, Jones Stroud, Nix, Caleb Williams, Rodgers That's 19 QBs right there. Maybe you take him over Jones in the grand scheme of things? But certainly not this year. Heck are we taking him over Kyler Murray? That would be 20 right there. And who says someone like Jaxon Dart isn't already on the same level? I'll hesitate on calling Dart better overall because he needs more games under his belt, but would you disagree that Dart has outplayed T-Law this year? That would make it 21 QBs outplaying him this year.

Trevor Lawrence 2025 - 59.7 CMP%, 9 TDs (3.1%), 6 INTs (2.0%), 6.3 Y/A, 79.7 QB Rating Trevor Lawrence 2024 - 60.6 CMP%, 11 TDs (3.9%), 7 INTs (2.5%), 7.2 Y/A, 85 QB Rating Bryce Young 2025 - 61.1 CMP%, 11 TDs (4.5%), 6 INTs (2.5%), 5.7 Y/A, 81.5 QB Rating Bryce Young 2024 - 60.9 CMP%, 15 TDs (3.9%), 9 INTs (2.3%), 6.3 Y/A, 82.2 QB Rating Both QBs have a huge fumbling problem so that is a wash. Is Lawrence better than Bryce? I would say so, yeah. But I don't think the gap is as big as you think it is. If Bryce is the 32nd best QB, Lawrence is what, 28th?

Maybe he wouldn't, but where is his leverage? Sure, he could sit out... but are we really losing out on much if he does? And there is only so long he could do that for. It would be in his best interest to have the best season he possibly could before free agency.

Sure, but Darnold started his career in New York and was under a huge spotlight from the beginning. Do you believe he would have faced the same criticism if he had started his career in Carolina or Jacksonville? Because I think one could argue that Trevor Lawrence hasn't faced nearly the fraction of the criticism he should have. The fact is QBs who are taken in the top 5, much less number one overall, tend to have a very long leash. This isn't exclusive to Bryce Young or even the NFL - it is true for every sport.

But where have you seen this? Link me the most recent media article or video where they referred to Bryce Young as an elite QB. If you can even link one, I will Cash App you some money. Should be free money for you. I'm good for it - just send me your Cash App or Venmo through messenger. I'll help you get started: https://www.google.com/search?q=bryce+young+elite&oq=bryce+young+elite&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMggIAxAAGBYYHjIICAQQABgWGB4yCAgFEAAYFhgeMggIBhAAGBYYHjIICAcQABgWGB4yCAgIEAAYFhgeMggICRAAGBYYHtIBCDE1NjBqMGo0qAIBsAIB8QUeAO07uoPIQPEFHgDtO7qDyEA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 And why should I care how he was talked about before the draft? People are wrong about prospects every year. You are, I am, everyone. That means nothing. By this logic, every QB drafted in the top 5 has a "mythos" built around them.

Who is "they"? Who in the media still argues that Bryce Young could reach the levels that people thought he would before the draft? I mean, nobody is going to come outright and bash the kid. By all accounts he's a good dude and I think that is why you don't see the media come after him like they did Zach Wilson.

The Panthers will finish with at least 7-8 wins. So that leaves them with only two "smart" choices in my opinion: 1. Sign a reasonably priced free agent QB and see if they are better than Bryce Young in training camp - The issue is there will be very little options. There is almost no way the Colts let Daniel Jones walk. Rodgers, Flacco, and Wilson will likely retire (and is Wilson better than Bryce anyway?). Winston is under contract with the Giants for another year. That leaves Mariota, which I'm all for, but the Commanders will make a big push to keep him given Daniels' injury history. Outside of him, there is literally nobody else. 2. Stick with Bryce Young for one more year - Nobody wants this to happen, but the Panthers won't be in a position to draft one in the first round and it isn't a strong class to begin with. Mendoza, Simpson (and do we really want an Alabama QB?), and Moore will likely all be off the board by the time we pick. Bryce isn't good, but we are still 5-4. I'd rather continue to build the rest of the team than reach for a QB. Then we could set ourselves up nicely in 2027 to make a splash play if we choose. This is how we should have approached years past; stuck with Kyle Allen or Sam Darnold or Teddy Bridgewater and kept building the team until we were ready to make a splash. But every year we panicked and did something stupid. There is the idea you could throw a dart at a guy in the later arounds, but IMO this just isn't a good QB class and odds are it will be a wasted pick. I still think we need a lot of depth on the defense. I'd rather focus there.

My man didn't even read the article he linked. In this article: Like you really sourced an article where the guy literally says Bryce can't take credit for the win. Did you think I wouldn't read it? Why would anyone looking to build a "mythos" around him say he can't take credit? And how is saying something factual ie "Bryce gets his 9th career GWD" building a mythos? Game-winning drives have always been credited to QBs since the beginning of time. If you have a problem with that, blame the NFL, not the journalist.

The last thing I will say, because I'm not going down this Bryce Young rabbit hole again, especially with said poster: You guys aren't the only people who see what you see. Stop focusing on small minority of fans and voices. The media has accepted Bryce Young isn't anything more than a game-manager at best. You can literally look up "Bryce Young Franchise QB" and the only thing that pops up is that the Panthers MAY be viewing him as one, but no media outlet supports it. The vast majority of fans accept he won't ever be the guy. It is such a stupid conversation for this reason. You guys get so tripped up over such a small minority. Bryce Young SUCKS. We get it. And feel free to continue to converse about it. It is a discussion forum. Have at it. But can we just stop using words like "retard" to describe people who might not want to go as far as you all do? Or acting like you have some unique ability to see things in the game that others can't? There is no "mythos" around Bryce Young except in your head. And sometimes it helps to get off the internet. I don't think there is any Panthers fan I have met in IRL that pounds the table for Bryce Young the way some of ya'll suggest they do. And because of my job and how often I go to the games, I talk to a LOT. I'm far from the most knowledgeable football fan, but I am confident I have a good feel for how a good chunk of the city feels.

Why do you intentionally twist things that people say? Please show me in my post where I said that the media has NEVER hyped up Bryce Young. The person I was responding to said that the media has created a mythos around Bryce Young. And I asked if he can show me anything recently where the media has spoken about Bryce Young as if they are building a mythos around him. And no, I don't consider articles from before he was drafted to mean jack ish - people are wrong, including you, including myself, about prospects every year. Since the season has started, can you give me one media outlet that has deemed Bryce Young to be a franchise QB / long-term answer at the position? Don't bother responding with anything else.

But we aren't talking about how the media talked about him before he was drafted. We are talking about how the media talks about him right now.

Do you have any evidence of this? Literally the first article that pops up when you google Bryce Young right now is, "Insider says Bryce Young isn't going to be a superstar, but that's fine." Source Can you show me at least one source from a legitimate media rep that shows them building a mythos around Bryce Young? No media outlet is going to outright say Bryce sucks - he's a nice guy by all accounts. But I haven't seen anyone try and act like Bryce is anything more than he is. But maybe I'm wrong, and you can show me. And see, even me making this post will get me labeled a "Bryce Apologist", even though I have been out on him the last two seasons.

Why do we keep using this language? I really don't get it. Call me soft, that is okay. But it feels unnecessary.

It is entirely possible to defend your point without calling a bunch of people "tards". Bryce Young sucks. The vast majority of football fans acknowledge and accept this, especially on this site despite the very few who may argue otherwise, and even then, I find it is more in a "cut him some slack" kind of way and not a "he's the future of the team" kind of way. At the end of the day, if you look hard enough on the Internet, you are always going to find takes that drastically differ from what you perceive to be the truth. And nobody who's football opinion is worth listening to has argued Bryce Young is the MVP. Again, that is an example of you looking way too hard on Twitter, assuming that is something you have actually even read.

It isn't that far off. He only has 1 game this season with more than 200 passing yards, and in that one game, a lot of it came when the game was out of hand. Among qualified passers, he is 33 out of 34 QBs in Y/A. I think it is fair to say that generally speaking, his ceiling is about 150-170 passing yards. Yeah there will be aberrations but considering he's averaging 176 YPG after 38 games, how can you argue his ceiling is anything else? Only 12 times in 38 games has he cleared 200+. Cam Ward already has 5 such games this year (9 games played). Darnold had 15 in his first 2 years. Not that yards are the be all, end all. But hard to argue his ceiling (on average) is anything else.

JMO, I think it is lame as hell to publicly give up on the team and then crawl back when they win a few games. Like, how can you run a PANTHERS PODCAST and then give up on it during the season? Yes, you can argue the Panthers prior to Week 3 hadn't done anything to deserve fanfare, but nobody made them run a Panthers Podcast. They chose to. So stick with it. Instead they gave up and did so publicly. Which is well within their right - but you can't then turn around and bring it back the same season.