Will Grier admits he sucked last year

[NAS]

https://www.espn.com/blog/carolina-panthers/post/_/id/33968/panthers-qb-will-grier-admits-he-failed-miserably-in-nfl-transition

The former West Virginia star admittedly was “straight-up bad” and “failed miserably” last year in being a backup for the first time in his football career.

He wasn't ready early in the season, and when franchise quarterback Cam Newton was shut down in Week 3 with a Lisfranc injury, the Panthers chose undrafted Kyle Allen over Grier, a 2019 third-round pick.

When Grier finally got his shot to start the final two games, he was dreadful, completing only 53.8 percent of his passes for no touchdowns and four interceptions -- including one returned for a touchdown -- in going 0-2. He also was sacked six times and had a fumble.

“I had trouble last year just with calling plays,” said Grier, who finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2018.

So Grier went back to the basics. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked at home with his father, Chad Grier, who was his high school coach at Davidson Day School, just outside of Charlotte.

 

Will Grier completed 53.8 of his passes, threw four interceptions, no touchdowns and the Panthers' were 0-2 in his two starts at the end of the 2019 season. Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Will dedicated his offseason to being “me against me,” not him against Walker -- or even Bridgewater.

“I feel more confident,” Grier said.

Going from a college star to a backup is different for quarterbacks. While other position players might get a few snaps or play on special teams as backups, backup quarterbacks get limited snaps in practice and only play if the starter is injured or the game is out of hand.

In the year of the pandemic, when a starting quarterback could be sidelined for something besides injury or poor play, having a ready backup is more critical than ever.

“My camp is dealing with adversity,” Grier said.

Grier opened camp behind Walker, but in the words of coach Matt Rhule, he has battled back. Rhule insists he has three quarterbacks who eventually can win NFL games. Whether Carolina will keep three quarterbacks remains to be seen, but Rhule did say the competition between Grier and Walker could carry into the season and be a week-to-week thing.

Teams have to cut rosters to 53 by Saturday at 4 p.m.

“I really like what both guys have done,” Rhule said. “They bring a lot to the table.”

Rhule has a built-in confidence in Walker, a four-year starter for him at Temple when he was establishing the reputation as a rebuilder. His confidence in Grier has come from what he’s learned about the Charlotte native during the offseason and training camp.

“I've liked his level of maturity,” Rhule said. “I've liked his work ethic. And most importantly, I've liked his ability to take responsibility when things go wrong.”

Chad Grier lived with his son for a while as he moved back to Charlotte to take over the Providence Day School football program. He took part of the blame for not preparing Will to compete as a backup.

“I didn’t do a great job helping him with that,” he said. “It was hard for him to get his head around how hard to compete, how to prepare.”

 

Will Grier and Teddy Bridgewater talk during a training camp practice on Aug. 24. A story that Bridgewater shared with Grier about not being prepared as a backup quarterback resonated with Grier, who had a tough rookie season with the Panthers. Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Both Will and Chad referenced other issues that hindered Will’s performance last season, but neither would elaborate because they didn’t want it to come off as an excuse.

“There were some things he had to deal with that physically limited his ability to be Will,” Chad said. “Look, life happens. He didn’t play well when he got his chance. At the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to.”

Chad has been impressed with the transformation of his son, particularly mentally.

“He wakes up every day in attack mode to get better,” he said. “It’s been a fun thing to watch.”

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The offseason overall wasn’t so fun because of the pandemic. Will’s wife, Jeanne, has asthma -- which would put her at a higher risk if she contracted COVID-19, according to CDC guidelines.

In January, she gave birth to their second daughter.

They basically quarantined themselves, and it was tough.

“We just kind of had to shut it down,” Will said.

Will worked in a makeshift gym in his garage and threw with his dad in his small backyard. He worked on fundamentals he hadn’t worked on for years to help improve his accuracy.

He looked at football more so as a job and a career.

It helped that Will feels more comfortable in new offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s system as opposed to what former offensive coordinator Norv Turner did last season. He relates better to the terminology.

“So this makes a little more sense to me, which frankly just makes it less thinking,” Will said.

As badly as Grier felt, he’s glad last year happened for the same reason Bridgewater is glad he realized how unprepared he was.

Bridgewater bounced back to win five straight starts.

Grier? Time will tell.

“Again, me against me,” Grier said. “That was something that I failed miserably at last year.”

[Jeremy Igo]

#selfawareness

[stbugs]

19 minutes ago, Jeremy Igo said:

#selfawareness

I realize I was a pretty bad NFL QB last year as well. Which practice should I go to first?

[SmittysLawnGuy]

Just wondering why he has a small back yard.

[NAS]

24 minutes ago, SmittysLawnGuy said:

Just wondering why he has a small back yard.

Hahah I wondered the same.  Also, can’t you just find an open field somewhere. I think he comes across as very immature for his age by relying on his dad so much.

[Ricky Spanish]

I've been crapping on Grier with the best of them but it's good to read that he's realizing his shortcomings and trying to improve. 

Reviews seem better this year compared to last and it's encouraging to hear that he is interpreting Brady's playbook better than Norv's. 

[Tbe]

Nice story but he’s not going anywhere in this league. 

[PhillyB]

why is his dad his coach? i'm surprised someone in the organization hasn't pushed him to seek out a pro

[rhyslloyd]

Replace Phoebe with Will and she with he, and this baby slaps.

[MHS831]

2 hours ago, Tbe said:

Nice story but he’s not going anywhere in this league. 

You do not know---He could develop, but you play the odds with this statement, because most late third-round QBs do not succeed.  Nice prediction.

What would you say about a first round rookie QB who posted these numbers?:

• In 10 starts during his rookie year, this first overall draft pick posted these numbers:  completion percentage was 47.5 and he had 7 TDs and 14 Interceptions.  QB rating was 54.9. 
• During the first 10 years of his career, his passing completion percentage was about 55%
• His team did not give up on him for a decade---and his numbers suggest that he was very average at best during that time. 

 

• Now what would you say if I told you that he was a Pro Bowl QB 9 times and is in the hall of fame.  He has 2 Super Bowl rings.

[SOJA]

I mean he did suck but that doesn't mean he's a lost cause or we should give up on him 

[MHS831]

4 minutes ago, SOJA said:

I mean he did suck but that doesn't mean he's a lost cause or we should give up on him 

He did--hard to watch--so did John Elway, the player I described above. 

Terry Bradshaw completed 38.1% of his passes as a rookie and threw 6 TDs vs. 24 Ints.  and had a 30.4 QB rating.  He owns a gold jacket. 

[bababoey]

11 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

He did--hard to watch--so did John Elway, the player I described above. 

Terry Bradshaw completed 38.1% of his passes as a rookie and threw 6 TDs vs. 24 Ints.  and had a 30.4 QB rating.  He owns a gold jacket. 

It's hard to compare guys that played in the 70's and 80's to QB's that play today.  So many rule changes to help the passing game and almost all offenses feature some part of the west coast offense that make completions much easier now than it was then.

[TheSpecialJuan]

He was put in a terrible situation last year, the coaching staff knew he wasn't ready but put him out there anyway.