Post Mortem: Game 1

[NAS]

It was tale of two halves for me.  Wheels just fell off in the second half.  Maybe Thomas should do the playcalling 

[CPcavedweller]

44 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Taking a look back at the first game of the Reich / Young era...

First ip, this disclaimer: If you're drawing long term conclusions off of this game, you're either trolling or football stupid. It's way too early for anything like that. Just stop. I'm not interested in your silliness.

Now on to the serious talk...

Young's debut was overall a good one. Rookie mistakes were going to happen. That's unavoidable. But Young showed smarts, poise and a cool demeanor. Said earlier he seemed more comfortable running at a slow pace then he did up tempo (probably need some work there). Final answer though, he's got what it takes to be an NFL quarterback. He just needs to keep working.

Mind you, Bryce wasn't the only one making rookie mistakes. New guard Chandler Zavala certainly had a few, though again I'd say overall he looked promising. Ditto Jonathan Mingo. Work is needed but the basic tools are there.

The other big debut today was Ejiro Evero's defense featuring Brian Burns. Burns made his case in the first half but was somewhat nullified in the second. Still, not complaining. It was expected there'd be things to fix. That comes with starting a new era.

Additional bright spots: Hayden Hurst gives us the good tight end we've been missing (even if he did throw away Young's first touchdown ball). The Uglies looked mostly good. Liked what I see of Laviska Shenault as well. And Johnny Hekker is still Johnny Hekker.

On the downside, hate to see Jaycee Horn go out again, though outside of that the team came out pretty healthy. Miles Sanders clearly isn't at full strength yet but there's that to look forward to. Didn't see much of Justin Houston but maybe he'll show up more in the future.

Bottom line for me: I saw some good things I wanted to see, and some bad things I expected to see.

What I saw most of all though was a new beginning...and a promising one.

It's been said before, but if you had high expectations for this season, those were likely misplaced. If you're just looking for signs of hope though, we've got 'em.

Looking forward to next week

We were told we were morons after drawing some season long conclusions after preseason as well. Then we were called morons for saying Young will struggle. 

Man, this garbage of calling people morons for saying we still suck needs to end. We suck. It's obvious. We don't have speed at receiver, the QB is a rookie, and the defense is in Year 0 of a change to a 3-4 scheme.

It's fine to say that we will suck. It's a fact. Panthers might win 5 to 7 games this season but that would be quite a surprise. 

You can bookmark that prediction if you'd like as well. Falcons beat us without throwing for 100 yards. That's very, very telling. Now we get to suck for the whole world to see against the Saints, which is also fine. It may drive down ticket prices enough for me to take my kids to a game.

[PappyMay]

We should have taken the points the first drive. Defense didn’t look that bad.  I wonder how much of that was knowing Ridder isn’t a real threat.    

[USDepartmentOfSavagery]

1 minute ago, CPcavedweller said:

Falcons beat us without throwing for 100 yards.

By two scores lmao. Stop making excuses. 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

33 minutes ago, USDepartmentOfSavagery said:

A lot of us are tired of reading your conjecture. Having 100,000 post doesn’t mean you’re right about anything. The coaching staff looked like what many of us thought. And Young was disappointing. You can look promising as a rookie QB. Today, he did not. 

You're allowed an opinion just like Mr. Scot is. If you are tired of reading his posts why click on the thread? If you are tired of reading his posts why are you responding to them?

I thought Young had some bright spots as well as some mistakes. There are concerns about his future and just how good he can be but no judgement should be passed on the dudes first real action in the NFL. It's disappointing to lose and only score 10 points but I will again say no other #1 overall pick has won their first game in the NFL in 21 years. Gotta have some patience.

[45catfan]

5 minutes ago, NAS said:

It was tale of two halves for me.  Wheels just fell off in the second half.  Maybe Thomas should do the playcalling 

Sure, because two picks and a fumble as well as your #2 WR not knowing where in the hell on the field he should be is on the play calling.

[DavidEng]

My Panthers Game Grades (repeated from main thread)

OL - A. Especially with Young holding on to the ball so long during pass plays.

QB - D. 10 for 38, 1 TD, 2 Int., 1 fumble (recovered), overthrows, underthrows. 

WR-F. Couldn’t get separation against my grandmother.

Hurst (TE)- A.

Defense- C+

[NAS]

5 minutes ago, 45catfan said:

Sure, because two picks and a fumble as well as your #2 WR not knowing where in the hell on the field he should be is on the play calling.

Not saying it is but sometimes you have to change it up when things aren’t working 

[PNW_PantherMan]

If you have anything negative to say, you are an idiot and know nothing about football.  Got it.

I get it that it's overreaction Sunday in Week 1, but that was a straight up depressing game to watch.

[Loyalty4Life]

Looked like a team with new players, coaches, schemes and a rookie QB.

I would have loved less mistakes, better players at skill positions and rookies who already had a few years of pro experience but alas that isn't how it works. 

If this is the average look of the Panthers in year 3, then I'll start calling for jobs and giving hot takes after every snap.

[Shocker]

No time to cry in our corn flakes…another division foe coming in next week and at home we can’t afford to lose that one

[45catfan]

Just now, NAS said:

Not saying it is but sometimes you have to change it up when things aren’t working 

Okay, bench the rookie and see if the veteran QB can do any better.  I would go that route before the HC tucks his tail between his legs and relinquishes play calling duties.

 The ONLY call I had a real problem with was the 4th down call.  Going for it wasn't the issue...that was fine, but the play itself with Hubbard as the guy.

The rest was on execution, which is NOT on the play caller, but the players.

[NAS]

5 minutes ago, 45catfan said:

I would go that route before the HC tucks his tail between his legs and relinquishes play calling duties.

No I think they should go into a game with ability to switch as needed. He is his OC there’s no shame in it

[45catfan]

1 minute ago, NAS said:

No I think they should go into a game with ability to switch as needed. He is his OC there’s no shame in it

And a QB that threw two bad picks? No shame in pulling him to keep from crushing his confidence with a potential 3rd pick?  I get it dude, you want Thomas Brown to be the play caller, but you don't need to throw Reich under the bus to get your wish.