Can a QB be “fixed?”

[Brent Gregory]

You don't teach size.

[fanpanther]

With some of the young defenders i wonder what exactly he would have to do or show for it to be his fault and not everyone elses fault that he had a horrible rookie season. 

[Jay Roosevelt]

"Fixed" is a relative term, but I think it's possible to an extent. In Bryce's case, however, I don't think it's a matter of "fixing" him as much as it's unlocking his potential.

I don't think any QB can be viewed as needing fixing after their rookie year, especially when you consider how many of our issues on offense were independent of Bryce's own struggles.

Baker Mayfield? Geno Smith? They needed fixing. Tua needed fixing. Jared Goff to an extent as well.

Bryce is still a largely blank slate for Canales to work with and mold. And that's exactly how I would approach it, too. Coach Bryce like a rookie. Forget all the Frank Reich, Josh McCown, Thomas Brown square pegs and round holes; just mold the offense to his strengths and do your best to improve the situation around him.

I imagine it'll be a Wizard of Oz moment for Bryce; like going from black and white to full color, just not having so many different voices in his ear preaching different philosophies.

Will it be enough? Maybe. Maybe not. But I at least feel like Bryce has a chance under Canales. That's more than I could say with the previous regime.

[jamos14]

Just now, fanpanther said:

With some of the young defenders i wonder what exactly he would have to do or show for it to be his fault and not everyone elses fault that he had a horrible rookie season. 

I haven't seen any "defenders" in this thread.  His season stunk.  The team stunk.  The coaching stunk.  It's absolutely his fault he played poorly.   Other factors absolutely contributed too.

All I've seen are a few people who think he's still young and has the potential to be a successful NFL starter.  

I choose to be hopeful because it's more fun that way.   

 

**You can choose to be a fan how you wish.  I saw another poster say this and I like it.**

 

[Jon Snow]

Have you all noticed Love in Green Bays footwork? He has terrible footwork but somehow improved as a passer with that same weird throwing motion and footwork.  I do not know how Lafleur managed to turn that into something he could win with but I hope Canales can do the same here. Either way it's going to be a long season for us hoping something changes for this team. 

[Bear Hands]

Just now, Jon Snow said:

Have you all noticed Love in Green Bays footwork? He has terrible footwork but somehow improved as a passer with that same weird throwing motion and footwork.  I do not know how Lafleur managed to turn that into something he could win with but I hope Canales can do the same here. Either way it's going to be a long season for us hoping something changes for this team. 

Speaking of GB, Rodgers had a similar deal as well. Sometimes the talent can be unlocked. Something midseason just clicked for Love this year even in muddy pockets. He just became this cerebral dude. Would love if something similar could happen here.

[Jon Snow]

Just now, Bear Hands said:

Speaking of GB, Rodgers had a similar deal as well. Sometimes the talent can be unlocked. Something midseason just clicked for Love this year even in muddy pockets. He just became this cerebral dude. Would love if something similar could happen here.

Green Bay has a horseshoe up their asses when it come to finding a qb.  Love has one of the worst throwing motions of any qb I have watched in recent memory.  Yet he has somehow managed to make it work. 

[Ricky Prickles]

I dont want to be purely negative and act as if there is no hope but Bryce's non aggressive seemingly scared mindset is the hardest part to fix I think. He can be put in the weight room and made a little stronger as well as put on a little bit of weight but cant change the height. I feel like the height may cause some of the mechanics issues so im not sure how you change all. I certainly hope new coaching staff can but I want to be optimistic but also a realist that its probably going to be very tough.

[BrianS]

1 hour ago, Jon Snow said:

Have you all noticed Love in Green Bays footwork? He has terrible footwork but somehow improved as a passer with that same weird throwing motion and footwork.  I do not know how Lafleur managed to turn that into something he could win with but I hope Canales can do the same here. Either way it's going to be a long season for us hoping something changes for this team. 

Love also has very high end arm talent.  That's certainly the most common way to make up for shaky mechanics.  Folks who cite all the "fixed" QB's often overlook this fact.  Fixes seem to always come from the shoulders up.

That's what's happened with Love.  Yea, his mechanics aren't great all the time, but he's learned how to time that up with routes, and then trust his excellent arm to get the ball there.  I think all the spray misses he was experiencing early were because the clock in his head wasn't married up to the routes.  He was either early or late and knew it.

[Evil Hurney]

13 hours ago, BrianS said:

Mahomes does do some crazy crap with his feet at times, but he has an otherworldly arm that can often overcome sketchy mechanics.  On the flip side, there are also a lot of times where Mahomes does set his feet and throw with excellent mechanics.

Cam had that in common with Mahomes.  It wasn't until Cam's shoulder started giving out and Norv started coaching him that he finally started to improve.

The truth is I can't really think of any QB's who came in with a weak arm and sketchy mechanics who overcame it.

Height wise, Doug Flutie is the best comp.  Unfortunately for the comparison, Doug Flutie had excellent mechanics and it allowed him to throw with pretty good velocity.

Andy Dalton reportedly was able to improve his arm strength after coming into the league: QB guru: Dalton seeing 'big jump in his arm strength' (nfl.com)

[KatsAzz]

If the Panthers have found the right coach and general manager to put all the right players around  Bryce Young will be key moving forward. That's why most of the coaching candidates on the teams wish list were young offensive coordinators.

The two positives Young can take from this season are that he never fell apart physically due to his size and that he never lost confidence like many quarterbacks have during a nightmarish rookie year.

Edited January 26 by KatsAzz

[BrianS]

56 minutes ago, Evil Hurney said:

Andy Dalton reportedly was able to improve his arm strength after coming into the league: QB guru: Dalton seeing 'big jump in his arm strength' (nfl.com)

Sure, maybe.  By the same token, his pre-draft reports had things like:

"He threw passes of 60 yards in the air during pro day"

"Has a quick release, a strong arm and is an accurate passer, especially on the run"

"He has good arm strength with an accurate touch. He has a quick release, and makes good decisions"

Dalton already had a "good" arm coming in.  His improvement is going from "good" to "The Red Rifle".

[Ivan The Awesome]

Instead of saying "Fix" maybe use another word that is more fitting for Bryce..."Develop" Because that's what needs to happen.

 

Most of his "fixing" will be done by giving him a better line and maybe weapons that actually create separation and aren't in their mid 30's.

[PghPanther]

3 hours ago, Brent Gregory said:

You don't teach size.

Yup as stated in the movie "Chariots of Fire" once about genetics before they knew about them......."You can't put in what God has left out".