Bryce Young is looking to lead the Carolina Panthers in his second season and leave his disappointing rookie year behind. He got off on the right note in the Panthers preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. Head coach Dave Canales was brought in to help Young elevate his play, and he only had four words for what he saw from the quarterback in a few drives against the Bills.
“Hell of a day,” Canales told Young when he walked into the locker room.
Young led the Panthers on a 12-play, 85-yard drive, and he finished with 70 passing yards and a touchdown.
“Couldn’t have dreamt it better,” Canales said. “A fourth-down conversion in there, but saw him extend plays with his legs, keeping his eyes down the field, finding guys.”
Canales was more impressed with Young during the fourth-down conversion, where the quarterback went through his progressions avoided pressure, and found one of his favorite targets Dionate Johnson, who the Panthers signed during the offseason.
“Poise, eyes down the field, that aggressive nature but being able to do it within the confines of what’s the smartest thing to do in this situation,” Canales said.
If Young can keep that same attitude and play and bring it into the regular season, then the Panthers will be in good hands.
Bryce Young is ready for a breakout season with the Panthers
The Carolina Panthers have given Bryce Young what he needs in his second season to have a breakout year, and many were seeing some improvements during training camp. There were some things that Young needed to work on to improve from last season, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said earlier in training camp that those things were happening.
“A couple of the areas of focus for Bryce Young I would say, making sure he is comfortable,” Ian Rapoport said. “He’s a pretty relaxed dude, he’s been speaking up in meetings more. I wouldn’t say he’s been leading the 7-on-7 meetings, but he’s right there with his offensive coordinator to tell people ‘These are the plays that I like, these are the plays I don’t like, this is what works for me, this is what I’m seeing.’”
In Young’s first preseason appearance, he was happy with his play and going against someone other than his teammates.
“It felt great for all of us to go out and play against a different team,” Young said after the game. “We got a couple of different situations we got to have, which was great for us.”
With a different vision in the organization, Young’s second season will definitely be better than his rookie year, and his preseason showing might be enough to give others hope for what’s to come.
