After the Carolina Panthers’ 20-17 win over the New York Giants head coach Dave Canales praised quarterback Bryce Young for his progress, but stopped short of naming him the starter for the remainder of the season.
“I’m so proud of Bryce,” Canales said when asked after the game if he needed a few days to decide who will start after the team’s bye.
“I’m so proud of taking the next step again. I thought he had a great day. I thought it could have been a fantastic day. I thought a few balls got away from us a couple of times and that could have turned it into really an exceptional day, but he handled rush well. He handled the different coverage looks and all that.”
“Again, we’ll take all the information. We’ll do all that. But Bryce is certainly making a statement to all of us. I just can’t tell you how proud I am of just weekly progress, and that’s the goal for all of us.”
In Munich Young completed 15 of 25 passes with one touchdown and zero interceptions. Against the Saints he was 16 of 26 for 171 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
While his stat lines aren’t jaw-dropping, this clearly isn’t the same Bryce who was benched after a week two loss to the Chargers. Young seems more poised and aware in the pocket, his ball placement has improved and he’s even using his legs to pick up first downs.
Although he will say his confidence has remained steadfast through his tough rookie year and early season woes, the tape doesn’t lie. Bryce is playing free-er and with more confidence. That’s something the team can rally behind.
While 37 year old Andy Dalton may be the better quarterback, he isn’t the future of the franchise. The jury is still out on Young.
At this point Canales has to ride the hot hand and that’s Bryce. The team gave up too much to move up to draft him less than two years ago not to. The best case scenario for Canales, and the franchise, would be that Young completely turns things around and becomes the game changer OR game manager the Panthers can rely on for years to come. You’ll only find that out if you play him the remainder of the season.
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