Point Counterpoint: Who’s to blame, Bryce Young or the Carolina Panthers?

Point: Tyler Pruneau, Campus Correspondent

The Carolina Panthers have picked up right where they left off last year, losing back-to-back blowout games to start this season. The first was against the New Orleans Saints 47-10, and the other was against the Los Angeles Chargers 26-3.  

In the off-season, the Panthers hired a new head coach, Dave Canales, who was previously the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Right off the bat, Canales decided to bench quarterback Bryce Young and start backup quarterback Andy Dalton for week three due to how bad they were playing.  

In the past week, this led to the question of who should be at fault for failing the team, the franchise or Bryce Young. There are, without a doubt, arguments for both sides, but at the end of the day, Young is the person to blame. On the Panthers’ first drive of the season, Young immediately threw a pick and, for the entire game, was unable to get anything going. Last season, people gave Young a break because he was a rookie and developing, but this year, there are no excuses.  

Quarterback Baker Mayfield, a former Panther, joined the Bucs last year and was coached by Canales, who turned him around to be a good quarterback for the franchise. Mayfield was a good enough quarterback for them that the Bucs went to the playoffs, making it to the second round after beating the Philadelphia Eagles. The head coach for Tampa Bay, Todd Bowles, is seen as a defensive-minded coach, giving Canales the keys to the offense.  

Young had the entire offseason to prepare and improve more with Canales in the building, but that didn’t happen. As a quarterback, there are a lot of things that they can’t control, like the pocket closing quickly. There have been people saying that the Panther’s offensive line is bad, and Young is under too much pressure, but that is false.  

In week three’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Andy Dalton put on a show for Raiders fans and destroyed them in an unexpected win, 36-22, with no interceptions and with the same o-line. During the offseason, the Panthers made some moves to rebuild their o-line by signing guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis. Both players are starting and have proven in the past to be good. Not to mention that the Raiders defense is not a bunch of scrubs. On the defensive line, they have defensive edge Maxx Crosby and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, who have put pressure on and sacked many quarterbacks with great o-lines like Patrick Mahomes. Former Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold is showing that he can be a franchise quarterback with the Minnesota Vikings, and with the Panthers at the end of the 2022-2023 season, he went four and two in the last six games of the season, winning with a worse team than this year’s Panthers’ team. This proves that Carolina could have built around a solid quarterback and that Young is the problem in this situation.

Counterpoint: Jake Loomis, Campus Correspondent

The Carolina Panthers recently named Andy Dalton their starting quarterback after a bad tenure with Bryce Young at the helm. Young, 23, still has much potential but could not get the job done for the Panthers, winning only two games in 18 appearances.  

The organization has been at fault for the quarterback’s tenure with the team as they threw him into the fire when he didn’t have the surrounding parts around him. Young was the first piece of the puzzle to the Panther rebuild, although the Panthers were far from complete when the QB entered the scene. He had a good head coach who could help him learn, but with no solidified veteran quarterback for him to learn behind and a weak offensive line, it was hard for Young to be good. Nearly every play, he was getting pressured and had barely any time to look for receivers. As an undersized quarterback, it was essential for Young to have a solid O-line to succeed in the league. Carolina did not have this, and it was catastrophic as in his rookie season, he only threw for 2877 yards, 11 Touchdowns and 10 Interceptions. His weapons provided were decent, though they were nothing special, as his number one target was veteran Adam Thielen who had a solid year for the team.  

The receivers might not have been the problem, as Young was getting no support from the run game, who also failed to make positive plays behind their line. Many can argue that Young was the problem. However, the scheme in Carolina did not fit his mold as a player. How can you expect a rookie to go out and play like Patrick Mahomes when he is just not that type of player yet?  

Carolina fired their HC after season one of Young and many were very optimistic in season two that he would improve under new HC Dave Canelas. He did not improve, and the new system only fit his play style worse than the previous season. At the start of year two, Young had the same weapons and the same offensive line as the team made no meaningful improvements. Young was benched for Andy Dalton who led the Panthers to their first win. The scheme fits Dalton’s play style perfectly, and he executed it to perfection in the win. Many will blame Bryce, but it is the organization that truly failed him.