Panthers great Steve Smith Sr. gives his thoughts on Bryce Young’s recent growth

Panthers great Steve Smith Sr. examined how Bryce Young’s benching ended up helping the second-year QB.

Carolina Panthers legend Steve Smith Sr. has been on the Bryce Young bandwagon from Day One—or the 2023 University of Alabama Pro Day, to be more exact. And despite the bumpy ride that the bandwagon has taken, he’s never gotten off.

The franchise’s all-time leading receiver joined the latest episode of the Pardon My Take podcast, where he spoke about the recent resurgence of Young. Smith tells host Dan “Big Cat” Katz that the team’s early-season decision to bench the former No. 1 overall pick, which looked quite bad back in Week 3, looks a heck of a lot better now.

Young was benched two games into his second NFL campaign after leading the Panthers to a pair of blowout losses. He, in those defeats, completed 55.4 percent of his passes for 245 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.

Since returning to the starting lineup in Week 8, Young has recorded a 60.4-percent completion rate, 216.4 passing yards per game, seven total scores and three picks. The Panthers are 2-3 in those starts.

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WATCH: Bryce Young speaks on how Jalen Hurts influenced his decision to attend Bama

Bryce Young says Jalen Hurts influenced his decision to attend Alabama

The Eagles (10-2) will face Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers (3-9) on Sunday, and the quarterback will be different from the player who was benched after his first three starts.

The 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick won a Heisman Trophy at Alabama and credited Philadelphia’s star quarterback for his decision to play for Nick Saban.

Young credited Hurts and the Crimson Tide’s quarterback culture for his decision to head to Tuscaloosa.

“Being at Bama, a lot of people that I was teammates with or have worked there when he was there all have so many great stories about him as a player and him as a person,” Young said of Hurts.

The Panthers, who have lost two of their last three games, are coming off a 26-23 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a game Young threw for 298 yards and one touchdown.

The Eagles have won eight straight and will look to pressure the second-year passer and force Young into costly mistakes.

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Did Rod Wave actually save Bryce Young’s career? Here’s what the Panthers QB said about his talk with the rapper . . .

What did Rod Wave tell Panthers QB Bryce Young? Young revealed on Wednesday that he did, in fact, speak to the pioneer of trap-soul.

We may be able to attribute the recent breakout of Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young to a number of hypotheses.

Did his benching provide him with a much-needed step back? Did the break afford him the chance to really watch and learn the NFL game from the sideline? Or could something have just simply clicked?

While those are all viable thoughts—none are more intriguing than the Rod Wave theory. Yup, the Rod Wave theory.

While Young was still riding the pine behind veteran Andy Dalton, recording artist Rod Wave posted the following to his Instagram story . . .

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Young would regain his starting status soon after, as he was inserted back into the lineup beginning in Week 8. And the rest, of course, seems to be turning into history.

Before the Instagram story, Young passed for 122.5 yards per game, zero touchdowns and three interceptions while leading the Panthers to an 0-2 start. After it, he’s averaged 216.4 passing yards a contest with seven total scores and three picks over a 2-3 mark.

So, inquiring minds have wanted to know, did Rod Wave actually talk to Young? And if so, did he actually save his career?

Panthers beat writer Sheena Quick asked Young for us on Wednesday . . .

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Well, whatever Rod Wave told him, Young no longer seems to be on his last lap in Carolina anymore.

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Panthers HC Dave Canales is asked why he thinks Bryce Young has improved

Panthers HC Dave Canales attributed Bryce Young’s recent growth to a pair of key attributes.

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales was expected to be a quarterback whisperer of sorts for Bryce Young here in 2024. And now, even after a major road bump to begin the season, the results of their working relationship are finally starting to show.

Young, to the relief of many, is actually looking like the No. 1 overall pick the organization drafted in 2023. As opposed to the disastrous first two games of his second NFL campaign, the 23-year-old has been considerably effective and efficient over his last four—in which he’s thrown just one interception.

On Wednesday, ahead of their Week 14 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, Canales was asked why he thinks Young has been so sharp.

“It’s confidence and it’s decisiveness,” Canales replied. “It’s knowing what the concept is, getting a preview of what’s happening from a coverage standpoint and making quick decisions. And if you can play on time, throw to the first open guy and progress quickly, get to your scrambles—once you’re above that 2.7 [seconds]—you activate that second play.

“As our QB coach Will Harriger always likes to say, he’s like, ‘Activate the second play. Baller mode. Here we go.’ He’s getting to those things and he’s winning the down. He’s finding ways to win. And that’s kinda my message, always, to quarterbacks that I’ve been talkin’ to forever is—find a win in every play.

“Sometimes, it’s that on-time completion. Sometimes, it’s the off-schedule play. Sometimes, it’s the throwaway. Sometimes, it’s a sack—end the play with the ball, they got us. So there’s different ways to win the down so that we can have opportunities. And he’s just doing a really great job of being decisive.”

Since returning to the starting lineup in Week 8, Young has completed 60.4 percent while averaging 216.4 passing yards per game with six touchdowns and three interceptions. The Panthers are 2-3 in those contests, with two of those losses coming on walk-off field goals to the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Panthers All-22 film review: Bryce Young continues to impress in Week 13 loss to Bucs

He could’ve benefitted from some more help, but Panthers QB Bryce Young offered up yet another positive performance in Week 13.

For two straight weeks, the Carolina Panthers gave their superior opponents a run for their money. And although they came up short in those games, one particular player certainly stood tall.

That was the story from this past Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where the Panthers fell in overtime. Despite some largely sound play, a number of mistakes ended up proving costly for Carolina.

But like their defeat to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12, it was the stellar performance from quarterback Bryce Young that still stole the headlines. He completed 26 of his 46 throws for a season-high 298 yards and recorded a pair of touchdowns.

Let’s examine some of the All-22 film on yet another encouraging outing from last year’s No. 1 overall pick . . .

The Film

Young has been displaying some consistency, not putting the ball in harm’s way and keeping his composure when the protection breaks down around him. He’s also added a few more elements since settling back in as starter—far-harsh throws and timing, anticipation and velocity.

Take this throw below, for example.

Young has an uncanny ability to put his passes exactly where he needs it or wants it to go. While this is more of a floater, the sideline angle showed wide receiver David Moore running a deep out.

And before he’s even into his break, Young is unloading the ball from the far-hash. The pass is placed away from the defender and in the hands of Moore, who cannot make the grab.

Young has been outstanding against pressure and opposing blitzes. He’s starting to have more trust in not just the play call, but his receivers and protection up front.

Here, we see his composure on full display. The center doesn’t gain enough depth in his set and it allows Buccaneers defensive lineman Vita Vea to loop around him and flatten Young.

However, just like in the previous example, Young is letting the ball go before Moore is even into his break. Young knows he can’t float it, and adds some run to his pitch and zaps an on-line throw to Moore, who drops this pass as well.

One of the few playmakers that Young can lean on the most is veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen—who is still effective at 34 years old.

Once again, Young does a great job keeping his feet dug into the ground, which allows him to generate velocity and zip this pass between two defenders for the “touchdown” to Thielen . . . though this was ruled incomplete as the initial call and after a review.

Showing trust in your playmakers to make such a throw proves Young is regaining, or has regained, his confidence and poise as a passer. Passes like these will be commonplace as Young continues to grow.

The Verdict

Sunday’s game made a few things apparent for Young—and it starts with his surroundings. During the offseason, it was said that with an average group of skill players around him, Young would improve drastically as a quarterback.

While the results weren’t evident at first, they are now—with just over a month removed from his first game off the bench. Surrounding Young with better talent will be a priority this offseason, with a few veteran playmakers set to hit free agency and some quality talent available in the draft.

We’ll eventually see how the front office attacks the issue, but it’s clear Young has been playing the best ball of his NFL career over these past few weeks and would certainly benefit from a bump in his supporting cast.

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Panthers’ Bryce Young leads all QBs in this clutch stat over the last 2 weeks . . .

This is why the Panthers selected Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft:

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young has activated his clutch gene.

Sunday’s outing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not result in a win for Young, but it did end with some more encouraging results. The second-year passer, for the second straight week, masterfully played the role of point guard in the face of constant pressure—throwing for a season-high 298 yards and a touchdown.

The 26-23 loss also yielded four “big-time throws” from Young.

“Big-time throws,” a signature stat devised by Pro Football Focus, is a way to gauge how a quarterback can “throw a receiver open.” As described by PFF themselves, it’s a “pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.”

So, Week 13’s four big-time throws from Young, coupled with his five from the Week 12 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs, have given us this tidbit . . .

Behind Young sits Minnesota’s Sam Darnold (eight), Indianapolis’ Anthony Richardson (six), Tennessee’s Will Levis (six) and Chicago’s Caleb Williams (six).

And unless Cleveland’s Jameis Winston completes eight big-time throws or Denver’s Bo Nix completes nine tonight, Young will walk away from the last two weeks as the league leader in this stat.

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Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield: Bryce Young ‘has the potential to do anything he wants to do’

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield said he wasn’t impressed by Bryce Young in Week 13. He said he was proud of him.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t have to be impressed by his counterpart on Sunday—and that’s because he already believes Bryce Young is capable of anything.

The 2018 No. 1 overall pick, Mayfield, spoke to reporters following his team’s 26-23 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 13. The overtime outing saw yet another stellar performance from the 2023 No. 1 overall pick in Young—who recorded a season-high 298 passing yards, two total touchdowns and no turnovers.

Mayfield was asked how impressed he was of Young.

“I wouldn’t say ‘impressed,’ I’m just proud of him,” he replied. “The ups and downs of the league, the things that you go through—speaking from my own personal experience—proud of him. This guy has the potential to do anything he wants to do, and he’s gotta get that confidence back. And I think you can see it growing each and every day. And obviously, knowing the staff that he’s with, I know that’s a big part of what they do within the building.”

Mayfield’s personal experience, like Young’s, also crossed paths with current Panthers head coach Dave Canales. Canales, of course, was the Buccaneers offensive coordinator in 2023—where he helped guide Mayfield to a career rejuvenation.

While Canales’ results with Young weren’t as instantaneous as they may have been with Mayfield, seeing as though Canales benched Young after two games to start the campaign, things are trending upwards in Carolina.

Young, in his five games since returning as the starter under center, has completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 1,082 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. The Panthers are 2-3 in those games, with a pair of three-point losses to the Bucs and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

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NFL replay exec offers mind-boggling explanation behind controversial call in Panthers’ Week 13 loss

Here’s the absurd reason why Adam Thielen’s second-quarter touchdown wasn’t actually ruled a touchdown . . .

So, why wasn’t Adam Thielen’s touchdown catch in the second quarter of the Carolina Panthers’ Week 13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers actually ruled a touchdown catch? Well, the NFL did not have the facilities for that, big man.

With the first half of Sunday’s NFC South showdown winding down, quarterback Bryce Young zipped one heck of a ball into the end zone and right into hands of his top receiver. And although Thielen couldn’t make the cleanest of catches initially, he certainly appeared to complete the connection and get both his knee and his elbow down in the field of play . . .

Nevertheless, and to the shock and dismay of many, the referees ruled the play as an incompletion—even with the help of a replay review.

That replay review, however, didn’t seem to help the officials much.

Here, courtesy of The Athletic‘s Joe Person, is what NFL replay executive Mark Butterworth said about the call afterwards:

The ruling resulted in a fourth-and-3 for the Panthers, who settled for three points on a field goal instead of six, seven or eight on a touchdown.

Considering the game went to overtime and was decided by three points on a walk-off field goal by the Buccaneers, that’s a pretty important play not to have enough cameras for.

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Panthers HC Dave Canales praises Bryce Young’s ‘great’ Week 13 performance

Panthers HC Dave Canales on Bryce Young’s performance in Week 13: “I thought he played great.”

Another week, another win within a loss for Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.

For the second straight game, Young’s Panthers fell short of a triumphant  victory by way of a painful walk-off field goal. After a defeat at the hands of the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12, it was the defending NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers who got their kicks in the final seconds at Bank of America Stadium in Week 13.

Young, however, put forth another eye-opening outing in the 26-23 loss. The second-year passed threw for a season-high 298 yards, topping last week’s 263, with one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown.

Head coach Dave Canales, who continues to get behind the 23-year-old, had some high praise for the valiant performance.

“I thought he played great,” Canales replied. “I thought he made some critical throws in critical situations. He got us out of some bad ones, threw the ball away a couple times. It was an aggressive day. They [Buccaneers] blitzed a lot, he handled it well again and gave us a chance to win, for sure, on those last couple of drives.”

Young would later be asked about his play.

“Just getting more comfortable in the system,” he replied. “Coach is doin’ a great job of calling really good things, installing good things throughout the week. I trust him, I trust the system and just stickin’ to that. And also, just the players around. O-line, everyone up front is doin’ a great job. Receivers getting open. It’s not just me.”

Since returning to the starting lineup in Week 8, Young has completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 1,082 yards (216.4 per game), six touchdowns and three interceptions.

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Panthers HC Dave Canales is asked if Bryce Young will be team’s starting QB moving forward

Panthers HC Dave Canales may have just given his strongest endorsement of Bryce Young since the QB’s return to the starting lineup.

Bryce Young is doing enough to remain the starting quarterback of the Carolina Panthers.

Head coach Dave Canales, who has been largely (and perhaps notoriously) non-committal about the quarterback position for much of the season, made some relatively early headway this past Sunday. In a bit of a departure from the norm, he named Young as the Week 13 starter right after the team’s Week 12 outing against the Kansas City Chiefs.

But did he make even more headway with Young on Wednesday?

Canales was asked if the 23-year-old passer will keep the job moving forward.

“As he continues to show us just the progress that we’re looking for as he continues to earn these moments, then yeah, he’ll be in there,” he replied. “And that’s what I’ve been most excited about is that there’s a weekly growth that’s happening.

“So, again, we’re just taking it a week at a time. I know that’s been my language, but he’s really taking the responsibility of it and pushing us that way. And the bottomline is, he’s giving us a chance to win in the weeks he’s been playing.”

Young, who was benched following a poor two-game start to the campaign, returned to the starting lineup in place of an injured Andy Dalton in Week 8.

In his four starts since, he’s completed 61.0 percent of his passes for 784 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions while leading the Panthers to a pair of wins.

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