On the first day of training camp this year, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur leaned back in a folding chair next to his practice field.
The Packers were deep in megadome negotiations for Jordan Love. Three days later, the quarterback would agree to a contract worth up to $220 million with $100 million guaranteed.
It was a deal that shook the NFL not because Love’s previous year wasn’t impressive, but because it was only year Love made an impression – or even started. But the Packers still believed in their quarterback.
More specifically, they believed in the marriage of their quarterback and play-caller.
Because halfway through their first season, when they were learning each other’s nuances, something changed. After a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in October, LaFleur realized: I don’t have to wear kid gloves anymore. My conservative play calls don’t help this offense. If anything, they are suffocating it.
“At the beginning, you’re trying to protect him — honestly honestly protect everybody,” LaFleur told Yahoo Sports on July 23. “We were too conservative and that’s why we always had a saying with the coaches. : ‘Shoot or be shot.’ And it was something more in that mentality, in that approach. We started doing that and our guys made plays and it obviously served us well.
“You’re always learning to make those improvements, too, whether you’re a head coach or a coordinator or whatever. You have to learn.”
The shift that followed was dramatic.
The Packers rebounded from a 3-6 start to win seven of their last nine regular season games. Love threw 18 touchdowns to just one interception in the second stretch after a 14-10 clip in the first.
This success was preceded by several fundamental works. But one message also came through clearly: Limiting a young quarterback isn’t always the best way to protect him. Requiring the player to adapt to the system rather than the system to the player – not always ideal either.
Those lessons go beyond the Packers. The Carolina Panthers are the newest student.
First-year coach Dave Canales’ decision to bench Bryce Young in September surprised the league. Few defended the results of Young’s early performance under Canales, but the decision to take the 2023 first overall pick just two games in seemed rushed.
Wasn’t Canales hired to “fix” Young? And if so, what went wrong during the offseason and training camp that left the duo completely unprepared for regular season action in September?
As Young prepares to make his first publicly guaranteed start in two and a half months, his recent rise in play tells a story deeper than the quarterback.
“This last game really helped with the wins [Canales] Over,” a person with knowledge of the Panthers decision-making told Yahoo Sports. “Slowly but surely.”
As the game plan evolved, so did Bryce Young’s performance
In losses to the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers in the first two weeks, Young posted passer ratings of 32.8 and 57.2, with no touchdowns and three interceptions in performances that affected his own confidence and his team’s confidence in him.
He didn’t start again until Week 8, and only then out of necessity: veteran Andy Dalton sprained his thumb in a car accident.
But if necessity is the mother of invention, for Carolina it was the mother of the rediscovery—or at least the reinvention—of schematic principles.
Canales came to Carolina after a career working with veterans. He coached quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Gene Smith with the Seattle Seahawks and then Baker Mayfield’s offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Young’s mental bank of defensive looks was much more limited, though his potential was abundant. Canales had to learn: How best to protect a young point guard?
“You can see it in his play calls now,” a person close to the Panthers said of Canales. “Less screens to protect him and more aggressive throws down the field to get open.”
Field shots, kickoffs and play action made their way into the game plans.
After attempting just four passes in each game before being benched, Young attempted 10 in Sunday’s 30-27 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, completing six for 96 yards and a touchdown, per TruMedia. On passes of 10+ yards through the air, he completed 9 of 16 attempts for 165 yards, generating a career-best completion percentage above the expected 14.0% (minimum five attempts) per NGN stat.
Young’s efficiency has improved in each of his five starts, his most recent 92.9 passer rating tied for the best quarterback in Canales’ system. And he’s coming off of four career passes into tight ends, including a touchdown.
“I think all the receivers would say we want him to do more,” Adam Thielen said. “He doesn’t have to be perfect.” He can go out, play for free, have fun.”
Part of his success on the field stems from his confidence in his goals. Another part reflects the improved navigation in the pocket.
“He trusts his protection and is decisive,” said a person close to the team. “Knowing when to climb, when to retreat, when to jump back and when to jump. You start to see the timing, the rhythm and the anticipation that he did so well [Alab]live.”
Young deserves credit for all of that and how his performance evolved despite a rotating lineup of receivers and a backup center. The role of Canales is also important. The playmaker seems willing to give Young a chance to continue to vindicate the team’s confidence. The intangible result has similarities to what Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel did for Tua Tagovailoa after a rocky quarterback career with Brian Flores.
He plans his player on confidence.
Maintaining confidence will be key to the growth of the Panthers, Young
As the Panthers prepare for Sunday’s game against a Buccaneers team with many Canales 2023 players, they hope to build on a performance against the Chiefs that left them frustrated and hopeful.
Canales described the emotions of the loss to the Chiefs as “a combination of being sick to our stomachs about letting an opportunity slip away against a really good team and then also thinking the guys felt what was going on.
“We become us. We are becoming a style of football that we want to be proud of.”
The brand’s vision includes an anticipatory quarterback throwing off the back foot to receivers with whom he has built chemistry. It emphasizes the aggressiveness of the game to open up the field without compromising ball security too punishingly. The Panthers know their playmaking needs to be more consistent, more efficient areas of growth in the third zone and the red zone, where Young’s return has yet to deliver.
“There’s a lot of meat left on the bones,” Canales said. “It still has to be about the goal.
The Buccaneers are six-point favorites.
Tampa’s defense will challenge the Panthers, Todd Bowles’ aggressive scheme is ninth in the league at 30.6%. The Panthers are drawing optimism from Young’s performance against Kansas City, when he hit a season-high 40% dropback percentage, but completed 11 of 14 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, according to Next Gen Stats. He extended more plays and found more answers to defensive problems.
“I’m like oh, that’s Alabama Bryce, that’s it. cold” linebacker Trevin Wallace said. “I love watching him make plays. Because I feel like a lot of people kind of doubted him. He’s proving the doubters wrong. That’s what I love about Bryce. He’s got that confidence and I love that.”
He also has the trust of his team.
And unlike earlier in the season, Young appears to be gaining the trust of his head coach. The Packers have seen what that confidence can bring. Dolphins too. Will the Panthers be next?
“I’m proud of Bryce for how he handled everything,” Canales said. “Every week the things he does have gotten better.
“He’s making a statement for all of us.”