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 embroiled in negotiations over a mega-deal 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 would rock the NFL, not because Love’s performance last year wasn’t impressive, but because it only The year in which Love had 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.
As they learned each other’s nuances halfway through their first season, something had changed. After an October game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, LaFleur realized: I don’t have to keep the kid gloves on anymore. My conservative play calling is not helping this offense. If anything, they suffocate it.
“At first you were trying to protect him — protect everyone, honestly,” LaFleur told Yahoo Sports on July 23. “We got a little too conservative, and so the mentality was, we always have a saying here with the coaches. : ‘Shoot or shoot.’ And it was more that mentality, that approach. We started that and our guys were playing and it obviously served us well.
“You always learn to make those adjustments, whether you are a head coach, 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-to-10 clip in the first.
This success was preceded by several fundamental pieces. But one message was also clear: Limiting a young quarterback isn’t always the best way to protect him. Requiring a player to adapt to a system rather than a system to adapt to a player is also not always ideal.
These lessons go beyond the Packers. The Carolina Panthers are the latest student.
First-year coach Dave Canales’ decision to bench Bryce Young in September surprised the league. Few defended the results of Young’s early performances under Canales, but the decision to bench the 2023 first overall pick in just two games seemed hasty.
Wasn’t Canales hired to “fix” Young? And if so, what went wrong during offseason activities and training camp that left the duo completely unprepared for regular season action in September?
As Young prepares for his first publicly guaranteed start in two and a half months, his recent resurgence in play tells a story deeper than that of the quarterback.
“This past match really helped us win [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 big 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, throwing no touchdowns and three interceptions in performances that boosted his own and his team’s confidence affect him.
He wouldn’t start again until Week 8, and only then out of necessity: veteran Andy Dalton had sprained his thumb in a car accident.
But if necessity is the mother of invention, for Carolina it was the mother of reinventing – or at least reinventing – schematic principles.
Canales arrived in Carolina after a career working with veterans. He was the quarterbacks coach to Russell Wilson and Geno 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, even though his potential was in abundance. Canales had to learn: What’s the best way to protect a young quarterback?
“You can see it now in his play calling,” the person close to the Panthers said of Canales. “Less screens to protect him and more aggressive throws down the field to open it up.”
Downfield shots, early-down throws and play action have 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, according to TruMedia. On passes of more than 10 air yards, he completed 9 of 16 attempts for 165 yards, generating a higher-than-expected completion rate of 14.0% (minimum five attempts) according to Next Gen Stats.
Young’s efficiency has improved in each of his five starts, with his last passer rating of 92.9 being the best among quarterbacks in Canales’ system. And he’s coming off a career-high with four passes into tight windows, including a touchdown.
“I think all of us as receivers would say we want him to do more of that,” Adam Thielen said. “He doesn’t have to be perfect. He can just go outside, play freely, have fun.
Part of his success on the field comes from confidence in his goals. Another part reflects improved navigation of the bag.
“He trusts his protection and is decisive,” said the person close to the team. “Knowing when to climb, when to step aside, when to jump back and when to scramble. You start to see the timing, the rhythm and the anticipation that he did so well [Alab]I come alive.”
Young deserves credit for this, and for the way his performance has developed despite a rotating cast of receivers and a backup center. Canales’ role is also relevant. The play-caller appears willing to give Young opportunities to continue validating the team’s confidence. The intangible result has similarities to what Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel did for Tua Tagovailoa after the quarterback’s rocky career under Brian Flores.
Give his player confidence.
Maintaining trust will be critical to Panthers growth, Young
As the Panthers prepare for Sunday’s game against a Buccaneers team featuring many of Canales’ 2023 players, they hope to build on the performance against the Chiefs that left them both frustrated and hopeful.
Canales described the emotions of losing to the Chiefs as a “combination of feeling sick to our stomachs because we missed an opportunity against a really good team and then also thinking that the guys can just feel what’s happening.
“We become ourselves. We are becoming the style of football we want to be proud of.”
The vision for that brand includes an anticipatory quarterback throwing off his back foot to receivers with whom he has built good chemistry. It emphasizes play-calling aggressiveness to open up the field without being too punishing on ball security. The Panthers know their play needs to be more consistent, in third-down and red zone efficiency areas of growth where Young’s return has not yet delivered.
“There’s a lot of meat on the bone,” Canales said. “It still has to be about the finish.”
The Buccaneers are six-point favorites.
Tampa’s defense will challenge the Panthers, Todd Bowles’ aggressive scheme ranks ninth in the league at 30.6%. The Panthers took optimism from Young’s performance against Kansas City, when he was outrebounded on a season-high 40% of dropbacks, but he 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 the Alabama Bryce, that’s it cold,” inside linebacker Trevin Wallace said. “I love seeing him make plays. Because a lot of people, I think, doubted him a little bit. He proves the doubters wrong. That’s what I love about Bryce. He has that confidence about him and I love it.
He also has confidence from his team.
And unlike early in the season, it appears Young is gaining the trust of his head coach. The Packers saw what that trust can produce. The dolphins too. Will the Panthers be next?
“I’m just proud of Bryce for the way he handled everything,” Canales said. ‘Every week there is improvement in the things he does.
“He makes a statement for all of us.”
