3 major storylines following the Carolina Panthers into Week 2 vs. Saints

Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young could use a bounce back

With all the well-deserved attention that has come along with the arrival of rookie quarterback Bryce Young, so comes a proportionate amount of critique and blame. And at least in Week 1’s case, it’s not entirely unfair.

It would’ve been fair to guess that Young’s middle name may be ‘unflappable’, as often as the word was associated with the signal caller. However, in watching the All-22 game film, I genuinely do think there were some good, old-fashioned rookie jitters.

Young missed a handful of what looked like open windows in his reads, he didn’t showcase as much of his creativity out of the Carolina Panthers' designed structure, and he was a tick late on decisions and the resulting throws.

The former Alabama stud threw two crucial interceptions to contribute to the lopsided turnover differential against the Atlanta Falcons. Seeing as how the Panthers topped essentially every salient statistic in the box score, the takeaways are valid finger-pointing material.

One thing the coaching staff has brought to attention numerous times, and I tend to harp on as well, is how Young learns from everything he does. He absorbs what he saw - what did and what didn’t work - and he implements his new findings into his future performances.  He doesn’t dwell on the last game, but he also doesn’t completely forget it.

I don’t anticipate seeing Young stare down his wide receiver on a regular basis, after rewatching that first one. And one thing I can totally guarantee – Jessie Bates III won’t be out there on Monday night.

Young completed just 53 percent of his pass attempts. On the passes he did complete, he only averaged 2.7 air yards per, which ranked 28th around the league. He also accumulated a lowly 23 total yards when throwing the ball 10 or more yards downfield, hanging a 2-12 showing for a 0.0 rating.

Frank Reich and Thomas Brown should look to help their franchise player in Week 2. The increasing likelihood of D.J. Chark being healthy and able to play is an encouraging prospect for improvement, as well.

The addition of more play-action passing concepts to take advantage of the credit Carolina's run game provides, rolling him out of the pocket more, more pre-snap motion by wide receivers, and dialing up some early deep shots – all make a good deal of sense as potential implementations to the game plan.