3 major storylines following the Carolina Panthers into Week 3 at Seahawks

Focus on Carolina Panthers play-calling

Sure, there has been a fair amount of conversation circling the coaching staff, especially the offensive side, but there was still the distraction of Bryce Young being on the field. Being a prized rookie, he is a fluorescent light beaming directly at you anytime the offense is operating.

With the light turned off for a week or two, the focus will shift more to those pulling the strings of the show. This Carolina Panthers offense has been putrid, to be Frank (no pun intended).

According to StatMuse, the Panthers offense ranks 30th in points scored, 28th in total yards, 10th in rushing yards, and a dead last 32nd in passing yards. While success is a collective effort, so is failure – and that allowed blame to be spread evenly through the appropriate channels.

Now that the backup quarterback is in the saddle, it feels to me like a good time to have the offense giddy up. While Young recovers, he can also watch from the sideline and get an outside perspective of what his position players bring to the table for when he’s healthy and ready to go.

And I think that’s exactly what the coaching staff should do – afford the perimeter players more opportunities.

Terrace Marshall Jr. being incorporated more and made into a focal point could prove beneficial if this offense has any hope of unlocking another level. The same can be said for D.J. Chark, although we know he is coming off a hamstring injury and is possibly being eased back into play.

Separation has been an issue, and in my opinion, it’s shown up in the game film when you watch Young’s hesitancy to trust some of the more condensed throwing windows. I’d like to see Frank Reich pass along the directive to Dalton that, should he see a one-on-one opportunity for Marshall, Chark, or Jonathan Mingo – take it.

These players didn’t get much of a live-game audition by way of preseason action thanks to the buttoning up of the scheme by Reich and Thomas Brown. With no onus on the individual development of your young quarterback, let it rip with The Red Rifle.

Get Tommy Tremble involved in the fun. Those pre-snap motions and shifts that Giovanni Ricci was running in Week 1? Give him those looks.

Deploy more 12 personnel and have Hayden Hurst and Tremble on the field at the same time. You can play with their alignment – just get a bit looser with it. It’s a game, after all.

The result of this game may not end up in the win column, but it’s feasible that the Panthers could look back on it as a launching pad for the team enabling to identify crucial elements of its offensive identity.

And hey, if it goes poorly – I’ll be back next week to gauge the temperature of the fanbase, once again.