5 things the Carolina Panthers must learn from Week 1 drubbing at Falcons

What things must the Carolina Panthers and its long-suffering fanbase learn from their Week 1 drubbing at the Atlanta Falcons?

Throughout the preseason, there was a concentrated effort to keep the offensive and defensive philosophies a secret from the early opponents on the Carolina Panthers' schedule. The concept, seemingly, was to further aid this young football team through the element of surprise.

The big reveal on Sunday didn’t go as well as the team or the fans hoped. The Panthers departed Atlanta with their first loss of the 2023 NFL season, falling to the division rival Falcons, 10-24.

When looking over the final box score of the contest, one may be mildly taken aback by the lack of substantial disproportion in statistics that would typically accompany a two-score loss. In fact, the Panthers finished on top in many major categories.

The turnover differential is the painfully obvious culprit in the outcome. Carolina gave the ball away three times – two interceptions and one lost fumble - while also failing to generate a takeaway of their own. Losing the turnover battle so convincingly is a tough obstacle to overcome.

While there may not have been a plethora of exciting moments to write home about, we did finally learn more about this football team and what they are potentially approaching the season with and without. Let’s dig into a handful of things we and the Panthers must learn from the Week 1 action.

Bryce Young is human - and a rookie, on top of it

You read that correctly. Despite all the glowing praise and rave reviews that Bryce Young had earned through the summer, he indeed is a first-year NFL quarterback. And he looked it, at times, on Sunday.

Young accumulated 146 passing yards on 20-of-38 throwing, including one touchdown and two interceptions. He added 17 yards on three rushing attempts, though 16 came on one scramble. He was sacked twice, facing 19 total defensive pressures.

The 52.63 percent completion percentage sticks out but deserves some context. Young was credited with having thrown the ball away eight times and was given an adjusted completion percentage of 69 by Pro Football Focus.

Frank Reich called Young’s performance “solid overall”, noting how the throwaways can be detrimental to an individual’s stat line but beneficial for the team. The head coach also took responsibility for his first interception, describing it as a communication issue.

Young displayed his trademark anticipation and ball placement on a handful of throws during the game. These included a smooth first down conversion to fellow rookie, Jonathan Mingo, on an outside out route.

Of course, it would’ve been more satisfying to have watched Young pick apart the Atlanta Falcons defense en route to dozens of points and hundreds of throwing yards. But one of the most admirable qualities of his game and personality is an ability to absorb information and get better from the lessons he learns through adversity.

Carolina Panthers offense is still developing chemistry

Another relevant aspect of Bryce Young’s underwhelming debut – this offense is still working out the kinks.

I understood the desire to remain on the ‘vanilla’ side of things during the exhibition games. However, I couldn’t help but feel like this newly assembled group of players would’ve benefitted from collective playing time, operating actual concepts and play calls, together in warmup contests.

The most surefire way to make the correct adjustments and improvements to a unit is by first identifying the deficiencies and implementing changes accordingly in practice sessions and exhibitions.

We saw the offense operate out of the pistol formation on Sunday - a new wrinkle that hadn’t been at all demonstrated in August. On one snap from the pistol, Young and Chuba Hubbard weren’t on the same page as far as which side the handoff was to be made from, resulting in a clunky exchange and minimal yards gained.

Even in pre-snap motions, the timing was off. That’s a function of familiarity and the scheme requirements simply evolving into a second nature of sorts.

We saw throws miss short and long as a result of Young and his playmakers not exactly being on the same page. In a game where the offense didn’t attempt many downfield attacks, the margin for error was already thin.

According to Next Gen Stats, Young attempted just nine passes over 10 yards, completing only two of them. The average completed air yards for the signal-caller ranked fourth worst of all qualifying quarterbacks in Week 1 at 2.6 yards.

Carolina Panthers coaching fell flat

You'll see all kinds of hot takes after a Week 1 loss - they’re like spaghetti and meatballs - I do my best to keep my distance from most. Hot takes, that is... I definitely do not avoid a good pasta dish.

While this isn’t a hot take, per se, I do think it’s a quick(ish) trigger reaction, for me personally. But I feel strongly about this one.

The team didn’t operate as cleanly as I anticipated with this cast of coaches. The Carolina Panthers were flagged for nine penalties. Aside from blunders, the team also just didn’t look like they were firing on all cylinders.

Carolina's coaching staff isn’t doing Bryce Young and this offense any favors by keeping the training wheels on. If they’re in fact doing so that is. As I alluded to earlier when discussing the quarterback's performance, the play-calling was conservative.

That timid approach doesn’t totally align with the sentiments that have been expressed about having the utmost confidence in the quarterback and in the weapons that the front office deliberately brought in to work together in this specific system. It almost reads as if this staff is slow-rolling out the entirety of the scheme – but, for whose protection?

We know the wide receiver room is less than stellar at creating separation from the defenders on their own. That was there for all to see on Sunday.

The message that was being delivered - despite the perceived physical decline in route technician Adam Thielen and the limited route tree of D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault Jr. - was one of this staff possessing the savviness to scheme this hand-picked group into production. That fell flat in its introduction to the world.

The lack of overall team speed was apparent in Week 1. However, I anticipated more concepts designed to get playmakers into open spaces and create opportunities for them that their physical profiles don’t naturally afford.

I did like what Frank Reich and Thomas Brown did with Giovanni Ricci on a handful of plays – where they’d bring him in motion pre-snap or via pull action post-snap, allowing the full-back/tight end to build momentum for outside runs and pass concepts for the players out of the backfield.

I would like to see Tommy Tremble used in a similar capacity. This could offer a bit more on the multiple side of things.

I’m not jumping on the bandwagon for Reich to relinquish play-calling duties in favor of Brown just yet. But I do believe there’s a benefit to a more collaborative approach after the initial scripted plays and after halftime.

When you have a direct coaching descendent from the Sean McVay offensive tree, you should seriously consider what they bring to the table on game day.

Brian Burns is invaluable to the Carolina Panthers

Before the action began, I provided a few major storylines that surrounded the Carolina Panthers heading into Week 1. Brian Burns' contract extension – or lack thereof – was at the top of the list.

So, while it may not be news to point out that Burns is a good player for this team, I do believe we just got first-hand confirmation that he is invaluable to this Panthers group.

After being named a team captain, Burns came out of the locker room with malicious intent. He was out on the field with the purpose of providing up-to-the-minute evidence of why he deserves the money that he is asking for. In fact, the edge rusher expressed that sentiment after the game.

The elite athletic specimen let his presence be felt early on, coming up with a strip-sack on third down during the Atlanta Falcons opening offensive drive. Burns kept his foot on the gas throughout the remainder of the game.

Burns accounted for multiple pressures on Desmond Ridder, but he was also impactful in run defense. He finished the day with a line of seven tackles, including 1.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.

What doesn’t show up on the stat sheet is the way Atlanta literally made halftime adjustments to scheme their offense away from Burns whenever possible. In a sport that tends to play out like an oversized chess match, No. 0 moves about on the defensive side of the ball like the Queen piece – little-to-no restrictions to his movements and absolutely must be accounted for on every play.

When Jaycee Horn left the field with a hamstring injury, the pass rush became even more imperative to the successful outlook of this football team. No longer can the defense feel confident in locking down the opponent’s premier pass catcher, or potentially closing off one half of the field.

There is always a symbiotic relationship between pass coverage and pass rush. Without the services of Horn, it becomes a slightly more one-sided affiliation in Carolina, and Burns is the only reliable edge rusher on this 53-man, or 69-man, roster.

Time to pony up.

Carolina Panthers OL is pretty, pretty, prett-y good

Ikem Ekwonu found himself at the backside of a fair number of jokes after the preseason concluded, some of it earned. However, the coaches reiterated that they weren’t concerned with the offensive line, and they weren’t hitting the panic button on their recent draft investment and future franchise left tackle.

Well, the players proved it between the lines of play on Sunday. Allowing just two sacks on the day, the group put out a good effort to keep Bryce Young upright.

The bread and butter for this offense line last season was opening lanes for the running backs. That reputation lives on after Week 1, as the Carolina Panthers rushed for 154 yards on 32 attempts – a 4.8 yards-per-attempt average.

As impressive as Ekwonu looked consistently doing his best charade of a brick wall, rookie offensive guard Chandler Zavala put quality game film in his portfolio, as well.

Zavala was tabbed the starter after missing much of the off-season program due to injuries. There was concern that he possibly wouldn’t be prepared for what was in store - such as Grady Jarrett -when the two teams faced off.

The former North Carolina State hogmolly showed above average strength and anchoring, two of the qualities he was most known for in his draft prospect profile. But the big fella also gave a glimpse of why his most natural alignment may even be on the other side at left guard.

Zavala moves quite well for a 325-pound lineman, holding his balance through the point of attack and timing his hands appropriately. By staying quick with his footwork, he was able to reset and keep his defender in front of him, using his brute strength to finish blocks.

Taylor Moton was consistent, as he has grown to be. The right side of this line may have sprouted a couple of new grey hairs for Frank Reich leading up to this one, but they answered the bell.

The interesting dynamic now will be, what happens once Austin Corbett returns if Zavala continues to play at a high level. Is it possible that the staff consider swapping out Brady Christensen in favor of the rookie reuniting with his college teammate on Young’s blindside?

Sure, it’s technically possible. It would also technically be a pleasant surprise and a good problem to have, stumbling upon some quality offensive line depth.