Panthers news: Ben Johnson, Ikem Ekwonu, Raheem Morris and Bradley Bozeman
By Dean Jones
Bradley Bozeman on Carolina Panthers OL struggles
When one examines the reasons behind such a woeful season, attention immediately turns to the offensive line. Bryce Young needed a consistently clean pocket to maximize the less-than-stellar weapons at his disposal. After an encouraging 2022 campaign, things regressed considerably along the protection.
Injuries didn't help, but the offensive line was constantly exposed. They were lackluster in pass protection. The blocking concepts didn't suit the skill set of most. It was just a complete mess from start to finish and Young suffered as a result.
Despite the struggles, Bradley Bozeman credited offensive line coach James Campen for getting everyone prepared effectively amid almost constant turnover to the starting unit via the team's website. Unfortunately, this didn't come with any consistency attached whatsoever.
"Coach Campen does a great job of making sure the right combinations are being put together, making sure that we guys are good experience with each other. He did a great job there at training camp, OTAs of rolling all those guys in there getting reps, so it wasn't like the first time we've ever played together. That really helps."
- Bradley Bozeman via Panthers.com
It's unlikely Campen will be retained under another coaching change. As for Bozeman? The Carolina Panthers need to find a better balance to the blocking schematics. The former sixth-round pick - like many others - is a downhill power blocker. Those zone concepts implemented by Frank Reich and Thomas Brown were a failure from the start.