Grier Struggles, Shows Potential in NFL Debut

On Sunday afternoon, former West Virginia star quarterback Will Grier made his first career NFL start on the road vs the Indianapolis Colts.

Coming into the game, both teams had been struggling and are really out of the playoff picture. Well, at least for the Colts, they still have a chance, but will need some help.

It didn’t take long for the Colts to pounce on Carolina. One minute I’m ordering food at a restaurant and the next minute, Carolina is down 14-0. The Panthers punt coverage was as bad is a unit could possibly be. Colts returner Nyheim Hines had two punt return touchdowns in the game and nearly had a third. Carolina’s defense didn’t help out the young rookie quarterback much either, allowing 218 yards on the ground.

Grier used the first quarter to get acclimated to the game and didn’t really find his groove until the second quarter. He led the Panthers offense to some long, sustained drives, but failed to reach the end zone once. The offensive line allowed five sacks and several QB hurries. The protection was so bad that Grier checked down to his running back Christian McCaffrey several times. McCaffrey led the team with 15 total receptions for 119 yards, becoming the first back in NFL history to haul in 100 receptions in back-to-back seasons.

Grier’s best attribute by far is throwing the deep ball and pushing the ball down the field. With little to no protection, Grier didn’t have time to run through his progressions. Credit the Colts to some extent, but bad blocking can also be blamed.

Another factor in Grier’s not-so-great debut was the receivers not getting physical enough to make plays. Two of Grier’s three interceptions were due in part to the defensive back ripping the ball away from the receiver during the catch. They made a few good plays, but not nearly enough to keep pace with Indianapolis.

“It kind of motivates you. I have a lot of confidence and I think I’m a really good player and I think I can play really well in this league. I just want to go back and fight and keep working and get better. That result doesn’t reflect who I am as a football player,” Grier said about his performance in the team’s loss. As for interim head coach Perry Fewell, he liked some aspects of Grier’s performance. “I know statistically, he threw three interceptions, but I thought he made some good decisions in the game early in the ball game. I thought he used his feet at times, but I’ll just have to look at the tape and assess the overall performance,” Fewell said. “We’ve got to help Will [Grier], everybody has to help Will. We have to go up and compete for the ball.”

Grier had a beautiful throw to the back corner of the end zone that could have gone for six, but the receiver could only get one foot down. He also hit tight end, Greg Olsen, in stride, down the middle of the field and nearly hit him for a touchdown over the middle of the field later in the game. FOX NFL Analyst Tony Gonzalez liked what he saw from Grier in the first half and noted those two beautifully placed throws.

Olsen was asked in postgame what he thought of Grier’s performance and he couldn’t have stated it any better.

“He was thrown into an impossible situation," said Olsen. Two games left in a season where there’s been countless issues and now throw him out there and play incompetent football around him. It’s not possible to get any form of judgment based on his performance today. I think there was failures all around him. So, I hope no one passes any judgement on Will’s abilities as a player. I think there was a lot of things that played out that he had to suffer the consequences of.”

It was the start many probably expected for Grier. Some ups, some downs, and not with a lot of help. He finished the day completing 27-of-44 passes for 224 yards and three interceptions.

Next Sunday, Grier will get his final opportunity of the 2019 season as the Panthers are set to host the division champion New Orleans Saints at 1 p.m.