Initial Thoughts on Panthers' Loss to Falcons
Football season is back baby! This offseason was one of new beginnings for the Panthers. A new head coach in Frank Reich, a new franchise quarterback in first-overall pick Bryce Young, and a host of new free agents like Miles Sanders and Adam Thielen highlight just some of those changes.
Today we finally got to see the rubber hit the road as the Panthers took on the division rival Falcons. Carolina ultimately fell 24-10 after a close game early turned into Atlanta pulling away in the second half. Here's what we saw today:
Bryce Young
Everyone was eager to see the rookie take the field for his first NFL game, and the results had some good, some bad, and a bit of ugly.
Beyond typical rookie jitters, Young looked relatively confident and poised. He kept his eyes downfield working through progressions, tried to make some big throws, and looked to have all of the makings of a quarterback confident enough to play the position. We had heard the coaching staff rave about these qualities and him all during the pre-season, but it was nice to finally see it.
Sure, there were a couple of interceptions that really derailed momentum, but Young got right back out there after each one and did not look shaken.
All things considered, the debut wasn't pretty but was promising. He's still getting up to NFL speed, but he's in a great spot along that track.
Miles Sanders
Sanders himself was a mixed bag today. He looked like the explosive runner he showed back in Philly as he carried the ball 18 times for 72 yards. The Panthers will need the rushing attack to support their rookie QB, and Sanders showed to be more than capable of that today.
The bigger concern with Sanders was that he fumbled the ball, an issue that has been a talking point with him for his entire career and led to him losing touches at various points in time with the Eagles.
When he's on, he can tilt a game on his own, but if he's not holding on to the ball things could become mighty difficult for an offense very much still figuring things out.
Pass Catchers
New tight end Hayden Hurst was Young's favorite target today, bringing in five catches for 41 yards. Other than running back Miles chipping in four catches for 26 yards, no other pass catcher topped two receptions on the day.
Terrace Marshall Jr., Jonathan Mingo, Laviska Shenault Jr., and Adam Thielen all caught 2 passes for somewhere between 12-23 yards. The relatively conservative play calling and lack of third down conversions played part of the role in those low numbers, but the more concerning thing was that the receivers were not generating separation with much consistency.
The Falcons' defense deserves part of the credit there, as that unit really did look fantastic today, but the DJ Moore-less wide receiver room does not look poised to do their rookie QB a ton of favors this season if the trend continues.
Brian Burns
Carolina's best player and heart of the defense has been "holding in" leading up to week 1, as he and the team have yet to secure an extension to this point. He's been around and made it clear he wanted to be there for the team, but his playing status remained in question leading up to the game.
Well, Burns didn't just end up playing, he thrived! He had 1.5 sacks, provided a host of pressure for the Falcons to deal with, and opened up success for players like Derrick Brown and Frankie Luvu to also make a big impact.
The defense as a whole performed admirably and helped the Panthers out-gain the Falcons from scrimmage. If it weren't for shorter fields from turnovers and a few big penalties, the story of the game would like to revolve around the success of new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero's squad.
What's next?
Carolina is heading back to Charlotte for their home opener next week against the Saints on Monday Night Football. There will be a ton of tweaks, learning, and development as the team prepares itself for New Orleans and the rest of the season.
Based on how things looked today, there are going to be some fantastic moments through that process, and a lot of learning moments.
This is a team building back from square one. Rome wasn't built in a day, and this team won't be either. We're set up for a nice ride with at least 16 more games of Panthers football this season. If the team and the fans keep the learning and growing mindset throughout it, we're all going to have a lot of fun!
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