Sunday Morning Thoughts: QB2 Battle is Getting Interesting, Frankie Luvu Stars + More
The Panthers returned to action on Saturday night as they hosted the Baltimore Ravens in their 2nd preseason game. Carolina fell 20-3 after a very sluggish 2nd half offensive performance. As always, there were a few takeaways that I had and instead of waiting until Monday, which is typically when this will drop throughout the season, I'm doing it today to keep it the day after the game so that you're getting my initial reaction.
First and foremost, Frankie Luvu is a dude. I don't know exactly what the Panthers' plans are for Luvu once the regular season comes around but at some point, he's going to take someone's job, especially if he continues to play at this level. He was extremely active and made plays all over the field including a forced fumble early in the game on tight end Josh Oliver. If I'm Phil Snow, I'm starting to feel a whole lot better about the depth in the linebacking room although it can still improve.
Albeit a small sample size, the starting unit looked good on both sides. Offensively, Darnold looked comfortable and made some good decisions on the few opportunities he had. On the other side of the ball, they gave up some yardage on the ground but were able to shut things down and hold Baltimore to zero points. Next week will be a good measuring stick to see where exactly those 22 are at as they are expected to get more snaps against the Steelers.
Then there's the backup quarterback battle. For the first time in a long time, Will Grier looked like he was the better option. Grier made some really nice throws and protected the football for the 2nd straight week. After not getting much run with the twos a week ago, he came in on the 2nd series of the game and played through the first two drives of the 3rd quarter. He proved that he can make throws downfield and feel comfortable in the pocket. He delivered a beautiful 34-yard pass to Terrace Marshall Jr. in stride over his shoulders that seemed to gain the fans' attention. He completed 10 of his first 11 passes before finishing the night 11/14 for 144 yards.
Walker was out of sync from the get-go failing to connect on his first six passing attempts. He didn't seem to have the same confidence that he did a week ago and for the second straight week, not finishing through his throws hurt him. Dating back to his final drive in last week's game, Walker is a combined 1/13 for a grand total of eight yards. That lead he had in the backup quarterback race is shrinking and shrinking quickly. If Grier has another solid outing next Friday against the Steelers, there's a good chance Walker could lose that battle.
As ugly as the 2nd half may have been for the Panthers, there is no need to be overly concerned. Again, this isn't the starting unit out there and at times, there were a lot of 3rd-4th stringers on the field. The preseason is about evaluation. Of course, everyone is trying to win but at the end of the day, it's about figuring out which 53 players are going to give you the best chance to win. There are already 30-35 players that they know will be a factor, so it's about finding out who the remaining 18-23 is going to be.
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