Grier Feels Confident in Year 2: "The Game Has Definitely Slowed Down"

Despite being selected in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, quarterback and Charlotte native Will Grier came to the Panthers with some rather high expectations. As Cam Newton's future with the organization was hanging in the balance, Grier was viewed as Newton's potential successor.

After Newton went down with a season-ending injury, the Panthers turned to Kyle Allen as they felt Grier was not quite ready to run the offense. On Saturday, Grier admitted that he wasn't getting a strong grasp of the offense and that so far, the new offense being implemented by Joe Brady is a little less complex and easier to understand.

“I think, you know, not to say last year didn’t fit my style. I mean, they’re different. I think the way the offense is called is a little different. Last year was new to me the way it was called. The plays and stuff were kind of the same, but I had trouble last year just calling plays. It makes more sense to me to just call the play, which frankly just makes it less thinking, but as far as the style goes, I think our style, our identity is still kind of growing. We’re still kind of learning what that is this year and I kind of pride myself on being able to do anything. I think that’s the attitude I’ve got to have. At the end of the day, Teddy is the starter and it's really about him and what he’s comfortable with. I’m comfortable with anything. I’ve got to be ready to go if my number is called and that’s kind of the way I treat it.”

In his two starts as a rookie, Grier looked way off his game to say the least. When you watch his tape from West Virginia, he was confident in not only himself, but his receivers and linemen up front. He was comfortable within the offense, he knew exactly what areas of the field were going to be open and just went out and played and did less thinking. You could tell that Grier was thinking too much instead of just playing the game.

This offseason, Grier got back to the basics and worked diligently on his accuracy with his dad, Chad, who is now the head coach at Providence Day High School in Charlotte. Being able to spend time this offseason with someone who has watched him and coached him nearly his entire football career has helped restore his confidence. Grier says that he feels a lot better heading into year two with the Panthers and can go back to just playing football instead of trying to play and think at the same time.

“The game has definitely slowed down. I think that’s just time, and experience, and reps. I think I’m seeing the field a lot better this year for a variety of different reasons. I feel more confident. I think the experience last year was good for just going into the offseason. It gave me a lot to learn from and a lot to build off of. I was able to be specific in what I was doing in the offseason to kind of get better. And I really think that, obviously I'm learning a new offense again, but it has come faster to me for whatever reason than it did last year. And I think part of that is just learning a new offense last year, it was my first time doing it. I went into it this year knowing the important things to learn the offense fast and go out there and be comfortable in practice. I picked it up a lot faster and I was better at preparing this year than I was last year in that aspect as well, which helps you play faster and see the field. It’s kind of a ripple effect.”

Something that played a big role in Grier's deficiencies last year was not being accustomed to being a backup. Whether it was at Davidson Day, Florida, or West Virginia, Grier has always been a starter. That in itself took some time to get use to and being more prepared is something he has emphasized heading into 2020.

"Yeah, I mean I don’t know if ‘overwhelmed’ is the right word. Last year was tough for a lot of different reasons, but at the end of the day, I used it as a learning experience. Obviously, this is the first time that I’ve ever been a backup and there’s a lot of things that kind of go with that, I learned. That’s part of the experience and part of my personal journey and growth and career. I think I’m glad it happened, I’m glad I got the experience, it made me better and I think that was maybe their goal of it last year was to challenge me and make me better and I think, like I’ve said, an experience to grow.

“That was the biggest adjustment for me last year was just learning how to handle day-in and day-out, again, me against me. That was something that I failed miserably at last year, but I think that’s where you make the biggest jumps is learning from your failures and I failed last year at that. Straight up, I was bad at being a backup. Like I said, I learned a lot from it and I feel more ready to go this year.”

Although this is Teddy Bridgewater's team, Will Grier must stay prepared and ready to go because the keys could be handed over to him at any given moment. He's now in the position of just being one play away from running the show and despite being in a battle with P.J. Walker for the backup spot, it seems as if Grier is a little bit ahead.

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