Cat Scratch Reader
Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! We’re coming off a really rough week, and I could see in the comments for part one of this mailbag, fans have been processing what was a really terrible start to the season all week. Join us next week for another edition of the mailbag, Brian Asks, and let’s just dive right into all your questions.
KSUDD: If a QB can’t develop chemistry with any other receivers despite working out with them over the summer, is he actually developing?
I’m not ready to say that Bryce Young didn’t develop chemistry with his wide receivers after one week of football. But pretty much every wide receiver dropped a good pass while Bryce also didn’t hit as many throws as you’d like to see. I think we can table this question for a few weeks down the line, give them time to shake off rust since they didn’t get a ton of live action in the preseason.
facepalmjedi: Was trading AT for peanuts right before the opener a favor to Thielen or did the team really think pulling a developing QB’s favorite target away with no time to adjust before the season starts was a good idea?
While I was one of many who initially reacted negatively to trading Adam Thielen, in a vacuum it did make sense. They acquired assets for a player who wasn’t going to be on the team next season, at 35 years old. I know moving up a round in each or the next two drafts wasn’t exactly game changing return, it seemed like smart business for a team that definitely wasn’t going to be competing for the Super Bowl this season. Unfortunately, Jalen Coker getting hurt in the days following the trade exacerbated the issue of missing Thielen. I personally don’t think anyone will look back in a season or two and care that much about Thielen not being on the team in 2025, but if the Panthers passing offense struggles, it will be on “present us” to deal with the anger and sadness.
Bruce Guild: Behind closed doors, what do you think the conversations were Monday between Dave C and Evero? Do you think DC feels enough pressure for his job security or just the embarrassment of another 200 yard rushing day to influence Evero and if so what would he be pushing Evero to do?
I think the conversation would have been pretty much the same as what Dave Canales told us about his experience with the players was this week; everybody is upset with week 1. Canales pretty openly stated this week he’d like to see more of the younger players getting snaps on defense, and we saw between the edge rushers and the safeties that the younger guys didn’t get as involved as we’d have hoped. I don’t know how much “pushing” Canales is going to really do, since he hasn’t meddled with the defense a lot since he...
