Cat Scratch Reader
Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! This is your safe space to talk about anything, whether it be Panthers related, football related, or even completely off topic! Let’s dive into your questions and discussions!
SwampPanther: How do the lowly Saints suddenly look like the team to beat in the NFCS? I thought rebuilding/reloading took time.
It appears that Kellen Moore was an excellent hire. And while the Saints appear to have embraced the rebuild they’ve desperately needed for a long time, they did follow a really good philosophy; build your team to beat your division. Their defense is uniquely capable of limiting the rushing attacks and Moore’s offense can clearly score points against the NFC South defenses. I’m not looking forward to more of this team.
KeepPounding88: Right now it seems like the front office is set on picking up Bryce’s option, and will wait and see when it comes to an extension. Is there anything Bryce can realistically do with only the few games we have left to change their mind either way? Obviously winning the division would help, but in theory the team could carry him while he continues to put up mediocre stats.
I’ve been saying for awhile that I think picking up Bryce Young’s 5th year option makes sense, and even after the Saints loss this past week, that opinion hasn’t changed. I don’t think they’ll opt against it unless Bryce really collapses hard in these last 3 games. I also don’t think they’ll even be discussing an extension unless the Panthers find their way into an NFC Championship run, and even then I’d be 50/50 on the idea. Still not worried about it, that’s a 2027 problem in my opinion.
Irishboy: Wondering Brian, how you feel about Coach Canalas calling plays? I feel that he is a really good HC, and I know all the players love him. But I am skeptical about the play calling. I really thought Sundays game against NO could be a chess match between the teams, and I convinced myself that he would have a plan B and maybe plan C if A was not going according to plan, I didn’t see this.
I think he’s still learning what works. Remember, he was only an offensive coordinator for 1 year before Carolina scooped him up for this role. I still think he’s the right guy for the job, but there will be growing pains, especially considering he inherited a team that has many flaws. His play calling is masterful at times, but that comes with a caveat that sometimes he seems to overthink things. I like the aggression on 4th down, but there’s going to be times where it doesn’t work and we saw those results on Sunday. Clearly there is still a level of distrust with his quarterback, and that’s going to hold back some of his situational play calling at times. We’ll see this week, since its basically...
