Cat Scratch Reader
Hello CSR! I’m taking over this week’s version of the Monday Morning Optimist, and I’m very happy to do so. I decided to base my headline on Walker’s post from last week, thanks for letting me hijack this!
The Carolina Panthers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 30-27, an all around great effort that kept the Panthers firmly in “regular season matters” type of football rather than “how is this win/loss going to affect their first round pick” territory. They faced a Cowboys team that hasn’t been the best, but one that has been clawing for divisional/playoff supremacy. The Panthers went punch for punch with this very good offensive team after so many horrifically terrible starts to their games to kick off the season. The Panthers now sit at 3-3, with the ball firmly in their court as far as determining what legacy they will leave for their iteration of 2025. Let’s dive in.
Rico Dowdle-Extremely Optimistic
Rico Dowdle called his shot this week, talking about his former team and how motivated he was to deliver a performance against them. He delivered, with a 30 carry, 183 yard rushing effort supplemented by a 4 catch, 56 yards receiving effort and a score to really nail the Cowboys down. I love Chuba Hubbard, but after the last two weeks Rico has amassed over 400 yards of total scrimmage yards. I can now understand why Dave Canales was mixing him in so much when Chuba was healthy. This offense will do its best work behind a bell-cow running back, and it showed once again on Sunday. He’s now earned the questions that will come once Chuba is fully healthy again, but I think based on how devoted the Panthers have suddenly become to running the ball, there will be plenty of yards to gobble up between the two of them. Rico was one of the value signings many pundits loved of the offseason, and over these last two weeks he’s proved all of them right.
Bryce Young-Optimistic
There will always be peaks and valleys with Bryce, and I get where the fan base is coming from with their criticisms of him, both on the field and in general as far as what he brings to the table. However, Sundays performance (to me) showed what kind of quarterback he can be, which is a guy who can spread the ball around, and get the offensive weapons into positions to succeed. Bryce went into a boxing match with Dak Prescott, and by no means was he perfect. But, he threw nice TD passes when they mattered to Tetairoa McMillan (twice) and Rico Dowdle. He didn’t have to be the engine on Sunday as much as the conductor, and I think that role suits him just fine for what this team and coaching staff is trying to do. Dave Canales isn’t asking him to throw the ball 50 times a game, and he delivered 3 TD passes when the Panthers offense needed him...
