Cat Scratch Reader
The Carolina Panthers accomplished an amazing feat yesterday: they looked better than they did in Week 1 while simultaneously leaving many of their fans even more bereft of hope. Bryce Young opened the game with two turnovers that should never have happened. He made mistakes and his offensive line let him down massively. That line protected him for most of the rest of the game, but they never lived up to their offseason billing. An immediate 10-point deficit and a stymied running game that led to Young throwing 55 passes yesterday left fans feeling like they were on a sinking ship, even while the Panthers clawed back in the second half. Carolina is allergic to giving their fans something as simple as hope. If they’re the cats then we are the live mouse they toy with season after season.
Improvements by every pass catcher not named Xavier Legette and big plays by young defenders contributed to a second half rally that saw the Panthers turn a 27-3 deficit to the Arizona Cardinals into a miracle last possession, after an onside kick recovery, with a chance to win the game. That ultimate drive was a comedy of errors on both sides, but no one drive from yesterday represents the whole story of this team.
The first six minutes and the last two minutes were the definition of impotence. Everything inbetween was a slowly building display of competence and adjustments. This was the Panthers letting us flee for our lives before catching us by the tail at the last second. Of course, playing with their prey fans was not intentional. Instead, a supposed strength failed and cascaded into the show we had yesterday. The real key to this game was the Panthers’ inability to control the line of scrimmage at big moments. That resulted in both pressure on Young and an inability to establish the running game.
The line settled down and the offense started to gain some traction in the second half, but they never made much room for Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle. Young spotted the Cardinals with two turnovers and ten points in the opening minutes, then was asked to throw the ball 55 times. No part of that is in Carolina’s recipe for success.
The running game was supposed to be the strength of this team. The fact that the offensive line was so stymied by what was supposed to be an average opponent is worrying. But it makes the effort put forth by the passing game and the defense all the more impressive when compared to last week’s debacle.
There was a lot to like yesterday and a lot to worry about. It didn’t help, emotionally, that the Panthers started out with a series of calamities centered around Young and went into the half down 20 to 3.
Gasp. I know. It’s so cool to dump on Young and Canales. I’m not going to today.
Call it garbage time...
