Source: Grant Halverson / Getty
The final week of the preseason is officially upon us, but that doesn’t mean the hot takes or the overreactions aren’t already in midseason form. The Panthers, who are 0-2 in the preseason, after losses to the Giants and the Jets, will host the Lions on Friday night to close out the 2023 preseason. While the record is irrelevant to the matter, there is no denying that Carolina has looked sluggish with their starters on the field, which has led to skepticism both locally, and nationally. Michael Lombardi has gone as far as to say that Frank Reich won’t have his team adequately prepared for the season opener at Atlanta on September 10th, and even questions how he got another head coaching job in the NFL.
The questions around Reich’s plan for the preseason are valid, considering that Bryce Young, has played just six drives, and has produced only three points. In an era where there are only three preseason games now, starters play even less than before, but with this being Bryce’s introduction into the NFL, coupled with a brand new coaching staff, these reps are more valuable than in most camps around the NFL. Furthermore, when you see the snaps that Sam Howell has played for Washington, it does make you question if Reich is going about this the right way. It’s important to note that Carolina has played without its starting right guard Austin Corbett, and they haven’t seen free agent acquisition, Miles Sanders in the backfield with Young, so the offense has been compromised since leaving Spartanburg.
You do have to remember that he did admit after the shutout loss to the Jets to open the preseason, that they didn’t do a good enough job putting their players in a position to be successful, even if they were going with a vanilla game plan. When this topic came up on the Wes & Walker Show earlier today on WFNZ, even though they both weren’t ready to admit that this has been wrong from the start, they did accept that the struggles only adds pressure when the regular season begins. You have to love that Reich is confident enough in himself, and his staff, that they will be able to put together a game plan on a weekly basis, to put Bryce Young in the best position possible. But if that doesn’t happen, you’ll have to question if they did enough in the preseason to get him ready to acclimate to the NFL.
This conversation could all be for nothing, if Young hits the ground running in the regular season, and plays at the level you expect the #1 pick to play at. But for a fan base that is still scarred by the Matt Rhule regime, patience is very thin and as hyped as this off-season has been in Charlotte, none of that matters unless it translates onto the field. Hopefully, Reich is rewarded for his vision, with a winning brand of football come September.
You can catch the Wes & Walker Show every weekday from 12-3 PM on Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ, and the WFNZ app.
