In The Pocket Part 1A

by Longvillian65 | 1 year ago | 0 Comments

In The Pocket Part 1A

By: Kirk Herbstreit

 

Good morning to everyone on this beautiful Monday morning. Nothing better than RedZone football in full swing as we finally can see how the league should shake out. There have been plenty of surprises this season already, and a few questions that have come up as well. Something that everyone has kept an eye on have been the rookie quarterbacks, and the couple sophomore quarterbacks, that have been given the keys to lead a few franchises.

 So while talking to Chris Fowler this past Thursday night I decided that we should talk to those who have made the decision to trust these young quarterbacks to lead them to victory. So sit back and enjoy part 1 of a 3 part series as I talked to a handful of coaches from around the league on their thoughts and decisions made thus far about their young stars.

 

Coach Scott and the Panthers

 

The first team we are going to look at are the Carolina Panthers led by Coach Scott. The season has started off rough for them as a whole, and Bryce Young has not been as electric as expected. The Panthers sit at 1-6 and in last place of their division. I asked Coach Scott some questions over the season and how Bryce has been. Without further ado here is the interview. 

 

Herby- How would you rate the overall performance of your quarterback this season so far?

 

Coach- Slow start, but improving as the year goes on.  Andy's mentorship is starting to pay off.

 

Herby- With being such a young player, have there been any issues with the development this season? What kind of specifics can you share?

 

Coach- Not really any major issues. Just after making mistakes, Bryce gets nervous to throw the ball too much.. so we had to work more with play action rollout to make him more comfortable.

 

 

Herby- How much do you associate the success, or lack thereof, with the performance of your young signal caller?

 

Coach- Overall the lack of performance isn't only on the QB.. Defense has had some struggles that have hurt the team and the overall youth of the offense can attribute to our slow start.

 

Herby- We have seen many young QBs come in and sit behind a mentor to develop, or some get thrown in right away without that adjustment period. Do you believe that you have adjusted the playstyle and play calling to help cater to a younger QB, or have you gone with trial by fire in hopes he fits in right away?

 

Coach-  A little of both.  Trial by fire but sprinkle in the calls to get him on the move. He will be fine as the years go on. We just have a few holes to fill around him.

 

Herby- We have seen this as a Quarterback first league so it is interesting that the younger guys just can't keep up with the veterans stat wise.  Only two rookie or 2nd year quarterbacks are in the top 10 of TD thrown this season as we near the halfway mark. Do you think the efficiency of the young guys are hindered by coaching, the development, or the overall of the team so far?

 

Coach- For us it's the team overall. No true #1 wide receiver and we've had a plethora of drops that have really hurt this season.

 

Herby- We have seen how coordinators make such an impact on total offense and the system in which younger quarterbacks struggle or flourish.  Do you see any changes coming in the way you handle your young QB in development the rest of the season or next year? New offense possibly, or having the coordinator focus on bettering his own tree to help develop others better?

 

Coach- I think we're going to give the offense one more year unless someone comes in and just blows us away in the interview process.

 

Herby- Any advice you believe should be shared from one coach to another for those who will be drafting, signing, or trading for a young QB?

 

Coach- Make sure you have a good core in place or the QB will struggle.

 

Talking to Coach Scott was very enlightening as he has a history of doing well with any quarterback he is given. Being mentored while having the opportunity to learn from his mistakes in game is a double edged sword. The success of the organization could be hindered by inexperience, but the game time experience is something that can’t be taught. We have seen Bryce start to show improvement as the season progresses. It will be fun to see how he ends the season and how the team does to finish the second half of their schedule. Up next is part 1B we talked to Coach Mayne from the Colts about rookie sensation Anthony Richerson.