Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
Believe it or not, after an 0-2 start, the season is in fact not over for the Carolina Panthers. although to hear the fans say it, it might as well be. Sure history might not be on Carolina’s side to win the NFC South or make the postseason as a wild card, but were those ever realistic expectations, for a franchise that hired a new head coach, and drafted a rookie QB? Now look, it is fair to say that you may not have expected the offense to look as bad as it has to start the season, or you didn’t think the team would miss Austin Corbett as much as they have, but it still doesn’t justify the outrage and frustration after two weeks. Whether the Panthers admitted publicly or not, this is a franchise in transition, and that is exactly what we’re seeing on the football field.
A former Panther who has been a part of a transition, Jake Delhomme, who would go on to have a career earning him a spot in the Hall of Honor, was always under the impression there were going to be growing pains this season. The former signal caller, joined Wes & Walker earlier today, and told them “There’s going to be some growing pains, a rookie quarterback, the success these guys have coming and playing well, and leading teams to the playoffs is not the greatest”. He would go on to say that the limitations at wide receiver, combined with the injuries up front, haven’t helped Bryce Young, who has really struggled in his first two starts in the NFL. Carolina was a win away at Tampa Bay last season, from potentially making the playoffs for the first time since 2017, but once they lost that game, and didn’t retain Steve Wilks, we should’ve expected a transition season, in 2023.
As star-studded as this coaching staff, this is still a group that has only worked together for three preseason games, and now just two regular season games. It was always going to take some time for the staff to gel, and figure it out collectively. As great a player as Bryce Young was in college, history tells you that even he was going to take some lumps during his NFL journey.
Only time will tell if Bryce Young was the right pick at quarterback, and if he isn’t there will be consequences for those in charge. But in the meantime, it is important to remember that there is a lot of new, up and down the Panthers roster, and coaching staff and that it’s going to take some time for this to blossom into the vision that Frank Reich has for this franchise.
You can catch the Wes & Walker Show, every week day from 12-3 PM, on Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ, and the WFNZ app.
Jake Delhomme – There Was Always Going to be Growing Pains was originally published on wfnz.com
