Welcome to Brian Answers, Panthers fans! This is part two of your weekly mailbag, where we answer YOUR questions about everything Panthers, football, or even non-football related! This week’s topic was Andy Dalton, and I think we were able to shed some light on the Red Rifle. Read on below to see if your question was answered, and comment down below to continue the discussion!
ericbuck: Which receiver do you think the change affects the most?
Might be the obvious answer, but Diontae Johnson. He showed the ability to get open the last couple of weeks and Bryce Young just missed him, whether the play was off timing or he just flat out didn’t throw a good ball. I think Johnson will look the part of an actual WR1 on Sunday. But, as for the not so easy answer, let’s go with Ja’Tavion Sanders. I think a veteran QB like Dalton will be able to throw him the ball with some decent timing, and that always helps younger tight ends who haven’t quite figured out how to work the zones themselves just yet on the inside.
Deej_93: What do you expect from our offense with Andy Dalton being named the starter? I think everybody expects a better output, but what do you think the ceiling and floor could be with the improved O-Line/weapons?
I expect a few more cohesive drives. The biggest problem with the Panthers offense so far has been the inability to string good plays together on offense. While I think many expect Dalton to go throw for 300 yards like he did against Seattle last season, I am tempering that expectation in that regard. However, ceiling to me is 20+ points and 300 passing yards just because we saw Dalton do it with a lesser offense last season. Floor to me would be 10-12 points and maybe 150-200 yards passing, which even with that yardage output, would be a massive improvement. I think the biggest key for the offense will be the game script, I expect them to run the ball A LOT if the game is close and the offense shows some improvement with Dalton at the helm.
demaxx1: I know DC was brought in to be BY’s QB whisperer. He has a good record with Baker and Geno, Now with BY out of the picture as starter. I wonder of DC can breath some life back into Dalton?
Others have commented how bad the defense has looked this season, I have to wonder is it because they are just gassed because the offense can’t string together a drive to let the defense a chance to rest?
Gonna get the second part of the question out of the way; yes, the defense simply cannot be expected to shut a team down all game with the offensive output we saw in the first two weeks. I was surprised at the number of times they held up, especially last week, given the morbid offense.
I think Canales’s system will definitely help Dalton out a ton with shaking the rust off. I don’t know if I’d expect a Geno Smith level resurgence, but it is pretty clear most plays have a built in easy outlet for the QB when things don’t go right. And I expect Dalton to be able to audible into good plays when he reads the defense and sees something, which Bryce didn’t do a great job of doing himself. Whether that’s entirely his fault is up for debate, but doesn’t really matter right now with Dalton taking over.
right_turn_clyde: Dalton was sidelined during the pre-season. Is there any concern currently on the health front for him?
His injury in the preseason didn’t seem all that serious. But as a backup and a guy with so many years in the league, I don’t think the coaches really felt it was necessary for him to go out and practice with an injury that could nag him. I see no issues on this front.
DannyLimes: For the benefit of those who have forgotten or don’t know could you break down how Dalton ended the Bills playoff drought and got a load of donations from Bills fans? It’s a cool story from what 5 years ago or something?
Great article right here about it in depth, but I will give the cliff notes. During the 2017 season, the Buffalo Bills faced a playoff scenario where they needed the Bengals to defeat the Ravens in the last game of the season, in Baltimore, AND the BIlls had to win against the Dolphins. The Bengals had nothing to play for except for being spoilers, and it was a darn good Ravens team that season to boot. The Ravens and Bills played during the same time slot, so there wasn’t a situation where they could possibly know who was going to be in the playoffs before the game started and subsequently plan for it. Dalton made an incredible TD throw to Tyler Boyd in the waning seconds to knock the Ravens out of the playoffs, and vault the Bills into the playoffs for the first time in many years. Bills fans poured tons of money into Dalton’s own charity foundation as a result, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for a good cause. And all in the name of a football team that had nothing to play for going out there, and Keep Pounding on any given Sunday for a win. Its heartwarming when football and charity go hand in hand like that.
TheBeardedPanther: What is a must have snack for Sunday since this is the first game I am excited for since the 2nd game BY started? I don’t think Dalton is going to change our season, but I do think teams will stop stacking the box and respect at least the mid throws.
Allegedly, Dalton’s favorite snack is chips and queso. I think this is a great choice, not only to honor the Panthers new starting QB, but in the highly likely event that the Panthers are still a struggle to watch on Sunday, its a great depression snack too.
Senanima: I’ve always wondered if going from a backup position to the main guy full stop like this is as life transformative as I’d think. We hear backups simply say “I’m always ready to go” and work ethic in this kind of environment is a given. I’d just imagine there’s bare minimum a higher sense of urgency but I’m also curious about the level of extra sacrifice that requires to rank up into that guy.
Also my obligatory: Fave BBQ sauce?
You didn’t really phrase the first part as a question, but I’ll answer anyway. I think for someone like Dalton, he’s likely not blowing smoke when he says he preps the same way he always does. Dude has been in the league for over a decade now, I think for him just getting back in the saddle itself is exciting and he’s not really playing with the weight of having to prove himself, so I’m not so sure about an added sense of urgency. For others, such as PJ Walker, I’m sure that situation is more like you described.
Favorite BBQ sauce? I’d say anything “Smoky Mountains” (I go to Mission BBQ a lot here in PA, don’t throw bricks at my house) is my favorite. Tennessee born, so it reminds me of happier days, when the Panthers weren’t around.
bolshy: Prior to this week, how much time has Dalton practiced with the ones and how much do you think it matters?
He seems to get a decent amount of time with the 1s in practices during the offseason, but I don’t really know how much he’s gotten since the season started. I think it will matter a bit to start the game, but a veteran like Dalton should be able to get into a groove of some sort as long as the game isn’t out of hand before the end of the 1st quarter.
Bruce Guild: Who benefits more with Dalton at QB
1. The running game
2. The online
3 The defense
4 The receivers
The scoreboard does not count as an answer.
Neither is all of the above since that is an easy out.
Probably the offensive line. Between having a guy who has spent a decade reading NFL defenses and calling protections, and theoretically throwing the ball away when a play isn’t going anywhere, we’ll probably see their grades go up, even if the eye test doesn’t seem all that different from the first two weeks.
Proteus1: Forget Andy, why the F are we waiving Eku?
I only highlight this question as a gentle reminder, most players who get waived during the regular season are not immediate priorities of other teams. Leota was added back to the practice squad once clearing waivers. It still puzzles me why they even did it in the first place, but he’s still around if they want him. Maybe DJ Johnson’s efforts last week showed he has some potential?
PantherBlueBlood: Will Dalton prevent us from obtaining the #1 overall pick in 2025?
He’d have to be really, really good for the Panthers to play their way out of a top five pick. This defense is scrappy but we’re gonna see a lot of high yardage totals for opposing rushing attacks, and I still think we’re going to see the same growing pains and back breaking penalties that hurt the Panthers offense earlier this season.
Back-to-Squanchsics: At almost 37, how much does Dalton have left in the tank? And do you think not being “the” guy for a couple years has helped preserve what’s left or made him rusty?
I think “savvy game manager” is more than achievable by Dalton at this point. I think the biggest question is going to be how many big hits can he survive moreso than anything.
Aggressively_avg2: Is the Keep Sounding pod ever gonna come back?
Jon and I actually had a couple of shows lined up over the offseason, but life got in the way. It will come back. The Panthers made it difficult to keep it going weekly but we will bring it back this season.
MtndancerSr: Will Jack (don’t call me Jake) Plummer be a game day elevation? Will BY be inactive?
I think Jack will be an elevation, or at the very least the emergency 3rd QB. I would think it makes sense to scratch Bryce this week completely, however I can see a world where he’s the 2nd guy in the event something happens to Dalton.
schrodingersblackcat: What are the odds that Andy will play well enough this season that we will re-sign him for another year so we can draft other positions of need in the 2025 draft?
I don’t know how well he plays, but I imagine the ball is pretty much in his court for 2025 if he wants to come back. Whether it be as the starter or as the veteran mentor for Bryce and/or another QB they bring in. I think they’ll be addressing QB in some other fashion one way or the other in 2025 though.
That’s all Panthers fans! Join us next week for another edition of the Brian Asks/Answers mailbag, a CSR mailbag for everyone!