The biggest change the Carolina Panthers made on offense this year was on the sidelines, where head coach Dave Canales handed over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik. And so far, that’s looking like a galaxy-brained level kind of move—as the team has scored the second-most points and tallied the fifth-most yards in the league through two weeks.
Perhaps the biggest difference between Canales and Idzik is that the latter has been far more aggressive challenging defenses vertically. Canales admitted as much earlier on Monday, when he joked about his own performance from last season.
“Yeah, what was wrong with that play caller last year?” Canales said to reporters, smiling. “The guy wouldn’t get the ball down the field.”
All funny jokes have a ring of truth to them—and in this case, Canales is right.
The unit ranks first in both neutral pass rate and up-tempo play rate—meaning they’re certainly not afraid to throw. They’re also letting quarterback Bryce Young loose, as he ranks third in passing yards per attempt (8.9) and fourth in intended air yards per attempt (10.2) amongst all starters.
It’s a long season and Idzik will have to make adjustments as opposing defenses make their own against his. But so far, it’s impossible not to like what he’s done as a play-caller already.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers HC Dave Canales jokes about difference in play-calling with OC Brad Idzik
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