Scouting the Panthers: Red Rifle’s Return Isn’t Only Bears Worry
The Carolina Panthers still must wear donkey ears for trading away a boatload of picks to the Bears so they could draft quarterback Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud.
This included the pick used this year by the Bears for quarterback Caleb Williams, which may or may not pan out for Chicago.
The Panthers do have a different quarterback starter than Stroud, who the Bears managed to beat last year 16-13 while they had Tyson Bagent playing quarterback.
Of course, the new QB is the old guy. It’s the Red Rifle, 36-year-old former Bears QB Andy Dalton.
“They’re a team that’s kind of up and rising since he’s taken over,” Bears tight end Cole Kmet said. “It will be a good challenge for our defense but watching him from afar. So far, definitely happy for Andy and what he’s been able to do for the past couple of weeks.”
The Bears just finished seeing how a persistent veteran passer can stand in and attack their secondary, much like Kirk Cousins used to do. They’ll see it again Sunday much like Matthew Stafford did, and there are still a few players on the team who remember Dalton’s work well.
“The Red Rifle. That’s my guy,” Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “I mean really just savvy, he’s been around for a long time since, I mean, when I came on he was with the Bengals. I mean, that was some time ago.
“So, I mean, he’s seen a lot of coverages, he’s seen a lot of blitzes. So I mean kind of like Stafford in a way where he’s going to be able to pick up some things (the defense does). So we’ve got to do a good job disguising. We’ve got to get hits and pressure, making him uncomfortable in the pocket. But also I mean like a lot of the quarterbacks they get pressure in the face they kind of tend to throw some bad throws, make some bad decisions. So for us in the secondary we’ve got to be where we’re supposed to be and the front has got to get after him.”
Dalton definitely can do damage. He posted a 102.7 passer rating against the Bengals and Raiders in his two starts since taking over for struggling Young. He has five TDs and only one interception.
However, the Bears saw Dalton under fire in 2021 when he started six games for them. He had two games with passer ratings in the 100s but had the game against Arizona when he got sacked three times and threw four interceptions in a loss. He also had the season finale when he threw two interceptions, got sacked seven times and lost to the Vikings.
