Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers better be ready for the power of positivity.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield joined Monday’s episode of Pardon My Take, where he spoke a bit about his now-former offensive coordinator Dave Canales. Mayfield was asked how he thinks Canales will be in his new role, as the head coach of the NFC South rival Panthers.
“Good,” he replied. “He’s very relatable. Smart guy. He took our receivers coach from Tampa with him to be the OC—Brad Idzik. Really, really good football mind. And I just think those two guys together, like around Bryce, is gonna be good for him.”
Canales and Idzik were awfully good for Mayfield, who experienced a career campaign in Tampa this past year. The former No. 1 overall pick notched bests in completion percentage (64.3), passing yards (4,044) and passing touchdowns (28) while leading the Bucs to their third straight division crown.
The Panthers are hoping for similar results when it comes to their own No. 1 overall pick. Young underwhelmed during his rookie season, throwing for just 179.8 yards per contest with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Mayfield continued, and even introduced an interesting title for Canales.
“Dave’s got like . . . the definition of an optimist bully,” he added. “Like, it could be the worst day ever, everything could be going wrong, and he’s sitting there and he’s like like, ‘Guys, we got the next play!’ Like, he’s got a big ol’ smile on his face and you’re like, ‘This guy’s full of [expletive].’ But no, that’s literally who he is, day in and day out. And honestly, it’s refreshing—especially in that industry.”
Well, maybe some (positive) bullying just might work in Carolina.
