Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales previously received a bit of flak for his decision to hold back the team’s starters from preseason play. Well, that decision was amplified on Sunday—after a beatdown for the ages.
The 2024 regular season opened with a can of you know what for the Panthers, who ate a rough 47-10 loss courtesy of the host New Orleans Saints. Carolina appeared outmatched, outmuscled and outcoached at every turn, putting their preparedness for the contest in question.
So, Canales was asked on Monday if he thinks he should’ve given his starters more time to gel during the summer.
“Again, we gotta consider everything,” Canales replied. “To take the next step, to get ourselves ready for a full season—we have to think about all that.”
Due to numerous injuries up and down the roster, Canales and the Panthers waited until the preseason finale in Buffalo to get their first units some burn. But that appearance lasted just one drive apiece.
He was then asked about the preparation leading up to Week 1.
“I felt great about the process,” Canales said. “I felt great about a camp where we practiced early for body readiness. And then as we got closer to the season, we moved our practice a little bit later just so that their readiness and when they’re going to play full speed makes sense.”
That, unfortunately, didn’t work yesterday. The Panthers were bested in all phases of the game—as they committed three turnovers, gave up scores in each of their opponent’s first nine touches and even allowed a 49-yard punt return as well as a blocked punt.
Nonetheless, Canales stated that he has to remain open to a multitude of factors as he and his staff work through getting it all right.
“But again, I’m considering looking at all of it,” he added. “Just making sure, in year one, let’s just be really honest and really open about our processes and the way we did things to see what the result is.”
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