Dave Canales on Panthers’ Week 8 matchup against the Buffalo Bills | Carolina Panthers

Dave Canales on Panthers’ Week 8 matchup against the Buffalo Bills | Carolina Panthers

All right, a beautiful Charlotte day. Charlotte in the fall. Can’t beat it. Unbelievable. Uh great environment for us to get outside, enjoy each other’s company. Um keep pushing our football forward. A really focused group. Uh returning back to the field. Um guys working on their communication, talking to each other, working on the chemistry and timing of what we’re doing. And uh just a just an excellent day for us to get out there. Uh we saw Bryce get to work on the side. Did you get much of a chance to see him? And what was the report from the trainers afterwards? I saw a little bit of it. Uh did more than he did yesterday. So that’s good. That’s our plan right now is each day try to push him a little bit more. See if we can get him out there in in a different capacity. Wasn’t able to practice today. Um but was working on the side. Was able to do some movement stuff and we’ll just take it dayto-day and make the best decision. So he’s officially dayto-day still. Yes. And not prepared to declare Andy Dalton the starter on Sunday? Not right now. Yes. And but Andy did take all the reps today with the group. Um and uh you know, Henden Hooker and and Mike White are here. You know, we’re we’re first day to get to look at Mike in person to see him throw. He did a great job. Um and you know, uh Henden handled most of the scout reps there, but uh the whole group, they’re all, you know, just pulling for Bryce, you know, and and Bryce as well. He’s he’s pushing and he’s trying and and he’s he’s determined to try to, you know, make himself available for Sunday. But we have to take it dayto-day and we got to make a decision, you know, when it comes down to it. Is there anything specific that you’re looking for on the ankle? Is it cutting? Is it planting? Is it driving off to throw? All of that, right? All of that. Everything that’s required to play the game the right way. Um, you know, you can make certain modifications, but at the end of the day, you’re going to have to just play ball. So, we want to make sure that he’s able to do that, and we’ll keep evaluating him each day. Dave, you said on Monday you were going to look at different quarterbacks. What about Mike stuck out and and what do you like having him here? um my my experience in history of just watching him, you know, just really really fluid throwing motion. A guy that’s got experience, has played some some, you know, pretty important games over the course of his career. So, the experience is a great thing. Heard a lot of great stuff about him. His reputation, you know, preceded him coming coming this way. And um he was interested in coming and and being here in case we get to a situation where we might need him long term. Um and so just uh good to be able to get my eyes on him for the first time. And um and also he’s got a little Bill’s background, too. So, you know, just uh trying to compete with in any which way we can. I was going to say given besides all the physical stuff, how much of a benefit can that be? I mean, he was just there last year. What you pick his brain? What do you think? Yeah, we should try. You know, our our defensive staff, myself included, you know, just talking to him about things he might have seen, you know, here and there. And, um, you know, there’s there’s no, you know, secret code involved here. He’s a Panther right now. And so, um, trying to compete, trying to get as much info as we can. Uh, coach, can you speak uh to JC and his two interceptions on Sunday? Um, the leadership that he’s showing after signing the big contract. Yeah. Yeah. just a just a really incredible competitor and the way that JC approaches every game day, you know, and um I mean this isn’t public knowledge, but he went into the Patriots game, you know, pretty sick and and he had to get some fluids and overcome that part and and you know, like I talked to him afterwards and, you know, he he played his butt off in that game and and never didn’t find out about that until afterwards and he just kind of said, you know, like my dad called me said, “Look, nobody cares. You’re sick. Like they’re going to try to go after you regardless. Like you got to go out there and play.” and he just he brings that mentality every week um to challenge everything. He wants to be at the point of attack. You know, he wants uh quarterbacks to try them and to, you know, get him those targets and and um and he came up with two big plays. I think it just speaks to the whole collection of the athlete, the brain, the competitor, and then his ability to track the ball like a receiver, you know, really incredible catches on both of those to get his eyes around, you know, on the first interception to really accelerate where you could see his top speed, you know, um getting in phase and then coming down with a really hard catch, whether you’re a corner or a receiver on that one. As a former wide receiver, how would you rate his one-handed interception? I try to tell guys two hands for beginners. you know, he doesn’t have a lot of catches in his uh pro career. So, uh but anyway, he came up with the catch and secured the ball. That’s what we cared about and gave us a chance to put it away um in that one. How better prepared are you talentwise with the defense and the offense for a guy like Andy to step in and have success than you were a year ago? Uh I think it’s a collective thing. It’s about our processes, how we handle the work week, and those rhythms are very familiar to our players now. Um, going into our second year, that part allows us to lay the foundation for fundamental improvement and execution. It’s the communication. It’s all the carryover on the offensive line as well, guys, um, and can go in there and function with a different combination of guys there. And, uh, we also have a a number of young players who are catching up to what we’re doing and and finding rhythm and timing. Um, but again, it’s just, you know, if Andy does have to play, have full confidence, be able to just call the call the game the same way I would normally call it and have the balance and uh be attacking and and aggressive in our in our spots. So, he gives us an opportunity to keep pushing our football forward, which I love. And Dave, does that continuity allow you to maybe wait to make the decision on Bryce a little bit longer than maybe you would have a year ago? This is just going to be about Bryce’s health. If Bryce is ready to go, he’s going to go. and the rest of the factors like they all want Bryce to go. You know, Andy included while he would love to get out there and play. You know, he’s chomping at the bit, you know, at this point in his career, he’s like any chance I get to get out there, whether it’s finishing a game or going into a game, you know, this he’s got a lot of gratitude, you know, about the opportunity potentially, but um we got to do what’s best for for Bryce first and foremost and and we’ll go from there. Even though you, you know, guys in this league are obviously durable and you you’d like to pro, you know, most likely have Bryce back, how much, how do you weigh that as you’re making that decision? Because you you what’s coming in is one of the, you know, top pass rushing defenses in the league. Is that something that you consider a lot more this week? I kind of expect everybody’s best and we have to make the best decision for NFL football games, which every single game there’s pro players on the other side when you’re playing them. Uh this is going to be about Bryce’s health and and regardless of who’s out there, you know, if if he’s ready to go, we’ll ask him to go out there and execute like he always does. Should the Jets uh DTackle been penalized on that sack of Bryce that injured him live? It didn’t look like it. As you as you replay it and replayed, he put his foot out there to get him down. that could constitute as a foul, but I just thought live like, you know, it looked like Bryce was just trying to get away and they kind of tripped up on each other. So, I I didn’t really see any malice that way. Um, yeah, that’s that’s kind of how I felt about it. Would have been tripping would have been the call, right? I think Yeah, I think so. I know things evolve on a week- toeek basis now that you had a week with both running backs back. How do you expect the game plan to maybe differ where it was last week or stay similar to that? Yeah, I like I like the fact that we went into the fourth quarter with two really physical and fresh backs. I love that. I love that for finishing games. I love that for how long a season is. When you have two guys that you really trust, you just play football with both of them. And they all they each kind of had a little bit more bounce to their step today. And and that’s what I want. I want both of those guys to be 100 miles an hour. Empty the tank on every carry. That’s the attitude that we got to have. You said you’d like for them to alternate the series, but would you explore maybe changing that uh approach depending on what the defense is showing you on Sunday and how the game is flowing? I want both guys to just keep rotating in and and just giving me everything they have for the whole time. Following up on the running backs, is there any concern with the rotation that they don’t have time to to gain a rhythm, gain momentum? That’s always a consideration. Uh, I I think if you if you brought any back in here and asked them that question, they would love to just have the volume of carries to be able to build things up and set things up. I’m of the mind. I want our runs to be full throttle every single time. And I think when when you have the the benefit and the opportunity for us to be able to throw two guys that run with the same type of energy, the same type of toughness and all that, then that’s what you do. have been particularly vulnerable against the run. They’re 31st in the league and against the run 156 yards game. I mean, I know it’s always important to run football, but this week particularly with Josh Allen being over there, I mean, how important is it to establish that and kind of control the clock this week? We’re going to be balanced. We’re going to try to play off of our tendencies. Um, we’re certainly going to run the ball in some in some fashion. Uh, and you got to be able to throw it to, you know, to be able to flip the field. uh take advantage of explosives um which does allow you to to do that and and get field position and um create first downs. So, we’ll be we’ll be balanced and we’ll be multiple and um at the same time, you know, if the run game’s going really well, you know, in in the last, you know, couple of weeks when when we’ve had some success with the run game, you can lean on that more at times, but um I expect to see the Bills best, they’re coming off a by-week. I expect that every week you’re playing a team that has a bunch of veteran players out there. They play hard. They play together. uh the fact that their numbers have come out the way they have. Um I see a really I see a team that’s playing tough and and rallying to the ball and playing physical. So I expect that from them. You mentioned the bye week. What are the kind of things as a coach you can work on when you’ve got that extra week to prepare and within one game? Yeah, you certainly have the physical recovery uh part of that, but there’s also a mental recovery where you get to kind of step back and look at what’s happened, what’s transpired in these first six or seven games. Do self scout and see what concepts that you’ve been leaning on that may be working for you. Let’s continue. So, it’s a start, stop, continue exercise really. And things that you might have came into the season with thinking this is going to be a big part of what we do. If it’s not having success, then you move on from some of those. Um, it just allows you to evaluate, allows you to kind of take that step back and say, “How can we improve our processes? How can we move our football forward?” Um, how nice was it to see Damen Lewis back out practicing today after missing uh the game? It was great. It was great to see him out there, get some individuals, uh, pop in and out of the team periods and get some reps um, and just gain the confidence he needs uh, to feel good to be able to go on Sunday. So tomorrow, you know, will be a more physical practice with the pads, all that, and we’ll be able to expose him to some of that and see how he comes out that way. We also saw Robert Hunt out there working to the side. This was his first time being on the field. I know he’s still on IR, but this is his first time being on the field, right? Uh how is I mean, how is that progress coming along? Yeah, he’s coming along. They say he’s ahead of schedule. You know, I think we get told that a lot, but our guys really push it. And um I’ I’ve noticed over the years the guys that believe that they heal fast end up healing fast. And um you know that just puts you in a positive mindset to be able to get after your rehab. Um push the envelope and say, “Hey, we had this prescribed for you today. Can I do a little bit more? Is this good enough? Can we stop here?” David Moore is another one um who’s really attacking his rehab. And uh both guys are really in there pushing each other. Um but it was good to have Rob on the grass, you know, moving around and uh they’re working on all the range of motion stuff. So, we’ll see where we at. You know, I think it’s timeline is somewhere around the bye-week. So, um that could be something down the road. We’ll do a couple board. We’ll do Cassidy and then we’ll do Phil. We call it Tell the Truth Monday because whether you win or lose, you got to look at the tape and look at the areas that we need to improve. you celebrate the things we did well and what we try to do is is show film of the practice and preparation showing up in the games and this just solidifies the process. This solidifies what it takes to find your best. And I just love that Derek is is really connected to that part of it is like regardless of what happens guys, tomorrow we show up, we go right back to work. They have Tuesdays to recover their bodies, reconnect their people, and then we’re back on the field on Wednesday with our game plans and ready to go. And that’s the mentality that you have to have. This is a long season and you have to be able to show up again every single Monday, show up again every Wednesday and capture the work ethic um and go through the week that way. So, I love that our leadership is focused that way. Uh they certainly understand that we haven’t seen our best football. We have not. We’ve seen glimpses of it. We’ve seen excellent play in areas, but there’s so much more out there for us, and we should just continue to be trying to improve our processes all the way through the end of the season. on Derek. So much has been made of his play this season, but what has his return done for Aan and what has AAN do for for Derek as well? Yeah, Derek just presents problems whether he’s on the front side of a run, the backside of a run. You saw the sack production last week, a couple of, you know, pass breakups, you know, at the line of scrimmage. Those are disheartening in ways. And it’s just the way that he works every single down when he’s out there, and we get him out there. We get him off the field when we can, but when he’s on the field, he give he gives everything he has. Two of the most impressive plays of the day are, you know, just sideline to sideline chases of the quarterbacks, forcing them to go out of bounds at five or six yards, minimizing explosive runs. Um, that’s the type of effort it requires for a full unit to play together and to find your best. He brings that out in the whole group. I’m gonna get Mike who’s waiting for Mike. Kind of dovetailing off of Steve’s question about the offense and time of possession for you guys flipping that and the Josh Allen led offense. Where does the danger lurk with them? Is it running backs, the receivers, the line? Where does it start for them and and what you guys try to try to take care of? Yeah, I think a broader comment is just uh what a good football team this is and a good football organization. Starting with the head coach, Coach McDermott, someone I really respect. They have they play with a lot of discipline. They play with toughness. You can tell that they value those things in every phase in on offense, on defense, on special teams. It just shows up on tape. These are guys that want to do right and they want to show up with energy and they want to be physical. They want to have that be their um their identity. And so that part kind of metriculates throughout. And and if you look at this offense, you know, yes, it’s it’s all centered around Josh Allen. This is a really good running team. and they’ve had um very productive run games pretty much consistently throughout the year. Um and they can they can attack you in different ways. He can attack you with his legs. They have a balanced run game and they have a bunch of skilled players that are dependable for him. They understand the scramble the scramble play and they get open for him. They keep working and they know that’s a part of what they do. So there’s a there’s a lot of challenges that they present, a lot of things that we have to be disciplined about and staying connected to their receivers through the down. All right. Thank you.

Canales provided updates on quarterback Bryce Young and how the Panthers will handle the position this week, new additions to the roster, a Robert Hunt update, and facing Buffalo’s offense on Sunday.

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