Panthers Head Coach Dave Canales (Post-Game Transcript)
Opening Statement:
“Again, knocking on the door. Defense gets us the ball back. Felt like we were going to be 97 yards with a chance to win right there. I think the things we talk about every week, we’ve got to take care of the ball. We had that critical interception they turned into seven points. That ends up being kind of the flip of the game right there. And against a really good team on the road at their place, the margin of error is so tight. Especially in the NFL in general, but when we’re playing an excellent team like the Eagles, we have to find a way to have that consistency all the way throughout. And that’s our pursuit. That’s what we’re after, is to try to find a way to continue to take care of the ball and make our plays. And of course, the Eagles had another great day rushing the ball. The time of possession ended up [with] them controlling it in that regard. So it’s something, again, that we just have to continue to look at and try to shore up.”
On whether he was told anything about the lack of a challenge on that that ruled incompletion by WR Xavier Legette:
“I was not.”
On whether he was surprised they didn’t have the league replay center look at the play:
“I thought that would have been the protocol, but the ball moved around a little bit. I think we saw that. The official saw it. We saw it on the sideline. We just thought it was close. But again, they’ll have to look at him and go from there.
On whether WR Xavier Legette has to catch the ball:
“Absolutely. That’s a big play we’re counting on. He’d be the first one to tell you he’s got to make that play. [QB] Bryce [Young] steps up, makes a beautiful throw in the situation. We had the coverage we wanted, all that. Those are the plays that we’ve just got to find a way to make for us to get back on the winning column.”
On making a decision to continue to play WR Xavier Legette after he got hurt early in the game:
“They evaluated him for a concussion. He cleared all the necessary protocols. So they were very cautious with that and felt like he’d get back out there. And he did. He got back out and played, made a critical catch on a third down to keep us alive there. And would have loved to see him make that play.”
On message to WR Xavier Legette and having missed catches and keeping his confidence high:
“Just that we’re counting on him. Just go right to it, and just let him know ‘You’re a huge part of what we’re doing here. Playing the X position, you get targets, and you get a lot of opportunities over there. Just make the most of those.’ I have full confidence in [Carolina WR] Xavier [Legette] to continue to take steps. These are all things that we take, and we learn, and we grow. I truly believe we’ll be in high stakes games someday, playing against great players and great teams. We’re going to have to make those plays to become the team we want to become.”
On being aggressive going for it on fourth downs and not settling for field goals:
“Just knowing we were playing a really good offense, playing a really good team. Trying to be aggressive in those areas where we could potentially be in those fourth and manageables to try to make some of those happen and steal a possession. We felt like they were going to be able to run the ball with some success. We thought that if we could steal a possession or two here or there to keep us out there, [it would] give us the chance to score points. So that was kind of the thought going in.”
On what he learned about RB Jonathon Brooks injury:
“They are still gathering a bunch of information. We do know that it’s something going on with some pain in his knee. We’re going to have to do a bunch more imaging before we can make a declaration on what’s happening there.”
On whether he feels like RB Jonathon Brooks’ injury was to his ACL because he went down on a non-contact play:
“It certainly was scary for him. Scary for all of us. But again, we’ll collect all the information, and we’ll give you more as we figure that out.”
On what he learned about QB Bryce Young in today’s game:
“Yeah, just making plays. Again, another day of being decisive. There was a nice throwaway in field goal range early on where the concept was covered, and he made a quick decision and was able to get us a little bit closer in that one. And then just extending plays. There were some great effort plays by [QB] Bryce [Young] today, just getting out of rushers, or different things that were happening in the pocket. Keeping his eyes down the field and finding throws. So again, the operation and all that stuff was great. I can do a better job of getting plays in a little bit sooner. On a couple of those, I had to take a time out. Those are things where, if I’m between two plays, just go with his order. We know he loves certain plays. Just give it to him quicker, and we can operate there.
On what the coaching staff can take from this game after a close loss:
“It’s our expectation. Our expectation is that it’s going to come down to the finish, which it has now for weeks. And we’re not going to back off of that expectation. We need to find a way to win these games, find a way to close it out. So that for us, it’s always about us. It’s about making our tackles, making our catches. It’s about taking care of the ball. It’s about making our kicks. All the things that we can control. If we can control the controllables, the plays that are supposed to be made, then it’ll give us a lot more success. That has to be the mentality of the group. Like, ‘Yes guys, we’re going to be in these games. Let’s find a way to finish.’ That’s the urgency that we have as a group.”
On WR Jaycee Horn and RB Raheem Blackshears’ injuries:
“Looking at [WR] Jaycee [Horn]’s groin right now. [RB] Raheem Blackshear had an injury to his chest. He was taken for more information, and he’s heading back. He’ll be traveling back with us, but they were looking at him. They have to be very serious when there’s some type of chest injury.”
On whether RB Raheem Blackshear was taken to the hospital:
“Yeah. So he’s coming back to us right now, and we’ll get more information once he’s here.
On how severe RB Raheem Blackshear’s injury is:
“I don’t know the specifics of it.”
On how he balances the frustration of losing close games three weeks in a row:
“It’s extremely frustrating. I think that when it’s so clear that we just have to make the plays that are there for us to make, then it becomes easy for me to just talk about that part of it. Like I alluded to earlier, the expectation is [that] we’re going to be in these games ahead or real close to it, and we need to find a way to finish. We need to find a way to just continue to play right, do it right longer than the opponent. When the opponents continue to find ways to make their plays, that’s the hardest part. But there’s no mystery. So it’s something clear that I can point to and challenge a group with.”
On whether he saw the coverage on the throw to Panthers WR Xavier Legette:
“Yeah, and it’s a tribute to [Panthers QB] Bryce [Young]. It was Bryce having a play call with an option if you got a certain look. And he did all of that. Came out of the huddle, saw it, did all of it, executed it, bought time, made the throw. So it was a great collective effort to make that happen in a critical situation.”
On what the thought process was to use a challenge and two timeouts in the same drive:
“This is a really stout defense up front, and so we thought, with an opportunity, it looked visually like he got in from there. There wasn’t enough information for them to reverse the call in that situation. But for me it was like, if we have a chance to get this into the end zone right now, then let’s do that. So that was what was behind that decision. But again, I would certainly love to have had another time out there at the end, slow things down, regroup. It would have been nice to have it. We love having our timeouts in those situations. But when you get an opportunity and it looked pretty clear, I thought it was worth challenging.”
On how Panthers QB Bryce Young’s elusiveness has progressed:
“Just keeping his eyes down the field and extending the play. And just his competitive nature coming alive in that moment to keep it alive and make somebody miss. He’s got stuff hanging all down his shirt afterwards. It’s the passion that this whole group plays with. Bryce is certainly a part of that. The fight to just say, as long as we have time and downs, we have a chance. So that part was great. Just to continue to see it show up week in and week out shows the understanding and the grasp of all the things that we’re doing to find guys in those situations.”