Dave Canales and the Carolina Panthers are back in the groove after their extended period of bye week rest. And the head coach is starting to see something in his players that fans have always believed.
The Panthers got a massive boost during the bye week. With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffering a shocking loss on home soil to the New Orleans Saints, things are now tied atop the NFC South with four games remaining. Canales admitted to getting emotionally invested, but it's back to the business at hand now.
That all starts with preparing effectively for their trip to New Orleans. Some within the locker room got too complacent before their first encounter with the Saints this season, and they paid a heavy price. Standards slipping again won't be tolerated, and Canales has already seen a different mentality from his squad.
Dave Canales reports supreme focus before Carolina Panthers' bye week return
Canales revealed that there is no looking back on their impressive accomplishments so far. This is about moving forward and addressing what needs fixing to pursue their shared goal. More importantly, the coach affirmed that focus is where it needs to be before a crucial stretch of fixtures.
"How you do anything is how you do everything. And that's got to be the mentality, and that's the sign of maturity that I'm looking for from this group is to continue to just build off of wins, to build off of, OK, now we have to go back to work, let's correct the things we need to correct, let's look at the things that work for us well, let's try to continue to lean into those things, but also just making sure that we have the right focus for the task at hand."Dave Canales via Panthers.com
This should put minds at ease. The Panthers were undone by their own rising hype against the Saints at Bank of America Stadium. It was a harsh learning curve; a realization that, although improving, this franchise hadn't achieved anything yet. And judging by their response, the message has been understood in no uncertain terms.
Optimism is growing. Fans are dreaming of winning the NFC South and making the playoffs. It's easy to get carried away, but the Panthers have to keep the main thing the main thing. That starts by beating the Saints.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Their rude awakening versus New Orleans in Week 10 could have been the best thing that happened to this team. For this scenario to become a reality, a strong end to the campaign is required. And who knows, perhaps that will be enough to topple the balance of power within the NFC South.
Stranger things have happened, that's for sure.