Another disappointing season is winding down for the Carolina Panthers. One could forgive players for looking further ahead to their extended rest during the offseason after another rollercoaster campaign. This is not an opinion shared by head coach Dave Canales.
To say he's had a steep learning curve in his first season would be an understatement. Canales has been outcoached on several occasions. He's dealt with significant injury issues and made big decisions regarding established stars — including the benching of former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young after just two games.
He's also overseen some encouraging progress over the second half of 2024 — albeit with a couple of blowouts against the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers attached. It was never going to be smooth sailing all the time, but the Panthers have some positivity to take from the season, even if the wins were far and far between once again.
Canales learned a lot this season — about himself, the players, and how much hard work is ahead to get the Panthers back into contention. That seems like a long way off, but recruiting well throughout the offseason could help speed up the process.
Dave Canales wants positive response from Carolina Panthers players in Week 18
Until then, Canales will keep the same mentality. His approach to the final game is the same as all the others. He's not going to rest anybody and is demanding nothing but improved execution from his squad at the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18.
"Absolutely, our mentality as a team is to finish strong. We have one more opportunity to get back to our football, to play balanced football, complementary football, and the pursuit of that continues this week against the Falcons. The focus is for all of us, the guys that are available, we're playing. In this game, these opportunities are so important as we learn about who we are as a team as we continue to progress and develop our systems and our concepts. So we're just taking this as another opportunity to finish. We're all playing, we're all competing, giving us a chance to just finish, finish one more time and finish what we started."Dave Canales via Panthers.com
This is about balance. You find out more about someone's character in adversity than success. Seeing the Panthers roll over against the Buccaneers left a sour taste in Canales' mouth. He wants to see the correct response from his squad not having much to play for in their regular-season finale.
Players are still being assessed. This promises to be a dramatic offseason for the Panthers — the second under the new power trio of Canales, Dan Morgan, and Brandt Tilis. They'll know by now how devoid of talent and depth this roster is almost from top to bottom. Big changes are coming once again in pursuit of progress.
The personnel on the playing side is going to look entirely different in 2025. Those looking to cement their place in the team's plans can bolster their hopes by displaying the right commitment despite things not going according to plan once again throughout the campaign.
And make no mistake, Canales will be watching developments closely.