Dave Canales is once again coming under fire for his preseason approach. The head coach is extremely reluctant to put his starters out on the field for long, which is fine. But the Carolina Panthers' extremely shaky performances hint at a complete lack of rhythm heading into Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Canales adopted a similar method last season, and the Panthers started 0-2 before eventually moving to 1-7. The same sluggish start won't be tolerated this time around, especially considering the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator put Carolina's rivals on notice with bullish claims of being more competitive.
Keeping the players safe while also ensuring there is enough continuity to hit the ground running is a fine-margin dynamic. Canales values the importance of practice over the preseason. However, it was hard not to ring alarm bells after the Panthers were convincingly beaten by the Houston Texans in their second warm-up outing.
Carolina Panthers are disjointed, and Dave Canales' preseason strategy is coming under fire
Glossing over these frailties with the starting offense and defensive depth would be extremely foolish. Canales is banking on things coming together when results matter, but Dianna Russini and Jacob Robinson from The Athletic believe the Panthers' stock is plunging at the wrong time.
"A defensive holding penalty thankfully negated Bryce Young’s first pass, which was intercepted by the Texans. It didn’t get any better for the 24-year-old, as Young finished two series without a completion and the Panthers’ starters gained three total yards."Dianna Russini and Jacob Robinson
Fans are worried. One only has to look at how much Joe Burrow played for the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football to see how important building momentum is. Pulling his starters after two three-and-outs with three yards just because they didn't earn another series is a highly contentious issue — one that Canales will be hoping doesn't blow up in his face.
Canales has not been happy with the execution of his players. That was once again evident during the final practice of training camp. But the fact that he plays them so little in the preseason contradicts this significantly.
After the first portion of team, Dave Canales had the offense run 2 sprints. He has not been happy with the execution of late.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) August 19, 2025
There is no substitute for actual game reps, albeit in moderation, during warmup games. Protecting the players is important, but the Panthers are clearly out of sync right now. And considering Canales is sitting all his starters in their preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he'll be relying on practices to get them up to speed.
That hasn't had the desired effect so far. And the clock is ticking.