Dave Canales doesn't care what you think about Carolina Panthers preseason approach

Some fans believe Dave Canales is playing a dangerous game with his offseason approach. The Carolina Panthers once again rested the majority of their starters in Preseason Week 2 against the New York Jets. It's a contentious issue, but one the head coach believes is the right thing to do with the regular season fast approaching.

Canales has made a good impression following his eye-catching appointment. He's purposeful and immediately galvanized a roster on its knees after a two-win campaign that turned the Panthers into a laughingstock. If he feels like jeopardizing the health of his established veterans is too big of a risk, there needs to be a level of trust attached.

It's a risky business, especially with so many fresh faces needing time to develop on-field chemistry. The Panthers got some good work in joint practice with the Jets, which was all the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator needed to see.

Dave Canales won't alter Carolina Panthers' approach to preseason games

Fans are understandably restless after how things have unfolded throughout David Tepper's ownership. Canales highlighted his reasons behind omitting his top guys from the clash post-game. That might change next weekend at the Buffalo Bills. However, this is dependent on whether the full groups are available based on comments via USA Today Sports.

"Really just looking at the guys, the health of the whole unit. We’re gonna get more people back. So, again, this week would be another week to evaluate. We’re gonna have more of those guys that would be playing with that starting group. So this could be a good opportunity for that this week. But again—it all depends on how practice goes, it all depends on the depth of the guys we have to finish games. Again, that’s really just where my head was at. If we throw a group out there, but we’re missing a bunch of pieces, it’s not really giving us the full look at working together and doing that. I wanna make sure that they’re able to do that together."

- Dave Canales via USA Today Sports

Canales won't be influenced by voices from outside the organization. One could argue fans are placing too much emphasis on preseason games and are missing the bigger picture. At the same time, the need to get live-fire reps in a game-day setting into a once-demoralized group has plenty of merit attached.

It's a fine line Canales is walking. He's got a supreme conviction in his methods and isn't going to change them to appease those who want to see their heroes in action. Some might not like it, but he won't care.

The Panthers have to hit the ground running in 2024 in pursuit of earning back respectability. Playing more than 60 snaps in joint practice and seeing preseason action two days later is a step too far, especially considering how many injuries Canales is currently dealing with on both sides of the football.

Canales isn't going to please everybody. Some fans are more vocal than others about the approach. It's strange when one considers how the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are giving their starters time on the field. That said, it's a sign of how modern-day coaches view the preseason more than anything else.

Let's hope it doesn't result in some cohesion issues to start the first campaign under Canales' leadership. Otherwise, it won't take long for questions to arise.

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