Dave Canales says Panthers will “be in the hunt” for NFC South title

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Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

ORLANDO, Fla. — Dave Canales took over a Panthers team that finished 2-15 for the worst record in the NFL last season, but a busy first few weeks of free agency has him confident that Carolina can compete in the NFC South in his first year in Charlotte.

“I think we’re going to be competitive for the division this year,” Canales said Tuesday at the NFL meetings in Orlando. “What I’m saying is, if we play good football, if we can get the football right like we believe we can, and we can take care of the football, let the numbers take care of themselves, we’ll be in the hunt. We’ll be in every single game, which will give us an opportunity to be in the hunt for the division at the end.”

That would be an impressive step forward with a first-year head coach. Carolina lost seven games by 14 points or more last season, matching the most in the league, but Canales sees the Panthers’ potential growth even as he sees the entire division improving.

“I think we got better,” said Canales, who was in the division last year as the Bucs’ offensive coordinator. “I think that the whole division, if you look across the teams, adding Klint Kubiak to New Orleans, [where] Dennis Allen’s already fantastic as far as the defense; you look at Tampa adding a guy like Liam Coen, making sure that they got Baker [Mayfield] and Mike [Evans] back, Antoine Winfield, huge pieces there, some of the youth that they drafted on defense last year. They’re going to be tough to deal with. 

“Going to Atlanta, I have the highest respect for Raheem [Morris]. Went against him for years. He’s a fantastic coach. They add Kirk Cousins. If you look at some of the availability of targets down the field that Desmond [Ridder] wasn’t able to capitalize on, I see Kirk really being able to hit those. It’s like, this is a dangerous division, you know?”

Canales includes his own team in that projection, citing his influence on offense and…

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Publish date : 2024-03-28 14:31:43

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