HEAD COACH DAVE CANALES

Postgame press conference
Thursday, August 8, 2024

DC: First of all, I just want to say just how excited I was. Tonight was about our first-time guys, the rookies, the guys who haven't had a chance to play in the NFL. I think what they found is it's just football. They ran, they played hard. We had some great tackling, some great hitting. We desperately needed that this time of year, to go full live all the way to the ground. I mean, I'll take a look at the film and kind of see what it was, but I didn't see a lot of missed tackles. I saw some really physical play from the defensive side. Offensively, we played hard, played physical, but the execution just wasn't there. We put ourselves behind the sticks a bunch with some pre-snap penalties, holding calls, things like that that I think we're going to have to work through. But when that happens, it just makes everything so much harder. What we'd like is to be able to have those downs, be able to mix things more and to sustain drives. That's something we've got to do. I thought the kicking units covered great. It was really fun to see the kick return and just the possibilities of what that can become. Again, I've just got to tip my hat to the Patriots. They played hard as well. They played cleaner football. I think we had nine penalties to their six, so we gave them that advantage right there from a field position standpoint, which put a couple points on the board for them. Just all in all, just for me, it was just a great opportunity to be able to talk to the coaches, talk to the officials, kind of have those conversations. We had a chance to replay one, which George Lee upstairs helping me with that was great. So, it was just great reps for me to just get the flow of how the communication happens and being able to work off of that.

Q: Dave, obviously, not playing your starters was a conscious decision. How do you evaluate the game as a whole knowing you kind of went in shorthanded that way?

DC: Oh, I think just valuable reps, right? For these guys, the opportunity to play this many snaps in a preseason game for the guys that were up for this game, it's invaluable. Jack Plummer getting out there; he had a rough night but it was just such – it's his first NFL game, and hopefully, we'll get to the point where we can show him the film and just kind of show him, 'Hey man, trust your preparation, trust your timing from practice,' and just to stay composed as the game goes along. He was able to put a good drive together, but then we had the grounding penalty that kind of kicked us out of that advantageous field position that we had. So, I just love the opportunity it gives for a lot of the guys for us to evaluate them.

Q: You get the Jets coming in next week. How much do you weigh those snaps versus getting your regulars into a game?

DC: Well, the joint practice is going to be a fantastic opportunity. We're still going to have to evaluate – because of just sheer numbers, we have to evaluate who we want playing in this game. We got thin; we finish with five offensive linemen in this game. I've got to tip my had to those guys up front, just hanging in there for the whole second half, and some of them played the whole game. So again, invaluable reps to kind of feel some of the parts of our system, the different calls. But I just love those guys for doing that, for being able to just hang tight and work through it all the way.

Q: Did something happen to Cade [Mays] along the way? I didn't hear an injury report.

DC: Yeah, Cade had a little bit of a shoulder injury. They're still checking that out and evaluating it. We'll have more information.

Q: How much did that impact things? I mean, even with everybody healthy you went into that game with seven offensive linemen. That's basically one fewer than you would probably go into a regular season game with. How does that complicate what you're able to do?

DC: It does, for sure. So, that's some of the conversations we're going to have to have as far as who plays this week.

Q: Nash [Jensen] was inactive tonight.

DAVE CANALES: Yeah. So, Nash and his wife are having a child, so he stayed back, he stayed home to do that. I thought that was really important for him to be there to be with his wife, just a special moment that only comes around every once in a while. So, for him to be able to do that was great, and again, just a tip of the cap for the guys that were able to stand in in his stead. I thought Andrew Raym, our center –rookie center – came in and did a really good job right there.

Q: You had a couple guys on defense that seemed to make some plays in the first half particularly: [Ikem] Ekwonu and Lamar Jackson. I mean, could you talk about what they were able to offer on a night when it's a little bit of a mixed bag?

DC: Yeah, Ekwonu, it just starts with strain. He played so hard tonight, was playing physical and again, I've got to look at the film to see what the whole story was, but the effort was there. The style of play was fantastic. Lamar made the most of the opportunities he was given, and he made some great plays for us. He had a couple of nice tackles and hits out there, too, so he really showed something and showed us something about him.

Q: Harrison [Mevis] got that last field goal. Is the idea to alternate him and Eddie [Piñeiro] if you were in more than one kicking situation?

DAVE CANALES: It was first half, second half, kind of set up that way. I wish I could have got Eddie an opportunity, but we just weren't flipping the field offensively.

Was there anything – I mean, you were still yourself, upbeat and everything on the sidelines during that game. Is it important for you to show the kind of consistency to the guys on a night when it's raining, it's preseason, regulars aren't playing?

DAVE CANALES: Yeah. Consistency is everything. I want them to know I'm for them. I have their back and really just pushing for the style of play, the great effort. It was there. The enthusiasm was there. The guys that didn't play were engaged. They were celebrating their teammates when they made plays. I love that. The toughness was there. The playing smart part of our style, I don't think we got that one done offensively, just with how many penalties we had and just how difficult we made it on an already pretty difficult night there. The finish, for Jake [Luton] to come in with that last group, take us down the field, get the ball to some of our players in their hands and get us down there where we could get on the board was a really good feeling, Just be able to stay with it, guys. We're playing for 60 minutes or however long it takes, so I love the finish there.

Q: Did anything happen here tonight that maybe caused you to reconsider the way you want to deploy guys the next two games?

DC: It could. I'll watch the film, we'll look at the numbers we have coming out of this and then we'll make decisions this week.

Bryce Young, QB

(On staying engaged on the sidelines knowing you're not playing)

"I just play the game on the sideline. I just want to be there for Jack [Plummer] and the rest of my teammates. So it's not hard at all to be engaged on the sideline."

(On the conversations had with teammates)

"Tonight was their night, I was just really hearing them out. Obviously Will [Harriger] was doing a great job coaching them on the sideline. I was just trying to be a resource where I could."

(On Dave Canales)

"He was good, I think he did a good job. He talked about it being his first time as a head coach too. It was a good experience for everybody. This was a learning experience, we have some things we're going to have to work on. Two days from now we'll go and watch the tapes and go from there."

Jack Plummer, QB

(On starting the game)

"It was good to be out there and playing in an NFL game. Obviously as an offense we have to eliminate the penalties and put ourselves in better situations. We have to convert on third down and put points on the board."

(On playing the first preseason as much as he did.)

"I was talking with Andy [Dalton] the other day and if you told me in January that I was starting the first preseason game I would have told you no way. I just have to make the most of my opportunities."

(On the play to Jordan Matthews)

"I just was going through my reads and got moved off my spot a little bit. He flashed and the presser was coming in and any way of getting it to him. I saw him out there he was wide open and I just threw it to him."

Jackson Mitchell, LB

(On his first appearance in an NFL game)

"It was just exciting to be out there and it is everything I ever wanted. Just to be out there, especially playing in New England for the first game, obviously close to home. It was exciting and I had a lot of people there, but I was kind of just trying to make plays and kind of play my game and show that I deserve it."

(On his expectations)

"It's kind of what I expected I guess, although like everyone said, it's just football at the end of the day. You get in there and you practice a lot through OTAs and training camp, so you are kind of ready for it. You just have to trust your training and go out there and play your game. It just kind of felt regular."

(On strategy for making the team)

"I think I just need to be the best version of myself every day and continue to try and get better, strive to get better every single day. Hopefully that's enough at the end of the day, and kind of get a chance with one of these teams, and have a team take a chance on me and make the most that opportunity. That is all you can do is strive to get better every single day."

Jordan Mathews, TE

(On the play of Jack Plummer)

"He hit on two conversions, for the three times he went to me. I think we were happy about that. I felt like he came out and did well. He threw a couple of really good balls early on, I know that Moo [David Moore] and Mingo [Jonathon Mingo] will bring those in next time. I feel like for his first game he wasn't rattled, he stuck in there and scrambled some, so I was proud of what he did."

(On the difficulty of preseason)

"Obviously you don't want to make excuses because like I said, we have talented guys in the room. These guys want to make catches first, whether they are contested, whether there is weather and whether it is anything. To come out in the first pre-season game there is always going to be jitters, and then it was raining early on too. They will make those plays, but that is tough, it's tough situation to come on in. I know those guys will bounce back. For Jack [Plummer] to come out and find out he was going to start, the first game. Once we realized Bryce was not going, I think he handled himself like a professional this week, He really set himself up for a good night, and I think he will be happy with the film when he sees it."

Jacob Hollister, TE

(On coming back to New England)

"It's awesome, I feel blessed to come back to where it all started for me. I have a lot of good memories here. It's awesome. Coming back here is really special. Right after the game I was giving everyone hugs. Especially seeing [Matthew] Slater out there, I didn't know if he was going to be on the sidelines. It was really good to see him. He's the type of dude you can't replicate. He had a big impact on me and my brother."

(On training camp)

"I've been here pushing a week now, but I love the culture. Coach Canales has done a really good job, you can tell. In the locker room we have a good thing going. I'm just happy to be a part of it. Guys are encouraged. I knew the coaching staff that's here so I got excited about that right away. They called me to come work out so I came with a bag of clothes hoping I would stay. It was within 24 hours, so I put everything on pause at the ranch and came ready to play some ball. It's been fun."

(On the game)

"I got out there a little bit. I felt good. I have been working out at my ranch out in Oregon, I had been doing double duty so to get the call to come out here, I was pretty excited and got thrown right into it. I got some action tonight. I felt good. For me, I evaluate by my effort so I was happy with that. I was high effort out there but there's some rust because I only had a week of practice. I can walk away tonight feeling good."

Ikem Ekwonu, T

(On training camp and the game)

"It's going in the right direction for us, it's been going good. I feel the team is putting the pieces together. Obviously there were too many penalties and that's something we want to clean up. I felt like the attitude was there and I felt like we played hard. It's hard to attribute (the penalties) to just one thing. At the end of the day it is just about focus."

(On what the Panthers need to work on)

"The little things like pre-snap penalties which does not set us up for successful drives. Doing what we can to get better."