Panthers HC Canales points to what went wrong in loss to Saints

CHARLOTTE — The hits just keep coming for Carolina Panthers fans.

After a brutal loss in the team’s opener against the New Orleans Saints, we learned Monday that team captain and defensive tackle Derrick Brown could be out for the season.

Panthers Head Coach Dave Canales told us he’s still not sure when Brown was hurt. He said Brown reported some soreness Sunday night, but it got much worse Monday morning. The concern is he suffered a torn meniscus.

Brown is seeking a second opinion for a timeline to get back in the game. He’s one of the Panthers’ best players, coming off a record-setting season.

If Brown does have to miss the bulk of the season, Canales said there’s so much from his game they can point to.

“He still gives me a great example to point the other guys to say, ‘Guys, this is what we want to be like, this is our team, this is how we finish,’ and the guys definitely take that personally,” Canales said. “I have to encourage them to say OK, whoever goes in next, follow that lead.”

On top of that, the Panthers are still dealing with the aftermath from a 47-10 blowout.

So what went wrong?

After watching the film, Canales boiled it down to two things: communication and fundamentals.

“It was here, it was there, it was all over the place,” Canales told reporters on Monday.

Canales says the team “lost in all of the critical areas,” but he pointed to one major stat that was hard to overcome.

“We turned the ball over three times; they turned it over once, but the game was gone by the end ... that alone is enough,” Canales said.

Moving forward, the head coach didn’t rule out changing the way they get ready for games, especially when there’s so much that went wrong.

“We’re going to have drills, we’re going to emphasize [protecting the ball] more in our meetings,” Canales said.

Canales reflected on his first game as head coach and said that he took personal responsibility for getting players ready for the game.

“We had a scheme, they schemed us better, that’s coaching. We need to put ourselves in a better position in that regard,” Canales said. “We didn’t do enough to give our guys simpler solutions.”

The team is set to take on the Los Angeles Chargers in the Panthers’ home opener this Sunday. The game kicks off at 1 p.m.

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