As the New Orleans Saints prepare for the Carolina Panthers, Dave Canales is preparing for his first game as a head coach. This could lead to some unpredictability. Canales was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator last year, so Dennis Allen is looking at that in preparation.
Being in Tampa Bay, the Saints obviously saw him twice in 2023. Dennis Allen acknowledged this and said that you “see a lot of carryover in what they’re doing” in Carolina from Canales’ short tenure with the Buccaneers.
Allen expects the Panthers to prioritize running the football. Carolina invested in Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis at guard and moved Austin Corbett to center. The Panthers ran the ball well in preseason, so Allen is looking for that in the season opener. The more of an impact they can make on the ground, the less Bryce Young will be asked to do when he drops back to pass. That’s true for any young quarterback.
That past experience could be information. Allen looks at a Canales-led Buccaneers offense who “came in here early in the season last year and beat us pretty good. I thought they out executed us.” He expects the Panthers to be well-coached in Canales’ first game leading the charge.
