But make no mistake, what he saw from his team during Saturday’s game was not good enough.
While preseason games are always a mixed bag of personnel combined with varying motivations, the numbers tell a story they won’t want to hear on their next “Tell The Truth Monday.”
The Panthers were a combined 1-of-10 on third downs. They committed seven penalties for 58 yards, a couple of them wiping out good runs. But they also averaged just 3.4 yards per rush on 23 attempts, which is not consistent with their charter.
They also dropped passes (specifically tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders), a missed connection between Bryce Young and Tetairoa McMillan, threw two interceptions, missed a field goal, and Texans pass-rusher Danielle Hunter hit backup quarterback Andy Dalton in the right elbow, knocking him out of the game and into tests on Sunday.
Canales is the eternal optimist, but after the game, he was also a realist.
“A lot of good work out there, but to me, I think to kind of sum it up, it was a day of almosts,” he said. “So I just challenged the group. I was like, are we going to be almost good? Are we going to make the plays when they’re there to be made?
“One for 10 on third down, JT Sanders misses a ball, Bryce hit him right in stride. We got a double move, TMac’s probably going to score a touchdown. We didn’t block Danielle Hunter on the right, he hit Andy in the elbow. And then, Jack Plummer, two interceptions. That makes it a really difficult day.”
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