Dave Canales ‘excited’ to prove how stubborn he can be in running the ball

The greatest selling point Dave Canales had to offer the Carolina Panthers last month was his successful track record in the passing game. But the first-year head coach is also offering quite a mindset on the other prong of his offensive attack.

Canales spoke with reporters from this year’s scouting combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday. He was asked what he learned about running the rock in his lone season as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator, one that didn’t really result in best of numbers.

“Never give up on the run game,” he replied. “We saw a lot of really frustrating games last year. We had some 68-yard rushing games and we averaged about 76 yards for the first half of the season. And I just kinda shared in these settings, like, we’re not gonna stop running the ball.”

Tampa finished their division-winning campaign dead-last in nearly every major rushing category. They ran for the fewest yards per game (88.8), the fewest yards per carry (3.4) and the fourth-fewest amount of touchdowns (eight).

Nevertheless, he plans on persisting.

“Now, within reason, we have to find a way to score points,” Canales added. “So that was a challenge in and of itself. But you have to be able to run the ball to go where we wanna go ultimately—which is, No. 1, to win the division, win the South and then to win deep in the playoffs. And if you watch the teams that go far, it’s the teams that can run.

“Because I promise you, the pass rush gets better every week you advance in the playoffs. And now we’re down to eight, and the pass rush just gets better in Detroit. And if you make it to that final four, man, did you look at the four teams that were in the conference championships? You look at the pass rush, you better be able to run the ball.

“So, it’s something that I’m gonna be stubborn about. It’s something that I’m gonna be committed to. It’s how you create explosive plays in the play action, but then it’s also how you’re able to neutralize a really good offense on the other side.”

The Panthers, even with their mess of an offense in 2023, did find a bit of space through the ground. Carolina ranked 20th in the rushing game, averaging 104.1 yards per contest behind a career campaign from third-year back Chuba Hubbard.

But will both Canales and the Panthers strike some real success out of the backfield in 2024? Well, we know they’re absolutely going to try.