Dave Canales explains Panthers' primetime scheduling snub: 'You gotta earn' those games
To the victors (from the year before) go the prime-time slots. The Panthers won two games in 2023 and find themselves out of the big national games for 2024.
Carolina, at least on paper, wasn’t an attractive option for the primetime games of Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights. The Panthers offense, with 2023 No. 1 pick Bryce Young, ranked last in the league last season, averaging fewer than 14 points a game.
It’s all why Carolina will be the only team in the NFL without a primetime appearance when the season starts in September.
That’s OK for new coach Dave Canales. A pragmatist understands the reasoning. He addressed reporters’ questions Monday after the Panthers finished their first practice of phase three of OTAS.
“Yeah, you gotta earn it,” Canales said. “You gotta earn prime-time games. Those things just don’t come along. Every year, you don’t start out that way. They don’t just throw you on prime-time games for no reason.
“We have to build a version of football we’re proud of and be able to accentuate the strengths and talents of our guys that we have. And then I think the world will wanna see that at some point. But we got a long way to go and we gotta earn those type of opps [opportunities].”
There are some potentially cool TV moments. The Panthers play the New York Giants in Munich, Germany, in Week 10 on NFL Network. It’s a standalone game, although most potential viewers will be at church, asleep or at an early brunch. There are also five games with 4 p.m. ET start times. But the majority of the games are of the 1 p.m. Sunday regional variety.
Panthers QB Bryce Young says focus on what you can control. TV scheduling is above his pay grade
Bryce Young said he’s not going to use the prime-time snub as motivation. Why bother?
“It’s out of our control. I’m big on just focusing on us — focusing on what I can control,” Young told reporters. “I’m not huge on trying to find external motivation from something else. (And) I’m not huge on ‘Oh, if someone slights me or slights us I want to hold onto it.’ And there’s nothing wrong with it, everyone gets their fire and their fuel from certain places.
“For me, I just try to be internally motivated and push myself to be the best I can, I want us to be the best we can. That’s kind of my outlook on everything.”
But there should be some early interest in the Panthers. Will Young take a big step forward in his second season? Canales specializes in righting quarterbacks. It was one reason why he was hired. There’s a new offense and the Panthers used some quality draft picks and free agency signings to give Young some help. After Monday’s practice, the Carolina social media team made sure to post photos of Jonathon Brooks, the top running back in the NFL Draft, and Ja’Tavion Sanders, a highly touted tight end.
So tune in.