CHARLOTTE — After watching film of Sunday's 17-7 loss to the Saints, the first takeaway was obvious — the Panthers couldn't force the ball downfield effectively enough to back New Orleans out of a game plan designed to stop the run.
And for Panthers head coach Dave Canales, the response is equally clear.
After quarterback Bryce Young threw for just 124 yards and completed just one pass longer than 15 yards, getting the ball downfield is something they're going to emphasize this week.
And that means in film study, in practice, and in play-calling — with the emphasis on the entire process rather than just one person.
"In general, I think it's a group effort," Canales said. "Calling more of them, yes, let's get some more opportunities, we would love to have those explosive plays come alive. I will call them more when we have more success and those things come alive for us, but we have to keep working together. We have to keep taking those shots in practice to make sure we feel comfortable with them, and certainly for Brad (Idzik) and I, just looking at the pass game, the coverage contours, and what they're giving us, it's pretty simple when they're playing single-high (safety) and everyone's at the line of scrimmage.
"We've got to make the most of those opportunities when we have them, so that we are a balanced offense and so it does play off of the run game, which we got going. But now, let's get the pass game going so we really can be attacking."
The kind of complementary football that carried them through the wins in Green Bay and New York was not evident Sunday at home, when the Saints dared them to pass by taking away Rico (who was held to 53 yards), and they couldn't capitalize.
In nine games this season, Young is averaging 5.6 yards per pass attempt, lower than his 6.6 yards per attempt in the second half of last year, when there was a deliberate effort to move the ball downfield when he re-entered the starting lineup.