HOUSTON — Dave Canales wanted heat. He got it.
The Panthers' joint practice with the Texans was predictably a scorcher, with temperatures in the low 90s early in the morning, and dew points pushing into the high 70s (weather geek for really, really humid).
And Canales wanted that kind of work to be ready for the regular season opener in Jacksonville, where it's also known to be swampy. What he didn't want was a block of about five pre-snap penalties in the middle of practice, that started them in some first-and-15 and second-and-20 spots.
"Fatigue, lack of focus, that's something that we have to learn to do better," Canales said. "We have to be able to fight through fatigue, fight through exhaustion, it's going to be hot. We're going to go to Jacksonville in Week 1. It's going to feel like this.
"Can we maintain that level of focus play after play, regardless of what the last play did? Can you breathe on your way back, and then can you execute? And I saw the penalties pile up when we were tired. That's something that we have to get better at."
Otherwise, he liked the work against a talented Texans team, which has won 10 games each of the last two years, along with AFC South titles.
Canales was focused on the offensive field, as is his custom, so he saw both of his first two offensive units get into the end zone to close practice, with Bryce Young hitting Ja'Tavion Sanders, and Andy Dalton connecting with Hunter Renfrow for scores.
"I thought it got sloppy in the middle, responded at the end with two great two-minute finishes for touchdowns at the end of the practice over here, which was phenomenal," Canales said. "And I just keep convincing our guys that's who we are. We finish. Games can get ugly in the middle. We have to be able to focus and rebound. So I was really excited about that part."