The Biggest Decision Dave Canales Got Right and Wrong vs. Browns (& What it Means)

The Carolina Panthers had a few tough coaching decisions for Dave Canales to make on Sunday. There were two fourth-down decisions that backfired pretty spectacularly, with the Panthers failing on both occasions to even get one yard apiece.

Those turnovers on downs turned into points for the Cleveland Browns. In a three-point loss, that looms especially large. Some believe Canales was wrong to go for it, especially the one attempt from Carolina's own 40-yard-line.

He was not wrong to keep the offense out on the field. Those were the right calls. The play-calling, which is now Brad Idzik's responsibility, is where those things went wrong, but it comes down to Canales' inability to install the right packages in his offense.

Dave Canales was right to go for fourth downs, but Panthers need a better package

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales looks on during the fourth quarter | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's easy to look at the results of a decision and determine whether or not it was right. That's not the smartest way evaluate it. Otherwise, all bad choices that work out are deemed good. It's not the way for a coach to set his process.

Yes, Dave Canales' decisions to go for it on fourth-and-one and then fourth-and-inches inside Carolina's own territory seem like the wrong choice since it didn't work out and the Panthers lost. But generally speaking, going for it on fourth down is right, and especially with such short yardage.

The part Canales got wrong was in the preparation. Everyone in the world knows Bryce Young won't do a QB sneak, so when he's out there on the field, the defense knows that isn't the play-call. They're a little more predictable than other offenses.

Why not put Kenny Pickett out there for an inches play? The defense might know it's coming, but it's incredibly hard to stop a sneak from getting 10 inches. They could then use Pickett as a decoy to hand it off or run a short pass play to catch the defense off-guard.

The Panthers briefly experimented with Mitchell Evans taking sneaks because he's one of the biggest offensive players. AJ Dillon is a bruiser who is much more physical and significantly heavier than Chuba Hubbard, but he wasn't even on the field for those plays.

The Panthers have known for years that Young isn't a QB sneak option because he's not very big. Why haven't they come up with better options in that time? That's where Canales went wrong.

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales looks on during the second quarter | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The play-calls themselves weren't bad, but they were unneccesarily risky. A porous offensive line, a banged-up QB, and a depleted WR corps is not a recipe for success in the passing game, especially when Cleveland knew the Panthers were not interested in running the ball.

Other teams have special sneak packages or alternative options, but the Panthers don't. And that's where Dave Canales has gone wrong. That needs to be remedied as soon as possible, whether it's by establishing Pickett as the option or inserting a special package for Evans.

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