Dave Canales wants his players to keep their plays to themselves . . . or at least not in the faces of opposing ones.
The Carolina Panthers head coach hit the lectern following Thursday’s joint practice with the visiting New York Jets, a lively session that got a bit heated at times. One of those times—the first, in fact—featured wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr.
After reeling in an impressive touchdown grab over Jets cornerback D.J. Reed, Marshall Jr. flipped the ball towards the standout defender. Reed, obviously, didn’t take kindly to the move and a scuffle ensued.
LETSSSS GOOO!! TMJ JUST CAUGHT A BODY and Tempers flare!! #KeepPounding
1st scuffle of the day 😈😈😈 pic.twitter.com/jyGUEs2M7x
— For Panthers Fans Only (Podcast) (@FPFO_Podcast) August 15, 2024
Canales was asked if the dust-up was a learning moment for the team.
“Absolutely. It’s dumb football,” he replied. “We can’t have that—guys fighting. We wanna celebrate with each other. We wanna make big plays and give the opponent nothing. This is the exact type of stuff that I’ve been hitting them on, especially going into this practice.
“And he got excited. He made a great play on a really good player. Leave it at that. A great football play. How about we celebrate that?”
Fortunately, Canales smoothed the situation out with Marshall Jr.
“He and I talked about it out there, and we put it behind us,” Canales added. “It’s just . . . these are the moments. It’s too hard. Football is too hard. The margins are so tight in this league.
“You can’t afford to give the opponent anything. Not the ball, not a penalty, not false starts and pre-snap things, aligning offsides. Those are all the things that marginally, they just add up and they flip the field and it makes it even harder.”
