To Carolina Panthers wideout Adam Thielen, age is just a number—a lesson that can be learned in more ways than one.
The 33-year-old receiver, who’s coming off the third 1,000-yard campaign of his career, spoke with reporters following Wednesday’s session of voluntary minicamp. He began his chat by talking about the passion of the new offensive coaching staff—specifically head coach Dave Canales, offensive coordinator Brad Idzik and his position coach Rob Moore.
“You can just feel it in meetings, you can feel it on the field that they just love the game of football,” Thielen said this afternoon. “They love to coach it, they love to see it, be around it and that stuff just kinda goes through the team, the receiver room, the quarterback room. When people love ball, it just instantly makes your mood. Everyone is just enjoying being at work.”
Canales has begun to establish a fresh and energetic atmosphere within the organization. Heck, he even lined up at running back, cornerback, edge and defensive tackle at today’s practice.
Thielen is only nine years younger than Canales and one year older than Idzik, which could help explain the connection this staff has started to make with its players. But the veteran pass catcher believes it’s more about who they actually are, and not the year in which they were born, that makes them so relatable.
“You look at a guy like Pete Carroll, right? He’s an older guy, but I think he relates really well with the players,” Thielen added. “I think it really comes down to that energy, that passion for the game and just being able to communicate with guys. I don’t think age is important in that. I think it’s just, hey, what kind of mindset do you bring to your daily routine? What kind of energy? What kind of passion? When guys can feel that and they can see it, day in and day out through the good and bad times, I think that’s when you start to earn respect as a coach and guys wanna play for you.”
