Canales' Analysis: Updates on Legette & Pineiro, Early Take on Terrace Marshall + More

Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales met with the media following Wednesday's practice.

Xavier Legette not practicing today

“Just a precaution. What happens is they come out here and it’s a different level of work. It’s not that they haven’t practiced this long, but everyone’s fast and everyone’s going. With their wheels turning, there’s a strain on the brain and there’s also a strain on the body. For him, he kjust kind of looked a little bit stoved up yesterday and just as a precaution, we need to pull back a little bit and make sure we’re smart with this at this point.”

Any update on if K Eddy Pineiro will show up

“Nope. Same. Just watched Harrison kick today, he did great. Nailed all of his kicks. He had about a 57 or 58-yarder, so we’re doing a great job here.”

How the cornerback room is coming together

“Competitive group. We have some guys that are young players that have had a year in the system that I’m excited to see - D’Shawn Jamison, Dicaprio Bootle, Lamar Jackson. I’m excited to watch that group come together. Chau Smith-Wade has been doing a great job. He’s a worker. To a man, these guys that we drafted are hard workers and good football player. We try to profile guys that fit right in with what we’re doing and he fits with the group. He’s active, he’s always working on stuff, and I just love his focus.”

Early thoughts on Terrace Marshall Jr.

“He’s been reliable. He’s doing what we’re asking him to do. He’s running the right routes. You can see that this is a big man with speed in there and I think that the more comfortable he’s getting with our system, with our concepts, the faster he looks. I’m really curious to see where he takes that this year. I know he’s had a couple of years here and hasn’t really produced to the potential of what people might think, but hopefully we’ll create an environment where he’s able to get onto our offense and show us something.”

Why this offense is good for tight ends

“I think it’s tight end-friendly. We don’t ask our tight ends to be dominant blockers at the point of attack on runs a lot. We will ask them at times, but within our system we use their skillsets and we’re looking for tight ends with versatility. We’re not necessarily looking for that big, 270-pound mauler although those guys are awesome and they have a place in this league. But if you have a smaller guy who’s more of a route runner and he’s a little more crafty then you can run and slide him back and block a defensive end on the backside. You can send him up away from a defensive end, in or out, depending on where his alignment is. That allows him to get better matchups in blocking.”

How Ikem Ekwonu can get back on track

“It’s a great system for tackles. We run the ball. We play-action which engages as a run first - it gives them a little chance to get their hands on a guy and be physical. We runs boots. Our keeper game where the line is really just selling a run the opposite way. And then in our pass game, the basis of it is to get the ball out quickly. When we do have to hold it, we’ll try to help our tackles as much as possible when we can. It’s a really friendly offense for tackles. We know when it becomes a passing game, the advantage is for the rushers and that’s where at times we ask the tackles to hold up. I think Ickey has been doing a great job. What does he do best? He is a mauler and we’re going to run the ball and I think when guys are able to just be aggressive and play to their nature, it gives them a lot of confidence in everything else they do. I’m excited where he’s at.”

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