NFC Notes: Dave Canales, Andy Dalton, Chris Godwin, Buccaneers, Panthers

Buccaneers

Tampa Bay WR Chris Godwin has thrived to start 2024 as he sees more snaps back in the slot, his natural position. Buccaneers OC Liam Coen praised Godwin for his meticulous approach toward film.

“He’s been that way. He’s been practicing that way, he’s been preparing that way. You should see him in meetings. Whenever an offensive coach gets up and speaks in front of our unit, Chris Godwin is taking notes, on the edge of his seat paying attention and taking notes and then will come and ask questions,” Coen said, via the team’s social media.

Panthers

Panthers HC Dave Canales talked about the relief and joy he felt after getting his first win as an NFL head coach. 

“Oh, I’m smiling inside,” Canales said, via Darin Gantt of the team’s website. “I’m absolutely beat. This has been an amazing, amazing week, but again, just a really heavy week. And with all the factors you know, and just getting back to work and continuing to push to establish our culture and process, I’m thrilled. I’m so joyful.”

Canales is proud of how the team played and felt their performance was a benchmark for how they want to win games. 

“It was just a great picture of Panthers football. Being able to run the ball, stopping the run, playing complementary football on third down, taking advantage of red zone opportunities, the whole thing. The coverage units were just flying around with great energy and chasing, which was just a carryover from a great week. So I’ve just got to give props to the whole group of just continuing to trust this process.”

“This is a great starting point for us to play our kind of football, and I am really excited to get back home, get back to work, and have another great week.”

Carolina QB Andy Dalton was quick to give credit to his head coach after making a stellar season debut. 

“It’s not me. It’s the process of it,” Dalton added. “It’s the process that Dave has been preaching, and the way this game went today, it was exactly how you wanted it to go. They’re not all going to go this way, but for us to come out and do what we did, it shows the potential of what we can be. And I think that’s the biggest thing. We have to trust the process through the whole thing.”

“Dave said that from the very beginning, from the moment he got here, he’s been preaching it. We’ve just got to stay our course. Stay the course, stay the course. And if we do that. Good things are going to happen. And today, a good thing happened.”

Panthers

In their first game after benching QB Bryce Young, Carolina recorded their first win of the season with a 36-22 road win against the Raiders. Panthers now-starting QB Andy Dalton described his new mindset this year where he aims to make his teammates more relaxed on the field.

“That was one of the things coming into this, I got a chance to just be me and be out there like how I normally am,” Dalton said, via ESPN’s David Newton. “I’m normally pretty calm, I’m normally relaxed. Guys were having fun. I was just trying to make sure guys were having fun because you put in a ton of work for this thing … and now you get time to just go and enjoy the work you put in.”