Dave Canales Says Carolina Panthers Will Evaluate Offensive Linemen

It got ugly at times in Green Bay for the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football. 

Going into the game, we knew the Panthers were banged up not only on defense but also on the offensive side of the football. They were missing key starters on both sides, leading to a tough challenge. When Green Bay got the lead, they put the pressure on the Panthers and Dave Canales' team simply couldn't answer it. 

A big area of struggle happened to be on the offensive line. After the Week 7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Panthers put offensive tackle Taylor Moton on injured reserve which ended his season. From there, the news got even worse as standout guard Damien Lewis was ruled out for Thursday's game. 

So you can see how this unit would struggle, right? 

Starters Rasheed Walker and Monroe Freeling had their struggles as well. In Walker's first game back to Green Bay after signing a deal this offseason, he allowed pressures and had no answer for Green Bay's pass rush. On the other side, Freeling looked like a rookie again as he couldn't keep up with the blitzes and the stunts the Packers were throwing at him. 

It might have been a little too much for the rookie as he's had to start from day one and is still a work in progress. But is there a solution to all of this? 

For head coach Dave Canales, the team is going to continue to evaluate the offensive line to see the best fits each week. You aren't going to find any good player just sitting on the open free agent market at this stage of the season so they may have to promote from within. 

Following Thursday's game, Canales was asked about the struggles of the line. His answer for that? The continuation of the evaluations moving forward. 

Canales told reporters that they will look at opportunities to adjust on the line to help quarterback Bryce Young in terms of protection. He admitted that the Panthers can do better but it's not just the line. It's on all parts of the offense. 

That's the challenge ahead for Canales and his team as they are now 3-4 on the season and could be out of first place after this weekend. The task doesn't get much easier, either as a very good Denver Broncos defense comes to town in Week 9.