Dave Canales' flea-flicker explanation reveals big problem with Panthers coach

It goes without saying that the flea-flicker call in the fourth quarter ended up poorly. The result doesn't necessarily mean the idea was bad every single time. This time, however, it was a bad idea.

When pressed on it after the game, Dave Canales defended it, "An aggressive call. Knew they were going to play us in single-high there. Rico just slipped on the exchange. We took a shot. I like the call. I like the opportunity."

He was even asked what he was targeting with the call, and he somewhat feistily said, "Well, I don't want to get into that. We've got another game, potentially."

I have no problem with him refusing to reveal what he wanted to happen or being short with the reporters. In fact, that's good. He's usually unyieldingly positive, so it's nice to see a little bit of fire.

The problem lies in being unable to admit he was wrong. It was a bad playcall, and it backfired. It's not his fault they fumbled, but they shouldn't have been in that position to begin with. It's totally fine to admit he made a mistake.

Surprisingly, that's not Canales' way. Whenever a playcall comes under scrutiny, he always says he likes it and that it just largely came down to execution. That's true, but sometimes, he needs to help his players out.

And sometimes, he needs to admit he was wrong. He didn't do it here, and he didn't do it on a silly play call that resulted in a turnover on the one-yard line against the San Francisco 49ers.

There's no shame in not having it all down pat in year three of calling plays and year two of being a head coach. There are going to be some growing pains, but Canales has to be humble enough to admit it and not throw his players under the bus.