CHARLOTTE — Dave Canales was asked a number of questions about making changes, or what needed to change, during his Monday press conference.

Each time, he went back to the need for execution and for putting players in position to execute.

He was asked Monday about the identity of the team, and spoke about the difference in what he's seen the last two weeks, from the 30-0 shutout of the Falcons to the 42-13 loss at New England.

"I can say that this team has an identity to play hard with great effort and physicality that continues to show up," Canales said. "We need to become a team that executes consistently, that carries off what I thought were two really good weeks of practice. One led to a great game, one led to a really poor performance.

"And so as the head coach, I'm the common denominator. I have to make sure we're in a great headspace so that the guys can be focused and execute consistently."

He used the word "execute" a half-dozen times during the press conference, and it was clear from the start that it was something he was talking about among the coaches. Those looking for big reactions or changes to the staff weren't getting those kinds of answers from Canales, who has always emphasized watching the film, absorbing its lessons, and getting back to practice.

"Yeah, just got a chance to go through the film a couple of times, meeting with the staff today," he began. "We're looking at just the first four games, and then, in particular, the last game, spending time there, looking at the execution, really in all phases. Out-executed by the Patriots. Got to give them a lot of credit for executing a great game plan.

"So we're looking at all that and we're taking a good snapshot of these first four games to see where we're at schematically and from a personnel standpoint, so we can go forward and get back to work."

Rookie wideout Jimmy Horn will have a role this week

Sixth-round rookie Jimmy Horn Jr.'s expected to play in his first game this week against the Dolphins, with the injuries stacking up at wide receiver.

Canales said they have a plan for what they want to do with him in a number of situations. Horn hasn't been active in any of the first four games.

"Yeah, we'll get to see Jimmy Horn; he's got a great opportunity," Canales said. "We're excited about it, want to make sure that he's able to go out there and give us significant reps, and we'll carve out a role because there's certainly things that he can bring to our offense with his speed and ability to carry the ball and make yards.

"So I'm excited for Jimmy to get this opportunity this week."

Veteran wideout David Moore has been described as "week-to-week" with his elbow injury suffered on the first play of Sunday's game. Rookie special teamer Dalevon Campbell left with a hamstring injury and did not return.

Xavier Legette was inactive for the second week with a hamstring issue, and Jalen Coker is eligible to be activated from injured reserve at any point, though Canales did not indicate that was something that was going to happen immediately.

"They're progressing; we'll gather more information," Canales said. "Xavier had a good day today, but again, we're going to have to take that. Xavier's really day to day, and still week to week with Coker to see where we're at as we challenge him with more of a load that simulates what a game might be. Because the first step is to get the player healthy. The second step is to make sure that he's got the endurance and the resilience to be able to handle significant reps."

Learning opportunities for young players

Canales referenced a few specific examples of changes he wanted to see when asked about plays involving Chau Smith-Wade and Trevor Etienne.

Smith-Wade punched and missed at the ball on Hunter Henry's 31-yard touchdown run, rather than wrapping and tackling.

"We teach first guy in's got to make the tackle; second guy, look to punch that ball out," he said. "Make sure we secure the tackle first before we go making attempts at the ball right there.

"So I'd love to see him, you know, put his shoulder on him, a right shoulder tackle right there, knock him out of bounds, and we'll keep playing football."

As for Etienne, he fielded a third-quarter punt at the 3, and was dropped for a 2-yard loss, leaving them with the ball at the 1-yard line to begin a drive.

"We'd love for him to locate where he's at, and let that ball bounce, see if it goes in for a touchback," Canales said. "If they pin us, we'll play it from there. So, an area of growth for Trevor for sure."

Those are the kinds of specifics Canales is trying to drill into, rather than the kind of 30,000-foot view of things on a Monday.