WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 50: The Honest Half Hour 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:11.760 It's time for the Happy Half Hour with your Friends. 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:22.880 Kristen Balboni, Will Brian, and Darren Gamp. Welcome to the 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:27.160 fiftie episode of the Happy Half Hour podcast with your 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:32.640 Friends Darren, Will, Kristen and producer Matt Guys. Happy fiftieth episode. Well, Darren, happy, 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:35.400 what fifth or six? I don't know where it is 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:37.680 for you? We should keep stats on that. We don't 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:40.040 have a stat for that, Will, It's coming up later 0:00:40.080 --> 0:00:42.040 in the show. All right, fair enough, but I don't know. 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:45.720 I'm just grateful to be involved. What is that? Is 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:50.239 that the Diamond Anniversary? Is that gold? Which is that? 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:54.320 Is that? The turf anniversary? I don't know. If yourself, 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:58.279 I don't say it's golden. We've done fewer episodes than 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:02.840 The Rolling Stones, as we've got a third straight week 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:05.200 with the Rolling Stones reference from it, like in the 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:08.520 first three minutes, I get you like a gold crayon 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:11.280 or something. You're looking at Darren. He looked right at 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:13.399 Darren when he said that. I did not look at me. 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:20.200 You exude youthful energy. I do not. I don't know 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:22.919 I should be on air saying I'm getting you something gold, Kristen, 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:25.520 I don't. I mean, I don't know a crayon. Yeah 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:28.000 I can, I can do it, cra Okay, alright, this 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:30.360 is the happy half hour. But of course we're going 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:33.080 to start with. UM. You know, there's some things that 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:35.080 are not so happy, at least for Panthers fans. Let's 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:37.319 let's start with the Eagles game. UM, and then let's 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:42.039 talk injuries. What can be happier than that. I'm just 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:49.000 making Roy can't sounds over here. UM, Let's talk about 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:51.880 this game. It felt like a different kind of loss. 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:53.400 I mean, a loss is a loss is a loss. 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:56.920 But the Seagulls game, in Matt rules own words, he 0:01:56.960 --> 0:01:58.920 wanted this one to hurt for a while. They should 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:00.840 have won the game, and they didn't, and they didn't, 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:02.960 and you know, you could tell in the reaction. And 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:05.120 I mentioned this in the mail bag on the website 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:09.320 the other day, when Taylor Moten looked rattled after that game, 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:11.680 that's when you know it's bad because that guy never 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:13.919 gets rattled. And if there's one guy in that locker 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:16.760 room who's always gonna take that, We're just gonna focus 0:02:16.840 --> 0:02:19.520 on the process. We gotta do all our own jobs 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:22.120 right the right way every day. That's Taylor. I mean 0:02:22.160 --> 0:02:24.760 he's as regular and I don't mean that as normal, 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:29.360 I mean as steady as they come. And for Taylor 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:32.640 Moten after that game to just look and hurt, I 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:35.359 mean you could tell it was that's one that's going 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:37.760 to wear on them for a long long time to come. 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:40.240 You never know over the course of the season. Which 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:43.320 win is a good win. You know that's bad loss. Yeah, 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:46.040 right off the bat, and you know there's no getting 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.000 around it. It did not go well, uh really in 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:52.240 any facet in the second half of that game. Yeah, 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:55.760 it didn't. So how do you I mean the Vikings 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:59.079 is a is a very winnable game, great coming to town, 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:01.400 at least on paper. Well, you're our stats guy. What 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:04.079 do you think I I I mean right now, the 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:08.000 people in Vegas, I think it's a pick them like that. 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:10.320 That was the last line that I saw. I think that, 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:12.560 you know, being at home is going to help. I 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:15.720 think obviously the way that they're talking about practice this week. 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:18.160 You know, yesterday coach Rule said that was like one 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:20.520 of the best practices he's ever seen. You know, I mean, 0:03:20.600 --> 0:03:23.120 it's it's a coach. But at the same time, I 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:26.320 think there's something too. There's a you know, there's as 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:29.320 Darren said, there's kind of a wake up their focused. 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:30.920 But at the same time, you can go into a 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:34.480 game and have all kind of the the intangible emotion, 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:38.720 emotional locked in, You're ready to go, but sometime around 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:41.640 the third quarter, maybe I don't know, some of those 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:44.640 things kind of like you're you're, you're, the emotions kind 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:46.960 of ware off, and it's it's kind of man to man, 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:49.120 and it's talent to talent, and it's game plan to 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:52.480 game plan. And in Minnesota is really good. Um. They 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:56.360 had three losses that are all could have been wins. Um. 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:57.880 I mean they could be four and one, five and 0:03:57.880 --> 0:03:59.600 oh right now. I mean all of those games came 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:02.080 down to it in the final fourth quarter in you know, 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:05.920 one or two plays here there. Uh. But I do 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:09.440 think this Panthers team being at home helps. Being at 0:04:09.440 --> 0:04:12.760 home really helps. Um. I don't think there will be 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:16.640 Vikings fans like the way they were Eagles fans last week, hopefully, 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:18.120 But yeah, I mean being at home helps. And I 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:20.839 think coming out in and you know, hopefully really getting 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:24.279 a good first half and then coming out and knowing, hey, 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:27.080 now we're it's third quarter, it's fourth quarter, like it's 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:28.720 time to go, like we've got to We've got to 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:31.280 go well. And and the Vikings, if if you want 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:33.479 to take the small sample size that has been this season, 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:37.719 are not great at scoring in the second half. So now, look, 0:04:37.839 --> 0:04:39.880 they could they could find that against the Panthers. Any 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:43.039 team can find anything on any given day. But it 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:45.960 would be a good time for the Panthers to really 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:49.240 put a great second half on a team. It would. 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:51.680 And the problem is this week. I mean, these teams 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:54.120 are very similar in the fact that they are both 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:58.040 kind of small, marginal air of teams. And you know, 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:01.800 they the Vikings had played nothing but close games. Um, 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:05.680 they are sometimes fortunate, sometimes not, but they're built along 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:09.320 the same platform. They they want to win with defense, 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:11.680 with running the ball, with keeping it close. I mean 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.000 we call it clutching, grab, ugly it up, whatever you 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:17.080 want to say football. That's the way Mike Zimmer wants 0:05:17.120 --> 0:05:20.640 to play. And that's the way right now the Carolina 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:23.520 Panthers need to play to be able to, you know, 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:26.880 compete against these kind of teams. I mean, it's you say, 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:28.960 winnable game, but these are all sort of jury of 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:32.320 their peers. Games right now, and I thought it was interesting, 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:34.200 you know, and trying to look at it the other day. 0:05:34.400 --> 0:05:38.120 I mean, if the season stopped today, the Carolina Panthers 0:05:38.120 --> 0:05:40.839 are a playoff team, which sounds weird based on the 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:43.560 last thing we saw of them, which was the Eagles game. 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:45.800 But at three and two and with seven teams making 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:49.640 the playoffs, it's like, okay. So that's why coaches all 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:52.320 the time talk about twenty four hour rule, flush it, 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:57.279 move on, you know, focusing on that day's stuff that day, 0:05:57.320 --> 0:06:01.640 because if you let Philadelphia hang around too long, you 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.320 you don't want that to become a trend, obviously. But 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:07.400 I think there comes a point where in those guys 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:10.000 mind they stopped talking about it and all the focus 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:13.120 was on a good Wednesday practice, because that's the thing 0:06:13.200 --> 0:06:17.240 you can control. It's it's a it's a great point. Um. 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:20.040 I would love to to talk about each of the 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:23.320 units very quickly if we can. I thought Matt rules 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:25.320 it's something great to the media. I believe it was 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:28.800 on Monday where he said, you know, everyone is focusing 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:31.640 in on the offense and special teams, but the defense 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:34.039 that we've put together should never lose a lead in 0:06:34.080 --> 0:06:36.239 the fourth quarter. I thought that was a great point. 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:39.239 So so let's start with the defense. But let's start 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:41.320 with the portion of the defense that remains. And I 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:43.600 do think it's important too. And coaches always say, you 0:06:43.640 --> 0:06:45.200 don't want to make an excuse, but I think it's 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:47.480 important to note that defense that gave up a lead 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:49.920 in the fourth quarter was out there playing without Shack Thompson, 0:06:50.000 --> 0:06:53.279 J C. Horn, Justin Burrows. That matters. I mean, we 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:56.120 can't pretend it's not a factor, because it is. And 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:59.720 especially when you saw some big leakage plays down the field, 0:07:00.160 --> 0:07:02.359 you know that stuff that when you're playing with a 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:05.480 backup safety who's not used to being back there by 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:07.479 himself in a spot where he's got to make a 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:11.040 fast decision, as opposed to Justin Burrows, who's been around, 0:07:11.080 --> 0:07:14.600 who's aware, you know, maybe isn't the fastest guy or 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:17.120 anything like that, but he is absolutely aware of where 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:19.040 he's supposed to be and when, and those kind of 0:07:19.040 --> 0:07:22.200 things make a difference. Well, yeah, I mean, I I 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:25.360 was going to I saw a lot out there of 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:28.240 kind of response to that from from coach, And I 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:31.160 do think you know when you're when you're coming in 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:33.920 you as a coach and as an organization, as a group, 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:35.640 you know, you can't say, oh, you know, I mean 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:38.600 we we all saw it. We all know who it's on. Like. 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:41.560 Everyone has to come into the building wanting to get 0:07:41.600 --> 0:07:44.960 better and knowing that they can get better. You can't 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:47.440 come in and say, man, we were you know, we're 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:49.760 one of the top defenses in the league. We're we're good. 0:07:50.000 --> 0:07:52.080 You know, once everyone else figures there, you know, like, no, 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:54.960 I mean there. You have to always find what that 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:58.880 motivation is and to get better, uh, you know, personally 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:00.880 as a group, as a as a unit, all all 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:03.480 of those things. And I was, you know, completely fine 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:05.880 with with those comments and with kind of that approach, 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:07.520 And you know, I thought it was great, and I 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:09.720 think and you've heard the players. I talked to Jamaine 0:08:09.760 --> 0:08:12.800 Carter after the game. He said the same thing. It's 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:16.160 just it's on them. They that unit takes responsibility for 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:18.240 the mistakes that that unit had, just as I'm sure 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:20.840 the offense does, just a special teams does. No one's 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:24.200 trying to shirk the responsibility and the expectation honestly should 0:08:24.200 --> 0:08:25.840 be higher on that side of the ball because that's 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:28.520 where the most resources have been invisted. That's where they 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:32.200 spent the entire draft. That's where they go out and 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:36.040 sign all these free agents this offseason to really firm 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:38.240 up that side of the ball. And I think they 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:41.240 walked into the season with question marks on offense, with 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:44.480 question marks on special teams, but the defense was the 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:47.000 thing they thought they ought to be able to count 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:50.520 on weekend and week out. And you know, we're talking 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:53.680 about matters of degree here, but yeah, they were the 0:08:53.720 --> 0:08:55.920 other ones. They got a little loose in the end. 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:58.360 It is tough though, when you you look at you know, 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:00.679 people make stuff of the third core. I thought they 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:02.920 played excellent in the first half, the third quarter up 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:06.520 until the end of the third quarter with that big play. 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:09.280 I mean they Hassan Reddick had two sacks, there was 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:13.200 a fumble recovery Dante of the interception and the fumble 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:17.079 recovery made some incredible place, uh, for most of the 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:19.800 for for three quarters, I think, I'd say, and they've 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:22.000 got you know, obviously they've got to be more consistent 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:23.720 about that, And it's one of those things. It's almost 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:26.079 a shame that game unfolded the way it did because 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:28.680 there was that one play and I think it was 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:32.240 in the third quarter when Hassan takes Jordan's Blatta, who 0:09:32.240 --> 0:09:36.760 outweighs him by a hundred thirty pounds, rocks him back, 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:39.600 and that was that first sack, and then gets around 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:42.400 with speed. But it's like Hassan just took on a 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:48.320 man who's basically half his weight, another fifty percent of 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:50.679 his weight and just and just rode him back. I mean, 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:55.240 there were moments of that individual brilliance in there. But again, 0:09:55.840 --> 0:09:58.360 whether it's fair, whether it's unfair, I think there is 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:00.720 going to be a higher expectation on those guys this 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:04.520 season because they're the one better capable of influencing an 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:07.680 entire game. And I would say, knowing those guys and 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:10.120 and Darren talk to them all the time as well, 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:13.079 I think they want that higher expectation that no one 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:15.199 is running away from that. They want to be one 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:17.120 of the top defenses in the league. And what goes 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:18.920 along with that is not giving up a lead in 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:21.280 the in the fourth quarter, making just a few more plays. 0:10:21.400 --> 0:10:23.840 But also there were times where they did make some 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:27.240 great plays and unfortunately the offense could not capitalize on 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:28.880 it for a variety of reasons. I want to talk 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:30.880 about the offense and Darren, do you want to give 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:33.240 us the latest on on some of the injuries or 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:36.520 or where you think we might land in terms of 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:39.480 some guys on that offense coming back. Well, I mean 0:10:40.040 --> 0:10:42.920 Christian McCaffrey obviously still working his way back from that 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:47.160 hamstring it. On Monday, Matt Rule was hopeful on Wednesday, 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:50.160 he said fifty fifty. So we'll see, you know, where 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:52.120 it goes over the course of the week. Keep practiced 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:54.400 on a limited basis a little bit last week and 0:10:54.440 --> 0:10:57.160 then was doubtful for the game. Obviously didn't play, So 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:00.080 we'll see what direction it points. But you know, I 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.600 I think as you go through this thing, you know, 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:05.600 at a certain point you've got to kind of expect. 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:08.560 I mean it's like, if you know what Christians capable 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:12.080 of when he's in there, great, but you know, until 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:14.199 he's back out there on the field, I don't think 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:17.120 you build plans around that. And and honestly too, but 0:11:17.240 --> 0:11:19.720 played well last week. He goes for a hundred yards 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:22.560 on the ground and catch a few passes and does 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:25.680 some things. He's not Christian McCaffrey. There are very few 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:28.800 people in the NFL are um. That's the Dalvin Cook, 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:32.840 Alvin Kamara, group of backs. But she stood in and 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:34.880 played well last week. And I think they've just got 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:37.960 to adjust and that's the gonna be the buzzword for 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:41.840 offense the rest of the year. I think expecting someone 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:46.280 to ride in and save the day offensively isn't necessarily 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:49.880 the case. That offensive line, that set of receiver Sam 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:52.600 Donald have to be the ones that fixed this thing 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:57.080 because while they're trying to do stuff, and they're you know, 0:11:57.200 --> 0:11:59.240 certainly willing to make deals the way they have for 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:02.800 cornerbacks in the last couple of weeks, but there's not 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:06.199 I don't think that magic you know button you push 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:09.920 that's gonna mirror miraculously fix everything. There just isn't. So 0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:13.120 those guys, I mean, Cam Irving's back in practice this week, 0:12:13.160 --> 0:12:15.600 Pat l Flines back on the practice field, probably gonna 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:18.120 get activated this week. You know, say what you will 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:20.400 about the offensive line. There are two guys who were 0:12:20.440 --> 0:12:23.120 your opening week starters. If you go through an entire 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:25.680 training camp and you say, okay, these two are part 0:12:25.679 --> 0:12:27.960 of our best five, put them back on the field. 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:31.800 And speaking with Matt Rule yesterday, UM for TV show 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:34.079 asked him and we got asked about it in a 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:36.680 press conference as well. If Cam Erving is healthy. You know, 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:39.360 they had Taylor Moulton at left tackle last last week 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:42.800 and Brady Christensen making his first start at right and 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:45.400 you know, rules when they watched tape, they thought they 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:48.160 both did a great job or a good job. With 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:51.000 the caveat that no one on the team played well enough, 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:53.360 no one coached well enough to to win the game. 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:55.160 It's on everybody thought they did a good job. But 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:58.280 he wants Taylor Moulton back at right tackle, one of 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:00.400 the best right tackles in the league. So so not 0:13:00.440 --> 0:13:02.760 only do you get healthy guys back, you also put 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:05.720 a guy who was so great at his job over 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:08.880 on the right, back in his natural position. And Taylor's 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:12.600 never going to gripe about anything. He's just that guy. 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:14.719 I mean, he's not going to complain. But I mean, 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:17.240 even when he talked about it, you know, he said 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:19.960 he was willing to play left tackle as long as 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:21.760 they need me to. I mean, and there was sort 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:25.760 of that, you know, almost unspoken. He knows he's better 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.640 on the right. They know he's better on the right. 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:31.360 He's willing to fill in as long as they need 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:33.760 him to. But I think he knows and you know, 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:36.559 he's better on one side than the other simply because 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:40.240 he's done it more. And how about special teams, you know, 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:42.880 it was it was actually it was a bright spot 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:47.079 last year when there were some issues, um on, both 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:50.240 on on the offense and the defense. Special teams they 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:53.120 were inventive that that they you know, at the best 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:56.760 of times last year, um and and they were really 0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:59.920 solid I think at the very least, Well, how to 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:02.160 do you how do you think that they've been playing. 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:08.040 I mean, Zane Gonzalez is kicking field goals and beating 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:11.960 it into the end zone on Yeah, I mean those 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:14.040 were things. I mean remember a month ago we were 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:17.080 we were this guy was falling with with the kicker stuff. 0:14:17.120 --> 0:14:20.600 And I mean, I think it's I don't I won't 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:23.640 pretend to know nearly enough about special teams, protection and 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:26.400 coverages and all that, you know, all that stuff to know, 0:14:26.480 --> 0:14:28.160 but yeah, I mean it feels like, you know, all 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:31.400 of a sudden, here we have a protection on a 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:34.280 punt and they almost get to one and then they 0:14:34.320 --> 0:14:36.520 get to the next one, and you know, whatever's happening 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:37.680 kind of there in the middle. I mean J J 0:14:37.880 --> 0:14:40.280 Jansen is a veteran that's been around for forever, and 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:42.000 you know, it runs a stunt against him. But you know, 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:44.200 there's obviously a lot of players and a lot of 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:48.360 things involved with that um and I think it's it's 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:51.320 tough when you feel like you're you're really trying to 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:54.080 build that group to be a big part of how 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:56.920 you're making plays, and then it goes you know, and 0:14:56.960 --> 0:14:58.880 then and then it goes against you, you know, And 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:00.800 so yeah, I'm sure this wee. You know, they've focused 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:02.680 on those things. They're focusing on the protections. You know, 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:05.400 they're getting protections better on field goals and extra points 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:07.280 and you know they gotta keep working on that too. 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:10.000 And one of the realities and I wrote about this 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:11.760 a couple of weeks ago and it came popped up 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:14.960 again the other day. Special teams is made up of 0:15:15.120 --> 0:15:19.960 backup guys. Traditionally, your backup linebackers, your backup defensive backs 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:22.920 make up the guts of what you're putting. You know 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:26.440 what Chase Blackbrint has to work with well because of 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:29.240 some other injuries and Shack Thompson's out all of a sudden, 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:32.240 Frankie Luvu's play more snaps on defense and Frankie Luvu, 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:35.880 who is a staple on those special teams unit now 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:38.600 gets stretched a little thin. And I mean it's just 0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:41.800 kind of a I know, people hear that and they say, oh, 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:43.480 you know what, to make an excuse, but those things 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:48.080 are real, and injuries hit special teams first because those 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:51.480 guys are already changing tires on moving cars. Those guys 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:53.840 are already trying to fix it on the fly. And 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:55.600 what do I got this week? And who do I 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:58.760 have to work with? And you know, okay, so now 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:01.760 Sam Franklin may not be as available because Justin Burrows 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:03.680 is out. I mean, just little things like that that 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:06.240 people don't think of become big things. But that was 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:09.000 kind of uh, I mean for me watching that game Sunday, 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:12.920 it's like trying to figure out which snowflake started the avalanche. 0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:16.400 I don't know, but once it started moving downhill, it 0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:20.080 wasn't turning around. It wasn't And so it's kind of 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:22.720 hard to figure out which individual thing because there were 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:25.600 a bunch of little things that happened all at once. 0:16:25.680 --> 0:16:27.600 And and piggybacking on that, you know, when people think 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:29.760 of special teams, they think of you know what three 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.840 or four or five names your your punter, your kicker, 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:36.440 your holder, and maybe your returner. And there's so much more. 0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:38.880 You know, all of the other ten or you know, 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:42.040 nine guys on the field that make those guys jobs work. 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:45.440 You know, when Alex Erickson is returning a kick, you 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:47.480 know he needs someone to make that block or not 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:50.360 hold when he's got a fifteen yard return and then 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:52.440 it gets brought back or whatever. You know, there's so 0:16:52.560 --> 0:16:55.880 much more that's really involved there. And you know, Sean 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:59.040 Chandler standing there, personal protector on punt and was basically 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:01.240 put into a dist and of which one of these 0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:04.160 two guys in my face do I block? I'm gonna 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:06.480 try this one and hope for the best. And that's 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:09.720 kind of I mean, and it is. It was one 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:12.520 little breakdown here and there just kind of cascades and 0:17:12.560 --> 0:17:15.639 turns into something bigger. Now I know that we can't, uh, 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:17.000 you know, go back to what ifs, But I do 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:19.200 have a quick question for you before we get to 0:17:19.400 --> 0:17:21.119 to will Sta Out of the week. Darn you were 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:23.639 talking about if the season ended today, they'd be a 0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:27.400 playoff team three and two. Understandably, fans are worried they're 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:30.679 upset right now, nobody wants to hear there, right, No, 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:34.520 But I was gonna say if this team, um, you know, 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:37.040 maybe let's say one a couple lost one, one one 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:40.920 lost one. Do you think people would feel differently about 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:43.720 three and two if it didn't come off the heels 0:17:43.840 --> 0:17:46.280 of three wins to start the season and two straight 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:50.280 losses or is it just the sentiment just because of 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:52.520 the injuries, Like you said, there's so many great players 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:55.560 for the Panthers that right now, are you know stacking up? 0:17:55.600 --> 0:17:57.840 I mean, and and I think last year, the memory 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.080 of being three and two and then losing five in 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:01.919 a row, it's kind of fresh for a lot of 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:04.119 people who watched this team on a regular basis. And 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:07.080 it's interesting. I heard somebody ask the question earlier this 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:09.560 week about, you know, do you think the Panthers are 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:11.640 the three and O team of the first two weeks 0:18:11.720 --> 0:18:13.639 or the O and two team of the last two weeks? 0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:16.000 And I mean, to me, I think the answer is 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:19.639 probably there the three and two teams, which sounds it 0:18:19.680 --> 0:18:22.280 sounds funny to say I would say that, Yeah, I 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:24.119 think there are three and two teams. This is this 0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:27.040 is kind of where it is, and and we thought that, 0:18:27.160 --> 0:18:29.040 you know, we thought they were better, we thought they 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:32.560 were making progress, but they're not there yet. So I 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:35.600 think if you project this thing out, I mean, they 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:38.320 look like a team that's got a bunch of issues 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:41.040 right now. I mean, with Christian stuff, with Shag being 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:43.240 out another week. I mean, those are two big guys 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:45.320 on either side of the ball. You know, we'll see 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:47.760 what happens in this Vikings game. But then if you 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:51.440 start thinking ahead, okay, week seven against the Giants, thence 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:54.560 to find Gilmore's eligible, and Justin Burrows is supposed to 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:56.960 be back, and if Shock's back all of a sudden, 0:18:57.000 --> 0:18:59.880 that's a pretty good shot of talent back into your system, 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:03.040 you know. And we'll see what happens with Christian and 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:05.600 how he goes in his recovery. But you know, the 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:10.520 stage is at least set for positive momentum. Absolutely, I 0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:14.000 agree christ Mark Ron Burgundy, Um, but I mean, they 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:16.040 there is some stuff out there right now. But I 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:19.080 know at this moment, given the fact that the Eagles 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:21.560 games the last thing anybody saw, it's kind of if 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:24.359 you start thinking about positive things, it's like, what's wrong 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:26.840 with you? Did you see that the other day, you know, 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:29.520 and that's just kind of where we are, Darren cautioning 0:19:29.560 --> 0:19:33.040 against positivity. I like it will. How about we end 0:19:33.080 --> 0:19:35.240