WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 154: Chess Pieces 0:00:00.920 --> 0:00:02.080 Happy Half Hour. 0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:08.319 Hello friends, it's time for yet another edition of the 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:11.160 Happy half Hour. It feels like it's been a million years. 0:00:11.000 --> 0:00:13.400 Since we happy give or take. 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:16.880 Yeah, I think the last time we actually sat in 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:18.560 the same place at the same time. 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:20.640 Was it even before the draft? 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:24.280 It was before the draft. It was I think it 0:00:24.320 --> 0:00:27.240 was between free agency and the draft. It's been a minute. 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:28.640 It's been the week before the draft. 0:00:28.680 --> 0:00:31.600 And that's because somebody as soon as the draft was over, 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:34.320 decided to go on vacation and leave somebody else here 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:38.440 by herself at the control of the switches for a minute. 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:40.159 But peace, have fun. 0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:42.040 Yeah, I was like, here you go, we'll see you 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:42.800 in a couple of weeks. 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:44.720 Well deserved vacation though. 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:48.159 Yeah, it was a good time. But the work keeps happening. 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:51.600 And where the Carolina Panthers stop, I know, it really doesn't. 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:53.640 And where the Carolina Panthers are right now where it's 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:55.200 kind of that transition point. 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:57.959 It's like, this is the team. You now know what 0:00:58.000 --> 0:00:58.560 it looks like. 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:01.880 We've seen the ninety people who were out there on 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:04.720 the field every day. Next week they'll start in with OTAs. 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:07.400 Get everybody out there at the same time doing their thing. 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:11.880 But just now that it's all collected and you can 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:13.880 kind of get a picture of what's going on, you 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:16.680 really do get a sense of what's being built here 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:18.520 over the last couple of weeks. I mean, you were 0:01:18.520 --> 0:01:20.640 boots on the ground for Rookie Minni Camp and that's 0:01:20.720 --> 0:01:23.040 kind of where it started. And as you go through 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:27.919 that with Tetre McMillan and I still I'm not ready 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:30.920 to commit to t mac yet. I may be too 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:31.680 old of the humans. 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:33.800 Really want to ask him if he knows who Tracy 0:01:33.880 --> 0:01:37.800 McGrady is, you or Tim mckayre. I don't know who 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:38.080 that is. 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:41.160 Yeah, he was the original the met in Panther's history. 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:43.039 My generation is Tracy McGrady. 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:45.920 Will Well, we'll go through that later. We'll do the 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:47.000 history moment later. 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:49.760 But yeah, I mean you were out to Rookie Minnie 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:52.560 Camp and seeing McMillan out here, seeing Jimmy Horn out 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:54.520 there on the field and the rest of the draft class. 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:57.280 What was kind of the vibe that first weekend when 0:01:57.320 --> 0:01:58.160 you saw him all together. 0:01:58.360 --> 0:01:59.720 It was a lot of fun. And you know, as 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:04.040 in to just to talk to to t mac about 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:06.480 everything because he's coming in as a top ten pick. 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:09.880 I arguably the face of this rookie class for the Panthers. 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:12.720 And you know, is there any sort of pressure with that? 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:14.880 And he said, you know, honestly, not really, Like this 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:16.920 is what I'm here to do. This is what I'm 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:21.160 supposed to do. And I think you see very very 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:26.400 little like actual football during rookie minicamp. It's more drills 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:30.120 with a loose football like structure. And so that was it. 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:32.800 But you you can't hide speed, and that's what Jimmy 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:35.600 Horn Junior showed during that Rookie Minnie camp. Like you 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:38.280 could you could feel the speed coming off of him. 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:41.239 That cats just fast and he can hit a different gear. Yeah, 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:42.680 now I can be really exciting. 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:44.960 I could throw a lot of Panthers history at you, 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:47.239 Jimmy Horn Junior. I'm just gonna go ahead and call 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:49.600 my shot now. He is going to be the fan 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:53.760 favorite through Rookie Minnie OTAs and training camp in the 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:57.760 same way guys like Jim Turner, guys like David get 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:01.320 Us were the fan favorites in the day. Those were 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:03.639 big guys who could run. He's a little guy who 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:07.120 could run. But he's captured a lot of people's imagination already, 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:10.960 and you know, he's kind of When I got back 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:13.640 from vacation, I stood out there and watched Ota practice 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:16.600 a little bit the last couple of days, and just 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:19.160 watching those guys on the field. One of the things 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:21.280 you realize, and one of the things that's really stood 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:24.040 out to me is, oh my god, there are so 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:25.240 many wide receivers. 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:26.440 I think there's twelve. 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:29.760 You wrote about this this week and the competition for 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:32.240 the job. But I mean, Adam Feelen remarked on it. 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:34.040 I mean, he was the old guy who came back 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:36.000 for a year with a young group, and then all 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:38.400 of a sudden they kept adding to it during the draft, 0:03:38.560 --> 0:03:40.720 and I mean to bring a mc millan, to bring 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:43.160 a Jimmy Horn into that group. I mean, Adam was 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:45.080 you know, I thought it was interesting the way he 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:47.800 told you. You know, this is what we needed, This 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:49.040 is what we lacked. 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:51.800 Because I mean no disrespect to anyone who has been 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:54.200 here in the past, because you NFL players are still 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:56.160 have made it a lot farther than a lot of athletes. 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:58.640 But there were times, you know, the past year or 0:03:58.680 --> 0:04:01.760 two where you're kind of conjecturing on who will make 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:03.800 the final fifty three, and when you get to the 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.520 wide receiver unit, it was kind of like, okay, well 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:09.720 here's three. I guess this guy could be a four 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:11.560 and this guy could be a five. It was a 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:14.920 little bit of that. Now you're going, oh gosh, we've 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.160 already got six or seven on this list, like who 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:20.520 are we cutting? And you know, even guys that were 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:24.800 UDF that came in as udfa's still kind of stood out. 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:27.880 In Rookie Mini Caamp can Aws mentioned jacolby George Kobe 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:31.320 Hudson as two guys that he really really liked. One 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:33.200 of them I think actually is not a rookie. I 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:36.080 want to say it's somebody that Canals knew from the past. 0:04:36.120 --> 0:04:36.640 He came in. 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:40.880 Yeah, I mean Bryce and Tremain's THEFA and he's here, 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:42.080 you know, along with TJ. 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:45.400 Luthor. You know, it was kind of the end of the. 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:48.520 Depth chart that people don't know as much about. 0:04:48.640 --> 0:04:51.400 And Hunter Renfrow was still added in free agency too. 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:54.000 And I think, to me, that's one of the big lessons. 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:55.640 And that's one of the things is I stood out 0:04:55.640 --> 0:04:58.599 there on the practice field this week watching it kind 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:00.080 of comes in stark relief. 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:01.680 You know, you see all these. 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:04.840 Dudes out here, and you're like, that's the competition Dan 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:07.559 Morgan's talking about, that's what they want to build toward 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:10.280 with this roster, because all of a sudden, I mean, 0:05:10.320 --> 0:05:12.640 you look at this thing and you go, Okay, there's XL, 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:15.839 there's McMillan, there's Adam Thielen. All right, check check check. 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:18.200 Jalen Coker with Jalen Cocker played a lot of ball 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:21.000 for this time last year, and you like him. David Moore, 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:24.039 mister dependable, you know who's been with Dave Canalis in 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:27.960 multiple stops. He knows based on having seen it in 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:30.920 three different cities, that David Moore can step in, play 0:05:30.920 --> 0:05:32.960 any position and make a play for you in December 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:36.840 when it counts. You know Dan Chisenna, who's a speed 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.719 guy who came in and made some plays on special teams, 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:41.440 caught a couple passes last year. 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:42.039 You know. 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.200 Now you add two draft picks to that. Now you 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:47.599 add a couple of undrafted guys who they like, and 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:50.240 all of a sudden you're talking about WHOA there's nine 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:53.400 or ten dudes whose names we just said. There ain't 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:57.279 a six jobs, right, And that's the competition that Dan 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:00.280 keeps talking about, is he builds his roster out not 0:06:00.400 --> 0:06:02.440 just for this year, not for last year, not for 0:06:02.520 --> 0:06:05.359 this year, but to become a sustainable hole. 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:08.719 That's where they want to be. They've found that with 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:09.480 wide receiver. 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:12.160 Now, now you've the job you've got to do over 0:06:12.200 --> 0:06:14.480 the next couple of years is just expand that to 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:15.360 the rest of the roster. 0:06:15.520 --> 0:06:16.960 And you know what I think is interesting too when 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:18.960 you look at this particular wide receiver group and I 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:21.560 know you've got it pulled up over there is there 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:23.440 were times last year where it was kind of like, okay, well, 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:25.120 we want our guys to be versatile, and that was 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:27.159 something that Dave talked about a lot, and they were, 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:29.120 you know, like you said, David Morgan, play any position 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:31.440 you need him to. They moved the land around, they 0:06:31.480 --> 0:06:33.880 moved to excel around, and you want guys that can 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:36.560 do that. But you've also got guys now that do 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:38.040 very specific things. 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:38.360 Yep. 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:42.719 And because of that, you can kind of game plan 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:45.840 I would imagine a little bit easier because you know, 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:50.080 Jimmy Horn and t mac are two completely different receivers, yes, 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:52.600 so what do you do with them? And those guys 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:56.080 are different than excel and so it's like you can 0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:58.800 play around, I think with your chess like you always say, 0:06:58.839 --> 0:07:01.160 you want a chess piece that you can move around anywhere. 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:03.480 But at the same time too, I don't even know chess. 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:05.719 This is all based off a movie. Like you also, 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:07.760 you want to have your king, you want to have 0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:10.480 your queen, you want to have your rook. Does that 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:13.000 sound right? That sounds like a chess word. You've still 0:07:13.000 --> 0:07:15.720 got certain pieces that you need to have in certain 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:17.560 places and that can do certain things. 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:18.120 Yeah. 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:20.960 Well, And that's what's interesting to me about Horn is 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:23.000 it gives them a chance to expand the playbook a 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:25.680 little bit because there was a moment Devin Tompkins was 0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:27.440 in here a little bit the end of last year 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:30.640 and had been with you know, Canalis and Idzi and 0:07:30.720 --> 0:07:34.520 those guys in Tampa previously. The Jimmy Horn edition gives 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:36.320 them an opportunity to take all the stuff they were 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:38.200 thinking about doing with him and kind of build on 0:07:38.240 --> 0:07:38.840 it a lioudle bit. 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:41.920 And that's the thing that's gonna I can tell that's going. 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:43.960 To be the word we use the most this year 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:46.520 is build, because they're going to build on that playbook. 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:48.680 They're going to add to the stuff they're doing because 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:51.560 he does give you a different dimension. I mean, you 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:54.160 can look at Hunter Renfro and say, Okay, well he's 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:59.280 like Adam Thielen, except you know, you know, Jimmy Horn's 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:02.800 a guy who's completely different from everybody else on this roster, 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:04.960 different skill set. So if you can draw some stuff 0:08:05.040 --> 0:08:07.040 up in the dirt for him, I think it's going 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:10.080 to be an interesting addition the for the offense as 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:11.920 the hole and give Bryce more stuff to think. 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:14.640 About on that note too, just like talking about things 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:17.600 they can build off of with their previous playbook. Talk 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:21.040 to Timac about like, you know, obviously, because of the 0:08:21.080 --> 0:08:23.320 stature and what you do, a lot of people are 0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:26.320 going to compare you to Mike Evans and what especially 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:28.400 what Canalisson is it did with him in Tampa Bay. 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:32.080 He is about fifteen pounds lighter than Mike Evans, but 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:34.840 they're about the same height. He's obviously still a bigger receiver. 0:08:35.240 --> 0:08:36.840 And I said, have you watched a lot of Mike 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:39.400 Evans to kind of get yourself ready for this offense? 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:42.720 And he goes, I'm sick of watching Mike Evans. That's 0:08:42.720 --> 0:08:45.880 all I've done and so I think that's something that 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:47.640 I'm not saying T's going to come in as a 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:49.960 rookie and immediately, you know, post a thousand yards in 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:52.720 his first year, and what's Mike Evans going into Like 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.920 he's trying to get your twelve straight of one thousand yards. 0:08:55.920 --> 0:08:58.480 I think JJ Janssen says he's seen that Mike win 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:01.680 K logo on the board and Tampa about eight times. 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:04.240 Yeah, I'm not saying that's gonna happen, but I think 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.959 it is something that they have at least told t 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:09.319 back like, look at this, this is some this is 0:09:09.360 --> 0:09:10.200 the way we can use you. 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:12.760 Yeah, And I think that's the thing he's got. The 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:15.079 other thing that's cool that's happening now is you're starting 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:17.640 to get a sense of these guys and Tetero's got 0:09:17.640 --> 0:09:19.160 a little personality about it. 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:20.319 It's a different dude. 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:23.480 I mean, you've already got Excel in there, and in 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:26.079 case you people haven't noticed, Xavier league, it's got a 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:27.480 little personality of his own. 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:30.600 He's out there and they're two completely different personality. 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:32.920 They are here and here, But it's going to be 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:35.400 interesting to see those two kids kind of grow together. 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:38.319 See what this thing looks like here's to come down 0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:38.720 the road. 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:43.400 But it's uh, it has been fascinating. I mean, I 0:09:43.440 --> 0:09:47.520 in being out there again. I hesitate having done this 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:49.560 as long as I have. I don't want to make 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:54.240 global declarations in May and June when guys aren't wearing pads. 0:09:54.640 --> 0:09:57.319 But that same level of competition that you talk we 0:09:57.440 --> 0:09:59.720 talked about at wide receiver, you're starting to see at 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:00.920 other places. 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:01.520 On the roster too. 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:02.920 I mean defensive line. 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:04.079 Those defensive linemen. 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:06.520 I mean, all of a sudden, you see Dereck Brown 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:08.880 out there, and that's the big ad. It's like, Okay, 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:10.840 you get to add one hundred million dollar free agent 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:12.520 d tackle, a guy who just went to the Pro 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:15.360 Bowl set a league record for tackles in a season. Cool, 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:17.920 you get to add a Bobby Brown, a Turk Wharton. 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:20.760 You go in and bring in Cam Jackson in the 0:10:20.760 --> 0:10:22.400 fifth round of the draft, and all of a sudden, 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:28.920 you see that entire group and it's like, okay, there's one, two, okay, 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:33.080 six jobs, yeah, pick six. And you know last year, 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:36.280 I mean you know last year they were bringing guys. 0:10:36.080 --> 0:10:38.479 In late in the year just because they were available. 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:39.160 It was hard. 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:41.320 It was a bad situation as people got hurt and 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:44.520 they were turning guys over left and right. The results 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:47.840 were what the results were. But now when you see 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:52.120 the fact that you can platoon out almost Ashawn Robinson 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:55.240 and Turk Wharton, the fact that you've got Bobby Brown 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:58.000 and Dereck Brown, the fact that you've got a young 0:10:58.040 --> 0:11:02.200 guy in Cam Jackson who's competing for job with Lebrian Ray, 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:04.120 with some of the other guys who were here in 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:06.360 the past, shy tuttle, you know, all of a sudden, 0:11:06.440 --> 0:11:10.400 that room that was not a strength last year. It's 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:12.440 too soon to say it's a strength because these guys 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:14.160 hadn't been in PAD yet. We hadn't seen what it 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:16.840 looks like on the field. But Josie Joe and Trevin 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:20.480 Wallace's life's got easier, Yeah, because they got more qualified, 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:21.800 large people in front of them. 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:25.040 Yeah. And Cam Jackson certainly is large. You and I 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:26.920 joked the other day that people didn't realize how big 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:28.640 he was because he spent most of his college career 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:30.199 lined up next to Desmond Watson. 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:31.480 Yes, and then you. 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:33.720 See Cam Jackson by his own and you're like, oh, 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:36.600 he's still a pretty big guy too. Yeah, so that'd 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:40.760 be something that again that's a tough spot for a rookie. 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:46.160 That's a bigger upward, that's a bigger learning curve. Then 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:49.160 people realize going from college to the NFL in that 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:52.440 position or anywhere along the front seven, but especially on 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:56.080 the line. So having a little bit of depth there 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:58.679 will help him. But excited to see him on the field. 0:11:58.760 --> 0:11:59.640 Yeah, no doubt. 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:01.679 And we're gonna see a lot more of all these 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:03.600 guys over the next couple of weeks, about three more 0:12:03.600 --> 0:12:06.760 weeks of OTAs and mandatory mini camp to close it 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:07.920 out middle of June. 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:10.960 You know, So I don't want to get to FOOTBALLI here. 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:14.240 We're just you know, we're easing into the summer. 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:16.360 We've got about three or four more weeks before we 0:12:16.440 --> 0:12:18.640 get into that break before training camp and then it 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:22.679 becomes real. So's it's definitely going to be interesting to 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:24.439 see those guys out there on the field the next 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:27.120 couple of weeks, just as they continue to kind of 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:29.160 add and grow and get used to each other. 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:33.440 Speaking of it becoming real, you were not in the 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:36.640 country when the schedule came out. Have you gotten a 0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:40.800 chance to look it over and kind of gather your takeaways. 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:42.880 I have gathered my thoughts about. 0:12:42.720 --> 0:12:45.320 I would love to hear Darren Gant's thoughts on your schedule. 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:48.720 Here's how players look at schedules. Players want to know. 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:50.760 I just tell you what Derek Brown told me about 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:51.240 the schedule. 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:52.040 All right, go ahead. 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:55.040 So before it comes out, we were filming the schedule release. 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:58.000 Derek Brown and Robert Hunt were both sitting there and 0:12:58.120 --> 0:12:59.840 I asked him. I was like, what do y'all care 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:02.640 about when it comes out? And they both said, like, 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:05.960 almost simultaneously, I just want to know when Green Bay is. 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:09.360 They were like, that's the only thing I'll gonna look at. 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:11.880 Yep. Weather is one of the first things. 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:14.760 I mean, players will players will look at when is 0:13:14.800 --> 0:13:18.080 there Thursday night game? And if so, when when's the 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:20.480 bye week? This year it's late, but we've gotten used 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.000 to late buys around here for the last couple of years, 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:25.560 so that's not necessarily a big change. But I think 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:28.360 the other thing people look at is where do you start, 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:30.880 where do you finish both on the road this year? 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:33.080 Where are you at over the holidays? 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:36.520 And you know you got that Monday night game the 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:39.160 Monday before Thanksgiving, so that's gonna be a little bit 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:41.960 of a weird week. You'll you know, you're flying across 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:44.360 country to play San Francisco on Monday night football. 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:46.400 You Dave Canal has got his respect. 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:49.400 They you know, the Carolina Panthers are out of witness protection. 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:53.800 They actually have primetime game this year and people are 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:54.400 going to get. 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:55.120 A chance to see them. 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:59.800 To me, the big red light item when I looked 0:13:59.800 --> 0:14:04.240 to schedule once I returned to the country, believe it 0:14:04.320 --> 0:14:07.240 or not, in Iceland, no one asked me about the 0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:08.280 NFL schedule. 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:10.600 That's crazy about the NFL is. 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:13.960 A global They didn't they didn't know when the Panthers 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:15.720 were playing the Bucks, And I was like, they play 0:14:15.800 --> 0:14:17.800 the Bucks in week sixteen and eighteen. 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:19.680 They didn't put it on the side of a sheet 0:14:19.760 --> 0:14:20.880 and let it marks down the road. 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:24.800 To me, seeing those two Bucks games in the last three, 0:14:25.160 --> 0:14:28.040 that's like that little secret signal from the league. That's 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:30.560 like the Bats signal going up saying we think you're 0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:31.560 gonna be okay. 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:33.280 And that that could be the NFC South right. 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:36.600 There, because the Bucks are the establishment team in this division. 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:38.800 The Bucks are the team that's won it four years 0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:41.360 and four or five years in a row, and They're 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:44.080 the standard that everybody in this division is chasing. So 0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:47.240 if the league is putting you against them coming down 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:49.840 the stretch, they think that might be for a reason. 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:52.040 So I think it's gonna be curious to see how 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:52.440 that goes. 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:55.480 Having a Seahawks game sandwiched in the middle there, you know, 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:59.320 obviously with the Ties, so many people here and there 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:01.840 is going to be interesting. But yeah, the end of 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:03.960 that schedule is one of the first things I look at. 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:06.200 It's like, when am I going to be cold? What's 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:07.800 it look like around the holidays? 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:08.520 That kind of stuff. 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:10.200 I don't think you're going to be cold really much 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:10.680 this year. 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:12.560 Yeah, you say that you lucked out. 0:15:13.000 --> 0:15:14.960 You say that, I mean we'll be cold when we 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.120 go to New Orleans regardless. 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:19.480 Because it's always sixty five degrees in that building. 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:20.800 Sitting up at the top of the dome under the 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:25.360 ac events. But yeah, you know, you open with the Jaguars, 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:27.680 and opening with the Jaguars is a good omen for 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:29.280 the Carolina Panthers always. 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:31.920 Paid off well. Darin tell the people. The last two 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:36.320 times that Panthers opened against Jacksonville, yeah road. 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:39.200 Yeah, that would be two thousand and three, in twenty fifteen. 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:41.440 Those nose numbers are significant. 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:44.160 Well, what else happened in those years? Oh, that's right, 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:46.520 they went to Super Bowls. I mean, I can't believe 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:47.880 you and Jake didn't talk about this. 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:49.600 I'm actually shocked we didn't either. 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:54.160 Jake like has It's almost like the toy story Woody 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:56.840 Doll to pull his string and he says a certain 0:15:56.960 --> 0:15:57.720 set of phrases. 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:00.320 Jake's probably got a string that you can pull and. 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:02.440 Say, you know, I came in at halftime against the 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:05.400 Jaguars and the three opener and let it come back 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:08.320 through that game, win and touchdown to Ricky prol and 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:10.120 set us on the course of Super Bowl. 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:11.880 I figured Jake tells that story all the time. 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.640 No, I mean Rodney Pete was the starting quarterback for 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:17.040 the two thousand and three opener, Jake comes in at halftime, 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:20.120 leads to come back. The rest is history. But yeah, 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:22.440 I mean that one stood out to me too. It's like, okay, 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:26.120 I see you. And then obviously twenty fifteen team started 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:27.480 with the Jags as well. 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.080 So you know what I think is interesting and this 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:31.680 is probably goes back to your point about like the 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:34.040 league thinking okay, that this could be a race for 0:16:34.080 --> 0:16:37.960 the division. There is a division game week three, there's 0:16:38.000 --> 0:16:39.960 not another division game until week ten. 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:44.200 Yeah, well, and division games later kind of standard. They want, 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:47.080 you know, the league wants these games to mean something 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:50.680 in week sixteen, seventeen eighteen, you know, for television purposes. 0:16:50.760 --> 0:16:53.920 So they're trying to keep things as competitive as they can. 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:56.320 But I do I look at the Bucks games two 0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:58.680 out of the last three and say, somebody's trying to 0:16:58.680 --> 0:16:59.400 tell us something. 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:03.840 Yeah, yeah, I agree, that'll that'll probably be where it's 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:06.320