WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 51: Conetoe 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:11.799 It's time for the Happy Half Hour with your friends. 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:22.760 Kristen Balboni, Will, Brian and Darren Gamp. That's right, it's 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:24.560 that time of the weekest time for the Happy Half 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:27.880 Hour podcast with your friends Kristen, Will, Darren and producer 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:31.920 Matt and Darren. We're missing the smiling face of Will 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:34.880 sitting right across from us, as he usually is every 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:37.680 Thursday morning, But gosh darnett, this man is so committed 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:40.240 that he is calling in in the midst of going 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:42.920 on a roller coaster. I think to be here for 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:46.000 the podcast, at least that's what it sounds like, Will, Will, 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:50.080 Where are you now? Um, I'm near Conato, cone To. 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:52.560 I don't know, pretty sure it's not gonna be cone 0:00:52.560 --> 0:01:01.920 To Wilson Wilson, Okay, Wilson host, Yes, you're you are 0:01:02.080 --> 0:01:04.960 definitely seeing some of the garden spots of eastern North 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:08.800 Carolina right now, Yes, sir, oh yeah, And I'm sure 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:10.800 that my my signal is about to go out as 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:13.240 we get further and further into the swamp of of 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:15.440 what this is out here, so well, you know, you know, 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:20.200 cone Toe is never great for receptions, so anytime I 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:24.080 go through there. But Will is will Is um on 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:27.360 his way to a wedding, A very important wedding, but 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.479 it's just lovely enough to call in anyway, UM, which 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:35.320 we appreciate. It's dedication, dedication. He shows up every day, 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:38.160 win or lose, no matter what the final score was, 0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:40.160 and he's going to give it as all. Uh, Will, 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:42.640 what's uh? Let's start with your statut the week. Usually 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:44.800 we wait um for a while, but I thought we'd 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:55.640 get right into it. Tis the week? Sure, Yeah, I 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:58.440 mean I try to stay ahead of the chains. The 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:02.400 first down marker. Darren teated something about that last night. Um, 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:04.920 shout out to act by the way, before I get 0:02:04.960 --> 0:02:07.680 into this. Oh, he's got notes, So I'm sorry, Will, 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:10.200 I didn't give you your proper time to to praise 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:15.440 Darren's mountaineers. Oh this is great. I think we leave 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:17.720 all the technical difficulties and yeah, I think we should. 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:21.040 He's clearly driving to Yeah. Does he know that we 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:23.560 can't hear he's still talking about a stads week. He's 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:25.840 still going on about Appach State. All right, Hey, you're 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:29.800 back back. I'm back. Oh my god, this is awful. Great. 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:32.840 All right, let me let me try to get this 0:02:32.880 --> 0:02:35.200 stat in real quick. Here we go. So the last 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:38.320 time that Hassan Reddick played the Giants last year, he 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:40.760 had not one, not two, not three, not four, but 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:46.120 five sacks on Daniel Jones. Um, he's been he's been 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:49.000 leading this sack race right now with Brian Burns. And 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:51.880 he's also getting a lot of tackles for loss. I 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:54.400 think he's tied for second in the NFL and tackles 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:57.240 for loss right now. So I can't wait to see 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:00.400 what Reddick is going to do against this the Giants 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.600 offense on Sunday. No kidding, I wonder if Daniel Jones 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:05.760 sleeps well the night before he sees his on Reddick 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:09.400 after that he absolutely shouldn't he. I mean, Hassan wrecked 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.200 those guys last week last year. And the thing about 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:14.519 him is his sacks have come in bunches. You know, 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:17.119 he's getting a sack and a half a game. He's 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:20.079 been getting consistent pressure. I mean his two the other week, 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:23.760 we're the only two over the last couple. But it's um. Yeah, 0:03:23.840 --> 0:03:26.600 I think this week, considering the state of the Giants 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:29.239 offensive line, there's a reasonable chance he gets back on 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:32.680 the board. Absolutely, Darren, you said when we found out 0:03:32.760 --> 0:03:34.400 that Will was going to call in. We weren't sure 0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:37.120 about the service. You said that if need be, you 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:39.840 would do Will staut of the week as Will with 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:42.280 an impression. So before we let Will go, do you 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:45.120 wanna you wanna give it a go? Not one, not to, 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:50.560 not four, but five sacks. That was less enthusiastic than 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:52.840 it should have been. That just couldn't sound less like 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:59.360 Will's voice impression to other people. It's okay, are good? 0:04:01.720 --> 0:04:04.640 Enjoy cone To in case we lose you. Yeah, well 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:06.360 you guys have a great weekend. You and and have 0:04:06.440 --> 0:04:08.600 a great weekend. Thank you for the dedication to call 0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:11.360 in um and uh and be prepared with your stat 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:13.560 of the week. Y'all have fun this This one's gonna 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:16.080 be a good one. I can't wait to listen to it. Yeah, 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:19.000 all the stuff we say about apparently not cone To, 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:23.039 it's apparently pronounced Kanita. I did not think it was Conete. Yeah, 0:04:23.120 --> 0:04:25.400 I thought it would probably be anything other than Conete. 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:31.160 Our apologies to Kanita residents. Yes, we're very sorry. Blame 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:33.280 it on Will. If you have at panther stats guy, 0:04:33.279 --> 0:04:38.760 if you have any issues, that sounds so bad, all right, 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:43.320 Well you gotta go after that. What a way to 0:04:43.360 --> 0:04:45.240 start out, What a way to start things off. Only 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:50.160 the highest quality, you know, production value, um, sound quality. 0:04:50.440 --> 0:04:52.200 That's what we're bringing to you on the Happy Half Hour. 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:54.680 But that's what Will brings to the table. He he 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:58.000 just comes every day. He's prepared, he's got its material. 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:01.120 While he's driving down you know, I knows Highway sixty 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:04.960 four wherever it is in Kinita or coln To, as 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:08.799 the case may be. And uh, he's part of the team. 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:10.520 So he's going to show up for the team. I 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:12.520 love it about him. I do so. He's the best. 0:05:12.760 --> 0:05:14.400 And uh, and we hope he has a good week. 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:16.840 And Will we'll only talk about you, you know, here 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:18.880 and there. Just listen to this episode. You know, he's 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:20.440 listening to hear what we have to say about him. 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:22.440 We'll just sprinkle it in every once in a while 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:26.120 as far as he knows. Yes, let's talk about last 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:31.720 week's game. What a roller coaster. That game contained multitudes. 0:05:31.800 --> 0:05:34.040 I mean it really did it age all of us 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:37.200 by a year. I mean we were last we were 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:39.920 sitting there. I mean it was it was bad, bad, bad, 0:05:40.040 --> 0:05:47.040 bad bad, Okay, good bad good bad bad good, And 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:49.880 at one point right before the two minute drive where 0:05:49.880 --> 0:05:52.960 they tie the game and send it into overtime. I 0:05:53.080 --> 0:05:55.280 looked at Will in the press box and honestly said, 0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:57.200 none of the people in the stadium are going to 0:05:57.279 --> 0:05:59.080 know how to act if the Panthers come back and 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:01.760 win this game, because it's been the roller coaster was 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:04.560 going down the hill most of the day rather than 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:08.040 you know, the climb or anything. But it was yeah, 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:10.120 I mean, it was just all over the board and 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:13.320 it was impossible to gauge the reaction. And then when 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:16.120 Sam hits at forty one yard past Ian Thomas, it's like, 0:06:16.279 --> 0:06:19.040 oh wait, this isn't over yet, unfourth and ten, the 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:22.719 least on fourth and ten when nothing else had worked 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:24.839 in a long time, and all of a sudden, Ian Thomas, 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:27.880 of course, you know, noted deep play thread I, and 0:06:27.960 --> 0:06:30.400 Thomas makes the play of the game to get him 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:33.040 back into it. And then Robby Anderson, who hadn't caught 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:36.000 anything all day long, catches a touchdown too. And in 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:38.800 between that, but Sam ran with his legs for the 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:42.400 for the biggest play of the of um of the 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:45.040 offense so far right like that, you know, fifty eight 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:49.080 minutes of terror and two minutes of whoa potential, this 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:51.800 is what they can do. So it was it was 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:53.880 such a bizarre game. But I mean, you could just 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:57.600 tell that by the time they got to overtime that 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:00.640 defense was gassed. They had been out there all day. 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:04.400 You can't play eighty nine snaps and expect the eighty 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:07.839 nine when to be fresh and energetic and be able 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:10.400 to run with anybody downfield. And they did. They looked 0:07:10.440 --> 0:07:13.320 tired and and so that's why I think there's been 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:16.800 so much talk this week about wanting to run, wanting 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:19.640 to shorten the game, wanna try to prevent mistakes, and 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:21.200 all that kind of stuff, because they just got to 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:23.480 draw it in and make it a little more conservative 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:26.760 and be a little less of all the extra stuff 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:29.480 and a little more of the good basic stuff that 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:32.480 takes up time. And I want to ask you about 0:07:32.520 --> 0:07:36.120 starting with that drive. If you're a Panthers fan, what 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:38.480 are the pot now. Look, I say this as a 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:41.120 full equivocation. I'm not because I'm employed by the Panthers. 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:43.040 I'm not trying to say, oh, you know, you're the 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:46.640 good things. But we'll and we'll talk about we'll talk 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:49.520 about the bad things as well. But starting with if 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:51.440 you are a Panthers fan who was invested in the 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:53.960 rest of this season, what did you see out of 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:58.040 that game that makes you hopeful for the future. To me, 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:01.800 it was that drive that they could come back and again, 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:04.680 like I said, I'm qualifying this over and over again, 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:08.680 it's still lost. I I understand that, but for them 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.000 to be able to win that offense had not been 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:14.880 able to connect on anything all game long, to go 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:18.040 down the field um when the pressure was on it 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:20.680 was fourth and ten, and to not only drive all 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:23.440 the way from your own end zone and and score, 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.160 also to get the two point conversion and then they 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:28.960 got some help from Minnesota's kicker in order to keep 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:32.520 it tied up. That was something that in watching every 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:35.520 single game last year, I believe there were eight opportunities 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:38.360 for them to either win the game or tie in 0:08:38.440 --> 0:08:41.160 situations like that when I was very long shot, situations 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:43.640 where you gotta go yards and get a two point 0:08:43.679 --> 0:08:46.800 conversion UM and then your defense will still probably have, 0:08:47.000 --> 0:08:48.360 you know, time on the clock where they've got to 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:51.320 defend this um. And they did it, and I thought, 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:55.680 despite the loss, that would make me, as a Panthers fan, 0:08:56.559 --> 0:09:00.520 feel a lot better and it was almost like the 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:03.559 end of the Dallas game too. It's like it ultimately 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:07.400 didn't matter. You still lost the game. But seeing them 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:10.120 stand up, I mean, seeing those guys both their backs 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:12.440 and do a couple of things was an encouraging sign 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:15.439 because again, nobody wants to dredge up last year, but 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:18.480 chance after chance late in games and they never really 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:21.719 did a thing. And I mean to see them, you know, 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:24.360 whether it was in vain or not, to see them 0:09:24.960 --> 0:09:27.719 in that situation get into some kind of rhythm do 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:31.920 positive things. It can't it might not help, but it 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:35.200 can't hurt. I mean, you at least know what it's 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:39.040 like to be in that situation to get something going 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:41.679 late when nobody thinks you can. Again, teams are playing 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:45.040 you differently there. Yeah, you know, Minnesota was not bringing 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:47.400 pressure on that last drive the way they had throughout 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:51.719 the game, and that matters same with Dallas late in 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:56.480 the game down there. But it's still, like I said, 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:58.559 it might not be a positive, it might not be 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:01.080 a sign of greater things to but at least it's 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:04.640 not an added negative. So I like the fact that 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:06.880 they can get in a hurry and move those things 0:10:06.960 --> 0:10:10.440 and and Honestly, when we were talking in the preseason, 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:13.000 I mean coming out of training camp, the things Sam 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:16.839 looked best at was two minutes, yes saying, the thing 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:20.120 Sam looked most efficient at was hurry up, you know, 0:10:20.280 --> 0:10:22.880 no huddle, get to the line, bing bing bing bing bing. 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:26.000 It's not big home run balls. It's just a collection 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:29.520 of the little stuff that keeps keeps the chains moving 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:32.760 and gets the team downfield. Now, a lot of those 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:37.839 training camp Sam two minute drives weren't big heroic touchdowns. 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:40.360 They were get them in position for a field girl, 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:43.880 and in a lot of cases that's going to be 0:10:43.960 --> 0:10:47.760 a positive thing. So I will you know, we understand, 0:10:47.840 --> 0:10:49.960 we're not trying to make it something. It's not there. 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:52.559 Three and three, they've lost three in a row, but 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:55.600 it could have been a lot worse. Three and three 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:58.480 and laying down in the last two minutes of that 0:10:58.600 --> 0:11:01.439 game and not getting overtime and would have made it 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:06.920 feel very I agree completely. Some other things I saw, 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:09.840 I thought Ke Taylor played an incredible game at surprise 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:13.160 to me. I talked to him yesterday. Um and and 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:15.240 something that you put in in one of your articles 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:18.080 on Panthers dot com that I would get the teas 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:20.480 in there for that, please go check it out. Um. 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:22.640 And I asked him about this was Phil Snow saying 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:25.319 he doesn't care who he goes up against, and that 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:29.000 is so unique for a rookie. It just does not 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:31.720 face him. Now, granted he was in on that last play, 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:34.319 probably tried to do a little too much, but I 0:11:34.360 --> 0:11:37.880 think you take that overall with playing sixty five snaps, 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:42.439 tin tackles, three pass deflections of force fumble, um and 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:44.800 and because he's a rookie and you know he's going 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:46.760 to grow, um, So I mean you've got I just 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:49.839 it's it's great to see these young guys or whether 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:53.840 there was you know, Cuba consistent improvement every single week, 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:56.360 scoring his first NFL touchdown. We got to see Shy Smith, 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:59.760 who will come, Um, I think up big with the 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:01.839 receiver injury. So those are some of the just the 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:04.040 little things that I saw that I think if you're 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:06.800 watching the team again, we're only six games in, you're 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:10.000 watching this team and you're looking for who is this team, 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:11.920 Who's going to be a factor on this team? Those 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:14.240 are things that I was very impressed. And Keith Taylor 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:16.920 is an interesting guy. I mean, it's good that he 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:20.680 has no fear because if he is on the field 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:24.640 in the future with Dante Jackson, A J. Boyer and 0:12:24.760 --> 0:12:28.720 say Stefind Gilmore, guess who the other quarterbacks throwing at. Yeah, 0:12:28.840 --> 0:12:35.640 guess who the other quarterback wants to Pickoreilmore. So buckle up, Keith. 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:38.240 And it's good that you're not afraid because you're gonna 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:41.040 get that kind of treatment. So but he is, I mean, 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:44.599 Keith kind of impressed me because he really has that 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:50.839 level quality of yeah, okay, what's next, Let's do this thing. 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:53.199 I mean, it's not a huge deal to him and 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:56.000 the idea of oh god, look at the season justin 0:12:56.080 --> 0:12:58.520 Jefferson's having or look at these other guys, look at 0:12:58.520 --> 0:13:02.559 Adam Dealing. He's not cowed by it. I mean, the 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:04.600 moment is not too big. It is not too big 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:07.400 for him. And you know, I thought it was interesting. 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:09.640 I remember when Phil first said that a couple weeks ago, 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:11.680 and he was like, you know, j C. And Keith 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:13.880 are a lot of like and that they don't care 0:13:14.520 --> 0:13:17.760 whose names on the back of the church. And again, 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:20.640 Keith Taylor is not j. C. Horne, not trying to 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:25.240 say he's j C. Horne but to get competent, too 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:27.719 good play out of a fifth round rookie in that 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:30.960 situation is is something to look forward to because again, 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:33.880 the pieces of that secondary are coming together in a 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:38.120 way in which having Keith Taylor as your fourth or 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.680 fifth guy is a pretty good place to be absolutely 0:13:42.040 --> 0:13:44.319 And and to your point, it's as you said, he's 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:47.280 not j C. Horne. Very few people are, at least 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:50.520 from what we saw from him early before he was injured. 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:55.720 But they share a lot of qualities that this coaching 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.840 staff and I think fans like about j C. Horn. 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.679 That's what And I think that's a great way to 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:06.559 introduce him to fans um who don't maybe don't know 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:08.720 much about him aside from you know, maybe height, weight 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:12.959 the game, big tall, skinny kid from Washington and you 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:16.079 look at him and he doesn't. He doesn't. He's not 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:18.720 as thick in the upper body as j C. I mean, 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:21.240 j C. Again, not many people are when you stand 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:24.440 beside when you stand beside him. But one of the 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:27.240 things the Panthers have made a deliberate attempt to do, 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:30.760 especially with their backups, as they build this roster, and 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:33.400 that's from the top down and the bottom up, but 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:38.440 you know, Bitter has talked to me about specifically wanting 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:41.640 to be bigger at your backups. I mean, rather than 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:46.640 have you know, scrawny saw it off, try hard guys 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:49.520 as you're you know, backup this or that. If you 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:52.400 can make a backup look like Keith Taylor, if you 0:14:52.480 --> 0:14:55.640 can make a backup defensive end look like Daryl Johnson. 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:58.360 All right, now you're getting somewhere. Now you're getting the 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:01.400 entire roster more physically where you want it to be. 0:15:02.440 --> 0:15:06.120 And that's a deliberate attempt. I mean, they want their um, 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.360 all their reserves to have some kind of physical quality 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:11.360 that stands out. I mean, and you saw it last 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:14.200 week when Michael Jordan's comes in to play left guard. 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:18.040 I mean, the difference between and Pat l finds coming 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:20.480 back from his injury, probably not gonna be back this week, 0:15:20.680 --> 0:15:24.200 but with Michael Jordan's in the lineup at left guard, 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:27.840 it's a whole different profile. When you go six six 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:32.720 three fifteen instead of six to six three. It might 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:34.920 not sound like a lot, but it's a huge difference. 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:37.360 And he plays a physical game. So that's kind of 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:40.800 what Scott's getting at it with with offensive lineman. You 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:43.800 want to be bigger, more powerful with your corners. You 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:47.280 want them to be longer, because the longer a cornerback 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:50.640 is in terms of arms and legs, the less fast 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:52.840 he has to run to cover the same amount of ground. 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:55.240 I guess you could say, so that's what they want. 0:15:55.280 --> 0:16:00.200 And again in the short term, small, simple size is 0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:03.400 even in a law setting. Both those guys I think 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:06.680 gave some signs that were at least not negative. Yeah, 0:16:06.880 --> 0:16:09.880 and we're at least not negative. And and just attack 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:12.520 on one more point, what Scott told me about getting bigger, 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.920 especially in the secondary, is just you also look at 0:16:15.960 --> 0:16:17.920 it as what an advantage it is when you look 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:20.560 at the opponents in the Division two with how big 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:23.560 some of those receivers are. So as it's great to 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:27.000 have your main guys have have size, and then also 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:30.920 your backups. As you said, Darren, you touched on offensive line. 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:34.880 Obviously it's been a concern for the Panthers all season long. 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:40.320 What are what are the realistic options? What do you 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:46.200 think this offensive line is going to look like going forward? 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:50.320 At least let's say, you know, but before the trade deadline. 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:55.880 I think the emphasis is just telling these guys the 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:59.480 Calgary the cameray is not coming. There's not going to 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:03.320 be somebody riding in to save I I think if 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:05.760 there was a big trade available, they would have already 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:08.080 tried to make it. We know, we know Scott Fitter, 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:10.480 as the saying goes, wants to be in on every deal. 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:13.399 So it's not like he's not calling around. They're trying. 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:15.840 They're trying to see if other teams want to give 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:18.879 up their left tackle or starting guards for you know, 0:17:19.040 --> 0:17:21.040 future picks and that kind of thing. But that market 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:22.800 is not there. I mean, look at what's going on 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:25.879 around the league. You know, Ronnie Stanley's out for the 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:28.480 year in Baltimore, is not gonna play. I mean there's 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:32.640 just injuries left and right and everybody, it seems. Look 0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:34.560 at what the Giants are going through. They just put 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:37.560 their left tackle Andrew Thomas own injured reserve this week. 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:40.320 So everybody in the league is trying to find two 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:42.320 or three of those guys and you're just not there. Well, 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:45.520 correct me if I'm wrong. Everyone's holding onto them for 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:49.000 these obvious reasons, for for depth, and also didn't we 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:51.280 see a couple of teams give up draft picks for 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:54.399 backups earlier in the season. That's where the market is 0:17:55.119 --> 0:18:00.239 in terms of everyone wants good offensive lineman and then 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:03.040 good backups to those offensive lineman, and if you have them, 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:05.560 you're hard pressed to let them go. So I think 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:08.879 the key is they're just trying to stabilize a little bit. 0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:12.200 And I remember using the phrase with Oak in the 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:15.280 pregame when they flipped Taylor Molten left tackle. I said, 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:17.800 when Cam Irving was out, I said, they're just trying 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:21.120 to stop the bleeding. They're just trying to get everything 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:24.560 stable for a second. And they thought Taylor gave a 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:26.760 shot to do that in that one particular game. Now 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:29.280 they've moved Taylor back to the right because he's just 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:31.480 so much better at the right than he is on 0:18:31.600 --> 0:18:34.800 the left. And and rather than making two positions weaker, 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:38.200 they let let your best offensive lineman do what he's 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:41.480 best at. And that makes sense. And you know, John 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:43.879 Miller is not a big flashy guy, but he's at 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:46.520 least solid. And if Michael Jordan can come in and 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:48.760 continue to play in the run, I mean, it was 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:52.760 an obvious difference. Now he gave up some sacks, they're 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:55.000 all giving up sacks. I mean, it's it's been a 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:57.879 little bit of a problem all season long, and until 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:00.800 they solve it, it's you know, we're going to continue 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:02.800 to bring that pressure up the middle because they've been 0:19:02.880 --> 0:19:07.040 vulnerable between the guards. So that's going to continue to 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:11.159 happen until they fix it. And you know, Jordan's was 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:13.240 all right. I mean again, he's a guy who started 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:16.880 nineteen games. He's big guy, more physical, a little bit stronger, 0:19:17.480 --> 0:19:20.200 run behind him if you can. Cam Irving has been 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:23.920 when he's well, he's been okay. I mean, but I 0:19:24.080 --> 0:19:26.919 don't think it's ever going to be a perfect situation 0:19:27.080 --> 0:19:29.920 until you invest a lot of high picks and big 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:33.240 free agent money into doing it. Well. All of those 0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:36.359 things being said. With the state of the offensive line, 0:19:36.400 --> 0:19:40.480 with whether it was the drops last week or some 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:45.320 decision making bye by Sam, Matt Rule has said quite 0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:47.680 a bit over this week too, to you, to me, 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:51.680 to the media that um, this offense is is gonna 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:54.280 look different going forward, and that they are going to 0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:57.400 commit to running the ball more. That was the plan 0:19:57.640 --> 0:19:59.600 going in, but sometimes they get away from it if 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:01.280 they're try arailing and they want to try to make 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:03.600 big things happen, and he wants to see them run 0:20:03.680 --> 0:20:06.480 the ball, But thirty one to thirty three times, I 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:11.960 mean it's a pretty specific number. Um, what uh, what 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:15.200 do you make of that strategy? You've heard it a lot. Um, 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:17.960 what's your impression of how that's going to play out? 0:20:18.040 --> 0:20:20.840 Especially you know it's it's Cuba, it will be Christian 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:23.440 when he comes back. Um, how do you like it? 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:26.800 I like the theory of it. I want to see 0:20:26.840 --> 0:20:29.240 how they put it into practice. I mean, because I 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:32.879 had flashbacks and I was telling Will about this the 0:20:32.960 --> 0:20:35.600 other day to the first couple of years of the franchise, 0:20:35.680 --> 0:20:37.840 when Caper's was coaching, they had a running back named 0:20:37.880 --> 0:20:41.719 Anthony Johnson. And Anthony Johnson wasn't much to look at. 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:45.440 Wasn't a pedigree back when you know, anything special. But 0:20:45.560 --> 0:20:48.960 Anthony Johnson was the kind of guy who would run many, 0:20:49.119 --> 0:20:53.680 many times, even if he wasn't gaining four or five 0:20:53.760 --> 0:20:56.960 yards to carry. And Caper's had this phrase, Anthony would 0:20:56.960 --> 0:20:59.080 go out there and rush twenty seven times for eighty 0:20:59.119 --> 0:21:01.800 one yards or so, and ridiculous like that. And Dom 0:21:01.880 --> 0:21:04.560 would say, I thought we ran with good tempo today. 0:21:05.000 --> 0:21:07.760 What does that mean? It means you ran many times. 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:10.320 It didn't really get them all that far, but it 0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:14.080 shortened the game. You know, they were able to even 0:21:14.160 --> 0:21:17.480 if you're running for three point seven yards per carry, 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:19.600