WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 39: Coming Along Nicely 0:00:06.200 --> 0:00:10.600 It's time from a Happy half Hour presented by Morris 0:00:10.720 --> 0:00:16.640 Jenkins with your friends Kristen VALMONI, Will Bryan and Darren cant. 0:00:22.160 --> 0:00:24.360 That's right, it's the Happy half Hour Podcast presented by 0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:27.120 Morris Jenkins. And Mr Jenkins told me his plumbers and 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:30.560 a c text secretly where panthers jerseys under their uniforms. 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:33.040 When you're plumbing or air conditioning is acting up, called 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:37.239 Morris Jenkins or visit Morris Jenkins dot com. And you 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:40.760 heard the big voice guy at the beginning of the podcast. 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:45.240 Darren gant Is is on the introduction. He is gracing 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:47.959 us with his presence. He has agreed, Well, it took 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:50.320 a lot of negotiations. I know it took it took 0:00:50.360 --> 0:00:53.519 some jangles we had to you know, we had to 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:56.080 do a lot of trade negotiations here he sat out 0:00:56.200 --> 0:00:59.080 some days, you know, things got testy. But he has 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:01.640 agreed to be come a permanent member of the Happy 0:01:01.680 --> 0:01:04.560 Half Hour Podcast. I'm just I'm like J. C. Horne. 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:08.480 I'm just happy to be here and concentrateing on balls. Yeah, 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:11.280 you left your agent to do all the tough talk 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:13.560 for you. I leave. I leave the business stuff to 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.120 the business and the people upstairs. I just you know, 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:17.840 I just want to concentrate on ball and be a 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:22.320 good teammate. Did Semeer do the negotiations Sameir's tough. I 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:26.640 don't want any part of that. Yeah, I mean that's 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:28.800 why I have an agent to let people handle those 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:31.960 things for me so my hands don't get dirty. But uh, yeah, 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:33.840 it's good. It's good to be here. That's good. I 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:36.959 mean we're talking ball. How bad is it really? It's 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:39.280 not at all. I know it's a good thing and 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:41.280 this is cool. So I'm glad we get a chance 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:42.880 to do this on a regular basis. You know, you're 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:45.520 stuck with us now, right, stuck with no, that's the 0:01:45.560 --> 0:01:47.319 wrong way of putting it. I get to I have 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:52.000 attained happy half hour. It's all rosie right now. Ye 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:56.480 looks stay full time. But wait, wait until August. Man, 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.880 Wait we do this in August, Well, then we get 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:04.200 to October. It's just no, this is great. I mean, 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:06.080 this is a good outlet. I mean it's good. It's 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:09.600 cool because I do think. I mean, in all seriousness, 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:12.520 I think between Kristen and I, we we've got perspective 0:02:12.560 --> 0:02:15.520 and we're inside there, you know, having a chance to 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:17.959 watch practice, talk to these guys in a setting, and 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:20.360 being able to share some of that insight, some of 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:23.200 that behind the ropes stuff is cool and I and 0:02:23.240 --> 0:02:25.360 I think that's a good platform for a lot of 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:28.680 that that doesn't always come through on the video, on 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:31.280 the written articles on the website, stuff like that, because 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:33.440 there's plenty of stories to be told. Well then let's 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:37.239 start telling them. Yeah, let's go. Let's start with mini camps. 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:40.320 So we are recording this on Wednesday morning. We have 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:43.280 seen one practice of mini camp and there will be 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:46.560 one later this afternoon. Um. But but Darren and I, 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:48.760 as he said, have been fortunate enough to get to 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:51.160 see quite a bit of O t A S. And 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:53.720 it's not not all that different. Yeah, I mean, the 0:02:53.800 --> 0:02:57.919 practice itself is not. It's the only real difference from 0:02:57.960 --> 0:03:01.120 what's going on at O t AS is everybody's here, 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:04.240 and prior to this week, everybody but Robbie Anderson was 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:07.280 here and Robbie shut up yesterday and and that gave 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:11.160 him perfect attendance basically, so you know, everybody was happy, 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:13.360 and it was you kind of got to look at 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:16.200 what it was going to look like and you know, I, 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:17.880 I know, not to make too big a deal of 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:22.000 one guy coming. But you could see a certain difference 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:25.799 in the receiving core because it hasn't been complete out 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:28.799 there because Taris Marshall has been dealing with some old 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:31.160 injuries near trying to get him right for training camp. 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:34.520 And DJ. It's basically been DJ and who are all 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:37.600 these other guys? And so you could see when Robbie 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:40.680 was out there yesterday. Matt Rule talked about it after practice. 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:43.119 Here's a certain energy to practice when he's out there 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:44.560 a little bit, and you can sort of see a 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:47.400 difference because well you should be able to see a 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:50.040 different anytime you add Robbie Anderson back into the mix. 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:55.120 You're absolutely right. And he yes, quite a few touchdowns um, 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:57.240 and he is excited to be here at a chance 0:03:57.280 --> 0:04:00.080 to talk to him just a little bit yesterday and 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:02.920 he couldn't be happier to be back. Yeah, he's in 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:05.360 such a good space. I mean, he was talking about 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:08.800 Sam's ra and his energy and stuff and his brother 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:10.960 ship with d J Maher. He was just he was 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:13.160 in a good place yesterday. It was cool. It was 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:17.960 cool seeing Robbie hearing hearing that voice again me and Sam, 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:19.960 you know, I think when I walked in the building 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:21.680 and just you know, viewing him, I see like a 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:23.720 new energy out of him, like you know, like a 0:04:23.800 --> 0:04:26.719 glowing charisma that I didn't really see in New York. 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:29.320 I can view, you know, a difference in him so far. 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:31.280 So I mean you could just you know, you know, 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:33.800 when a person like you can see like Alan throw 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:36.360 on him, you know, their energy to or you know, 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:38.120 I can kind of view that when I walked in 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:40.919 the building and you know, just being around them. What 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:43.039 are some of the other things that have stuck out 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:45.320 to you over these I mean, I know, just one 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:47.200 mini camp practices, not a lot. But as I said, 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:49.839 we've we've seen o t a s. I'll tell you 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:53.039 something that's stuck out to me is the pieces that 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:56.200 have been added on Defense and this unit as a whole. 0:04:56.560 --> 0:05:00.159 The energy is just I mean, in addition to what 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:02.080 the fans have been able to see. You know, we 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:04.760 were putting out highlights on social media. There were some 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:08.520 of those that were out yesterday. Um Defense had a 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:11.760 good day yesterday at OTS. But but just the way 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:15.039 they're talking to each other, communicating the energy and then 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:17.640 you look at a guy like um Hassan Reddick or 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:20.479 Denzel Perriman. I'll tell you what. I met Denzel on 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:22.880 his first day in the building. We both did or 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:25.919 we all all three of us did. Um. And now 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:27.800 he's walking around like I'll be doing an interview with 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:29.760 someone else, and he's like the leader of the path. 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:31.479 You would have thought he had been here for five 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:34.560 years the way he has bonded with you know, I 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:37.720 was interviewing Christian the other day and he's walking with 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.400 Shack and a bunch of other guys and he's yelling out, Christian, 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:42.320 you're my guy. You know, all this kind of stuff, 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.000 and you would not think he had only been here 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:47.760 for a few months. And that really is I think 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:50.880 the whole. That's a great way to encompass the way 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:54.960 this defense has seemingly bonded so quickly and and added 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:57.880 some really important pieces I think on the field, and 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:02.039 then also for the the Chemist three and um kind 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:06.160 of the energy of that unit. Yeah, the enthusiasms absolutely real, 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:10.560 and it was kind of fun yesterday watching them. You know, 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:13.520 Brian Burns who's still in a red jersey still, you know, 0:06:13.600 --> 0:06:16.120 coming off some off season stuff and and they say 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:18.240 he's gonna be ready for training camp, which is good 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:21.520 news obviously for the defense. But Burns is out there. 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:23.880 Even though he wasn't going through the reps on the 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:26.840 practice field, he would be in the huddle and he 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:29.800 was jumping around and chest bumping with guys in high 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:32.640 five and after plays and stuff like that. And there 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:35.120 is a level of engagement and there's a level of 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:39.480 enthusiasm amongst all those guys that that's tangible. I mean, 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:42.880 it's real. They honestly believe they're on the verge of 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:47.559 something big there defensively, So, uh, you did you brought 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:50.719 in a lot of old heads. I mean, Denzel Pairman 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:52.680 has been around the league, a j boy has been 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:57.240 around the league. Hassan Reddick has done some big things, 0:06:57.360 --> 0:07:00.000 and they think that when you add them to burn 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.360 and his too Chin, to Derek Brown, all these young 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:05.679 guys that were in place last year. You know, even 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:09.679 Phil Snow said last week, Yeah, it looks pretty good now. 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.280 I mean, and everybody's trying to keep the brakes on 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:14.600 a little bit in those conditions and well and still 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:17.440 figure things out what what what they have as a unit. 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:22.080 They're still experimenting, but it's absolutely real that they believe 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:24.720 they're a lot better on that side of the ball. 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.320 And yesterday in practice there were so many tip passes 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:32.160 and interceptions and stuff like that. And you know, it's 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:34.400 easy and I hate to be I've talked to Bill 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:37.960 about this. When you know people tweet out individual plays 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:40.440 from practice, it's easy for that to get turned into, 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:43.800 you know, out of context thing is really not. But 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:46.640 there were a bunch of plays being made yesterday, and 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:50.160 I mean it became thematic at a certain point that, Hey, 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:52.560 these guys are flying around picking off a bunch of passes. 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:56.760 That's that's new, that's different, that's something right there. And 0:07:56.840 --> 0:07:59.200 I think some of the context of that is, you know, 0:07:59.320 --> 0:08:01.720 in these practic the settings, you don't have necessarily have 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:04.080 the pass rush, but you don't necessarily have like, you know, 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:06.520 the past blocking either. So you know, guys that are 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:08.720 just jumping at the line tipping balls there, you know, 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:11.600 maybe they're not necessarily in the quarterback space like they 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:14.240 would be. But from a secondary standpoint, if you're a 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:17.160 corner on a wide receiver just one on one and 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:19.280 you maybe don't have you know, the safety help over 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:21.040 the top, or you don't have the pass rush, you know, 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:23.960 rushing the quarterback and it's just you and this guy 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:26.520 when you're guarding him. The way these guys are guarding 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:28.679 these guys, that's a little bit different. And that's something 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:31.440 you can maybe see in these sort of drills, and 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:33.680 you can see at this time of year, and those 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:37.520 guys when they're on islands, they're looking pretty good, right, Yeah. 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:40.080 And I think more than anything, I mean, they have 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:43.240 raised the level of personnel in the secondary last year. 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:45.439 And I've had a couple of players over the course 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:48.439 of the off season mentioned this to me and and 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:51.200 we'll get to this later on on the website and 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:53.160 kind of putting some of this stuff in the context. 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:56.560 But last year was almost all right, bring somebody in 0:08:56.640 --> 0:08:59.120 all the street he's playing, he's starting. I mean, who 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:01.839 is this guy? I have no idea, And all of 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:04.320 a sudden you're trying to count on him and know 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:07.440 what he's supposed to do when you've never even met him. Uh. 0:09:07.480 --> 0:09:10.160 This year, they brought in a a better grade of 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.760 player again, a J boy. It was kind of a 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:17.240 bargain signing almost that guy has played at a high 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:21.520 level and to bring him into to play alongside Dante 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:25.760 and alongside J. C. Horne, who again, j C. Horne 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:28.920 was drafted to be that guy. I mean, then they 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:31.280 haven't had one of those around here in a long time. 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:34.320 I mean, as good as he was, Josh Norman was 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:37.280 a different kind of player. I mean he was mid 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:39.280 round pick who had to work his way up and 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:42.520 it was years before he was an all pro level player. 0:09:43.000 --> 0:09:46.040 J C. Horn walks in the building pedigreed and and 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:50.040 ready to sort of raise the level of the entire secondary. Absolutely, 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:52.680 and he's looked good to my eye, it's very good 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.240 when he is on those islands that you're talking about 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:57.959 will and then also we forget so you look at 0:09:58.040 --> 0:09:59.960 the moves they made to that secondary and free agency 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:01.920 and then, as you said, Jase Horne in the draft, 0:10:02.160 --> 0:10:04.440 So do you think Dante Jackson was not healthy for 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:08.679 the majority of the season last year, constantly battling that 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:13.240 turf toe and he looks good. This is gonna it's 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:17.360 just gonna look entirely different back there. They've got a 0:10:17.800 --> 0:10:20.040 I mean, they had the thing during the Super Bowl year, 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:23.120 the Thieves Avenue, and you don't want to put anything 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:26.920 on these guys at this point, but there's a lot 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:29.360 of potential for guys to make a lot of plays 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:32.160 in the secondary this year, and and again with Jeremy 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:34.880 Chen probably playing more of a safety role this year. 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:38.360 That adds another guy who we've already seen can be 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:40.680 an impact player and can make big plays in the 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:43.559 course of a game. Puts another body back there that's 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:47.000 capable of making a game change and play. So it's 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:49.120 gonna be interesting to see how that all comes together 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:53.160 once camp starts. What about a quarterback would have been 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:56.960 your observations on on Sam Donald? You know, I think 0:10:57.040 --> 0:11:01.360 Sam is starting to figure out what it's like and 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:04.600 what's expected. And I think in a sense, you know, 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:07.120 we've created such a low bar for Sam. I mean, 0:11:08.040 --> 0:11:10.679 after the New York experience went the way it worked 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:14.760 went for Sam, it's like, come here and reset. And 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:18.960 Sam looks like a guy who feels relieved to not 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:21.439 have to deal with a lot of external stuff. I mean, 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:23.960 he's just been here sleeping on the floor like a 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:26.400 college student with his mattress on the floor and that 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:30.480 kind of stuff. But um, he looks like a new guy. 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:33.760 He looks relaxed. I think on the field, you know, 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:36.880 you can tell certain things. He does have that big arm, 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:40.000 and I think in a theoretical since they ought to 0:11:40.040 --> 0:11:41.880 be able to push the ball down the field a 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:44.640 little bit more this year than they have in the past. 0:11:44.880 --> 0:11:48.040 And uh, you know, we'll see. I mean, there's been 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:51.319 some ups and downs, and again I think having this 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:53.800 odd lot of receivers around him as part of it. 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:56.160 I mean, there are times when you know he hadn't 0:11:56.160 --> 0:11:58.920 had the greatest of practices. Times he's had better ones, 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:01.319 and you know, what's see how it develops. But I 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:05.160 think just in terms of Sam getting his feet underneath 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:09.920 him here in Carolina, he is starting to figure it out, 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:12.120 I think a little bit, and and starting to get 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:14.520 a sense for where he is in the world. And 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:17.120 you know, Robbie talked about it yesterday. He's like, he's 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:19.760 got a new r he's gotta he's got a glow 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:22.760 about him. And you know he Robbie knows him from 0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:26.720 New York when he was probably glowing for other reasons 0:12:26.760 --> 0:12:30.440 because everybody was setting him on fire. But um, here, 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:34.880 I mean, I mean here he can be relaxed, he 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:38.360 can be laid back Sam. He can be California cool Sam, 0:12:38.400 --> 0:12:41.400 and and sort of fit in because there isn't the 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:44.640 same level of expectation on him yesterday, Coach said that 0:12:44.679 --> 0:12:46.800 he doesn't want him to have great practices. He wants 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:50.439 him to have good practices and with the context stuff, 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:52.280 he wants him to always see how he can get 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:54.400 better because he's having great practices, not in the work 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:56.560 on You know, what did you kind of take from that? Well, 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:59.280 I think they want to keep pushing Sam again. I 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:02.320 think this is sort of a period of acclamation and 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:04.800 there will be a point in training, you know, once 0:13:04.800 --> 0:13:07.440 you transition into training camp in the preseason where they 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:09.600 do turn the heat up on him a little bit 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:13.840 and you do expect more of him again. Hi, Sam, 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:17.280 meet Christian. You're gonna like him. You know he's going 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:19.840 to help you. Okay, these are the new guys. That's 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:22.600 Taylor Moten. He's better than anybody you've ever played with. 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:25.320 You know, that kind of period is over and now 0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:28.360 it's okay, what have you learned? And you see them 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:31.160 go through some of the situational stuff in this camp 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:34.040 of you know, working on two minute, working on blitz 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.120 pick up stuff such that you can in this setting 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:39.760 where nobody's wearing pads and it's not contact and that 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:42.400 kind of stuff. So, you know, I think they keep 0:13:42.480 --> 0:13:44.840 adding a little bit more to his plate every day, 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:47.800 and that's obviously going to get cranked up a notch 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:51.199 once we get to training camp. Yeah, I completely agree. 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:56.120 You see them go through those those situational um instances 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:57.840 and and work them out on the field, and then 0:13:57.880 --> 0:13:59.800 you'll see him and Joe Brady get together and talk 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:01.880 and that's all part of this process. You know, this 0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:04.679 is I mean, he was was with the Jets and 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:06.640 and now he's here, so he's learning an entirely new 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:11.839 schim scheme, new personnel, everything, and um, I think it's 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:16.679 progressing as it should be. And at this point in um, 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:20.480 the off season, I think so. And again a lot 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:23.920 of its adaptation and a lot of it's learning new people. UM, 0:14:24.480 --> 0:14:27.800 and that's sort of thing. And again some peaks and 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:30.280 valleys are to be expected. I mean, there's a lot 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:32.920 of new stuff coming his way. But I think, you know, 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:35.560 so far, I guess I would say to sum it up, 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:38.080 I mean Sam sort of been as advertised. I mean, 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:41.600 you can tell he's got a big arm. And not 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:44.520 to take away from anybody else who's been at that position, 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:46.800 but Sam got a stronger arm than anybody we've seen 0:14:46.840 --> 0:14:49.200 here since I don't know that number one guy a 0:14:49.240 --> 0:14:52.560 couple of years ago, and it's and it's probably been 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:55.840 a couple of years since you saw that. So it's 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:59.320 visibly different from that standpoint. And now let's see how 0:14:59.320 --> 0:15:02.160 he puts it together. Well, one thing darreny mentioned new 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:05.000 and different, Uh, you know, not just for for Sam 0:15:05.040 --> 0:15:08.240 and the guys on the team, but really for us, 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:12.680 Like we're in this new phase where we are allowed 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.080 to safely be around the players. And one thing we 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:17.960 always try to do on this podcast is talk about 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:20.280 some of the behind the scenes stuff. Um, you know, 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:22.960 I started with the Panthers not quite a year and 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:26.280 a half ago. I started working from home. And Darren, 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:29.680 you've obviously been around the team in some capacity since 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:34.760 its inception, but you also started last year during a 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:37.960 time where we couldn't be around the players. So this 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:41.880 is really because of the tier status in the NFL. UM, 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:45.280 you know, making sure that that certain staff members can 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:47.480 be around the players in a safe manner. And you know, 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:50.560 we we are compliant with everything in in the NFL 0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:54.520 rules and regulations. Um, we have been allowed to to 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:57.360 be around the players and and do our jobs in 0:15:57.360 --> 0:16:00.320 a much more normal way than either you or I 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:04.200 have experienced since joining the Panthers, It's been great. It's 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:06.960 kind of like, hey, look there's an actual person. He's 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:11.120 not on a screen. I've met you, You're You're an 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:16.160 actual thing. Um. It's good. And that's great for building 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:18.840 relationships and getting to know people and being able to 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:21.080 share their stories. I mean, that's a lot of this 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:24.160 kind of stuff. You can hear guys say words on 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:26.280 a zoom call, but a lot of times when you 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:29.360 see how animated they are about certain things, you can 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:31.840 tell what matters to them, you can tell what's important 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:35.040 to them. Um, and it just helps in that regard. 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:37.840 I mean, these are human beings and and honestly, there 0:16:37.840 --> 0:16:40.960 have been a load of players this offseason talked about 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:45.400 how important that is from their standpoint of building a team. 0:16:45.560 --> 0:16:48.400 Is Hey, I actually get to sit in a room 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:51.360 with this guy. I actually get to you know, go 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:54.680 to dinner with this guy. I actually get to meet 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:57.040 him and know what makes him tip And Matt Rules 0:16:57.040 --> 0:16:58.600 said that was the biggest thing that he told me 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:00.080 at the end of last season. We did almost like 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:03.760 an exit interview the day after this season ended, and um, 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:05.800 he said, you know it was we recorded it and 0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:07.320 it was great. That was the first time I'd gotten 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.399 to be in person with him, and he said the 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:12.800 thing that he was looking forward to most, you know, 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:17.040 no hesitation Barnon was this offseason period of being able 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:19.200 to be in person with the players. And you think 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:22.440 back he was introducing himself to players behind a mask 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:26.680 in July for the first time. This is really new 0:17:26.720 --> 0:17:29.080 for this entire staff too, now that I'm thinking about it, 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:32.399 not just us. This is also their first time getting 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:34.479 to be around all of the players in an off 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:37.879 season capacity. And that that question, I think gets cliche 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:40.840 if you've watched every press conference we've done the last 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:43.520 three months, because two months, because the media keeps asking you, 0:17:43.600 --> 0:17:46.639 how happy are you to be back? But it's but 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:50.040 there's something real to it, and there's something in in 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:53.800 comparison to thirty one other teams, not everyone in this 0:17:53.920 --> 0:17:57.680 league has as much in person contact, as many practices 0:17:57.720 --> 0:18:01.320 as many everyone there altogether sort of stuff, yes, as 0:18:01.359 --> 0:18:04.760 the Panthers have. And you know, I'm not saying that 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:08.439 you can look and point at at May in June 0:18:08.560 --> 0:18:11.880 and predict outcomes of fall games. That's exactly what you're 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:15.800 saying that I think there's there's a lot of things 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:17.760 that go into how successful you are in the fall, 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:20.760 and I think it's easy to take for granted how 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:24.760 important this stuff is. What we're doing, we're able to 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:27.280 evaluate the players more importantly. Um players are gonna chance 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:28.680 to spend time around each other and to spend the 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:32.119 time in our scheme. And you know, as coaches, this 0:18:32.200 --> 0:18:34.000 is practice for us, like all the two minute situations, 0:18:34.000 --> 0:18:35.680 reacting to them like, well, we clock it here. When 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:37.040 we do this and we go back, we have a 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:39.800 real serious debrief on how it went. So again, I 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:41.360 don't know how we did it without it. Last year. 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:44.760 We play honest, I mean a team like you know, 0:18:44.880 --> 0:18:47.359 the Buccaneers for instance. I mean Tom Brady was seeing 0:18:47.440 --> 0:18:49.439 veterans to not show up for O t A s 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:53.560 this year. And now, granted they are those Super Bowl champions, 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:56.320 it's Tom Brady. It's a veteran team. They've all been together. 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:59.080 Their O t as were in January when they were 0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:01.840 practicing for the players, and the Panthers didn't get that stuff. 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:07.040 But you know, when you're older, when you're established, you 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:09.280 can get away with some of that kind of stuff. Maybe, 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:11.720 But as they build this thing and this is such 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:14.520 a young team. You know, even the old guys have 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:19.360 talked about how imperative it is to be here together. 0:19:19.840 --> 0:19:22.440 And you know, I think that's been huge for those 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:24.880 guys that Jack and Hassan and all those guys. Yeah, 0:19:24.920 --> 0:19:27.440 they've said that from and Check said that from from 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:30.080 last season as as well, right at the end of 0:19:30.119 --> 0:19:33.720 the season that to him as a player, as a leader, 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:38.439 a captain last season, that the biggest thing that that 0:19:38.520 --> 0:19:41.920 defense needed was was the time before the season started, 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:44.000 and he was looking forward to that. And they're getting it. 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:46.719 Like I said, going back to the Denzel Perimin thing 0:19:46.720 --> 0:19:49.159 I said at the beginning, see all those guys walking 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:51.240 around getting to know each other. I love to see 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:53.080 the new guys and the guys that have been here 0:19:53.119 --> 0:19:54.800 for a couple of years, whether that's you know, the 0:19:54.800 --> 0:19:57.320 new guys through the draft or free agency. It makes 0:19:57.400 --> 0:20:00.320 my my heart grow a size bigger to see them all, 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:03.560