WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 98: Tricky Business 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.160 This week on the Happy half Hour. 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:06.199 I can't leave the house without one of the neighbor's 0:00:06.280 --> 0:00:08.000 a friend at church saying. 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:08.880 What's going on with Burns? 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:09.280 You know. 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:12.480 So the idea that he's out there on the practice 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.280 field yesterday, I think kind of puts to rest. 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:16.599 A lot of the concerns people had. 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:19.080 We'll see if it resolves itself in the next forty 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:20.760 eight to seventy two hours. 0:00:20.760 --> 0:00:22.840 SUT's own cow r. 0:00:23.360 --> 0:00:27.120 Right, it's time for the Happy Half Hour with your 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:34.840 friends Kristin Balboni, Augusta Stone and Darren Gannon. All Right, 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:36.040 welcome back. 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:41.080 It's the Happy half Hour regular season edition. We're finally here, 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:45.879 and I think since we're in a celebratory mood, it's 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:48.240 probably worth pointing out that this episode of The Happy 0:00:48.280 --> 0:00:51.360 Half Hours brought to you by Prowling Vineyards, Napa Valley. 0:00:51.440 --> 0:00:54.000 It's the official wine brand and wine club of the 0:00:54.040 --> 0:00:57.280 Carolina Panthers. These premium selections celebrate the great people of 0:00:57.280 --> 0:01:00.480 the Carolinas and the panthers hunger to achieve that excellence 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:03.920 on and off the field. Each handcrafted wine mirrors the 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:06.440 Panther's bold attitude and the iconic flavors on are the 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:09.399 two states we're proud to call home. Experience the benefits 0:01:09.440 --> 0:01:11.720 and lifestyle while giving back to the community as a 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:15.039 portion of the proceeds support the Carolina Panthers' charities. Learn 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:18.759 more at Prowlingvineyards dot com. I will be learning more 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:21.559 at Prowlingvineyards dot com. I want to find out more. 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:25.280 I'm always interested in in some wine, let me tell you. 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:27.679 And I'm turning twenty five this weekend, so. 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:29.480 I was gonna say, are you old enough to drink? 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:32.400 I've been there for almost four years, so, which is 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:36.400 not a very long time. Oh no, we're turning the 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:39.720 corner in my twenties on game day, Game day, Game day. 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:40.280 There you go. 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:43.880 Congratulations, you'll be old enough to rent a car and 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.199 go to this game. So yeah, life is good for 0:01:47.680 --> 0:01:50.760 the Carolina Panthers and Augusta Stone. And I'm Darren Kant 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:55.080 and I'm assuming everybody knows who you are. So anyway, 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:57.960 it's regular season time, and all of a sudden, after 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:02.040 months and months of build up, in weeks and weeks 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:05.360 of anxiety over cuts and rosters and all this kind 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:06.400 of fun stuff, it's here. 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:07.720 There's a game. 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:11.320 There's actual football to talk about and we've been all 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:12.160 over it all week. 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:15.840 So Augusta, Atlanta, are you ready? 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:17.600 I am ready. I'm excited. 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:20.480 I think it's really cool that the Panthers are starting 0:02:20.520 --> 0:02:23.560 out two games in the division, one on the road. 0:02:23.600 --> 0:02:24.839 Starting on the road's pretty cool. 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:27.239 I think I read in game notes or wrote down 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:28.880 or something that they haven't started on the road in 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:31.120 the last four or five years, So that's kind of 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:34.400 cool to start there. Not going too far down. I 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:37.800 eighty five should be an interesting matchup. I think a 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:39.800 lot of people, a lot of the things I'm hearing 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:41.760 from my buddies and people talking about it is like 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:44.200 they're expecting a really good one, So it's kind of 0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:46.040 a good litmus test for what's going on. 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:47.880 My parents will be there, they're excited about it. 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:50.079 So a lot of people I think are excited, not 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:52.799 only just because I mean debut of Bryce Young, which 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:54.920 I know you wrote about, pretty good story about that 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:58.720 at Panthers dot com, and kind of the rooky debuts, 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:00.520 but also you know, kind of see in how they 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:04.320 measure up against the division, which I mean as always 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:07.360 or as of late NFC souse always kind of for grabs, 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:08.880 even if you're in a rebuild mode. 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:11.639 Yeah, And that's the thing about this game. I mean 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:13.919 by opening with the Falcons, you know, if you're playing 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:16.360 the Chiefs in week one, you know exactly what's coming. 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:19.200 Oh my god, here comes Patrick Mahomes. But when you 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:23.080 think about the Falcons, I don't I have a general 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:25.520 sense that they are going to want to run it. 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:28.000 I mean, when you look at the personnel they already had, 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:30.000 they were kind of built that way, and then you 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:33.160 add Bjean Robinson to the mix, It's like, Okay, these 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:34.960 guys want to play a two hour and twenty five 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:37.200 minute football game. They want to keep the clock moving, 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:39.120 keep the ball on the ground, reduce the number of 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:40.680 times Desmond Ritter. 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:41.800 Has to put the ball in the air. 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:45.640 And that makes sense, except I don't really, I mean, 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:49.000 we don't know for sure that's the way they're going, 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:52.400 the same way Frank Reich has talked about, almost bragged 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.920 about not showing what this offense is going to look 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:58.280 like it in the opener. So I think the idea 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:00.120 that we're still trying to figure out what the these 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:03.520 two teams want to be. I mean, as we've covered, well, 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:06.840 we know this division is always up for grabs, we 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:08.760 know this division is always a little bit of a 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:10.760 mess in the best kind of way. It's like that 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:13.960 fun relative you have that you know you never know 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:16.400 quite what to expect from him, but it's generally a 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:16.919 good time. 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:19.480 That's the NFC South. 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:22.760 So it's it's going to be curious to me to 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:25.000 kind of see how this game develops, because I think 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:27.320 both these teams are still when you think about the 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:31.320 age of the quarterbacks and the relative inexperience, they're still 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:33.919 figuring it out. We're going to be in experimental mode 0:04:33.960 --> 0:04:35.920 for the first month of this season, so trying to 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:37.880 figure out what's going to happen in Week one is 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:40.839 your guess is as good as mine, because I feel 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:42.960 like I've got a decent handle on what they want 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:44.760 to do, but I don't know how it's going to 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.200 come together because of some of the particulars of the week. 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:49.440 I like the comment that you made about how Frank 0:04:49.520 --> 0:04:52.040 Reich is almost proud of how little he showed in 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:55.080 the preseason. I think going into game WEEKI feels pretty 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:57.799 good to to not rest on that, but to be like, Okay, 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:00.880 keptain vanilla. That was purposeful, and now they have the 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:03.599 opportunity to kind of you know, you didn't show too 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:05.560 much of your hand, didn't show too much of Bryce Young, 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.240 what can he do? Didn't show any Miles Sanders, which 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:10.520 I think is a really exciting aspect of this that 0:05:10.920 --> 0:05:13.400 we maybe haven't talked about a ton, but I think 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:15.480 he has the potential to be a real big game changer. 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:17.159 But I agree with you with the Panther or not 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:19.680 the Panthers, the Falcons, I mean, just committing to the 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:20.080 run game. 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:22.120 I remember when they took Bijon. I was like, oh, okay, 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:23.599 so that's what we're going to do here. 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:26.120 It was very, very loud, So I'd be surprised to 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:28.600 see a ton of Desmond Ridder just because you have 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:31.320 all of you your ground game. I mean, Tyler Algier 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:33.560 looked good last year, I remember, and that was that 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:34.960 was a name that I don't think a lot of 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:37.360 people talked about, but I mean I think he rushed 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:38.600 for over a thousand yards on the year. And I 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:41.039 remember those Panthers games where I was like, okay, so yeah, 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:42.360 and then they bring in Beijeon. 0:05:42.400 --> 0:05:44.080 Who's everyone super excited? 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:46.840 I know fantasy people are super excited and they're all 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:49.440 watching them. I've heard that I'm like, Okay, that's you know, 0:05:49.520 --> 0:05:52.359 we'll see, We'll see. But there's so many different I 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:54.840 think new young guys too. When I wrote about the 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:57.240 Falcons this week for I Know Your Faux Preview that 0:05:57.279 --> 0:05:59.360 we do every Tuesday at Panthers dot Com, some of 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:02.159 my favorite things because it's not a huge lift, but 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:04.320 it's also a ton of time to research and doing 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:06.520 them in with the preseason kind of the only thing 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:08.320 to look at. You just look at all the moving 0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:12.040 parts they've put together, and similarly to how you look 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:14.560 at the or the Panthers offense, and it's all just 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:16.120 a bunch of new people. That's kind of what the 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:18.400 Falcons defensive front looks like. I mean, they just kind 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:20.839 of poach guys from all over the place, and I 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:22.320 think that'll be cool to see how that kind of 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:25.279 matches up with the offensive line here. I'm thinking of 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:27.440 some names right now, but I wrote about them. But 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:29.840 just a lot of new guys, a lot of new faces. 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:31.000 So it's going to be interesting to see how it 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:33.680 all comes together because there's really not a ton you 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:35.880 can do to prep for what that unit's gonna look 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:36.440 like all together. 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:40.240 Right, and again, we've kind of talked about this offense 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:43.039 as an abstract concept all off season. Now it's a 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:45.880 concrete thing, and now there are very particular things that 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:47.720 are going to impact it. One of it's going to 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:51.719 be injuries, and realistically, the number of receivers the Carolina 0:06:51.760 --> 0:06:55.000 Panthers have on that injury report is going to add 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:57.560 to the mystery about what this offense wants to look 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:00.719 like when it grows up. Because Adam Theoa was added 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:03.160 to the list yesterday with an ankle. As we tape 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:06.360 this podcast, it is ten am, which is why it's 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:10.600 too early for prowling nyards. But we're open to experimenting 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:13.200 later in the day for sure. But as we sit 0:07:13.240 --> 0:07:16.360 here Thursday morning, we don't know what Adam's going to 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:17.559 do on the practice field today. 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:18.080 If anything. 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:21.720 DJ Chark didn't practice yesterday with that hamstring, you know. 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:25.480 And then you've got Terris some question about Terras Marshall, 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.400 he was a little limited. You've got leviscas Chanal. It's 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:32.720 cleared from the concussion protocol. But Amir Smith Marsett tweaks 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:35.760 an ankle. He's listed as full participant yesterday, so be 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:38.440 curious to see what he does today and if you 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:42.160 go into a game without any combination of one or 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:46.120 two of those guys, I don't even know what to 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:47.720 fairly expect from a. 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:50.880 Passing game, especially Adam feel and we saw Bryce target 0:07:50.960 --> 0:07:53.480 him a lot in the preseason first touchdown, I think 0:07:53.520 --> 0:07:56.360 that was his favorite target in the last preseason game 0:07:56.400 --> 0:08:00.200 against Detroit when he looked most comfortable. And I think 0:08:00.240 --> 0:08:02.960 that gives an opportunity just with all the injuries that receiver, 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:05.120 I think it gives an opportunity for those tight ends 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:07.840 that Frank Reich and the staff really seemed to believe in, 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:09.360 especially hayden Hurst. 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:12.360 Didn't see a ton of him in the preseason, you. 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:16.200 Know, getting his targets because when the offense was constructed, 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:18.600 I think a lot of focus was put on kind 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:21.080 of reliable, veteran guys who have been around the league 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:22.800 to kind of pair with Bryce. So you had the 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:26.560 feelings the Charks, the hearsts with Chark and now feeling 0:08:26.840 --> 0:08:28.760 you know, popping up on the injury report. I think 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:32.080 there's there's there's good reason to assume that maybe hayden 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:33.600 Hurst will get it, you know, more looks, and then 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:35.960 maybe that was part of their their you know, Vanilla 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:38.040 zing or making generic or whatever you want to say 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:39.719 they were doing in the preseason, that they're going to 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:41.760 get more touches to the tight ends. You'll see maybe 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:45.680 more Ian Thomas, Tommy Trimble, Zevan Sullivan's on ir But 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:47.680 but they have a lot of guys there, so why 0:08:47.720 --> 0:08:49.160 not use them as potential targets. 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:50.840 And then also, like I said, I think I don't. 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:52.920 I think we'd be amiss to not expect to see 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:55.520 quite a bit of Miles Sanders just because we haven't. 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:57.160 So seeing him at all is going to be like, oh, 0:08:57.200 --> 0:08:58.440 look look at that something new. 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:01.240 And again, the thing about the is and we don't 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:03.160 know what he's going to do on the practice field today, 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:06.160 if anything, So stay tuned later to Panthers dot Com 0:09:06.200 --> 0:09:10.160 for that injury report this afternoon. But Felan's always been 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:12.040 a guy who will miss some practice time but is 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:14.120 played in games. I mean, he was played in all 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:17.280 seventeen last year, you know, and as you get older, 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:19.960 you know, I think there's a natural concern about some 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:20.920 of that sort of stuff. 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:22.520 But Adam's always. 0:09:22.200 --> 0:09:25.160 Been a guy who's pretty available, So I would be 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:28.440 maybe surprised based on what we know at the moment, 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:30.240 if he was going to miss the game. 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:30.920 But we'll see. 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:32.720 I mean, a lot of it depends on how he 0:09:32.760 --> 0:09:35.319 responds the next couple of days and what he's actually 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:38.080 able to do, so we'll see how it goes with feeling. 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:41.440 But that just kind of adds to a little bit 0:09:41.480 --> 0:09:44.400 of the concern. And again, you mentioned Bryce in the 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:47.200 story I wrote about him last night. The thing with 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:50.920 Bryce is, as much as we've talked about him, as 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:54.040 much build up as there's been about the number one 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:57.439 overall pick, the reality is number one pick quarterbacks are 0:09:57.480 --> 0:09:59.920 not guaranteed to be immediately successful. 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:02.720 In fact, they're almost famously unsuccessful. 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:07.080 At first, I went back looked through the archives and 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:10.760 of the last eleven over the last thirty years, eleven 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:15.360 number one picked quarterbacks started their team's opener as rookies. 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:20.160 One of them won that game, and that was Panther's legend, 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:24.520 David Carr with the Houston Texans in two thousand and two. 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:27.520 And you know, he won that game against the Cowboys, 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:29.840 but he got sacked six times and that was kind 0:10:29.880 --> 0:10:32.760 of a omen for what was to come for poor 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:36.080 David in Houston. And hopefully that's not the case for Bryce. 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:39.240 But even the best quarterbacks, and when you think about 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:41.880 guys who are getting picked first overall, you know, your 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:46.280 Peyton Mannings of the world have generally struggled in that opener. 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:49.800 It's been tough for them because it's so much different. 0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:52.359 Even though Bryce played at a high level at Alabama, 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.760 it's different at the NFL. And you know, I know 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:58.680 a lot of times the number one pick belongs to 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:02.040 teams that were abject awful the year before, and the 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:04.800 Panthers were not that last year. So Bryce is coming 0:11:04.840 --> 0:11:07.280 into a little better situation than a lot of those guys. 0:11:07.520 --> 0:11:10.439 But it's still one of the realities. And Frank talked 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:14.640 about that yesterday, kind of balancing that need to think 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:18.440 about developing Bryce for the long term versus getting him 0:11:18.440 --> 0:11:20.880 ready for Atlanta, and Frank I thought it was interesting. 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:23.920 He talked about, you know, we have to be cognizant 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:26.120 he is still a rookie, so we can't give him 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:29.320 everything you'd ordinarily give a guy because you've got to 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:31.160 build these things gradually. 0:11:31.000 --> 0:11:33.800 Exactly, and you kind of mentioned it, but I think 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:37.520 having the prior history and you wrote about this yesterday 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:40.120 in the Bryce story, but he is very much so 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:43.320 the kind of guy that doesn't look beyond where his 0:11:43.360 --> 0:11:45.800 feet are planted, and I think that's kind of a 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:49.480 healthy mindset to have going into especially two division games 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:51.760 at the very top and one on the road. I 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:54.400 think one of the benefits to drafting Bryce Young and 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:56.400 something that we talked about a lot when he first 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:58.400 got here, and I've talked about it a lot, but 0:11:58.480 --> 0:12:00.640 just kind of the maturity level for guy who's only 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:02.920 twenty two years old and a rookie and all those things. 0:12:02.960 --> 0:12:05.960 I mean, he kind of doesn't doesn't behave as such, 0:12:06.000 --> 0:12:08.440 and I think that not being rattled will be good 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.000 because if it doesn't necessarily turn out perfect, I think 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:13.480 the last person to be panicking will be Bryce Young, 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:15.679 which is which is definitely what you want, I think, 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:19.640 without whatever happens. But one thing I was thinking about 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:23.720 just now was how they're starting out and Mercedes Been Stadium. 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:25.440 Bryce Young has played there a lot, and he's played 0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:28.040 very well there As someone who grew up following the 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:31.400 University of Georgia, I've watched him put up really good 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:33.920 performances there in college, so I think it's gonna be 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:37.040 kind of a flashback for me. I remember SEC Championship. 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:38.720 I think it was twenty twenty one. I mean, he 0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:41.920 just like completely destroyed Georgia in there, so I remember 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:44.480 that quite well. So he's had success there in that 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:46.520 physical stadium before I was thinking about it because I 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:48.320 was like when I started in the NFL, all these new. 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:50.680 Places I got to go. He's pretty experienced there, so 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:52.480 that's kind of cool that. I mean, you know that 0:12:52.480 --> 0:12:54.120 that kind of circle energy. 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:56.360 But there's no cheering in the press box, nor are 0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:59.960 there any fields in the press box. Don't don't hold 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:01.800 what Bryce did against your beloved. 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:05.920 If anything, it gave me an added sense of like dang, 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:09.040 like like I don't know, if anything, it just adds 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:14.679 to the level of impressiveness. I wouldn't say impression, but yeah. 0:13:13.760 --> 0:13:16.640 All right, we're ten minutes into this podcast. We're ten 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:19.319 minutes into this happy half hour, and there's a giant 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:22.480 elephant standing in the other corner of the room. 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:24.439 Everybody goodness again. 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.199 I feel like I need to timestamp my entire life 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:30.280 because everything can change with one phone call. But as 0:13:30.320 --> 0:13:33.160 we sit here shortly after ten am on a Thursday, 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:36.120 that Brian Burns thing is still a thing. You know, 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:39.679 Brian's negotiating a contract with the team, and it's always 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:41.080 tricky business. 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:42.119 When the money gets involved. 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:46.040 I think Matt, you should you should lead Jordan and 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:49.120 Jake into talking about this, because when the business of 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:53.040 the business becomes the business, it gets a little sticky. 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:56.319 And everybody's been kind of walking around this week wondering 0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:59.439 what's going on. I can't leave the house without one 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:02.080 of the neighbors friend at church saying. 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:03.400 What's going on with Burns? You know. 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:07.360 So the idea that he's out there on the practice 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:10.000 field yesterday, I think kind of puts to rest a 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:12.360 lot of the concerns people had when he, you know, 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:15.200 skipped a couple of practices last week and early this week. 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:17.560 He didn't participate in the walk through on Monday. 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:20.560 But Burns was out there on the practice field yesterday 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:22.840 and he was a participant. It's not like this was 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:25.360 a you know, take one reup or anything like that. 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:27.920 I mean, he was out there and Brian has said 0:14:28.040 --> 0:14:31.400 pretty reliably through this process that being a part of 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:33.200 this thing and being out there on the field was 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:36.560 important to him. And you know, again, we'll see how 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:39.200 the business reality comes in, but I think that's one 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:42.920 of the things that this team benefits from by having 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:46.800 a Frank Reich in charge, because Frank's been in locker rooms. 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:50.480 He knows what it's like to be teammates with guys 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:55.240 and to be the guy who is involved in some 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:58.240 degree of discussion with the front office about your money, 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:02.720 because everybody's money is important to them and the team 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.000 has certain goals, but all these individuals have their own 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:08.680 families to feed, futures to think about, and that kind 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:10.680 of thing. So it gets a little messy every now 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:13.400 and then, and it makes people uncomfortable when it becomes 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:16.520 a thing. But we'll see if it resolves itself in 0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:18.320 the next forty eight to seventy two hours. 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.680 And Frank talked yesterday and his teammates have kind of 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:25.200 Brian's teammates have reflected this that it hasn't been a 0:15:25.240 --> 0:15:28.360 distraction even though he wasn't on the practice field for 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:31.720 those two days. He was there yesterday, which is you 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:35.200 know what Shaq Thompson had alluded to when he was interviewed. 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:39.240 He was there, he was practicing, he was a full participant, 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:40.320 wasn't on the injury report. 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:41.600 Nothing to worry about there. 0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:47.560 I think that's a testament to I think how he 0:15:47.600 --> 0:15:51.120 carried himself throughout the off season through training camp, like 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:54.520 you mentioned, always being around, not being the kind of distraction. 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:56.280 And then I like the point that you brought up 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:59.440 as well, Darren, about Frank Reich and having the player 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:02.680 experience coaching experience. I mean, it goes back to the 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:04.720 story that you wrote during training camp about how the 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:07.120 coaching staff has a ton of playing experience. When the 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:10.520 business side kind of collides here, they know how to look. 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:12.440 At it from those angles in a unique way. 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:14.880 A lot of those guys doing, especially Frank, and I 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:17.920 think that's a lot of perspective that allows for maturity 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:20.320 in these in these settings right that we've seen. 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:23.840 And I was just it was a side conversation yesterday 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:27.200 walking out to the practice field alongside Josh McCown and 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:31.200 Josh was the quarterback here at the time when Julius 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.400 Peppers wanted to leave town, and Julius wanted to leave 0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:37.200 town for reasons that had every as we wrote in 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:40.280 his Hall of Honor story back in the summer, Julius 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:42.080 just kind of wanted to get out of Charlotte and 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:44.000 get out of the fish bowl of being the Carolina 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:46.239 kid who was the number one pick of the Panthers, 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:49.480 who was always local. He just wanted to get out 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:51.520 and see the world and learn more about being Julius. 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.840 And it had more to do with that than the 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:57.640 Carolina Panthers or the defensive scheme or anything like that. 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:02.040 But Josh was around here when Julius demanded a trade 0:17:02.600 --> 0:17:04.800 and Marty Hernie, the GM at the time, just kind 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:08.399 of said, yeah, no, we're not doing that, and Julius. 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:09.040 Continued to play. 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:14.240 So the business is very in your face when it's 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:17.280 right there happening. But over the course of a long season, 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:20.520 you know, everybody knows. Everybody's got business to do. And 0:17:20.960 --> 0:17:23.520 Josh kind of laughed about that and thinking about the 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:26.800 Julius thing back in nine and he said, you know what, 0:17:27.160 --> 0:17:28.959 the business always takes care of itself. 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:31.720 So we'll see how it resolves itself with Brian one 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:32.359 way or another. 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:35.280 He's under contract, and you know, it's obviously a big 0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:38.720 part of this thing. So Frank's a Frank's got a 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:42.400 unique little situation to navigate here. But I like that 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:45.959 with Frank's maturity and his perspective as a former player, 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:48.760 he's able to kind of remove himself from the business 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:52.920 and make sure Brian knows. Hey, you're pretty important to 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:56.320 this deal too. I've got your back over here while 0:17:56.359 --> 0:17:57.120 this is going on. 0:17:57.040 --> 0:17:59.119 Anyway, Absolutely, absolutely so. 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.040 I think that elephant in the side of the room 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:02.399 is taking care of for now. 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:06.280