WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 86: Seattle Celebration 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.720 This week on the Happy half Hour to run the 0:00:03.800 --> 0:00:06.320 risk of being a little sappy at the holidays. This 0:00:06.519 --> 0:00:09.639 team is pretty likable. When you started season the way 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:12.319 this one started, it's kind of hard to get people back. 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.800 But I think people just talking to neighbors, talking to 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:18.280 people you know, you see at the grocery store. I mean, 0:00:18.280 --> 0:00:25.520 there is an energy about these guys. Text it's time 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:28.560 for the Happy Half Hour with your Friends. Kristen Balboni, 0:00:28.680 --> 0:00:35.279 Augusta Stone, and Darren Gannon. That's right, it's that time 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:37.120 of the week. It's the Happy half Hour podcast with 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:41.879 your friends, Darren, Augusta and Kristen and Darren and Augusta. 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:44.240 I have to say, I know it is Thursday morning 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:47.080 as we record this, but we've all been very busy 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:50.080 this week, so I feel like it's only right to 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:53.040 go back and have a little Seattle celebration. We the 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:54.880 three of us, haven't had a chance to do that, 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:57.840 to talk about just what a game that was. I 0:00:57.880 --> 0:00:59.960 think I think the Panthers fans listening will be okay 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:03.120 with that, right, guys, Absolutely, yeah, I think people should 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.320 be okay with that. Has it been a long time 0:01:05.360 --> 0:01:08.520 since we've had one quite like that? Around tier and 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:11.280 it's been you know, Augustine, I've been laughing about it 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:14.360 all season about this year contains multitudes and all the 0:01:14.440 --> 0:01:18.480 weird stuff we've seen Sunday was the good football stuff 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:21.399 that was, you know, you needed to get a big 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:24.240 win in a crucial situation on the road against a 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:27.680 playoff team, and then they went and did all the things. 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:31.520 I mean, it's just it was all the stuff Steve 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:34.480 Wilkes has been talking about, all that he's been trying 0:01:34.520 --> 0:01:37.160 to get them to do made manifest. They made defensive 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:42.320 plays at big moments. They ran the ball with personality. Um, 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:46.720 they basically dominated a good team by just beating them 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:49.160 about the head and shoulders on both sides of the ball. 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:52.120 It was it was something to behold. And you know, 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:54.320 there were moments in that thing where it's like you 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:57.520 still aren't quite sure it's going to go that way, 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:01.480 and then they just embark on another seven minutes, seventy 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:04.480 yard touchdown drive and it's like, dang, these guys are 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:08.040 actually good. Started out quick too. Everyone was talking so 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:10.840 much about the atmosphere, but it was so funny every 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:12.800 time you know, scored a touchdown and get a field 0:02:12.800 --> 0:02:15.960 goal that j C interception would go very quiet, and 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:17.760 that's exactly what they wanted to do. So it was 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:20.160 very quick, too, very quick. When you go up seventeen 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:23.000 to nothing, that certainly has a way of neutralizing the crowd. 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:25.600 But to Darren's point, I want to go back. I 0:02:25.600 --> 0:02:27.520 know exactly what drive you're talking about, Darren, is when 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:29.680 they get down to the goal line, you get four 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:33.160 tries at it, come away with no points. Seattle's creeping in. 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:35.440 I don't remember the exact score at that time, but 0:02:35.520 --> 0:02:38.480 it's it's close, and you go, all right, so now 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:40.480 they need to stop and they need to drive down 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:43.760 the field and gosh started they do it. They did, 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:46.480 and they did it without Deonte Foreman on the field 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:49.680 because I think, you know, Wilke said after the game, 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:52.359 he was fine, he was well, it wasn't a physical thing. 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:54.400 I think they just wanted to change up the rhythm 0:02:54.440 --> 0:02:56.040 on the run game a little bit. But he didn't 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:57.960 go into the game with a little bit of a 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:00.560 foot I don't know if they thought he had X 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:02.560 number of carries in him or whatever. But then all 0:03:02.560 --> 0:03:05.000 of a sudden, it's just Cuba and Raheem black Shear 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:08.240 and you go straight down the field with those two guys, 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:12.240 and it's um. It was something to say, for sure, Well, 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:14.560 I'll tell you what on on that drive, you know, 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.120 doing the radio broadcast, I thought it was. It was 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:20.120 one of my favorite kind of like broadcasting moments, right 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:23.560 because we're watching that drive and there's no Deonta Foreman there. 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:26.359 So I tell our executive producer, David Links, so I'm 0:03:26.360 --> 0:03:28.560 gonna check and make sure that he's okay. Right, He's 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:32.280 standing there, you know, right beside Jeff Nixon running backs coach, 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:34.160 ready to go in helmet on. You're like, okay, you know, 0:03:34.240 --> 0:03:36.400 he's fine. He tries to sneak out on the field 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:38.320 a couple of times, Jeff Nixon pulls him back. He's like, 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:41.200 no, no no, no, we're gonna go with Tuba raheim. Um. 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:43.600 And at the same time a Ni shar play by 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:46.040 I played broadcaster, was like, hey, is everything okay with 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:48.880 Deonta Foreman? Because we're all wondering the same thing. I 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:53.040 do the report and then Jordan Gross are incredible analysts. 0:03:53.080 --> 0:03:55.200 Of course, Panthers legend is like no, they just the 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:57.800 matchup that they're getting the eleven personnel, like they it 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:00.320 makes more sense to go with these other guys there, 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:03.320 and uh, it was just a neat series to to 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:05.280 watch that play out, because I do think if you're 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:07.200 watching or listening at home, you're like, well, now where 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:10.680 is deante Foreman? Is he? Okay? Um? But gosh, what 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:13.120 a what a good problem to have, you know, you 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:17.480 can't get your your hundred yard rushing guy, you know 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:19.880 in the game, because it's it's we got two other 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.200 guys who were on fire, and we like the matchup right, 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.599 and as much as and Cuba had a great game 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:28.480 and he is an explosive back and change of pace 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.560 back and credit where credits due, there were also a 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:34.880 couple of hey, Tuba Hubbard just caught that past out 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:37.360 of the backfield and that's always not been a strength 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.640 of his. Uh, and he's getting better at that part 0:04:40.640 --> 0:04:44.280 of the game. So you start seeing these different ways 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:48.400 of running the football. But the dad in me, the 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:51.800 old man in me, knows that where that comes from 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:58.040 is those five or six or seven or eight big 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:02.600 guys up front. I mean, and the commitment of hey, 0:05:02.680 --> 0:05:06.680 we're gonna run can't just be about running backs, even 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:08.760 though those are the guys with the ball in their hands. 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:14.120 This is years of preparation. This was an entire offseason 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:17.640 plan of we gotta get better up front, so we're 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:21.240 gonna go sign Austin Corbett and Bradley Boseman in free agency, 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:23.359 and we're gonna use our first draft pick not on 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:27.000 a quarterback but on a left tackle. That was personality 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:30.240 and and that, to me, as much as anything was 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:34.719 what comes out of that Seattle game is listen, Playing 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:38.400 that kind of offensive football is maybe not going to 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:40.880 win you a Super Bowl, but with what the Carolina 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:44.200 Panthers have on this roster right now, it is the 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:47.880 absolute best way to play because this is what you have. 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:50.400 You may not have quarterbacks that are gonna go to 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:52.839 Pro Bowls. You may not have a bunch of wide 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:55.280 receivers who are gonna put up fantasy status. You may 0:05:55.279 --> 0:05:58.040 not have tight ends who are you know out down 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:01.000 there running seam routes like Travis Elsie and and make 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:03.080 him big plays that get on the highlight shows. But 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:07.840 what you've got is a bunch big offensive linemen who 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:13.200 are perfectly happy to just bludging people to death. Absolutely, 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:15.279 and what what does that do for? I mean, I 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:18.080 don't think this offensive line lacks confidence. They have been 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:21.279 so consistent this season, but to go into an environment 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:23.880 like Seattle where at points you can't look at the 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:26.880 person beside you and hear what they're saying, and to 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:30.280 be able to control the game, I mean, the time 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:33.000 of possession was so lopsided. You control the game and 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:36.840 you rush for over two three yards I believe was 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:39.880 the exact number. Because then you have to feel like, 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:41.840 right dere in Augusta, for the rest of the season, 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:44.880 we just run it on anyone we can. We can 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:48.919 control uh the game. And and this is the blueprinting. 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:50.520 And I talked to j C after the game and 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:52.080 I said, well, as a defense, what does it mean 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:54.320 when your offense can do something like that? And he said, yeah, 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:56.479 you know, he said, all these offenses out here trying 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:58.120 to get cute and throw the ball around and we're 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:00.240 just gonna run it down people's throats. But I have 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:04.560 to imagine that for that line, the test that that 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:07.400 game was, you have to come away out of there 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.160 with tons of confidence. Well. I talked with Bradley Boseman 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:12.160 after the game, and it was kind of something that 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:14.360 I heard across the offense, but he said it very well. 0:07:14.400 --> 0:07:16.240 He was like, well, if I felt like we played 0:07:16.280 --> 0:07:18.560 like us, you know, I mean there's a big talk 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:21.360 about identity and how when Steve Wilkes came in here, 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:24.800 you know, I mean, I remember his first introductory press conference. 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:26.200 He was like, we're going to run the ball. We're 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:28.840 gonna like own the lines of scrimmage. That's gonna be 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:32.880 our thing. That's what he said, and and Bose told me, 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:34.480 and a lot of them said, you know, it's like, 0:07:34.520 --> 0:07:37.080 I feel like in this game we really did show 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:39.520 like who we were and we performed it to the 0:07:39.680 --> 0:07:42.280 to the top of their ability. And that's finding identities 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:43.840 one of those things that I felt like early in 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:45.560 the season, at least as someone who was new, I 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:46.960 was like, what are they trying to do? What's going 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:49.240 on here? And I think, you know what I mean, 0:07:49.280 --> 0:07:52.480 Like I was like, Okay, nothing's really working. I don't understand. 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:55.240 I kind of do, but not really. And um, the 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:57.120 past few weeks, I mean, they figured it out. I mean, 0:07:57.280 --> 0:07:59.160 you know what I mean, is that is that too harsh? 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:02.880 That's honest. It's very honest. Like what happened. I mean, 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:05.080 there was talk in the past about one to run 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:07.360 the ball and when Christian McCaffrey's here. You want to 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:10.720 run an offense through Christian McCaffrey. But I went back 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:14.200 and looked. I mean even with Christian, you know, through 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:19.240 five weeks, I think they were twenty something seven in 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:22.000 the league and rush yards a game. Uh, and that 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:26.720 was with Christian McCaffrey. Now even when you let those 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:29.920 numbers drag the average down, now there in the league 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:33.560 and rushing that statement of intent kind of stuff, that is, 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:36.720 here's how we're not just going to say we're going 0:08:36.760 --> 0:08:39.720 to run. We're going to run repeatedly. Is that the 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:42.440 biggest thing? Because I know there's a variety of factors 0:08:42.520 --> 0:08:44.719 right that go into that, whether it's you know, you 0:08:44.760 --> 0:08:47.120 don't have Christian McCaffrey anymore, so you've got to figure 0:08:47.160 --> 0:08:51.000 things out, the emergence of Deonta Foreman, progression of young 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:55.360 guys like Ikey and Brady Christiansen. But is it is 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:58.160 the biggest factor in the success. They're just that they 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:00.880 are committed to the run and and not just saying 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:04.480 that they're committed, Like what do you attribute this incredible 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:06.760 up ticket. I think that's a lot of it. I 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:09.560 think and and Steve said something the other day when 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:11.839 somebody asked him about Sam Donald, and there were a 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:14.760 couple of plays during that first and goal from the 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:17.040 three where they didn't get any points. There were a 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:19.680 couple of plays that segment where Sam could have run 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:24.320 and would have scored, and there was another play that 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:29.360 he tried to go downfield Sullivan didn't connect, and Sam said, yesterday, 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:32.160 you know, if if we hit that, it's an explosive play. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:34.440 Everybody's pat me on the back. But Steve said something 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:37.520 the other day. He said, I think quarterbacks are conditioned 0:09:37.559 --> 0:09:41.160 to want to do things by passing. And I think 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:44.680 when the Carolina Panthers were looking for quarterbacks, whether it 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:47.720 was Teddy, whether it was Sam last year, or whether 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:49.959 it was Baker the first part of this year, it's like, 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:52.120 all right, we went found quarterback. Now we gotta make 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:56.720 quarterback work. Rather than I made the analogy the other day. 0:09:56.800 --> 0:09:59.200 This offense is like one of those cooking shows where 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:01.320 you get the mystery basket and it's like, what am 0:10:01.320 --> 0:10:03.640 I going to do with this stuff? Well, what you 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:06.560 do is make soup. What you do is take this 0:10:06.640 --> 0:10:10.000 odd a lot of ingredients. And I don't think I'm 0:10:10.040 --> 0:10:12.840 going to be a top five passing game. So don't 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:15.840 do that. You know, take this stuff you have and 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:17.880 make the most of it. In right now, Making the 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:22.199 most of this means running the ball, not just not 0:10:22.280 --> 0:10:26.640 just for yards but often, and that tempo and that 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:32.120 cadence of here comes just boom, boom boom. It's not 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:35.439 a formula, I don't think to win a Super Bowl. 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:38.400 But when you can put a seven minute field goal 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:43.280 drive on the field, that's effective. That's a cumulative thing 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:45.480 that in the fourth quarter, and you saw it on 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:49.280 the Bradley Bozeman, you know, miked up segment. You wear 0:10:49.440 --> 0:10:53.439 people out eventually by doing that kind of stuff. And 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:57.160 so if that's what you've got, you know, coaching can 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:00.400 be simple. Sometimes the things you're good at, do more 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:03.800 of those the things you struggle with, why are you trying? 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:06.600 And it's been the formula for success for the Panthers lately. 0:11:07.000 --> 0:11:09.520 Uh speaking of a seven minute field goal drive, how 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:14.800 about our guy Eddie Pinero see Special Teams Player of 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:17.640 the Week. I was talking to Steve Boks yesterday about 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:20.760 just the progression and what he's seen from him since 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:23.400 missing that that field goal in Atlanta, Since since missing 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:26.360 those two big kicks in Atlanta, um, and he said, man, 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:30.880 just the confidence that he has now and I attribute 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:33.440 it to that team rallying around him. And then also, 0:11:33.880 --> 0:11:37.160 you remember the day after the Atlanta game at Steve 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.439 Books came out and said, we're not looking for other kickers, 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:42.840 and boy, it's paid off for them. What have you 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:45.240 guys seen from Eddie? Well, that's just I mean I 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:47.720 was talking to him yesterday about it and he's he's 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:49.640 you know, I will say one thing about Eddie and 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:51.560 I want to say it about Johnny and j J two. 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:54.640 Those three are so fun to just watch interact. I mean, 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:56.880 and especially you know, you see him in good and 0:11:56.960 --> 0:11:59.880 in bad and I think he was supported from the jump. 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:01.680 But I mean, they're just the most fun if you're 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:03.560 just hanging out at practice and you know, you just 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:07.320 look around and they're specialists, are always having they're the best, 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:10.000 and they've really embraced of and um. You know, Steve 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:11.839 was asked about it again yesterday, you know, like, oh, 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:13.640 did you ever think about wavering from Eddie? And it's 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:16.319 like no, and and and it's it's great to see 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:18.080 you know, the street keys on. He was so excited 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:21.040 about it. Wasn't his first time getting the u NFC 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:23.440 UH Special Teams Player of the Week. He he told me, 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:24.760 he was like, oh, I got it back in Chicago. 0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:27.200 He's like, but it was twenty nineteen, three years too long, 0:12:27.240 --> 0:12:29.280 And I was like, you're right, Eddie. He's he's just 0:12:29.400 --> 0:12:31.320 he's he's a great presence to have in the locker room. 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:34.559 He's he's really a fun guy and UM happy to 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:37.040 see him have success. And I mean, practice kicks everything. 0:12:37.080 --> 0:12:39.400 He he's he's he's sharp, He's he's sharpening up at 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:41.280 the right time. I mean, mistakes happen, and it was 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:44.840 the worst possible kind of mistakes and that moment. But 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:47.440 he's really come back and they haven't wavered from him 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:49.360 at all, and that's really exciting. And I think with 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:52.280 Eddie the thing that keeps coming back to me is 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:56.640 he is effectively, or at least on Labor Day weekend, 0:12:57.120 --> 0:12:59.959 he was effectively no better than the thirty third bit 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:03.600 kicker in the NFL, because everybody already had one, and 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:06.679 it took Zane Gonzalez getting hurt for them to go 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:10.439 looking and find Eddie at a time when everybody else 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:13.920 already had either one or two kickers on rosters. So 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:16.920 they were looking around, scrambling, trying to find somebody. And 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:20.559 that's a situation where you don't expect guys to come 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:23.440 in and be consistent. And what Eddie Pinero is right 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:26.120 now is the second most accurate the or goal kicker 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:28.959 in the NFL among the regulars. I mean, he's not 0:13:29.000 --> 0:13:31.320 just doing good for a guy you picked up off 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:34.240 the street. He's playing really well. He is. That's again 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:36.760 enough the Special Teams player of the weekend. I do 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:40.440 think it's um need for you know, you don't. You 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:42.760 don't talk about your kicker all the time. It's one 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:44.559 of those things, right, It's like your offensive linement. A 0:13:44.600 --> 0:13:46.480 lot of times you're only talking about them if something 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:49.120 bad happens. But I think it's great for Panthers fans 0:13:49.160 --> 0:13:53.000 to remember because it felt like when Zane Gonzalez really 0:13:53.040 --> 0:13:56.520 became consistent, it was like, Okay, are our kicker. Troubles 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.240 are over? Certainly Panthers fans remember a couple of years 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:02.800 prior to that at the revolving door, Uh, the Joey 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:05.000 Sly of it, all, all of that stuff, right, we 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:08.120 have fallen memories of the Ryan Santoso area. Yes, great 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:11.679 mustache um and then you know, Zing gets hurt, and 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:13.800 I think if you're a Panthers fan, you go, oh 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:16.280 my gosh, what is this gonna what is this gonna be? 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:20.160 And um and then for for Eddie to, like you said, 0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:25.080 be consistent and very good. Um, except for that really 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:27.760 Goodtlanta game, I just think it's it's pretty great, as 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:30.280 you said, Darren, considering where he started at the beginning 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:33.960 of the year, which was, you know, not on a team. Um, 0:14:34.000 --> 0:14:36.080 So it's been it's been fun to watch. I'm really 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:39.520 happy for him, and it's been neat to see what 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:40.960 he's been able to do. And I will tell you 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:44.280 what that. Of course Atlanta plays in the Dome. But 0:14:44.440 --> 0:14:47.240 since then, not only has he been good, we've had 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:50.640 weather almost every game since then. And I'm very aware 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:52.360 of that, as I will let anybody know, you know, 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:56.840 being on the sideline, we've had weather in almost every game. Um, 0:14:57.440 --> 0:15:01.480 the Baltimore Seattle we add a tropical storm here on 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:05.080 Thursday night football, all games that have come up, and 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:07.640 those conditions, I mean we're talking about it every single game. 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:10.800 What are the conditions like for Eddie Panneiro, for Johnny 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:14.200 Hecker and boy, I mean it's it's like it doesn't 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:17.520 even matter. Add tropical storm. I had forgotten that one 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:20.520 for bingo card. Of all the things we've seen last year, 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:23.160 the yes, there was a hurricane that one week. Ah, 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.480 that too well. And in Augustine was taught telling me 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:28.440 this in a in a press box. I mean you've 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.160 got the theory about Eddie and weather. I mean sometimes 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:34.400 when you do I do well. I asked him about it. Yeah, yeah, 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:37.280 I think he's better in bad weather, like I asked 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:40.080 him about I think that I think the stats would 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:42.520 hold up to that so far. This exactly, Yeah, I 0:15:42.520 --> 0:15:44.600 asked him, you know, and he's he'll always be like, 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:46.240 oh yeah, the weather. He loves to talk about the 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:48.480 weather in Chicago and how bad it was and how 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:51.400 but but like I I would be like, okay, especially 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:54.040 that tropical storm game in Atlanta to come back, you know, 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:57.400 Eddie Eddie game here, you know against Falcon, same thing, 0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:00.760 but that weather was absolutely awful. I mean he was 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:02.520 like the win was going all sorts of different directions. 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:05.240 And then he's like, super accurate. It's so funny. I'll 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:08.600 tell you what. The game in Baltimore. Justin Tucker, the 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:12.080 best kicker of all time, said that the game in 0:16:12.080 --> 0:16:14.680 Baltimore was the worst he had ever seen it in Baltimore, 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:19.320 and he was very upset pregame about what you know 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:22.200 about the conditions and all of that, and Eddie kicked 0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:23.880 the exact same field goal. Now, there are a lot 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:25.560 of other things that went wrong for the Panthers in 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:28.880 that game, but Eddie was not one of them. So 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:31.880 hats off, hats off to him, you know, really really 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:35.000 happy for him, and uh speaking being happy for a guy. 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:36.760 I want to get you guys take on on Sam 0:16:36.840 --> 0:16:39.560 Donald the last couple of games, Darren, I know you 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:41.400 want to talk about his beard. We gotta get in 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:45.160 there too. I mean, Derek Brown said it the other day. 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:48.920 Bearded face Sam is a lot more chilled than plane 0:16:48.920 --> 0:16:53.240 face Sam. I think he's chilling all the time. But 0:16:53.320 --> 0:16:56.520 I think this beard, and again, I kept thinking back 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:58.880 to Santa claus Is coming to town, the old Great 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:02.080 Rank and Bass Christmas special, you know, with with Chris 0:17:02.120 --> 0:17:07.199 Kringle and that solid red beard, no mustache. Um, I 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:09.240 think that's Sam's role model. And I showed it to 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:11.640 him yesterday. I was like, yeah, that's pretty good, but 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:14.840 he's kind of laughed. I mean, at this point in 0:17:14.880 --> 0:17:19.040 the season. Anytime athletes get on any kind of streak, 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:22.400 they get a little stitious, as Sam says, and things 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:24.840 aren't going to change. So I would be very surprised 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:27.359 if Sam shaves. Between now and the end of this season. 0:17:27.760 --> 0:17:30.240 We'll get to see just how good his beard growth is, 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:32.480 because he's had the beard since I believe training camp. 0:17:32.640 --> 0:17:35.399 So we'll see if over the next four weeks is 0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:37.560 he is his beard growth a lot? Like is it 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:41.960 going to be hanging off the facey Fitzpatrick? You know, Yeah, 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:44.119 where do we go the next four weeks? I'm excited. 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:47.120 I will never forget Christian McCaffrey saying he's got big 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:51.960 lepricn energy and Sam was like, I'm taking this from 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:56.880 an actual lepricn you know, but uh and they were 0:17:56.960 --> 0:18:00.360 laughing about that. But yeah, Sam is here's a thing. 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:03.639 Not a lot is being asked of Sam right now, 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:07.679 and he is fulfilling the requirements. And the first requirement 0:18:07.800 --> 0:18:10.680 is don't give it to the other team. And so 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:13.440 even in Denver the other week, when the ball comes 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:16.080 out of his hands at the goal line, you get 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:18.879 the Holy Roller part two. I mean Sam falls on 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:21.040 it and does the fire drill stop, drop and roll. 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:26.800 He's in the um and and he hasn't thrown any interceptions. 0:18:26.840 --> 0:18:29.280 I mean there's been a couple of spots where the 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:32.680 decisions you're like, it might have done that one differently 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:38.280 or this, but he hasn't had that big, oh my god, 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:42.840 catastrophic turnover you know, run like he had at times 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:45.480 last year. And as long as he can do that, 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:49.680 they've created the condition around him where they can succeed 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:51.879 that way. And how how much for a quarterback? I 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:53.879 know it's only been two games, but this is the 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:56.840 best offensive line he's ever played behind. So what does 0:18:56.920 --> 0:19:01.880 that do for a quarterbacks confidence? I asked him about 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:04.720 it yesterday and he's like, you know, yeah, I mean 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:07.159 I always like when you asked Sam something, it's like 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:09.080 he thinks about it for a second and you get 0:19:09.080 --> 0:19:15.119 that yeah. Um. But he he knows that he's got 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:18.200 those guys in front of him in a way. You know, 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:22.600 last year, fourteen lines in seventeen games in his eleven starts, 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:26.479 their eight different combinations of guys and people coming in 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:29.639 and out and people starting who you know, we're claimed 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:33.640 off waivers are signed off the streets. So it um, yeah, 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:36.480 it was not great last year and it's much better now. 0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:39.439 And the way they're protecting, I mean this has become 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:43.400 in addition to the running stuff, the way they passed protected. 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:45.640 I mean they gave up seventeen sacks in the first 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:49.000 five five games. I think they've given up eleven in 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:53.840 the eight sins. So everything up front is getting better. 0:19:53.960 --> 0:19:55.879 And those guys, you know, we talked about it with 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:57.760 Ikey when he was drafted. You knew he was a 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:00.320 great run blocker. You knew he was physical, you knew 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:04.000