WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 82: Glows & Grows 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.280 This week on the Happy half Hour. When you have 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:05.200 things that you can build upon that are good, it's 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:07.760 not just all my goodness. You know, execution was really poor, 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:09.440 and you know, we know we can put it together 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:11.319 in practice, but you put it together at least enough 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:13.240 in a game to make it that kind of thrillered 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:15.280 sort of thing. I think that's what they're focusing on. 0:00:15.320 --> 0:00:16.720 And when you lose a game like that, you have 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:19.239 places to grow to your glows and your growths, that's 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:25.759 what I always call them. TEXTA, it's time for the 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:29.560 Happy Half Hour with your friends Kristen Balboni, Augusta Stone, 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:35.199 and Darren Gann. That's right, it's that time of the week. 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:37.680 It's the Happy half Hour podcast with your friends Darren, 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:41.440 Augusta and Kristen. As we said here today it is 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:47.120 Wednesday morning. And have we recovered from the game in Atlanta? 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:50.919 I I don't even it was such a roller coaster. 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:56.880 It contained multitude. That game had a lot going on, 0:00:57.480 --> 0:01:00.320 as often happens in Atlanta, and I've talked about in 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:03.320 the mail bag. You know, there's a pretty deep catalog 0:01:03.440 --> 0:01:06.400 of all the weird stuff that happens, whether it's the 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:09.440 Georgia Dome or Mercedes Being Stadium and the Panther has 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:11.200 been on the wrong side of a lot of it 0:01:11.240 --> 0:01:13.880 over the years. Uh, it's hard to imagine that they're 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:16.920 eight and twenty in Atlanta all time, but so much 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:21.440 weird stuff keeps happening. But that game was amazing and 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:26.600 thrilling and heart stopping and heartbreaking all at once. But 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:29.760 there was so much stuff going on. I mean, it 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:32.119 was just it's one of those things as a writer, 0:01:32.240 --> 0:01:34.160 it's like, all right, what do I leave out because 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:36.560 I'm going to have to leave out a lot. YEP. 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:39.000 That's what I appreciated so much about what Darren posted 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:40.800 the next morning, because it was you know, you focus 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:42.520 on the end and like the result of what happened, 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:44.520 and that's kind of where we went with the content. 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:47.960 Was talking about the d J. Moore catch and the 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:51.160 penalty and then also about Eddie by Um. Then the 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:53.000 next morning he was like, oh, here's five other things, 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:55.040 and they're all like things like you said in the story, 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:57.240 whereas like these are things that would have been the 0:01:57.280 --> 0:02:01.400 main story Forman had three to Stown's see in that 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:03.720 game for the first time, I believe it and Niche 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:06.840 my broadcast partner said this on the on the broadcast, 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:09.040 first time the Panthers running back has done that since 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:13.600 Jonathan Stewart in It's kind of like down here in 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:18.760 the hundred word of whatever we've written. Oh. Also, Deonta 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:22.600 Foreman turned into Earl Campbell today. Yeah, Dante Jackson had 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:25.200 an early interceptance c J. Henderson had an interception. I 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:29.560 mean just there were two sacks in the first what 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:33.840 six minutes of play in the game. I mean, there's 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:37.679 so so many things happened and kind of like Deonte. Oh, 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:41.239 by the way, also, p J Walker might turn out 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:44.560 to be okay at football. PJS on a role. Patrick 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:48.840 Mahomes liked that sixty two yard or that was cool. It's, uh, yeah, 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:52.079 that's pretty good when you get name checked by Patrick Mahomes. 0:02:52.080 --> 0:02:55.079 That's pretty good feeling. I imagined for p J to 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:58.160 uh kind of wake up this morning be like I'm 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:01.200 getting recognized by Patrick Mahomes. That ain't so bad. So 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:05.600 and again, part of what made Sunday so wild is 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:09.800 that game just had so many layers and layers and layers. 0:03:09.800 --> 0:03:12.000 I mean, PJ is on this hot streak right now. 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:14.200 He throws one of the most incredible balls you're ever 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:18.560 going to see any quarterback throw period. And I think 0:03:18.600 --> 0:03:21.320 it's worth pointing out every time you write about him. 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.519 If two guys don't get hurt in training camp, he's 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:27.119 not even on this roster. He I mean, now, as 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:29.160 things developed, was there chance p J was going to 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:31.840 be on the practice squad after all that? Sure, of course, 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:34.640 especially after Matt Krow got hurt. But p J was 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:38.680 a barely considered fourth option during the entire training camp 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:42.840 until guys started going down with injuries and without just 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:46.200 some dumb luck for other people. He's not standing in 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:48.640 this spot right now, and and all of a sudden, 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:51.640 you know, it's so funny. I mean, PJ just keeps 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:55.800 falling into these weird spots in his career, and they 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:59.360 keep working out in a weird way. I mean, he's, uh, 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:03.120 he's re in two as a starter now, but looking 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:05.480 at what he's done, I mean, it wasn't just that 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:08.720 one play on Sunday, you know, four other passes of 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:10.880 twenty yards or more in the second half. I mean 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:13.680 that's kind of where p J was able to He 0:04:13.720 --> 0:04:16.680 was converting like like third and seventeen and there and again. 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:18.000 I don't have the stats in front of me. I'm 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:20.080 just going off of my memory of being on the 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:22.560 sideline for that game for the radio broadcast, right, And 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:25.040 it wasn't just DJ. I mean, it's oh, by the way, 0:04:25.080 --> 0:04:28.880 there goes Steven Sullivan down the field, there goes and 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:32.560 you know they it was. It was one of those games. 0:04:32.600 --> 0:04:34.840 I mean, that would have been the reason so many 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:37.919 of those guys after that game were crushed. And you know, 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:41.159 Brian Burns always talks after games. You know, he's one 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:43.280 of those guys who's willing to stand up, be kind 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:45.960 of face of the franchise type when things are good, 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:48.560 when things are bad. Burns didn't even talk after that game, 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:51.760 and he admitted on Monday was like it was too much. 0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:54.920 I didn't you know, he felt responsible for it, for 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:58.600 his own role in this deal. But um, guys just 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:01.760 didn't know how to react. Cause if you win that game, 0:05:02.360 --> 0:05:05.839 then you're tied for first basically in first place in 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:09.240 the division. Halfway through the season, you you're three and 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:12.440 oh in the division, you're two and one under Steve Wilkes. 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:15.160 You're feeling some sort of way about what's going to 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:16.800 go to the second half of the year, and then 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:19.599 to have all the air sucked out of the building 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:23.960 all at once was tough. It was. It was one 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:27.800 question I want to ask you both. So you know, 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:30.080 I think everyone who's listened to this podcast, No, we 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:34.200 we my broadcast partners and I do the radio broadcast. Um. 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:36.880 And then you know, we we got done with the game. 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.840 I went up into the booth and we all kind 0:05:39.839 --> 0:05:41.520 of talked about it, right, because you're just kind of 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:43.720 still a little stunned about about the game. And I 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:45.560 would say this, I think I started this podcast out 0:05:45.560 --> 0:05:47.600 saying have we recovered yet? I would say that win 0:05:47.680 --> 0:05:49.320 or loose? Right, It was just because it was just 0:05:49.640 --> 0:05:52.520 a crazy game. I mean, just there were so many 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:56.400 different elements to it. As we said, UM, before I 0:05:56.440 --> 0:05:59.000 can get up into the broadcast booth, which maybe takes 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:01.599 me about ten minutes, Darren has put out the rapid 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:06.840 Reactions which comes out immediately after every game, UM, from 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:11.040 the incredible staff of YouTube. Uh. But how did you 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:14.520 both start to immediately Like I could find the words 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:17.360 maybe a couple of hours to kind of encapsulate what 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:21.839 this game was. But how do you behind the scenes say, Okay, 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:23.680 we didn't know which way this game was going to 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:28.039 go until thirty seconds ago. We've got to immediately put 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:31.200 it into words and you know, represent the team and 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:34.280 the fan base. Well, the real literature is the thousand 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:38.039 words that you didn't get to read. Um, that was 0:06:38.080 --> 0:06:41.599 the stuff I was really proud of. Um. Yeah, you 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.239 end up writing a bunch of stuff that never sees 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:46.760 the light of day because one of the challenges of 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:50.640 writing live news is you've got to be ready for anything. 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:53.560 So you've got to have and those rapid reacts are 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:57.120 basically five word recaps immediately after a game, and you've 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.240 got to be prepared in a couple of different directions. 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:02.919 So there was a top of that based on a 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:06.159 heroic Panthers come back when, and there was a top 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.280 based on You've got to be kidding me, And there 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:11.480 was so much stuff going on and you just kind 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:13.400 of have to be a little agile on your feet 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:15.640 every now and then and and be ready to react. 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:18.400 And also you need to be able to type very fast. 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:23.360 And thankfully, thanks to my high school typing teacher, I 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:26.840 am able to type without looking at keys, and thank 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:29.880 god for check and all those fun thing hundred words 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:33.040 per minute, and you know, it's It's so cool because 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:37.240 our executive producer, David Linton, Darren you you have, over 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:40.640 the course of covering, um, the Jim Zoki, over the 0:07:40.640 --> 0:07:43.320 course of covering this team for many, many years, have 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:46.320 seen games like this and know what it's like too. Okay, 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:49.920 this is gonna go either way. I have to a 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:53.320 certain extent, Augusta, this has got to be one of 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:56.280 the most memorable games that you have seen. This is, 0:07:56.360 --> 0:07:58.400 you know, your first season with the Panthers. So how 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:01.760 do you as a writer wrap your head around everything 0:08:01.840 --> 0:08:05.600 that's going on and then immediately start you know, um, 0:08:05.720 --> 0:08:07.320 you go into the locker room and then you start 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:09.920 writing articles. Exactly exactly what I was excited about this 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:11.760 question because I get to nerd out about reporting for 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:13.960 a minute, because I was thinking about the way I 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:16.720 kind of view reporting in general and just everything. It's like, 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:20.239 you're capturing moments, and my function as the team reporter 0:08:20.560 --> 0:08:22.760 is to take fans where they can't be there, not 0:08:22.800 --> 0:08:25.160 in the locker rooms. Right, So I was really kind 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:27.160 of looking for and it was so lucky that it 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:28.720 kind of fell into my lapper that I noticed it. 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:30.239 But I was keeping my head on a swivel because 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:32.960 a lot of the guys, you know, they're obviously very um, 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:35.360 just emotional all around, you know, like they're not really 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:37.160 wanting to answer a lot of questions on wanting to 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:38.720 talk right now. And that's part of the story, right 0:08:38.760 --> 0:08:40.600 It's like, you know, they're talking in these whispers and 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:43.079 it's like just a really rough atmosphere. But I was 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:45.320 kind of trying to focus on these moments, and I 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:49.560 realized when Eddie Panero was giving his uh three minutes 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:53.000 to the media, I saw Baker Mayfield, Derek Brown, j 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:55.560 D Jansen, and Johnny Hecker all kind of make a 0:08:55.679 --> 0:08:58.560 row behind the media and just watch. That was a 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:00.480 great That was a great tweet. It was it was 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:02.200 just it was so awesome. And then at that moment, 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:04.040 I was like, Okay, this is the leadoff to this 0:09:04.080 --> 0:09:07.320 postgame story. I'm going to write about Eddie because this 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:10.160 this I hadn't seen anything like Granted, again, I'm very young. 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:11.520 This is like my first year, but I hadn't seen 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:13.640 anything like that before. And so and then immediately after 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:16.040 where Baker goes and talks to Eddie, I find Johnny, 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:18.520 I find uh Derek, and I talked to j J 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:20.760 before and I was like, just why why did you 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:23.319 do that? Like what is it about, you know, wanting 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:24.960 to show that support? What were you trying to like 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:27.120 the message you were trying to convey to him? And 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:29.520 that was super compelling. And that's one of those things 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:32.240 I think that you know, being a reporter, you're just 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:34.120 your heads on a swivel constantly. You're always looking at 0:09:34.160 --> 0:09:35.480 darn and I talked about this all the time, but 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:37.840 we're always just kind of looking out for those little 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:40.640 nuggets and those little things, and um, it's all about 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:43.000 kind of as as cliche as it is, like staying 0:09:43.000 --> 0:09:44.600 in the moment. You know, I'm not thinking about what 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:46.120 had happened then, because I can think about that when 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:49.040 I'm writing, but I'm trying to like take in the atmosphere, 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:51.040 take in what's going on, and then you notice things 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:52.959 like that and then you ask about that, and I 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.640 don't know, I found that really really compelling. Um, kind 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:58.599 of just everyone on that team kind of felt the 0:09:58.640 --> 0:10:00.760 honest on them because it's like you can say, you know, 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:03.480 Eddie missed the two kicks, but there are situations that 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:06.880 required that to be Why the outcome was there, if 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:08.680 that makes sense. So and it was it was interesting, 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:10.480 like like the story you read about Brian Burns, you 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:12.280 know he saw it on him, Darry Brown saw it 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:15.760 on him. Also, you know we talked about that incredible 0:10:15.800 --> 0:10:19.080 throw by p J. Walker, no doubt that propelled them 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:21.640 into overtime, but he also had to pick six earlier 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:23.320 in the game. Right. So I think it's such a 0:10:23.360 --> 0:10:25.600 great point, and we've heard Steve Looks say it, but 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:28.280 you guys putting these stories out really illustrates the point 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:32.000 that there are so many factors that and sometimes the 0:10:32.160 --> 0:10:34.160 luck of ball bounces a certain way. I'm not saying 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:36.800 in this game. There's just so many things that go 0:10:36.880 --> 0:10:42.480 into this um And it's hard because those guys played 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:46.520 so hard. I was down their feet from them for 0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:49.200 the entire game, and so did the Falcons, right, And 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:52.480 of course, if you're a fan, you wanted for your 0:10:52.559 --> 0:10:57.800 team because neither team didn't give the full effort, you know, 0:10:57.840 --> 0:11:00.319 and not only playing the whole game, but they they 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:02.840 go into overtime on it, right, and you just feel like, 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:05.040 if you're a fan, you're like, this team deserves to 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:08.240 win this game, right, Both teams do because of everything 0:11:08.280 --> 0:11:12.640 that happened. Um, but it didn't happen. It doesn't diminish 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:16.640 that they're playing. It really doesn't. And I always kind 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:19.080 of I feel like they're preambles to a lot of 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:21.840 the answers I'm giving. Whether it's the mail bag or 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:24.760 on this podcast, you feel like every now and then, 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:27.520 just for the sake of honesty, you've got to raise 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:30.320 your hand and begin by saying, this is nothing against 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.360 anybody who's not here right now, This is nothing against 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:36.679 anything that happened before. But the thing I can tell 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:40.240 you for sure is I've seen the Carolina Panthers lose 0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:45.000 that game by twenty in the past. That team stood up. 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:47.640 I mean they got up off the mat and punched 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:51.000 back on Sunday and they haven't always done that, and 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:54.160 again and again and again, and anyone who watched that 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:56.360 game you would see you go. The game could have 0:11:56.400 --> 0:11:59.480 been over at so many different points. And the reason 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:01.360 I say all that stuff before, I don't want to 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:04.439 turn this into under Steve Wilkes they did under rule 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:08.400 they didn't, because it's not just those guys. It's Dante Jackson. 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:10.760 I mean, Dante is a guy people being given him 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:12.280 a hard time for getting hurt a lot, but he 0:12:12.360 --> 0:12:15.199 keeps getting back up and coming back and playing and 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.320 making big plays. And C. J. Henderson has been on 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:20.480 the wrong side of a lot of plays and is 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:22.880 coming back and making more of the good ones now. 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:25.559 So I mean, you see that in a lot of areas. 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:29.800 I know, people there's a reductive tendency in modern media 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:33.080 to make it about one big, obvious thing. But there's 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:34.640 a lot of layers to this thing, and there were 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:38.160 a lot of dudes who kind of represented that spirit 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:42.880 of this is not over. This team is continuing to fight, 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:45.120 and it's kind of interesting to watch it all in fold. 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.040 And I do want to say about you mentioned both 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:50.880 Dante Jackson and c. J. Henderson some things that I've 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:53.199 seen from them on the sideline. I've covered Dante now 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:56.280 for three years, and he dealt with my my first year. 0:12:57.120 --> 0:12:59.679 He dealt a lot with turf to that year and 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:03.080 some thing that I noticed from him from the beginning, 0:13:03.120 --> 0:13:05.360 and I told him that that year, and I think 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:07.560 that's why you see him as a captain now and 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:10.800 you watch his progression, is that he wants to be 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:13.520 in the game so bad he will no matter what 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:15.640 he's dealing with. As you said, Darren, he will, he 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:17.880 will start a game, he will try to go. No 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:20.880 one is more upset than him when he can't be 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:23.439 out on the field. And then he also takes it 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:26.920 upon himself to really support and mentor and cheer on 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:30.360 the other guys out there, and that's hard. He's been 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:32.559 doing that for since I've been here. I've watched him 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:35.880 every single game, UM, and so it's great to see 0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:40.120 him have success, UM when he's able to be out there. 0:13:40.120 --> 0:13:43.040 And then C J Henderson to your point, Darren, I 0:13:43.120 --> 0:13:45.240 watched him put his body on the line in the 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:47.720 Rams game, UM, a Rams game that was starting to 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:49.679 get out of hand, and he went into the concussion 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:53.360 protocol after that, UM, and he's back. He had that 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:58.559 huge interception UM in in this game here, And you're right, 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:01.080 there's so many individuals store Ree. Like I said, we 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:03.560 haven't talked about Deanta Form, and we haven't talked about 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:05.800 Terrice Marshall, we haven't talked about DJ. I mean, there's 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:08.920 there's a thousand different stories that you could tell. But 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:11.480 what I want to know from from both of you 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:16.120 is this, this has got to feel deflating, right, So 0:14:16.360 --> 0:14:18.960 how how does this team You know, of course we 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:22.080 hear we're gonna flush it. We gotta move on. You know, 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:24.240 you win, you can't take it with you. If you lose, 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:28.240 you can't take it with you. So Augusta, how do 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:33.440 they move forward after this one? Because the effort was there, 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:35.840 and like you said, one thing goes differently, they would 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:37.520 have been tied for the division leads. So what are 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:39.880 you hearing from the guys exactly? I think it's kind 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:42.320 of it's almost like it ties into what we've been 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:44.120 talking about, but there's so much to talk about. I 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.720 think they're focusing on the fact that there were so 0:14:46.760 --> 0:14:49.680 many good things. Like Darren said, you've seen the Panthers 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:52.040 lose that game by twenty when there's so much fight 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:53.680 and there's so many good things. I want to talk 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:56.000 specifically about c J. Henderson just because I spoke with 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:59.240 UM defensive backs coach Evan Cooper yesterday about c J 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.800 and UM. He called it the aha moment for him 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:06.320 almost like you know, especially UM. I feel like a 0:15:06.320 --> 0:15:08.440 lot of fans and a lot of people when they 0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:10.920 see c J. Henderson they think about the d p 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:12.120 I S. I mean, it felt like there was a 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:13.680 string of like three games where it was almost he 0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:16.320 could it just kept happening, just kept happening, and he 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:18.120 made a play on the ball, which was something that 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:19.920 I had talked with uh, you know, a lot of 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:22.120 the players about I had talked with with Coop about 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:23.880 and he was like, he finally made the play on 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:25.680 the ball and was right before. It was a few 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:28.960 plays before that interception. It was one of those things where, um, 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:32.920 it was just he kind of turned the turned a corner. 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:36.000 It's not like he's like, you know, arrived or anything, 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:37.880 but he's he's turned a corner. And I think a 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:40.360 lot of the team feels that way. Deante Foreman, you know, 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:42.680 I talked with him after the first game where he 0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:45.400 posted over hundred rushing yards and he was like, oh, yeah, 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:47.760 I'm finally you know, like getting my opportunity. And then 0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:50.680 he does the same thing again. So there's there's building blocks. 0:15:50.680 --> 0:15:52.520 And I think even though there was a loss and 0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:54.920 it was super deflating in that moment, I I didn't 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:56.760 feel like the vibe in the locker room Monday was 0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.560 rough at all. I felt very optimistic. And when you 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:01.360 have things that you can build upon that are good, 0:16:01.400 --> 0:16:03.800 it's not just oh my goodness, you know. Execution was 0:16:03.840 --> 0:16:05.680 really poor and you know, we know we can put 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:07.360 it together in practice, but you put it together at 0:16:07.440 --> 0:16:09.480 least enough in a game to make it that kind 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:11.920 of thriller, competitive sort of thing. I think that's what 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.280 they're focusing on. And and now when you lose a 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:16.480 game like that, you have places to grow too, So 0:16:16.600 --> 0:16:19.040 it's you have your glows and your growths. That's what 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:21.280 I always call them. So I think there's a lot there. 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:23.360 I really do. It's a nice like coaching term. You 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:26.000 should tell coach Wilkes that Darren put that, put that 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:28.120 slogan on a piece of paper, Let's tap that on 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:31.520 the wall. I need more of those, especially the gloves, 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:34.800 I like the clothes. What are you hearing from from 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:38.320 Steve Wilkes, from these players? And how do you if 0:16:38.360 --> 0:16:41.760 you're in that locker room, how do you not lose 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:44.720 that fire that you would have had if one thing 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:46.400 went your way in that game and you win? I 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:49.080 think one of the things. And I don't want to 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:51.600 say it's unique to Steve Wilks, because I think a 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:54.000 lot of coaches try to approach this thing. But Steve 0:16:54.040 --> 0:16:57.320 as always said, I mean when he becomes interim head coach, 0:16:57.400 --> 0:16:59.880 I mean it's it would have been easy to make 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:03.760 that story about Steve Wilkes getting another chance, Steve Wilkes 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:06.720 being a hometown kid, uh and all that kind of stuff. 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:09.880 Steve has resisted making this about him, and he's kept 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:13.359 the focus very short, you know, on We're gonna win today, 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:17.280 is the thing Steve always says. I think players pick 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:20.720 up on the fact that Steve knows nothing is promised 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:23.960 to him. He knows nothing that's happening, right. I mean, 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:27.440 there's a very real chance that nothing that happens on 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:31.760 the field this week ultimately impacts his future job wherever 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:34.080 it happens to be, whether it's here anywhere else. So, 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:37.640 I mean Steve's taking a very narrow focus on everything 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:39.760 because that's the way you've got to beat During an 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:43.439 NFL season, there's so much stuff happening. I mean, you know, again, 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:46.400 look at what's going on in Cincinnati. Your go there 0:17:46.400 --> 0:17:48.479 in the Super Bowl. Now they're kind of up against it. 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:52.080 They're running out of dudes. Um, key players are hurt. 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:57.479 They struggled in front of a national audience on Monday night. Um. 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:00.080 Stuff changes in a hurry in the NFL, and the 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:03.400 only real way to approach this job and maintain any 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:06.880 degree of sanity is to do today as well as 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:09.159 you can. I mean, and I think back to my 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:12.080 background in newspapers. You know, we always laughed and called 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:14.160 it the daily miracle. How did we put this thing 0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:16.879 out in twenty four hours when we started with nothing? 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:18.600 And that's kind of the way you've got to be 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:22.359 with football. I mean, you can't the Carolina Panthers cannot 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:25.760 beat the Bengals on Wednesday, but they can certainly lose 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:29.280 to them if they're not buttoned up in preparation for 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:33.400 X y Z. So I just think that's been Steve's thing, 0:18:33.480 --> 0:18:35.680 and it's kind of it's easy to say, and it's 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:40.679 harder to pull off, uh, to keep guys focused on Wednesday. 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:43.879 And and I think from his standpoint the fact that 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:46.760 he generally put them in pads. Now, we haven't been 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:48.800 out on the practice field today. Don't know if they're 0:18:48.800 --> 0:18:51.080 gonna adjust plans with short week coming up in the 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:53.320 future or anything like that. But I think the way 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:55.439 Steve put them in pads on Wednesday to kind of 0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:58.480 get everybody's attention and keep the focus back on the 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:02.359 immediate is is kind of his strategy to pushing through 0:19:02.400 --> 0:19:05.879 this thing. And I think that gave me a lot 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:08.280 of insight between what you said Augusta of just seeing 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:13.439 some individual performances really, um, really turned that corner. And 0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:17.480 then also, like you said, Darren just going day by day, 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:20.320