WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 44: A Lot Can Change 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:11.760 It's time for the Happy Half Hour with your friends 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:22.599 Kristen Balboni, Will, Brian and Darren Gamp. Welcome to the 0:00:22.640 --> 0:00:25.800 Happy Half Hour podcast. It's your friends Kristen, Will and 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:28.840 Darren along with producer Matt And it's that time of 0:00:28.840 --> 0:00:32.120 the year guys. Where I mean, we recorded last week 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:34.800 right around this time, and I feel like it's been 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.640 a year because so many things in panther Land have changed. 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:41.239 Last week, yeah, a month ago, last week when they 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:43.360 were about to play a third preseason game and we 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:45.839 hadn't seen Sam Donald play much football and all that 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:47.880 kind of stuff, and all by the way, they've cut 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:50.440 people and done all this other stuff since then, We've 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:53.280 come a long way. It's a lot happening here. Yes. 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:55.600 And we also are going to start our disclaimer that 0:00:55.640 --> 0:00:57.640 I feel like we do weekly during the regular season, 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:00.080 which is that we are recording this on Wednesday morning. 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:02.640 So by the time this comes out, things will have 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:06.880 changed because we are in that initial roster, but we're 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.800 still looking, you know, putting out waiver claims. All that 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:13.200 is happening right now. But as of yesterday, we do 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:16.120 have the initial fifty three man roster, which is where 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:18.240 we are going to start, of course, knowing that it 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:21.399 is going to change maybe significantly UM in the time 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:24.680 that this podcast comes out, and certainly before the first game. 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:27.319 But I do want to get a big takeaway from 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:29.520 what you saw overall. I don't know if it's we 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:31.920 should maybe do it by position groups. I feel like 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:34.679 like there'd be a good way to go, So I'll start. 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:38.240 No one asked me, but I'll start the host. I 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:40.000 do what I want UM, And of course I'm going 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:43.680 to take the easy one before before anyone UM goes there, 0:01:43.760 --> 0:01:48.120 the quarterbacks. So for going one takeaway at a position group, 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:50.920 it was that p J Walker one the backup job 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:54.640 over Will Grier, despite Will Grier certainly I thought giving 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:57.080 PG run for his money, especially in those last two 0:01:57.120 --> 0:01:59.200 preseason games. So I think that was one of the 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:02.280 big headlines that came out of the UM initial fifty 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:05.040 three man roster is that Will Greer is no longer 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:07.320 on the team, right, And I feel like we should 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:10.440 also record and have Matt splice something in later well 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:15.519 after the Panthers claimed Kingele mccringelberry off waivers Wednesday. Yes, 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:18.000 we could just fill in the blame. Yeah, different names, 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:20.560 drop a boy see in later. But yeah, at the 0:02:20.639 --> 0:02:23.639 moment we're recording this sitting on two quarterbacks, and I mean, 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:26.400 to me, that's a little bit risky simply because, you know, 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:29.799 even though the COVID restrictions aren't as stringent as they 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:32.320 were this time a year ago, having an extra guy 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:35.360 around who knows your stuff and who is available and 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:39.799 who you know can operate at a reasonable level on 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:43.160 short notice is something I think they'd be interested, and 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:46.160 I think they're They're almost certainly going to add another 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:48.800 quarterback to this roster in the next couple of days. 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:50.880 We don't know who it is at the moment. We 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:52.720 don't know if he's going to be a veteran practice 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:55.040 squad or anything like that. But yeah, I mean, having 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:58.520 a third round seems reasonable. But they are confident enough 0:02:58.560 --> 0:03:01.520 in PJ that m they're willing to roll with him 0:03:01.560 --> 0:03:04.080 for now, which is you know, I I thought it 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:07.840 was debatable which of those two backups had the better preseason. 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.400 Will played pretty well, like you mentioned, Kristen those second 0:03:10.400 --> 0:03:13.080 two games. Will was really good, and I think Will 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:16.280 will have opportunities, whether it's here somewhere else coming up. 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:18.799 But yeah, I mean it does stand out right now 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:21.120 at the moment as we talk about this at ten 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:25.359 twenty seven on Wednesday morning. The good news is darreny 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:27.600 threw in a lot of words in in um that 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:31.040 last sentence of like whether they claimed someone off waivers veterans, 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:32.920 So we have a lot to splice in and I 0:03:32.960 --> 0:03:35.200 bet we can get to if they do pick someone 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:37.600 off a good description from Darren just based on the 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:40.760 words that we can edit. Let's say signed Vinny test 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:43.920 of Virgin or something like that, and then we're doing 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.800 a breaking podcast if that happens. The best part for 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:49.160 me was as he got into it, he leaned forward 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:51.360 and took his glasses off, and that's when you knew 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:53.920 that Darren meant business on this. On this for those 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:56.880 listening and watching home alternate theory, his eyes are just 0:03:57.000 --> 0:04:00.080 tired because he has published how many articles over in 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:02.000 the last few days. There's been a lot of stuff 0:04:02.320 --> 0:04:05.040 crossing my face, as they say in the football business. 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:07.840 But yeah, it's it's a lot going on. But yeah, 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:09.800 we don't know. I mean, there will be moves later 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:12.160 today for sure. That makes us look like idiots in 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:14.120 the ensuing a couple of hours. Well that's what we're 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:16.320 here for. Right, We're going to record at the time 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:18.880 and then you know everything will change by the time 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:20.240 it comes out. That's part of the fun of it. 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:21.920 You never know what you're going to get. But Darren, 0:04:21.960 --> 0:04:24.560 what what is the position group that stood out to 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:27.200 you when you look at this initial fifty three man roster, 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:29.520 I mean fifty three guys on the roster, ten of 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:32.520 them are defensive lineman. And when you look at when 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:35.479 those guys showed up, I mean, they're all basically new. 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:38.960 Brian Burns is the only pre Matt rule defensive line. 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:43.600 It's the third season and it is alarming, but it's 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:47.880 it's young, and it's fast, and it's talented, especially young. 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:51.039 I mean they kept ten I mean and Phil Hoskins 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:54.720 seventh round pig, big snack, he was probably the tenth guy. 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:56.839 As you look at that group, but after you trade 0:04:56.839 --> 0:04:59.440 for Darryl Johnson, you keep Phil Hoskins around. All of 0:04:59.440 --> 0:05:01.480 a sudden you look and it's like, WHOA, there's are 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:04.000 a lot of defensive linemen and from where they were 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.359 a couple of years ago when the cupboard was bear 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:09.200 when you see them pumps so many draft picks into 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:12.000 the position, put so many resources in the Firman Net 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:14.120 thing up. I mean, you know, you go out and 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:17.320 you sign a day Kwan Jones and Morgan Fox this offseason, 0:05:17.440 --> 0:05:21.360 and it's because you need somebody to shephard along all 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:24.200 of these kids. And I mean those those are two 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:26.520 good vets to have in that room who've been around. 0:05:26.600 --> 0:05:28.800 I mean, Morgan has played next to some guy named 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:31.880 Aaron Donald. He knows a little about how this game goes. 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:34.720 And de Kwan John same deal. I mean they Matt 0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:37.320 talked a lot about de Kwan and how being on 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.720 a Tennessee team that went from two and fourteen to 0:05:39.839 --> 0:05:44.680 playoff regulars matters, and so having that around a bunch 0:05:44.760 --> 0:05:47.680 of young guys like Davian Nixon, like Brian Roy, like 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:52.040 Phil Hoskins, et cetera. That's that's valuable knowledge. And one 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:54.520 thing that Phil Snow has said is people have asked him, 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:55.880 you know, who are the starters are? You know, kind 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:57.440 of where how they all gonna line up. He's like, 0:05:57.440 --> 0:05:59.440 I don't really care. All of these guys are going 0:05:59.520 --> 0:06:02.400 to be on the field constantly. Like the whole thing is, 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:04.520 there's no place you're saying. He said, he doesn't really 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:06.760 care about who the start of the techno. Do you 0:06:06.800 --> 0:06:09.840 think he cares about where they line up, go out 0:06:09.880 --> 0:06:11.680 there and wherever they want. Yeah, you know, the the 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:13.880 guy that is out there for the first play versus 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:15.720 the guy that's out there for the fourth play. I mean, 0:06:15.760 --> 0:06:18.279 they're just gonna keep rotating and going full speed. We 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:21.320 saw that last year specifically with the D line. You know, 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:23.520 I go out there for sideline and you have your 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:26.359 your designated starters, and then you look at the snap 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:28.599 counts will which I'm always very grateful that you publish 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:31.320 every single week. It's it's true. That is how they operate. 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:35.160 They like to sub They like to rotate guys, especially 0:06:35.240 --> 0:06:37.920 on their line. That is their ideal scenario, and we're 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:40.000 going to see it more and more with the talent 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:42.920 that they have added and developed this year. I mean, yeah, 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:44.800 you have those offensive linemen that are going to be 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:47.039 looking at a different guys that they're going to have 0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:48.880 to prepare for that are coming at you know, and 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:51.120 then you have linebackers that may step up into gaps. 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:52.520 I mean all that kind of stuff. But you know, 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:55.040 these guys are fresh. You're gonna have guys, fresh guys 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:57.440 coming at them all game, and it's the same you 0:06:57.480 --> 0:07:00.080 know garden, same right tackle that's going to have to 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:04.000 deal with these really young fast players and having guys 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:06.400 I mean, listen, Markis Haynes and need tour play had 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:08.720 a lot of snaps last year, and breaking on Roy 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:11.120 did too when you were mentioning him. These guys that 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:12.920 you wouldn't necessarily would think it a lot of work, 0:07:12.960 --> 0:07:16.080 but in the system or because of injury. And again 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:18.880 that second group got a lot of run last year, 0:07:19.040 --> 0:07:21.119 as they you know, and last year they were playing 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:23.320 a lot of young guys out of necessity, you know, 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:26.920 I think now it's beginning to become out of choice. 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.000 And and again we'll see what Darryl Johnson. We'll see 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:33.280 if he proves to be help on defense. He's inactive, 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:35.360 he's a big body. When you see him out on 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:37.680 the practice field, he looks the part that's what a 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:40.760 defensive in supposed don't look like out there. But he's 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:43.600 mainly here because he's got some promises pass rusher. But 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:46.000 he's a special teams guy, and he'll probably be on 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:48.920 all four phases of special teams and and be out 0:07:48.960 --> 0:07:51.760 there running around because you need big guys who can 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:54.480 run in that phase of the game, and that's gonna 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:57.440 be his job primarily. But it stood out to me 0:07:57.520 --> 0:07:59.880 that when you keep a fifty three man roster in 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:03.360 time you've got double digits at any position, it's like, oh, okay, 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:06.760 but that's that's an interesting group for sure going into 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.120 the year. Well, what position group stood out to you? 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:12.680 So this one is definitely a let's pause and insert 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:17.000 people later. Javars, Jamar, Javaris and Lamar done. Okay, So 0:08:17.720 --> 0:08:20.280 um no, I mean the running backs. A couple of 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:23.440 weeks ago, when we published that initial depth chart firm 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:26.360 from training camp, we had to add spaces to make 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:28.520 up for all the running backs that were on there. 0:08:28.560 --> 0:08:32.800 You know, Darius Clark, Spencer Brown, Reggie Bonifon, Rodney Smith, 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:36.680 along with Cuba and Christian and yeah, and and and 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:40.080 now it's just Cuba and Christian and now Trenton Cannon 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:43.320 is there as the special team's guy. That that group, though, 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:45.640 what was hit hard by injuries during training camp in 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:48.200 three season, which is absolutely and I think you know 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:50.720 that that harkens back to what Matt Will keeps saying, 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:52.920 you know, the best ability is availability, and I think 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:54.760 I think you saw that a little bit obviously a 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:57.440 lot of that can change here today with practice squad, 0:08:57.520 --> 0:08:59.559 with with waiver claims with you know, they're they're not 0:08:59.600 --> 0:09:02.080 going to ferily leave it like that. But what Darren 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:05.920 was saying, you know, they obviously want depth, but Christian 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:07.959 isn't a guy that's going to be you know, splitting, 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.679 carries a ton if when he's out there, he's out there. 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.080 You know, this is Christians. This is Christians team to 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:16.000 run on offense. From a running back standpoint. So you know, 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:18.679 Chuba Hubbard, I think he proved himself pretty well. You know, 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:20.640 everyone talked about what are they gonna do with Mike 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:23.120 Davis going to Atlanta. I think Chuba Hubbard is a 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:25.360 guy that I feel comfortable with, you know, on an 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:27.480 NFL field right now. But yeah, I mean we'll we'll 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:29.640 see what they do with that running back group. After 0:09:29.720 --> 0:09:35.680 they sign Sagittarius Jefferson to the practice squad today, Um yeah, 0:09:35.760 --> 0:09:37.800 I mean they're gonna roll into a game and and 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:39.800 the three who were up on game day, even if 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:42.480 they add some practice squad guys or adjust the roster. 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:45.360 I mean, Christian Cuba, Trenton Cannon, that's who's going to 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:48.880 be active and Trenton is another guy like Daryl Johnson. 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:50.920 He's a special teams guy. Call him a running back 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:52.680 if you want to, but he's probably not gonna do 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:55.400 a lot of running of the football in this situation. 0:09:55.480 --> 0:09:58.199 And and while Cuba had a great preseason, Cuba is 0:09:58.200 --> 0:10:01.040 probably not either. I mean, you've got Christian McCaffrey. And 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:03.560 I thought it was interesting, you know, Joe Brady basically 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:05.280 said the other week when we were talking to him, 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:08.120 he basically said, buckle up. We don't want to overuse him, 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:10.679 but we know he's the guy, and we know he 0:10:10.760 --> 0:10:14.720 needs to be just increasingly involved in this offense because 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:16.640 he's one of the best players in the league. So yeah, 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:18.120 we're going to give it to him a lot. So 0:10:18.200 --> 0:10:20.440 I think that was part of the reason Christian didn't 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:23.400 step on the field during the preseason. And good, I mean, 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:26.000 save the tread on his tires and get Cuba ready 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:29.199 in case of emergency or in case you just need 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:31.840 somebody to spell him after a long drive. But I 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:36.400 will say Joe Brady also said in our preseason meetings, 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:38.240 we got to talk to him once a week. He 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:41.280 also said, you know, we want Christian fresh in the 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:43.760 fourth quarter and so they're kind of hinting that, you know, 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:47.080 they do want that backup running back position to be 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:49.920 able to go in. Now, once you actually get in 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:53.000 the game and Christian is doing Christian McCaffrey things, I 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:55.560 think that's that's always harder. But do you think there's 0:10:55.600 --> 0:10:59.840 any real chance that that that happens? I don't. I mean, 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:03.679 how how how could it write? Why? Why would you 0:11:03.720 --> 0:11:06.719 give non Christian McCaffrey people the ball if you had 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:09.400 the opportunity to give Christian McCaffrey the ball. I mean 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:12.280 it's yeah, I think they want to and and there 0:11:12.280 --> 0:11:14.640 will be games now, I will say from watching them 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:18.880 through the preseason, I think having a more diversified passing 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:21.200 game might take a little bit of that stress off. 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:23.600 You know, there's going to be a lot of quick passes, 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:25.760 there's going to be a lot of put it in 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:28.560 DJ's hands in space and let him try to make 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.840 him play. Let's get Robbie on these short intermediate routes well, 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:34.280 and we know that Dan Arnold around is going to 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:36.600 add something to the passing game. And if you get 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:39.280 anything out of tight ends in the passing game, that's 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:42.040 one more carry. Christian doesn't have to take well. And 0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:44.040 we know that Barty likes to get creative, so I 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:45.840 don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:48.760 we see a few plays that are specially designed for too. 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:51.360 But you know, I mean, I think it's possible. But yes, 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:53.960 the majority, Christian McCaffrey is gonna have the ball in 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:56.199 his hands as much as possible. I think we all 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:58.800 agree on that, right. And if you want the fantasy 0:11:58.880 --> 0:12:01.360 perspective on this may, sure you get up with at 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:05.320 Panthers Bill on Twitter. He loves your fantasy questions, send 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:10.280 them to him off. Listening to your favorite Carolina Panthers 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:14.960 podcast has never been easier. Simply download the Amazon Alexa app, 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:19.599 add the Carolina Panthers skill, and say Alexa playing Carolina 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:24.800 Panthers now playing Carolina Panthers. Be shore to also add 0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:28.280 the Carolina Panthers flash briefing to your morning routine. For 0:12:28.360 --> 0:12:33.720 more information, visit Panthers dot com. All right, well, I 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:35.319 heard you got a stat of the week for us 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:45.360 right the times, every time of the week. So after 0:12:45.559 --> 0:12:48.760 last night's initial fifty three man rosters were published, Philly 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:53.360 Voice um they published their annual Youngest and Oldest roster rankings. 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:56.560 So the Panthers came in tied for fourth with the 0:12:56.559 --> 0:13:00.719 Cleveland Browns age point three. Now, obviously it would have 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:03.760 been a little bit higher. J J. Jansen, the old 0:13:03.760 --> 0:13:05.800 man is bringing that number up a little bit, but 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:09.120 still thanks JJ. But in the case of this, I 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:10.840 mean it came out of the draft, I think with 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:13.520 one of the youngest rosters. Obviously it's still very young. 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:15.920 You know that they're they're growing. You know, these guys 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:17.760 are young, and they're they're looking to the future. You know, 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:20.640 four years ago the Panthers were the second oldest um 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:23.960 going into So it's it's obviously changed a lot in 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:25.800 terms of the roster makeup. But I think that kind 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:29.000 of we knew that, but here's some statistical proof of it. Yeah, 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:32.920 tin rookies and from the last two draft classes, fifteen 0:13:32.920 --> 0:13:35.440 of the eighteen picks are still on the three man 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.839 roster at the moment. Well, and I think that with 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.520 Sam Donald coming here, there was that initial wave in 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:43.840 the media where everyone gets reminded how young he is. 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:46.920 So he was younger than some of the draft picks 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:49.520 coming out this year and just turned twenty four recently. 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:52.520 I was just thinking we were talking about Brian Burns 0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:57.200 twenty three years old. That still strikes me as incongruous 0:13:57.280 --> 0:13:59.679 a little bit, right, because, I mean we know this 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.839 is his third season, but he just it feels like 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:05.640 he's he's a presence, right, and he's a he's a 0:14:05.679 --> 0:14:07.760 vet on this young de line. We were just talking 0:14:07.800 --> 0:14:11.680 about it. Yeah, still a baby. I mean, shoot, the 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:14.280 oldest guy in the room on defense has been Jeremy Chin. 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:17.320 He's been fifty years old since he was tenning. I mean, 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:20.840 what is he like? I mean, he's not old either. 0:14:20.880 --> 0:14:26.520 A couple of those guys got old souls. As we say, yeah, wow, 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:30.080 I feel so old. We're nuts for another day, uh, 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:33.080 Darren again, we'll just insert the robotic voice and and 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:36.280 the blanks. But as of right now, Wednesday ten thirty, 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:38.760 where do you think that they are going to continue 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:41.400 to look based on where this roster is right now? 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:44.520 I think you have to find somebody with a little 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:48.760 more experience inside linebacker. I mean they had Denzel Peraman 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:51.480 here traded in Las Vegas, had Josh Binds here in 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:55.160 Camp cut him. I think it's clear they want somebody 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:58.520 uh to be able to spell Jermaine and Chack a 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:02.120 little bit. Um Matt talked a lot this offseason about 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:04.600 Jack played a whole bunch of snaps last year. We'd 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:07.240 like him to play fewer snaps this year so that 0:15:07.440 --> 0:15:10.480 in December he's a little fresher and a little more available. 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:12.800 And they don't have that guy on the roster right now. 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:15.920 I mean their backups at inside linebacker Julian Stanford, another 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:19.200 special teams guy in Clay Johnson. So it's it's just 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:21.960 not a lot of experience, not a lot of guys 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:23.880 you can point to and say, if we needed a 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:26.080 spot start out of him. What they don't have is 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:28.520 that guy like Jermaine Carter was the last couple of 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:31.000 years that you could plug in and and have a 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:34.120 baseline expectation of what he was going to be able 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:36.920 to do. Now Jermaine has grown into something else. He 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:40.160 you know, we made a lot out of Denzel Perraman, 0:15:40.320 --> 0:15:42.400 but you know, Jermaine kind of made that job his 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:46.000 own and never let it go. So he's solid, shack solid. 0:15:46.120 --> 0:15:49.000 There's just not a lot behind them. So I would 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:52.160 anticipate as they go through this thing. You know, if 0:15:52.200 --> 0:15:56.920 they claim linebacker have one shower handle off waivers, it 0:15:56.960 --> 0:16:00.280 won't be a surprise to me. Great prediction there, really 0:16:00.320 --> 0:16:02.520 really solid. It's almost like you saw into the future. 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:04.800 I can't wait to see what producer Matt's going to 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.680 do with all these blank spaces. Just like SpongeBob, there's 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:13.080 an incredible opportunity for him. Robotic voice, Yes, Siri, who 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:16.360 is the linebacker the Panthers just claimed off Wavers. Let's 0:16:16.360 --> 0:16:19.280 go back now to what feels like a million years 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:21.080 ago for us, but we haven't talked about it was 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:24.760 that third preseason game where we saw the starters play 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:27.360 for a full half and and he get told us 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:30.520 a lot about this team. I mean, let's just what 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:34.120 were your initial takeaways the game ended, or the first 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:37.200 half ended. How did you feel about Let's let's start 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:39.440 with the defense. How did you both feel about how 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:42.600 the defense looked. They keep taking the ball away from people. 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.720 I mean, that's you know, that's the thing through the preseason, 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:48.040 whether it was the backups in the first couple of games, 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:50.200 or you know, Brian Burns in this last one. It's 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:53.920 like the second one. Yeah, they're going to get the 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:56.840 ball away from other people. That's it. That's something that's 0:16:56.880 --> 0:16:59.480 pretty obvious about them. I mean, and again, they're fast, 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:02.640 and they're on and they've got a lot of dudes, so, um, 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:05.119 that's gonna be important. And I think they've kind of 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:08.439 laid this whole thing in knowing that they wanted to 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:11.640 be fast and physical on defense, because until they got 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:13.840 Sam and kind of had an idea what they were 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:16.480 gonna have in Sam, that was the thing you're sort 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:18.840 of counting on. That's the side of the ball. If 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:21.560 they make great improvements this year, it's gonna be because 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:23.960 that defense is pretty good, and based on what we've 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:26.720 seen in a preseason, I think there's reason to think 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:29.560 that could be the case. I mean, they finished i 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:32.240 think in the league rankings, what fifteen in the league 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:34.200 in total defense, which is always kind of a weird 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:36.639 way to measure defenses. But yeah, they were kind of 0:17:36.640 --> 0:17:38.720 the middle of the pack. I mean, I'm not sure 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:40.720 I'm ready to say they're gonna be a top five 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:43.320 defense or anything like that this year, but they're clearly 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:46.320 better than they were a year ago. And for me, 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:49.560 it was, you know, obviously Pittsburgh had maybe not their 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:52.639 full complement of starters, but they started over four on 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:57.240 third down. Yeah, it was Dante with the first two 0:17:57.480 --> 0:18:00.600 was was really the I mean, those were open tackles, 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:02.720 those were powering up to the ball in space. You know, 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:05.159 those were not letting guys get to the sticks. I 0:18:05.200 --> 0:18:07.360 mean you could tell. And just the energy they had 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:09.760 after making those plays. They knew they have to get 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:11.600 off the field on third down. That was the big 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:14.159 thing that that stood out to me as well. Um 0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:16.359 and you could feel it with the crowd there. You 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:20.280 could feel how excited they were to be able to 0:18:20.280 --> 0:18:22.040 get off the field, take the ball away, have those 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:24.520 third down stops, because those were points of emphasis last 0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:26.680 year and through the first two preseason games with the 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:30.240 backups out on the field, the maybe not the takeaways, 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:33.879 but the third down numbers were certainly not great. And 0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:36.320 so to come out and see the starters really start 0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:39.640 off that way from as you said, that first Steelers 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:43.160 third down opportunity that I thought that was a great sign. 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:45.680 And I think it's also a psychological thing too. They 0:18:45.720 --> 0:18:47.960 see it right, and then they go okay, all right, 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:50.639 now we're feeling good and um yeah, kind of reset 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:52.960 the narrative on that third down and we'll see, we'll 0:18:53.000 --> 0:18:55.679 see how that goes. Starting in gosh, how many days now, 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:59.160 fourteen days, twelve days, something like that against the Jets. Yeah, 0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:01.840 and again it goes back to a couple of things. 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:04.960 I mean, you add pass rushers to hurry things up 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:07.760 up front, and you added so much talent to the secondary. 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:09.840 I mean drafting j C. Horne. I mean I wrote 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:12.240 this morning on the website about Dante Jackson being the 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:14.680 only corner on the roster at this moment who's ever 0:19:14.720 --> 0:19:17.320 started an NFL game, But it doesn't feel like as 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:20.720