WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 42: Special Assignment 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:11.720 Eats. Time for the Happy Half Hour with your friends 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:22.880 Christian Balboni, Will Brian and Darren Gamp. Welcome to episode 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:26.920 forty two of the Happy Half Hour Special. Episode here 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:29.920 from from spartan Burg. We're closing up training camp and 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:32.600 it's just me and Darren, so this is all new. Yeah, 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:36.599 Kristin Balboni is on special assignments, special assignment. She has 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:38.760 a lot of special assignments. It seems like right now 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:42.200 she absolutely does. She's awesome and she's killing it down here. 0:00:42.280 --> 0:00:44.879 So she's working her on a hundred different things. So 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:47.440 Will and I are just sitting around eating boach Angles 0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:49.400 in the office, so we figured we'd come over here 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:51.599 and talk today about that. We got some football, y'all 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:54.160 want to hear about football. We like Football's people seem 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:56.760 to like football, and there's a lot of football going on, 0:00:56.920 --> 0:01:00.840 there is no doubt about that. So it is Wednesday. 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:04.600 We've just had our first UH joint practice with the Ravens. 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:08.080 H Darren, you saw some joint practice with Indie last week. 0:01:08.120 --> 0:01:11.480 How did today's compare well? And I think the interesting 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:14.760 thing about these joint practices and and we'll see I'm 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:16.720 still curious to see what the Mars looks like with 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:19.200 the Ravens. But the thing I have taken away from 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:23.800 this primarily is you're looking at two rosters that that's 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:26.360 where the Panthers are trying to get to and and 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:28.479 it's not necessarily a bad thing, and it's not oh 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:31.240 my god, they're so far behind. But these are teams 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:33.559 that are in the playoffs every year. These are teams 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:36.479 that have established themselves on both lines of scrimmage. These 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:39.840 are teams that are really good and really smart, good coaches, 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:43.120 good gms who you know, know what they want to be. 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:45.440 And the Panthers are still trying to figure out what 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:47.440 they want to be. So I think it's valuable to 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:50.320 kind of, you know, they walked into Indie last Thursday 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:52.040 and kind of got punched in face a little bit 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:54.600 on that first day and they were getting pushed around 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:57.880 a little and it got a bunch of people's attention. 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:01.440 Friday was a much better practice. Today wasn't as weird 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:04.480 and sloppy and messy as that first day in Indy was. 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:07.360 And I think guys are starting to get some of 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:09.960 that is we can't do it like this every day. 0:02:10.040 --> 0:02:12.600 It can't be all the d b O sign touching 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:15.040 and all that kind of stuff. I I think the 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:17.440 message is starting to come through, and it should. But 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:21.040 I think the reality is it's good format rule to 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:23.280 show his team the kind of people you want to be. 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:25.800 And and if you're in the NFC South, then if 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:27.560 you're on the other side of the bracket from them, 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:30.560 it's safe enough to point over there and say, yeah, okay, 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:32.720 that's how you want to put together a roster. That's 0:02:32.720 --> 0:02:35.040 what your offensive line is supposed to look like, That's 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:37.200 what your defensive line is supposed to look like. And 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:40.240 pretty two pretty good examples, because those those teams are 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:43.960 as solid and I think people here solid as a 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.160 as a slight, but those are teams that win ten 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:49.600 eleven games every year, and that's you know, the Panthers 0:02:49.600 --> 0:02:53.240 aren't there yet. I think they're moving in an appropriate direction. 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:55.760 And there are things you've seen in these practices along 0:02:55.760 --> 0:02:59.280 the way that suggests some movement in that direction. But 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:01.960 we'll see as as the preseason goes on and the 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:05.280 season goes on, how much they begin to look like 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:07.680 those teams they're trying to emulate. It certainly seems on 0:03:07.720 --> 0:03:11.680 the defensive line standpoint, you know, from Sunday's game. You know, 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:15.639 strip sack, another sack for um from each tour. Frankie Luvu, 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:17.680 you know, busting in. He had a big play today. 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:20.040 Brian Burns with the forced fumble today. You know that 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:22.520 that kind of that pass rush, that pressure, you know, 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:25.040 getting getting pushed up the middle. You know, Phil Hoskins 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:26.440 had a couple of plays that people were looking at 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:28.640 on Twitter where he was getting big push. Uh, you know, 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:30.520 what have you seen so far from that? Is that 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:33.919 carrying through? I think that's where they're closest. I think 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:37.800 when you think about, you know, the process in that direction, 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:40.240 that's clearly the side of the ball where they're closest 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:42.640 to and making the most headway. And you know, it's 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:44.920 kind of interesting. We had just got Fitter over talking 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:47.520 earlier today and and I asked him about j C 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:51.119 Horne and he talked about that alpha mentality and he's 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:53.240 like j C walks in the room and there's a 0:03:53.280 --> 0:03:56.800 gravity about him that people know and part of it's 0:03:56.840 --> 0:03:59.240 being born to Joe Horn, part of it is being 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:01.880 in the NFL life for so long. But j C 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:04.840 just walks out on that field and when a fight 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:07.680 breaks out, Marcus Peters runs over and is jawing at 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:12.280 j C. Marcus Peters is that guy in Baltimore. And 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:16.440 when that guy recognizes that guy here, I think that 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:20.000 says something. And other players you can see the way 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:23.599 they respond to j C on the field that he's different. 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:26.880 I mean, he is. He is not like the other kids. 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:28.840 He's not like a rookie who walks in here kind 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:31.120 of big guyed and not knowing what training camps all 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:33.760 about and what's expected to him. He kind of he 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:36.039 kind of knows and he comes in and I think 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:38.520 it's interesting when j C had a couple of picks 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:42.440 early in practice, you could hear coaches saying, yeah, but 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:45.440 you gotta watch your hands. You're committing too many penalties. 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:49.080 And they're constantly leaning on him because they know he's 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:52.040 capable of a pretty high level of football, so they 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:54.960 keep pushing him to do more. And I and I 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:57.039 think kind of what they got and it was interesting 0:04:57.080 --> 0:04:59.680 here in fitterers say it. I mean, it's it's hard 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:03.320 for football people to praise rookies this amount. They're just 0:05:03.360 --> 0:05:05.880 not used to it. It feels weird. It's not what 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:09.279 they expect to do because you're expecting to constantly remind 0:05:09.320 --> 0:05:11.440 rookies of what they've still got to do, what they 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:13.919 don't know yet. And and there's not as much of 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.760 that with j C because he keeps moving the target 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:19.360 out there farther and farther away. So you know, I 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:22.839 think with him being mature, with all those pass rushers, 0:05:22.880 --> 0:05:24.680 like you said, I mean to see that kind of 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:28.320 pressure from a second pass rush group with Marki's Haynes, 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:30.600 you know, kind of leading the way out there and 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:33.839 Frankie Luvu jumping in and making some plays. It's it's 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:36.000 a good sign for what they're gonna be able to 0:05:36.000 --> 0:05:38.400 do in the depth they've created. I think we also 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:41.760 saw it, especially this second day in Indianapolis. You saw 0:05:42.200 --> 0:05:45.200 Shaq Thompson and Hassan Reddick and day Kwan Johns and 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:47.400 those guys sort of bob up and stick their chest 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:49.839 out and say, all right, this is who we're gonna be. 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:53.120 This right here is what we're gonna be about. You know, 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:56.880 we'll be about that life today, whereas the first day 0:05:56.920 --> 0:06:00.200 they were not about that life. So today, look, there 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:02.159 are a couple of guys that we maybe haven't seen 0:06:02.160 --> 0:06:04.440 in a while starting to come back on the practice field. 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:06.679 Where are we from an injury STEMP. I think getting 0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:09.080 a lot closer, you know, getting some of the Miles 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:11.880 hearts Fields back. You know, Denzel Paramount was out here 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:13.800 today for the first time since the first day in 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:16.320 pads when he kind of tweaked a muscle um. And 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:19.520 we don't really have any idea what to expect from Denzel, 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:21.680 But some of the other guys are are getting back 0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:24.680 into shape. A J boyer is getting closer, but he's 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:27.000 another one of those guys. A J boy is such 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:30.680 a known commodity that it's almost like, Okay, use these 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:34.880 reps in training camp. See if Miles Hartsfield can play Nichols, 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:37.680 See if you can do this with other corners. Let's 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:42.120 throw more reps Keith Taylor's way and see how he responds. So, uh, 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:44.560 the indication I get is that aj is gonna be 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:46.560 all right by the start of the regular season. You know, 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:49.200 may not be out here much for the next week. 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:51.280 But what does a J boy a really need to 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:53.080 do in a preseason at this point in his career. 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:55.880 He's he's basically thirty years old, nine years into the league, 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:58.360 so you know, he knows, he knows what's happening out here. 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:01.800 So I would say that side of the ball especially, 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:05.479 the signs are reasonably positive. They're not deep, Uh, they're 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:09.720 not deep at linebacker. Uh. They've got guys dinged up 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:12.239 and they've got you know, some questions in the second 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:14.760 and third lines. But Jermaine Carter has been really good 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:17.640 this camp. I thought, I mean, in watching him, I 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:20.720 always wondered what to make of him and whether he 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:22.560 was just a guy kind of the way to hear 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:24.680 Whitehead was just a guy last year. But he's not. 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:27.520 He's a little bit bigger, he's a little bit more solid. 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:29.840 He can still run, he can still move. But I 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:32.520 think the vibe I get off Jermaine Carter is just 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:38.320 of incredible competence. There's not a god where's he going now, 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:42.160 There's not a false step this direction or yeah, any 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:44.720 of that kind of stuff. I mean, Jermaine just for 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:46.960 a young guy, he feels like one of those young 0:07:47.000 --> 0:07:49.760 guys that gets it. And I think that's good to 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:51.480 have in the middle. And as long as him and 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:53.920 Shack are on the field, you know, at those two 0:07:53.920 --> 0:07:57.520 basically inside linebacker spots, I think, you know, there's kind 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:00.760 of a floor through which They're not gonna fall now 0:08:00.800 --> 0:08:02.880 if one of those guys gets hurt, obviously, and they've 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:05.160 talked about trying to keep Shack off the field, not 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:07.600 playing as many snaps as he did last year. They 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:10.280 don't have that guy yet. They're still looking to see 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:13.360 if you know, cats like Julian Stanford, you know Clay 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:16.520 Johnston can be backup linebackers that they can trust in there, 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.320 and and that's gonna be something that continues through cuts. 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:22.160 I mean, I think linebackers one of those positions where 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:24.840 you can plug in guys later who were in another 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:26.960 camp or maybe not even in a camp at all, 0:08:27.040 --> 0:08:29.160 when they can pick up quickly. You saw him bringing 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:31.520 Josh Bines last week, and he's kind of one of 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:34.000 those old heads who you know what he's gonna do. 0:08:34.400 --> 0:08:36.760 And that's the thing with those guys. You knowing what 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:40.120 to expect is a big part of what you want 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:42.280 out of that linebacker. And if and if I can 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:45.120 adjust expectations to you and know what you're gonna do 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.839 basically play and play out, I can playing around all 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:50.320 the other stuff. So that's a long way of saying 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:54.160 Jermaine pretty good. But they're not particularly deep there, uh, 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:57.960 your favorite topic, the offensive line. Yeah, what's going on 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:01.600 there about that? Um? You know, here's the thing. I know, 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:04.959 you you people, the people listening to you people out 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:07.600 all you people out there who listen to this podcast, 0:09:07.640 --> 0:09:10.600 who are on the Twitter machine, who call into the 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:15.160 radio shows. All of you people hate Camp Irving. They don't. 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:18.760 I mean, there's you know, it's almost like it feels 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:21.640 like sometimes when I talk about Cam Irving, I'm almost 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:26.040 apologetic about it because it's like, you know, nobody's expecting 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:28.240 him to be the answer at left tackle, and I'm 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:30.000 not gonna sit here and try to tell you he's 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:32.199 going to the Pro Bowl anytime soon. He's got to 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:35.080 a stay healthy and be be a more consistent player 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:40.040 than he's been. They like him, and they think he's 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:42.920 all right. And I think the stuff about Taylor Moten 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:46.480 playing on the right side is more driven externally than 0:09:46.520 --> 0:09:49.720 it is internally. Yes, playing on the left side. Yeah, yeah, 0:09:49.880 --> 0:09:52.959 playing on the left. So I think I have always 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:55.920 thought they would have much rather just left Taylor alone 0:09:56.679 --> 0:10:00.959 and proceed accordingly. And you know, playing him on the 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:03.600 left side was just in case of emergency, Brake Glass 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:05.640 and you know, listen, Cam Irving has not been a 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:07.959 durable guy in his career, so we'll see. I talked 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:09.920 to him in Indy. He said, part of that is. 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:13.440 Part of that is keeping on weight and staying and 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:16.280 the three oh five three oh a three tin range 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:18.840 as opposed to getting down under three hundred. You know 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:21.440 when they think, you know, the coaching staff is keeping 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:24.400 a close eye on that, and they honestly believe with 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:26.480 the scheme they want to play being a little more 0:10:26.559 --> 0:10:31.320 so on blocking that his athleticism, his feet help him. Again, 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:34.800 That ain't me saying it, it's them, and and they 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:39.600 are increasingly defensive about him. I mean, when you talk 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:42.400 to coaches about cam Irving, it's like, hey, wait a minute, 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:45.320 he's okay. You know, they're you know, up on the 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:47.760 balls of their feet saying, I don't know why everybody 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:51.120 thinks he stinks, but he he doesn't in our mind. Well, 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:53.360 And and that's I mean, that's a that's a product 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:56.040 of no one's actually really seen him. I me, in 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:58.520 terms of the out you know listeners out there, it's 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:00.720 just you know, they're you know, seeing what grades they 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:04.160 took from people. A lot of this kind of stuff. 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:06.520 But you know what someone said from Kansas City from 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:08.679 three years ago. I mean, but I mean I think 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:11.040 three years ago in Kansas City weighed two eighty five 0:11:11.080 --> 0:11:14.040 and was playing guard. So but your point about him, 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:16.240 I mean, you know, he does need to get on 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:19.320 the field, you know, like the the injury stuff is 0:11:19.559 --> 0:11:21.800 and not that you know a guy is just one 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:23.800 guy is gonna be more injury prone than another. You know, 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:26.000 sometimes things just happened. But at the same time, like 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:28.400 you know, you do need to have feel like he's 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:29.960 going to be a guy that can be there, can 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:33.120 play sixteen games or seventeen games there. Um. You know, 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:35.640 we haven't seen him a ton, you know, inter minute 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:39.080 spurts so far in camp, and we're getting pretty close 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:41.280 to the time. I mean, Matt's talked about this all 0:11:41.360 --> 0:11:45.000 offseason that you reach a certain point in the in 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:47.040 the preseason where you want to find your best five, 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:50.200 your best five. He keeps saying your best five, and 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:54.160 it certainly appears at this moment that his best five 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:58.600 includes cam Irving, Pat al Fly, Matt Paradis, John Miller, 0:11:58.720 --> 0:12:03.839 Taylor Moten. Now Matt really likes him, some dentist daily 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:07.640 what he call him the other day, a uniquely powerful 0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:11.080 guard you know, which I thought was an interesting turn 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:13.520 of phrase. And Brady Christensen looked good. The other day 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:16.160 in the preseason game, Deonte Brown had a really good 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:19.800 first game, and seeing those two together on the right side, 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:23.120 I think fuels a little more of that. Well Taylor's 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:26.360 so what do you do with him? Um? You know? 0:12:26.480 --> 0:12:29.320 But Brady I think jumped in and played left guard 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:32.000 a little bit in the second half of that game, um, 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:34.640 and looked all right, didn't He hadn't played a lot 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:37.040 of guard in his life, but he looked okay at it. 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:40.120 But I I like, and again, everybody's got a type. 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:43.000 I like my guards big and massive and able to 0:12:43.080 --> 0:12:45.200 move people. And John Miller is one of those kind 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:48.000 of guys. And so it was weird today John Miller 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:50.480 kind of got rocked back and knocked on his back 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:52.280 a little bit. And it's like John Miller never gets 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:55.400 knocked on his back. He's big boy. And Deante Brown's 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:58.440 kind of that way too. So when you see big 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:02.080 guys like Daily, like Brown, like John Miller in the middle, 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:05.120 it gives you a little, you know, something resembling hope 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:07.480 that they're at least moving in the right direction. There. 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:10.760 The thing we used to joke with Max about back 0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:12.400 in the day to kind of make a little more 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:14.520 light here Darren is that whenever he would write about 0:13:14.520 --> 0:13:17.040 someone like he would kind of have the Madden curse, 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:20.360 Max's Madden curse. Yeah, it does that now apply to you? 0:13:20.559 --> 0:13:22.800 I hope not. I hope not either. But you know, 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:26.360 we feel monastic article about our guy panashk last week, 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:29.120 and you know, and then yeah, I mean, and you 0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:31.360 know what you know when you go into this situation 0:13:31.440 --> 0:13:33.440 like that, that the Mike pana Shoots of the world 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:37.319 or panashoots. Sorry Panas Shook gets heavy on the shoe. Um, 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:39.400 but uh. And we got a lot of nice comments 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.320 from our readers in Poland and and that's always good 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:44.439 when we can expand the fan base a little bit. 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:47.040 But you know, going in and and he knows, I mean, 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:49.080 and he knew that he was a long shot to 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:51.959 make this roster. When you're when you're a practice squad 0:13:52.000 --> 0:13:54.240 defensive lineman and the first thing the coach tells you 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:59.080 in the all season is have you ever played center? Yeah? 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:01.760 I mean, you're change. It's is a long term stability 0:14:01.880 --> 0:14:04.920 on the roster. Not great, but it does speak And 0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:07.720 I think he's such a neat kid and I would 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:10.480 love to see him get another shot somewhere. Unfortunately for him, 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:12.680 he got hurt in the indie joint workouts and didn't 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:15.640 get a chance to play someday. So when he was waved, 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:17.760 he was waved with an injury settlement. And you know, 0:14:18.360 --> 0:14:21.040 I hope he's able to get back in somebody's camp 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:23.520 because he has the kind of work ethic. He has 0:14:23.600 --> 0:14:26.440 the kind of you know, Matt calls it that brand. 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:29.240 I mean, he's that brand kind of guy because he works, 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:32.160 because he grinds, because you knew every day he was 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:35.680 showing up to get after it. This weekend, first home 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:38.480 game for the preseason, Raven's coming in. It should be 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:41.800 pretty exciting if to have seven o'clock home game and hopefully, 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:44.760 uh this is kind of Will putting on his marketing hat. Um. 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:47.120 You know, all all of our fans hopefully this weekend 0:14:47.120 --> 0:14:50.160 will actually be able to to watch some of it. Yeah, 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:53.960 and I'll tell you what I circled back. If you 0:14:54.040 --> 0:14:58.560 are not watching the Carolina Panthers Television Network preseason broadcast, 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:04.359 what is wong with you? We're talking about Unfiltered eighty nine. 0:15:04.560 --> 0:15:06.840 And so this this time. We've got to make sure 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.040 that it works. We'll get it out there and if 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:10.760 you can't, if you can't find it on your TV, 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:14.000 listen online, Panthers dot Com, Panthers app. It's there and 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:16.800 Steve Smith is incredible. My mom called me and she 0:15:16.840 --> 0:15:19.240 said she was listening from the kitchen and she's like, 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:22.960 I think he just called somebody stupid. Yeah, yeah, that's him. 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:27.480 That's a boy. He um. You know, I loved Steve's 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:31.080 energy about this because he has approached broadcasting the way 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:33.600 he approached playing football. And I and I mean that 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:37.640 by saying he takes it very seriously. He's passionate about 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:41.000 doing a good job, improving the people he can do it. So, 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:44.560 I mean he's he's out there watching practice and getting 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:48.000 into granular football. But it's that personality. I mean, it's 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:51.200 eighty nine. Man. You never know what's gonna fall out 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:53.200 of that mouth. I don't think he knows a lot 0:15:53.240 --> 0:15:56.640 of times. I mean, listen, are there lines Steve's got 0:15:56.640 --> 0:15:58.880 teed up and ready to go that he knows he's 0:15:58.880 --> 0:16:02.160 gonna drop in at a certain time. Probably so, But 0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:04.880 that's part of his charm because even though you think 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:09.080 you can't say that on TV. He says it anyway, 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:14.840 because it's that's our guy. He's he's he's fascinating and 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:16.680 and he's so much fun. And I think, you know 0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:21.000 not that preseason football isn't the most serious enterprise on 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:23.720 planet Earth right now, but he makes it fun. And 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:27.480 sometimes I think when people try to get caught up 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:29.600 in some of the minutia of the game and here's 0:16:29.600 --> 0:16:31.880 the score, and here's the down and distance, you lose it. 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:35.960 But Steve, Steve's talking ball and and that's his element, 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:37.640 and that's what he's great at, and that's why it's 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:40.520 so much fun for me. I mean, listen, Ordinarily I 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:44.720 would not circle back and rewatch a broadcast of a 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:48.040 preseason game that I had already watched one time. But 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:51.880 listening to Steve again, that was like, Okay, that's worth 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:53.800 the price of admission, right there? Are you gonna do 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:57.120 it again? Sure? Why why wouldn't you give our readers 0:16:57.160 --> 0:16:59.800 even more Sunday joy as they come back and hear 0:16:59.800 --> 0:17:02.320 what's deep set on Saturday? Exactly? The best of eighty 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:06.360 nine is a thing now on Panthers. So, um, if 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:08.560 you've got tips for the best of eighty nine send 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:11.760 them to us, preferably with the game time and everything flagged, 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:13.720 so we can go back in our DVR and find 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:16.760 them quickly. But yeah, I mean, I just think it's 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:19.879 tremendous fun for everybody. And when you've got somebody who 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.600 means as much of the organization as he does, Man, 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:25.200 this was a no brainer, and I think it's going 0:17:25.320 --> 0:17:27.960 really well for a guy who's done it exactly one time. 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:31.960 So tomorrow, last day of training camp. Yeah, I can't 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:35.359 believe we've already reached this point, But I want your 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:39.520 best moments of the eight five experience. I'm trying to 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:42.840 avoid the I eighty five experience as much as I can. 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:46.399 It's actually, frankly kind of miserable. I have taken to 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:49.000 getting off of eighty five as soon as I can. 0:17:49.160 --> 0:17:52.159 You cross state line in Blacksburg, get on Highway twenty 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:54.520 nine and take the back roads in Man, it's a 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:57.440 lot less stress that way. What's your what's your favorite 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:01.359 town between Blacksburg, Gaffney and Pens or Lickety Creek for 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:04.560 that matter. Wow, I didn't even know Lickety Creek and 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:08.000 it's it's it's real quick in between Gaffney and cow pens. 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.360 It's just literally just a bridge. That's pretty cool. I mean, 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:13.520 I just like I I was driving that road the 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:16.840 other night and saw a barbecue shack with a woodpile 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:19.280 outside it. And that's how you know a barbecue shack 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:21.520 is good. If they've got a woodpile, the barbecue is 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:24.720 going to be good, um, and not just cooked on gas. 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:27.120 So if you've got a wood pile outside barbecue shack, 0:18:27.160 --> 0:18:29.800 I'm probably gonna stop. It was closed on Sunday night 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:32.200 the other week when I went past, But uh yeah, 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:34.120 I mean that's the good stuff right there. I mean, 0:18:34.160 --> 0:18:37.000 you hate, I hate giving up a chance to drive 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:40.240 by the p ch oid, But man, I'm I'm getting 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:42.240 too old for this. I don't need the stress in 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:45.960 my life for Constant five construction. And you know, I 0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:48.960 would also be remissed to get through this episode without 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:53.080 saying God bless Matt Rule for the self awareness. You know. 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:55.359 The day in press conference, he was asked about his 0:18:55.440 --> 0:18:57.840 offensive line, and he said, now we're kind of like 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:00.920 I eighty five coming down here, we're under construction. I 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:03.159 was like, wow, Matt, did you read the comments on 0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:05.560 that one? Yeah? I imagine that one got pretty good. 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:08.320 I Uh, I would have said it's more like Exit three, 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:12.840 a off to seventy but uh but yeah, under construction, 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:16.880 that works. But hopefully Matt gets his offensive line straightened 0:19:16.880 --> 0:19:19.959 out sooner than the State of South Carolina gets eighty 0:19:20.040 --> 0:19:22.520 five up and running again. I asked Kristen on her 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:25.600 way down what she listens to, and she says she's 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:28.520 a drake person in the morning, in an audio book 0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:30.680 person on the way home in the afternoons. What about 0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:33.439 you you? I tend to get in the car. I mean, 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:36.119 I've got satellite radio in the car, so I've got, 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:39.000 you know, the five preset stations that are always there. 0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:41.440 But I was scanning through the other night, just trying 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:43.600