WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 75: Team Baker 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:03.559 One of the juiciest, most interesting things he said about 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:05.560 the Browns is that he wanted to hug from Nick Chubb. 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:07.600 That's what he said. That's so he closed off with 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:10.119 he was like, I want a big hug. He's gonna 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:12.000 be a great gift, a big hug from Nicholas Chuck. 0:00:12.039 --> 0:00:14.400 I think it's fascinating because everyone's waiting on to see, 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:16.560 you know, feeling dangerous, all this hype, and he's just 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:18.159 he's not giving it to the media at all, and 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:20.720 I kind of love it him. It's time for the 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:25.640 Happy half Hour with your friends. Kristen Balboni, Will Brian 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:36.000 and Darren Gant. Good Morning NFL Week one regular season. 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:39.800 I'm your host, Adrian cron Hour. No I'm not. I'm 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:42.880 Darren Gant. And that's a dated pop culture reference that 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:45.200 nobody in this room gets. I didn't get it. I'm sorry. 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:48.800 Go look it up later. Kids, It'll be funny then. Um, 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:51.520 it is the Happy half Hour. We are thirty three 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:55.200 percent less happy today Kristin Balboni's own special assignment. But 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:59.280 I'm here, and Augusta Stone is here and oh look 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:02.480 the bad an he turned up again. It's Will. I 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:07.040 don't get that reference either things that turn up often. Ah, 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:09.760 there it is here, I am man. We'll come back. 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:12.120 We're off to a roar and Starry Will Brian's here. Everybody, 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:16.240 Panthers Stats guy. It's it's it's nice, it's been it's 0:01:16.280 --> 0:01:19.600 been good listening to AUGUSTA fill In. I mean it. 0:01:20.000 --> 0:01:22.399 You know, we have real reporters in this room now, 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:25.319 more than just the guy that you know hits buttons 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:27.000 on a website and says, lou look at me, I 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:28.920 have a stat I'd say the numbers thing you do 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:31.360 is quite it's quite real reporting. Honestly, it's at that 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:33.960 customer reporting because you know the journalists hate math thing. 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:36.120 You know you got that going. They're not good at math. 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:38.760 I will tell you that fin in fact about me. 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:44.399 I can tell you this without any hesitation. Um, this 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:46.920 website don't get put out if it's not for Will Brian. 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:49.960 I can write stories all day long. The the greater 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:53.440 website and app product that so many of you people 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:55.760 enjoy it, Panthers dot Com and the Panthers I am 0:01:56.160 --> 0:01:59.600 would not be the same without this guy. So um 0:01:59.640 --> 0:02:02.000 that being sad, That's about as nice as I'm gonna 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:06.320 be to you today. It's week one? Is it? Isn't it? Weird? 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:08.680 Am I the only one that's in a in a 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:11.680 kind of funny headspace because it's like we're spinning a 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:15.920 hundred miles an hour all preseason building up to the thing, 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:20.440 and now that the things here, I'm unusually calm because 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:24.680 we're in a good spot. Our plan has now carried 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:28.079 through to its logical conclusion. The game is here. We've 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:30.359 written some of the stories. More of the stories are 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:33.320 coming uh this week on Panthers dot com about all 0:02:33.360 --> 0:02:35.960 the stuff you want to read, but it's it's like tangible. 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:38.840 Now there is a team that a lot of people 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:43.760 are interested in coming here with a quarterback that everyone's 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:47.600 interested in. My wife included NC State grad and Howard 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:51.560 Brian loves her some Jacoby Brissette. She's been following his 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:55.200 career all through the cults now with the Browns. Very 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:57.440 excited to see him. Oh wait, is that what we're 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:02.280 talking about. That's Kobe Brissette. Yeah, everybody's fired up about Jacoby. 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:04.600 Ber said, I actually kind of thought about setting up 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:07.880 this podcast and and seeing if we could do a 0:03:07.960 --> 0:03:11.320 Baker free podcast. The answer is no, we will not 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:17.200 do a Baker Free podcast, because it's Baker Mayfield Week. Everybody, 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:20.160 it's the thing. And you know, yesterday he has a 0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:22.920 press conference and you know who says the things he 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:25.440 planned to say, and he's not gonna light any fires 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:28.200 Baker's and his best behavior. But here's what we know 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:32.480 for sure, Baker Mayfield would enjoy beating his previous employer. 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:37.440 This is a common motivational ploy used by football players, 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:41.000 but especially this guy, and it's it's kind of funny, 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:44.560 and it's against what we are conditioned to expect because 0:03:44.680 --> 0:03:47.880 Baker's not up here frothing at the mouth, you know, 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:52.560 screaming like lunatic, planting flags, doing all those things before 0:03:52.640 --> 0:03:55.240 the game. Is he gonna do anything after the game. 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:57.320 I don't know. That's why we've watched, just to see 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:01.440 what's gonna happen. But he has been from markably restrained 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:04.360 all week. I mean, you were sitting there yesterday. I mean, 0:04:04.960 --> 0:04:08.280 it's funny to me how he's running against type. It's 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:12.400 he knows what everybody's expecting and he's just blatantly refusing 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:14.600 to play along. Right now, It's kind of hilarious because 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:16.279 in a way, is that not more interesting than like 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:18.120 what you'd expect, you know what I mean, like when 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:20.480 he's up there and he's all buttoned up and yesterday, 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:22.960 I mean, one of the juiciest, most interesting things he 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:24.680 said about the Browns is that he wanted it wanted 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:27.559 to hug from Nick Chubb more than anything. Nicholas Chubb. 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:29.320 That's what he said. That's what he closed off with. 0:04:29.400 --> 0:04:31.840 He was like, I want a big hug, he saiduld 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:33.640 be a great gift, a big hug from Nicholas Chubb. 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:35.719 But it's like when you say, like Baker on his 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:37.599 best behavior, this is like Baker like going to his 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:40.800 grandmother's house, you know, letting a crochet something for him, 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:43.040 and it's he's just he's it's it's kind of it's 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:45.039 kind of funny against the grain in a way where 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:47.240 it's like, I don't know, I think I think it's 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:50.600 fascinating because everyone's waiting on to see, you know, feeling dangerous, 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:52.400 all this hype and he's just he's not giving it 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:53.920 to the media at all, and I kind of love 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:55.719 it in a way. He also made a comment about 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:58.440 how he's not here to make T shirts, which I 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:00.279 think was a dig just at Darren. As we know, 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:02.480 Darren is pretty much just here to make and give 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:06.000 out T shirts to his friends. That's very true. That's true. 0:05:07.040 --> 0:05:09.640 Do you have a friend of the mail Bag T shirt? 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:12.960 I do. Do you have a friend of the Maile Okay, 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:15.160 then that's you know. And I don't want to hear 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:18.880 anything about my T shirt, so almost, but you know, 0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:22.880 and Team Baker has a T shirt of their own. 0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:26.120 And you know, he kind of laughed about the subliminal messages, 0:05:26.240 --> 0:05:29.680 but that one's right up there in everybody's face. I mean, 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:31.920 it's the low hanging fruit this week. It's the thing 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:36.039 that's going to bring national attention to this game. Um 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:39.440 Oddly enough, the NFL schedules certain things certain ways. Now 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:42.440 this schedule came out months before Baker Mayfield landed here, 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:44.840 but this was gonna be interesting one way or another. 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:49.200 And I just there's so much about this game that 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:52.600 in the non Baker category, and that's kind of wanted. 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:54.880 What I wanted to hit on the day is what 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:58.960 is the non Baker thing you're most interested to see? 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:05.880 Damian Wilson tell me more. I think this run defense 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:07.520 and obviously, you know, there's a lot that has to 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:10.480 do with with the guys up front with that defensive 0:06:10.520 --> 0:06:13.640 line with Derek brown Um with with Burns and need 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:16.920 tour with how they're going to be set up. But 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:20.800 yet again there's a new name at middle linebacker ever 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:24.400 since Luke Keikley retired that no one really knows. And 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.159 it's like, who's that guy? I remember when Luke was 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:29.640 stopping the run and when TV was out there stopping 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:32.960 the run? Who is this guy? And I think Wilson 0:06:33.040 --> 0:06:36.520 and Corey Littleton and having shock back that group right there, 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:38.719 and obviously Frankie Luvu who can make a lot of 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:43.200 plays there. There's gonna be a lot of eyes on them. 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:45.400 I would put my eyes on them because this is 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:48.200 a very good running team. Cleveland finished what fourth, fifth 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:51.120 and in running and rushing last year, Like we we 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:53.320 already said it, Nick Chubb, I mean, Kareem Hunt. Those 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:56.719 guys are good and can this team stop the run? 0:06:56.800 --> 0:06:58.600 Because as much as they talked about the second rank 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:01.200 defense last year, a lot of that kind of fell 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:04.200 in its face when they really needed to stop and 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:07.280 people put the ball on the ground, right, I mean 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:10.880 last year, it's so easy and so misleading for them 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:13.360 to talk about, oh second rank defense in the NFL 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:17.640 because it was Yes, statistically speaking by total yards allowed 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:20.520 per game over a seventeen game season, that is correct. 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:24.520 But run defense last year was not good, and it 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:28.840 they got caught playing small. They strategically wanted to play 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:32.080 fast rather than big, and it worked for a while 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:34.600 in the sense that Hassan Reddick and Brian Burns got 0:07:34.600 --> 0:07:37.520 a bunch of sacks. But once the Dallas game came 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:40.440 and went, the book was out on the Carolina Panthers 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:42.520 and it was you can line up and punch them 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:45.040 in the face, right up the middle, and they are 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:48.600 not necessarily equipped to stop you. And and I think 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:51.520 that is I mean, you mentioned Damien Wilson. He is 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:55.360 a bigger version of the guy they've plugged in. I mean, 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:58.280 you Will's heard me talk a million times. There's not 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:01.440 a city in the NFL l other than Chicago that 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:05.920 can even compare with the Carolina Panthers lineage of middle linebackers. 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:10.960 You go, Sam Mills, Michael Barrow, you know, John Bees 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:14.080 and Dan Morgan, Luke keik Ley. I mean, those are 0:08:14.320 --> 0:08:17.280 five iconic names right out of the shoot. And for 0:08:17.320 --> 0:08:19.760 the last couple of years, it's like, Okay, what happens 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:22.160 after Luke, there's just been guys, I mean nothing against 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:24.760 the here why he had nothing agains Jermaine Carter and 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:28.320 Damien Wilson is not one of those guys, but he's 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:32.560 a bigger version of tow here and and Jermaine, and 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:35.400 I just think that's that was by design. They wanted 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:38.000 to be more solid against the run. So you go 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:41.280 get a two fifty pound middle linebacker, you go get 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:45.200 big old Henry Anderson, who we haven't heard a lot 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:47.880 from yet, but he's just gigantic, and he is a 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:50.440 run stopping defensive end who adds a little bit of 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:52.840 something that they didn't have. So they've got kind of 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:56.840 mix and match parts to try to combat what's obvious 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:59.360 obviously a big issue, and Phil snow talk about it 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:00.959 today and I'm sure that's going to be one of 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:04.280 the main topics when he hits. But all right, Augusta, 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:08.400 what is your non baker being you're most curious to see. 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:11.920 I appreciate the emphasis on non baker um. I don't 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.720 know if this is also a low hanging cruit, but obviously, 0:09:14.800 --> 0:09:17.839 with ikey A Kwanu having his first Welcome to the 0:09:17.920 --> 0:09:20.920 League moment, up against Myles Garrett. I mean, I think 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.640 that's been written and talked about ad nausea, but it's hilarious, 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:25.719 or it's not hilarious, but it's wild, right. I mean, 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:27.559 you you come in to the league and it's like, 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:29.720 all right, buddy, here you go have fun, have have 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:34.120 fun with one of the most intense, uh just defenders 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:36.000 in the league. I think it's one of those things 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:39.760 where I think Panthers fans should expect growing pains. You 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:43.200 shouldn't expect Ikey to come out and and be just 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:45.960 an absolute beast immediately. But I think you know, you 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:47.439 wrote about it, and I think it was really well 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:50.000 done about him going up against Brian Burns and how 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:52.760 that that's helpful. And I was watching him yesterday in practice, 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:54.280 you know, going up against Brian Burns, and I mean, 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:56.360 they're just gonna get him as many valuable reps there 0:09:56.400 --> 0:09:58.560 as he can. And and I mean it's a moment 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:01.080 for Icky, even outside of that being the Charlotte guy 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:03.440 getting his debut, but it's like, get your debut, have 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:05.480 all these emotions, and then also have one of the 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:08.360 toughest matchups you're going to have in the league. First game. 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:09.840 And I think it'll be interesting to see how he 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:12.040 how he shapes up. And I'm not I don't think 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:14.760 anyone should go in with these like crazy high expectations. 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:17.240 But like also understand that he was six overall for 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:19.520 a reason, So I'm excited to see that. I think 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:22.040 that'll be exciting for from reasons off the field. His 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:23.480 whole family will be here. He told me he had 0:10:24.400 --> 0:10:27.440 people here from his from his life in Charlotte. I mean, 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:29.720 just getting that moment, but also like on the field, 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:33.480 and is Grandma gonna be here? Oh my goodness, I 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:35.280 don't know. I don't even know if he knows. I 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:36.760 asked him about it. I was like, so, are you 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:39.319 all having like, you know, a get together anything like that. 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:41.640 He was he said, I'm not handling any of that. 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:43.800 He's like, they'll be here, It'll be great. I'll see 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:47.520 him afterwards. My suspicion is the then diagram of people 0:10:47.520 --> 0:10:50.080 who listen to The Happy half Hour and people who 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:55.320 WATCHT Panthers Camp Confidential is a pretty tight circle. I'm 0:10:55.360 --> 0:11:00.360 guessing there's a strong overlap between our audiences. Grandma Quanta 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:04.520 makes me happy. Grandma a Quantu is the greatest thing 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:07.480 that's happened, and just seeing her down in suits watching 0:11:07.520 --> 0:11:10.440 Ikey's first game and go and go panther, it was 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:13.880 the greatest thing. If if you do, if that does 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:16.000 not make you happy, you are not a person I 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:19.200 want to be friends with. So call him the pancake man. 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:23.040 She doesn't know and I love. Whether it was Kyle 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:25.600 or Dan, one of our guys behind the camera had 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:28.800 to explain to her that pancaking was the act of 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:32.000 picking up a person and putting him flat on the ground. 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:35.480 And her reaction was like, oh, you do he did that? 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:39.880 He picks him up, And yes, Grandma, that's what he does. 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:43.040 She is delightful. That was you know, there was so 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:46.319 much good stuff in Camp Confidential this year, but Grandma, 0:11:46.360 --> 0:11:50.920 a quanta just makes my spirit happy. So it's, uh, 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:53.000 you know, it's gonna be exciting. And that's the thing. 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:57.040 If not for that one thing over there, Ikey in 0:11:57.080 --> 0:12:00.320 his first game would be probably the thing we would 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:03.080 be beating into the ground over and over and over. 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:06.560 And it's obviously a huge thing because again that's Myles 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:09.800 Garrett over there. Play hard kid. Uh, it doesn't get 0:12:09.800 --> 0:12:12.360 a lot tougher than this. He's gonna see some dudes. 0:12:12.760 --> 0:12:14.920 Over the course of this year, he's going to have 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:17.240 to get better, and there were some there were some 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:21.000 hiccups through the off season in terms of the pass 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:23.400 rush and that kind of thing, and and learning how 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:26.760 to pass protect at an NFL level. We know he's 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:29.600 physical in the run game. We know he's able to 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:32.200 dominate people and pick them up and put them on 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:36.079 the ground. There you go, grandma, um. But until he 0:12:36.120 --> 0:12:39.120 gets out there against a Miles Garrett and keeps it 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:41.920 from turning into a three four stack game, you know 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:44.640 that's gonna be a question mark. So how Ikey plays 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:48.920 is going to be obviously central to this game. What 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:52.079 about that other first round pick, the guy that got 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:56.240 the red shirt, first round pick, j C. Horn. We 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:59.120 will have some more about him coming up this week 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:01.560 on Panthers dot Com in his first game back and 0:13:01.600 --> 0:13:06.000 how he's handling the emotions of it all. But j 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:10.000 C is fascinating to me because I just love the fact. 0:13:10.040 --> 0:13:13.600 Earlier this week, Matt Rule was sort of talking, you know, 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:17.079 stream of consciousness, I think it was on Monday, and 0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:19.600 he said, we got a lot of veterans on this defense. 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:22.280 You know, even though they're young guys who have played 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:25.400 a lot of football, like Brian Burns, like Jeremy Chen, 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:29.240 like j C. Horne. And I'm like j C. Horne 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:31.760 is not a veteran. J C. Horne has not played 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.640 a lot of football. You just included him with old people. 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:39.160 He has played three football games and you know, unfortunately 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:41.480 last season ended because of injury. And it's like one 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:43.720 of those things you're almost afraid to talk about because 0:13:43.760 --> 0:13:47.640 it's like if we don't talk about it, it's not real. Um. 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:52.400 But j C just exudes football guy. You know. It's 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:55.640 the thing the kids say he has that dog inside 0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:59.199 of him, you know, or something like that. Um, that's 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:02.800 j C. Horne. And he just carries himself as an 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:06.040 adult even though he's still really brand new at this. 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:09.320 And it's been kind of interesting watching him this week 0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:12.600 because he's sort of I think he wants to kind 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:15.720 of blend into the woodwork and and let this thing 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:18.599 come and go and and be in it. So it 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:23.520 started and then everything can be normal again. He Uh, 0:14:23.600 --> 0:14:27.160 I was looking yesterday. I didn't realize in those three 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:31.320 games he only allowed a thirty nine point five NFL 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:33.720 passer rating against. I mean, like he had that interception 0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:36.280 against the Saints, which was a huge, huge moment, then 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:39.800 only allowed one reception. I mean, he's like he was 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:42.440 on the way, you know. I mean, yeah, he was 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:44.960 on his way to being one of those guys. I mean, 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.520 I don't want to be the one that coaches jail 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:51.040 at for creating high expectations, but every team wants him 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:54.080 at Jalen Ramsey, every team wants somebody that you can 0:14:54.120 --> 0:14:56.720 just put over there in a race half the field, 0:14:56.800 --> 0:15:00.800 and football coaches hate expectations when they're created outside the building. 0:15:01.200 --> 0:15:03.040 But j C was on his way to be in 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:06.160 one of those dudes. J C was. I mean, he's 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:09.400 in those three games. I think he kind of opened 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:11.440 a lot of people's eyes like, oh god, that's what 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:14.080 it can look like. And I just think it's a 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:17.080 function of him being born to the game. I mean, 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:20.080 he grew up in Joe Horne's house. He had those 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.440 workouts every day, He did all that stuff when he 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:26.320 was eight years old that normal eight year olds don't 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:28.640 do because they didn't grow up in an NFL household. 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:32.360 And he just he's I think because he grew up 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:36.720 in that culture. That's why he seems so natural in it. 0:15:36.800 --> 0:15:40.160 Now it's just I'm Jacy Horne. I've been here all 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:43.920 my life except only three games exactly like you mentioned. 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:45.800 I mean, he just has that presence about him, like 0:15:45.840 --> 0:15:49.120 he's he's out there with like Dante Jackson and Jeremy 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:51.480 Chen and he just hangs around him and it feels 0:15:51.480 --> 0:15:53.640 like he's been here. Like it's hilarious. It's so interesting 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:55.120 to me. It's like, oh, it's a second year because 0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:56.960 it feels like he was like he's been embedded in 0:15:57.000 --> 0:15:59.360 these walls forever, like just the way he carries himself. 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:01.600 And and I noticed that too, and that rule was like, oh, yeah, 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:03.480 the guys have been here three four years, and and 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:05.680 like you said, j C. Horn played three games last year. 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:08.960 But it's just the guys. The guy's general to use 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:11.240 my word vibe, you know what I mean, he just 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:13.840 has that that feeling about him. I think he's twenty 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:15.880 one years old. If I'm not mistaken, twenty one or 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:19.360 twenty two. He's young. That's crazy. I mean, that's just 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:28.800 I just I love it. I love it says younger 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:30.840 than me, But yeah, I know it's I don't know, 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:33.200 I just I find that so that and like what 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:35.280 you said to about him like seeming like he almost 0:16:35.280 --> 0:16:37.520 wants to like embed himself. He doesn't want to be 0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:40.720 a storyline. He's so I'm one of the veteran guys. Yep, 0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:43.000 love me there, you know, And it's like and I 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:44.800 love that he's almost like trying to, like, you know, 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:47.720 be like Okay, yeah, j C. Horne, you know, don't 0:16:47.800 --> 0:16:50.000 don't hype up too much, but how can you not? 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:52.720 It's it's it's really tough. So one of the quiet 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.520 big things that happened in the last two weeks that 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:58.200 listeners of this podcast probably picked up on but may 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:03.680 not have fully grasped it, grasp its significance. This is 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:05.960 the first time since twenty nine that we've had open 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:09.639 locker rooms, and Darren has been around this game a 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:14.040 long time knows what happened when we lost that. So 0:17:14.119 --> 0:17:15.960 I want to pull this up for you guys, what 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:18.879 has that been like in the last week or two 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:22.760 and describe for people that were like who cares? Like 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:26.200 why does it matter? Right? And just so people know 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:29.440 what happens is and it's kind of written into the 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:32.440 league rules as part of the media access policy, we're 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:36.320 supposed to have three opportunities of about forty five minutes 0:17:36.359 --> 0:17:38.679 at a shot to go into the locker room to 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:41.840 be able to interview players in their natural environment. I know, 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:44.560 when we start talking about open locker rooms, everybody thinks 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:46.720 it's weird and you guys want to go in while 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.320 they're trying to take a shot. That's not it. Guys 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:52.480 are in there. It's during the lunch period after practice 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:55.600 is when it usually happens. So guys are checking their 0:17:55.640 --> 0:17:58.600 messages on their phone, they're relaxing. Some people are playing 0:17:58.640 --> 0:18:01.000 ping pong on one end of the him. It's kind 0:18:01.000 --> 0:18:06.280 of that break between YAH practice and meetings later in 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:09.320 the afternoon while they're changing gears and everybody is just 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:12.119 getting a chance to rest and recharge a second, and 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:14.840 we can go up to guys. We can get them 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:17.160 one on one. A lot of times there's group interviews. 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:20.639 Christian was talking yesterday. Christian draws a crowd. Dante Jackson 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:24.520 draws a crowd. But you can also stop and talk 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:27.320 to somebody on a one on one basis and actually 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:32.080 get to know someone. You can learn about what they're 0:18:32.119 --> 0:18:35.920 thinking about a particular topic beyond the fifteen second SoundBite 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:38.760 that TV cameras might want to keep it moving. I mean, 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:40.639 there's certain people that walk in the locker room and 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:42.520 all they want to know is, Okay, I'm writing a 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:45.680 story about Cleveland's run games. Say everything about Cleveland's run game, 0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:50.200 and then they keep moving. But if you're in that setting, 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:53.920 in a more comfortable setting, you can actually find things 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:57.120 out that are interesting to me if they're instant. Yesterday 0:18:57.160 --> 0:18:59.959 I started talking to Eddie Pinera, and Eddie Eddie say, 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:03.080 as he's fine. Eddie's name popped up on the injury report. 0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:06.159 He says he's okay. Hopefully he is um. But I 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:09.680 started talking to Johnny Hecker, the holder and J. J. Jansen, 0:19:09.720 --> 0:19:12.720 the snapper, and it was like, how weird is it 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:16.200 adjusting to a new kicker? What do you have to do? 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:20.360 And they both explained to me. JJ said, listen, it's 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:23.280 way weirder for me to snap to a new holder 0:19:23.600 --> 0:19:26.040 than it is to snap to a new kicker. And 0:19:26.080 --> 0:19:28.680 I started talking to Hecker about it, and Hecker is like, oh, 0:19:28.720 --> 0:19:30.960 it's way tougher for me to adjust to a new 0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:33.600 snapper than a new kicker. And I didn't know that, 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:35.960 and I didn't expect that. And I've been knocking around 0:19:35.960 --> 0:19:38.160 here for a while and it makes sense to hear 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:40.879 them explain it. But if we're on a zoom call 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:44.040 and Johnny Hecker's talking to everybody in the world for 0:19:44.119 --> 0:19:47.080 a prescribed seven minutes, I don't know that we get 0:19:47.119 --> 0:19:49.000 to that point. I don't know that we get to 0:19:49.080 --> 0:19:51.560 that understanding. It's not the biggest story in the world. 0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:55.160 But we're gonna find stuff out from guys this year 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:58.000 that we're gonna be able to put in the streets 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:01.000 on Panthers dot Com that fan are going to be like, Oh, 0:20:01.040 --> 0:20:04.000 that's so cool. I didn't know that. And that's the key. 0:20:04.080 --> 0:20:07.120 It's getting to know guys at a different level. And Augusta, 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:10.840 this is I mean you were you are of a 0:20:10.960 --> 0:20:15.280 generation that COVID took a lot of valuable reps away 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:17.520 from them. Mean, a lot of young reporters didn't get 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:20.240 a lot of shots at locker room access and having 0:20:20.280 --> 0:20:24.399 this kind of protracted conversation with guys. So this is 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:26.920