WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 63: Where Things Are Right Now 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:11.760 It's time for the Happy Half Hour with your friends 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:22.720 Christin Balboni, Will Bryant, and Darren Gamp. Welcome to the 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:26.760 Happy half Hour, the official first one of two. We're 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:29.480 gonna call this the first one of two. It feels 0:00:29.480 --> 0:00:32.680 like it now. Page has been turned and we've since 0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:36.000 retired mcmixon one month on the on the podcast, and 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:40.040 he just decided that was it. That was enough to 0:00:40.040 --> 0:00:42.400 make him walk away from football in general. Is hanging 0:00:42.400 --> 0:00:44.519 out with us from us? You guys, gotta tell you, 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:46.360 you kind of jacked me up the other week when 0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:51.680 you referred to something as the two NFL season, and 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:54.280 I read and I reject that out of hand. I 0:00:54.320 --> 0:00:57.840 am not going to accept that construction, even though the 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:00.440 league keeps pushing it back, pushing it back, they get 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:03.720 to the President's Day super Bowl that they so desperately want. 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:06.840 But even though the last couple of weeks of the 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:09.440 season in the playoffs happen in twenty two, that was 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:13.160 the season. That is how I will refer to it. 0:01:13.240 --> 0:01:16.800 I'm still writing one on stuff. I don't know what 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:20.240 I've messed up in some sort of thing online by 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:22.240 writing the wrong year on it. But I have not 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:25.240 been able to do you sent me something I put 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:28.200 it in an email or something about the season. I 0:01:28.280 --> 0:01:33.399 was like, no, no, no, I'll take that, I'll wear that. 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:35.240 I would ask you if you wrote it on one 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:37.480 of your checks, But what's the chance of millennial like 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:42.600 you writes checks anymore? What is that? Do you own 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:46.880 a physical checkbook? Uh? Yes, but I don't know where 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:49.280 it is. I think it's somewhere in my drawer. I 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:51.800 haven't used it in a long time. Do you balance 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:55.120 your check book or do you just look online and 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:58.840 hope the magic money fairies have left you with more 0:01:58.880 --> 0:02:02.280 than you've spent. They're not fairies there, it's it's they're 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:04.760 little pop up things and they tell you you're doing great. 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:07.760 I have an app for that. Yes, I have a 0:02:07.880 --> 0:02:12.720 check register that tells me exactly how much. But see, 0:02:12.800 --> 0:02:16.799 if you're not writing checks, balancing a checkbook is it's 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:19.520 a daily thing. You get up in the morning, you 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:22.440 make yourself a pot of coffee, you do the wordle, 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:24.519 you balance a check book, and then you move on 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:28.400 with your day. I haven't tried to expose you, but 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:31.000 I've had three straight wordles where I got them online. 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:33.640 Three and I didn't I didn't. I didn't want to 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:36.200 just throw you off. Do you have a singular word 0:02:36.200 --> 0:02:38.840 that you always start with on the world, you just 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:40.880 go with whatever. I read a story I think it 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:42.280 was on the Ring or the other day, and I 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:44.960 admire this guy and I hate him because he's funnier 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:46.880 than I am. But he said his first word on 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:50.840 word is always farts. And you know it's probably not 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:53.760 the It's not a bad word because the A, the R, 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:55.880 the t V S. I mean, it's like we are fortune, 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:59.680 you get right off the top. But so you get 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:02.760 most of those right off the bat. But it's probably 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:05.440 not ever going to bear. But if, but if it ever, 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:09.040 that's a weird first letter though. Yeah. So I don't 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:11.320 usually interject, but I have to ask. I don't know 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:14.200 what the I don't know what word will is. I 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:16.320 can't find it. Can someone explain it? If you google 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:19.200 wordle w R d l E, it'll send you to 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:22.000 the website and it's a daily word puzzle. It's like 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:24.880 the game Mastermind with the colored pegs and you had 0:03:24.919 --> 0:03:27.600 to you would get credit for right color, wrong spot, 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:30.040 that kind of thing. And it's and it's that except 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:33.079 with words. All five letter words and so you get 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:36.920 credit for right letter, wrong spot green if it's right letter, 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:38.960 right spot, and then you kind of go down the line. 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:40.680 You've got six tries to try to get the word 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:42.920 all right, we'll no longer left out then thank you. Yeah, 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:46.600 it's super fun. Darren reminds me every morning of his 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:48.760 word al he starts his day with a word'll post 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:51.080 on Twitter, at least for the last couple of days. 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:53.080 I'm not gonna be that guy who does it every day. 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:54.640 But I did a couple of them and then I 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:57.520 got one wrong. I didn't get it correct a couple 0:03:57.520 --> 0:04:00.200 of days ago, and it really angered me in the 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:04.880 old day. Not really, So Darren, let's talk about this 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:09.000 football team. Yeah, I guess we got uh um at 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:12.360 least one last time that didn't go right. That was 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:18.040 not what anybody was looking for out of the Carolina Panthers. 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.839 And you know, I mean it's we have talked over 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:22.919 the course of the year about all the things that 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:26.719 went wrong, and I think there were surprises along the way. 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:28.719 There were disappointments along the way, but a lot of 0:04:28.720 --> 0:04:31.919 the stuff that went wrong with stuff you could reasonably 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:35.119 have predicted going into the year. I mean, we knew 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:38.440 based on what they spent or didn't spend on offensive 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:41.760 lineman and the fact that they this franchise over the 0:04:41.839 --> 0:04:45.400 last decade hasn't invested in offensive lineman, that offensive lie 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:47.960 was gonna be a problem. Surprised They gave up fifty 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:51.560 two sacks, fifth most in the league and played thirteen 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:54.400 different combination and dudes in seventeen games. That was a 0:04:54.440 --> 0:04:58.840 problem and they're gonna work on that. Um, we thought 0:04:58.920 --> 0:05:01.880 the defense was gonna be pretty good. It was for 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:04.240 the most part. There are things you don't love about it. 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:05.560 It was a little light in the seat of the 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:08.400 pants upfront. People ran on them over the course of 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:10.120 the year, but that's what happens when you got five 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:15.080 hundred pounds of pass rusher at your two end spots. Um, 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:19.440 there weren't particularly deep at you know. Rule talked about 0:05:19.440 --> 0:05:21.120 this a lot. He talked about playing in the n 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:23.400 FC South, you want to be built to rush the 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:25.560 passer and defend man to man. So they had a 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:28.560 bunch of corners and they were good, and that secondary 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:31.800 was really good until they started ding ding ding getting 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:33.720 hurt all the way down the line. And then by 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:36.680 the end of the year you're out there playing with 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:40.320 Stanley Thomas Oliver and Madre Harper and Keith Taylor and 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:43.320 wondering why Tom Brady's putting forty one on you. Well, 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:46.760 that's why because Stefind Gilmore's out with COVID and Dante 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:48.680 Jackson and J. C. Horn are on I R. And 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:51.560 so's a J. Boyer. I mean, it's you know, a 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:54.520 lot of stuff. And it was cascading stuff. So the 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:58.880 defense was good. Then erosion sort of happened and it 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:02.560 was less good down the stretch. And I mean, honestly though, 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:06.240 it was just a defense that got worn out, grying 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:08.400 the load for the whole year. I mean that offense 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.960 was bad, and it was bad because the offensive line 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:15.200 wasn't sustainable. It was bad because Christian McCaffrey got hurt again, 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:18.480 and it was bad because of those first two things. 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:22.000 None of the quarterbacks, none of the three quarterbacks they 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:24.720 started this year, and anytime you use that sentence, that's 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:28.080 a red flag. Uh. None of the three quarterbacks were 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:32.920 enough to overcome those first two things. And I think 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:35.960 that once you got into December, you know, there you 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:38.120 can look at or people may look at this stat 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:39.720 or that stat over the course of the season or 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:41.760 this game in December or January. I mean, I think 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:44.719 once once the playoffs were out, and once it was 0:06:44.800 --> 0:06:47.560 just obvious this offense wasn't going to be able to 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:52.000 play and score at the level they needed to to 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:54.279 and to necessarily look at you know, this happened on defense, 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:56.119 or that happened. I mean, I think at some point 0:06:56.160 --> 0:07:00.000 you're just it's not really relevant, it didn't really matter. 0:07:00.200 --> 0:07:03.159 I mean, looking back on this thing, the season ended 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:06.279 in Miami. Yeah, the season ended in Miami when you 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:09.960 got your heads beat in by a Dolphins defense that 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:13.600 is built on that same Patriots platform that beat your 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:18.160 head in here and you're five, you know, five and seven. 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:21.520 All the good feelings from Arizona feel like a hundred 0:07:21.600 --> 0:07:24.320 years ago. You fire a coordinator, and then the last 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:26.440 couple of weeks we're just hanging on for dear life 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:28.400 and trying to get through it. I mean, there were 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:32.240 individual things you could take from the last month of 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:35.920 the season. Oh look, Brandy Christiansen, he looked, okay, um, 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.920 little stuff like that. But you know, for the historical 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:43.760 scope of this thing, the season ended in Miami, and 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:46.480 then now it's just onto the next thing and it 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:49.200 is onto the next thing, right, So as you look 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:50.960 at that, there's a you know a little bit of 0:07:51.000 --> 0:07:53.640 a timeline that we're going to be a part of here, 0:07:53.880 --> 0:07:56.040 and I think maybe the first chapter of it, the 0:07:56.040 --> 0:07:58.160 first step is, you know, who are they going to hire? 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:01.400 Offensive coordinator? And then sub sequently these kind of positions, 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:04.440 offensive line, defensive line, special teams, and I think it's 0:08:04.440 --> 0:08:06.320 all gonna flow from there. But I think the first 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:09.080 step is the guy doing the hiring, and it's Matt, 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:12.000 and it's I know a lot of people, you know, 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:16.160 the people who live online, um and I live to 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:18.640 be angry online aren't thrilled about it. And a lot 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:21.920 of fans aren't thrilled about it. We've heard him, uh 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:24.520 all over town and all over the radio and at 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:27.480 basketball games and stuff, and Matt rules. Not horribly popular, 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:32.360 but Matt rules here, and you know that was you know, 0:08:32.480 --> 0:08:36.240 I think I will. We haven't heard from Temper yet. 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:39.240 I assume that at some point this offseason we will. 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:41.840 And I think what he's going to say is some 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:45.120 version of I told you Rome wasn't building a day. 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:47.600 I told you this was gonna take a minute. I 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:50.520 told you we were looking at a couple three or 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:53.280 four or five years to get the organization where we 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:55.560 wanted to be. And I and I think there is 0:08:56.320 --> 0:09:00.000 you know, in in people who it's like political opinion. 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:02.200 People made up their mind early on on this and 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:06.400 they're never gonna change. But I think, you know, there 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:09.520 is something to be said, whether you like the particular 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:11.839 parts of it or not, there's something to be said 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:13.760 for I don't want to be the guy that fires 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:17.000 coach every two years. Don't want to be the Jacksonville Jaguars, 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:18.679 don't want to be the New York Giants, don't want 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:21.160 to be the Jets, don't want to be those teams 0:09:21.200 --> 0:09:24.440 down there in that range of the NFL. And certainly 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:28.520 it hadn't go on the way anybody anticipated um for 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:30.440 a lot of reasons, and we could chop it up 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:33.360 a hundred ways. But you know, I think now it's 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:38.600 on Matt to find an offensive coordinator. And you've heard 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:41.280 me joke over the years, will the number one ruling 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:43.680 coaching searches is if the last guy was fat, the 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:47.079 next guy I'll be skinny. The last offensive coordinator was 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:49.560 Joe Brady. The next offensive coordinator is gonna have some 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:51.600 skins on the wall. He's gonna be an older dude 0:09:51.600 --> 0:09:54.160 who's called plays in the NFL before. And it may 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:58.160 not be a name that's sexy or you know, whatever 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.600 lights up the phone lines at the sports talk radio station. 0:10:01.760 --> 0:10:05.880 But I think they need to add some degree of 0:10:06.200 --> 0:10:10.480 NFL experiencing credibility to that offense as they begin to build. 0:10:10.760 --> 0:10:13.319 Because we've talked about it over and over. They are 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.600 going to spend money in draft picks on offensive linemen. 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:21.640 They are going to continue to look for an answer 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:25.320 at quarterback. Now. I don't know if that answer looks 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:29.319 like and Andy Dalton or a case Keenum or whatever 0:10:29.440 --> 0:10:32.400 fill in the blank. You're you know, you're faceless NFL 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:34.840 veteran to come in and lend some stability to this 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:38.480 thing along with Sam Donald, or it means drafting Kenny 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:40.520 Picket or whatever it happens to be. But I know 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:43.880 step one is going to be free agency, where this 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:49.160 thing's gonna look different, and it's absolutely coming. Brace yourselves 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:52.280 for it. You know, somebody you love on that defense 0:10:52.320 --> 0:10:55.880 probably and gonna be here again next year. Uh, somebody 0:10:55.920 --> 0:10:58.160 they really need is going to walk in the door 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:02.640 pretty early in free agency, and and you expect it. 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:06.480 I expect it to be one of statement of intent signings. 0:11:07.000 --> 0:11:16.200 I think something's coming on March. Whatever the Wednesday is, um, 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:18.880 look at me, whatever that Wednesday in the middle of 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:22.520 March is, because I already know what my spring is 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:26.560 gonna look like football calendar. Somebody's coming and it's gonna 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:30.720 we're gonna hear about it during the legal tampering period 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:33.800 because it's going to be that level of signing and 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:36.920 they're gonna be able to say, see this what we mean, 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:39.040 We told you we're going to do this, and here 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:41.880 it is. And I don't know what the particular name 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:43.400 is gonna be. I got a couple of ideas, but 0:11:43.679 --> 0:11:48.599 it's I think it's reasonable to anticipate they're going to 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:51.120 prove to you they mean it when they say they're 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:53.560 going to fix that offensive One does that in line? 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:56.719 Need it both in free agency and the draft it's 0:11:56.720 --> 0:12:00.520 one or the other. I think it's both. I mean, honestly, 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:04.960 if you go out and you know right now they're 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:08.800 picking six, if you go out in free agency and 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:13.320 signed a left tackle act Toron Armstead, boom, then you 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:16.560 take Brady Christiansen and he's your left guard, and now 0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:19.160 what you've got to do is find a right guard 0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:21.800 to go with the right tackle, and Taylor Moten, who 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:24.360 we already know is pretty good, and then this thing 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:26.480 looks all right. And then you get to the six 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:30.160 pick in the draft, and if you have a chance 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:33.240 to draft and Evan Neal, you draft him anyway, and 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:35.800 you figure out where people go. Then he goes at 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:40.080 left guard for a year while Brady plays right guard. 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:43.120 And you know, you put those pieces together after the fact. 0:12:43.120 --> 0:12:46.040 But I think they gotta consider using them both. Whether 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:50.480 it's Evan Neil, Charles Cross, ikey I kwanu kid from Charlotte, 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:53.719 UM NC state guy, any of those tackles I think 0:12:53.800 --> 0:12:55.600 is gonna be in play. We're gonna write about them 0:12:55.600 --> 0:12:59.640 a lot over the next four months. Um, you know. 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:01.679 And A in those free agents, I mean there are 0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:04.480 big names out there. I mean I just mentioned Armstead, 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:07.439 Andrew Norwell, the Great White Buffalo is going to be 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:10.800 a free agent, um, Brandon Shurf. I mean there are 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:14.640 big ticket guys. I think when people think of splash 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:17.760 signings in free agency, you think of a big receiver, 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:20.560 or somebody's gonna score touchdowns or get a bunch of sacks. 0:13:20.640 --> 0:13:24.880 But a guard who can keep the flies off, whatever 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:27.800 quarterback it is, make you a little bit stouter in 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:32.800 the run game, fix things around Christian and you know, 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:35.559 beefing up the running game around him. I think all 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:39.120 those things have to happen. What do you You're heading 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:44.080 down to mobile sound? Maybe Mailor's ours are probably gonna 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:45.880 yell at me for saying it wrong. I think it's 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:51.000 is it mobile or mobile? Mobile? Mobile? Whichever one I say, 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:53.560 it's wrong And Taylor always likes to correct me on 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:57.120 that because it's not mobile, it's mobile. Well, it's mobile. 0:13:57.240 --> 0:14:02.400 It's either mobile or mobile. Uh okay, it's not mobile 0:14:02.760 --> 0:14:06.600 obviously or mobile. But I can't I can't remember if 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:11.360 it's mobile or mobile. I think it's mobile. Who are you? Uh? 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:13.880 Have you? You probably haven't gotten there yet. Where it's 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:17.920 It's it's Thursday. We're still just doing the word. Is there? 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:21.960 What do you what's the difference from a scouting standpoint, 0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:24.600 from a Scott Fitter stound standpoint, what's the difference between 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:27.440 the Senior Bowl and the Combine? For those that may 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:31.120 not be all that plugged into, Well, the Senior Bowl 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:33.800 practices are the key. I mean, the game doesn't matter. 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:36.800 Nobody pays stench to the game. They just games there 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:40.720 because we've got to have television inventory. Um. The practices 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:45.840 are the deal. And and you can watch people do football. Um. 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:48.360 And it's one of those corny things scouts say you 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:52.280 can feel their size. You can, you know last year 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:55.240 for instance, last year it's a Senior Bowl. You watch 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:58.480 Deonte Brown practice all week and it's like, my god, 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:01.840 this man is massive. Uh. And you've got a sense 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:05.200 for how he moves as a massive person who you 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:08.160 knew if you drafted him. You want to be less massive. 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.600 And just seeing the way he moves at that size 0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:13.800 and all the stuff he can do. I think that's 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:17.360 part of it. I mean, the combine has become like 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:20.720 a lot of things in the NFL TV inventory. It's 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:24.800 it's it's the HR department for the NFL. It's the 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:27.320 place you go and fill out your forms and everybody 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:32.640 feels out highway forty time, arm length, hand size, love 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:35.680 hand size. Um. And we're gonna find out a lot 0:15:35.720 --> 0:15:37.640 about hand size. Can he pick it? Does he have 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:41.440 small hands? Um? You know, we'll do all the measurements 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:43.960 and and it's just a place to go to collect 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:47.760 the measurements. I don't think you, you know, fall in 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:50.400 love with anybody based on the drills. You see. People 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:52.600 do it to combine and it's just a place where 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:55.800 you go to get the standardized information. The medical is 0:15:55.840 --> 0:15:58.480 the most important part. The interviews are the next most 0:15:58.520 --> 0:16:01.600 important part. Then you get down to everybody filling out 0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:04.960 the form, you know, your job application with all your 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:07.640 forty times and bench press reps and that kind of stuff. 0:16:08.240 --> 0:16:11.720 How how much do you put on some I mean 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:14.160 every year you get those like one or two stories 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:16.560 that come out of those interviews where it's just like, ah, 0:16:16.600 --> 0:16:18.320 this guy said this or you know this on this 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:20.080 you know on the test that he did. He thinks 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:22.080 he's a cat instead of a dog, you know, or 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:25.440 doesn't like football, or you know, enjoys playing the wordle 0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:28.600 and Moroy loves playing a quarterback or anything. The good 0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:35.080 news is the league doesn't wonder Lick anymore. And that's 0:16:35.120 --> 0:16:38.240 one of my little pet things because I believe that 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:42.200 people learn differently, and that intelligence is not a thing 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:45.120 you can measure in only one way and only one lay. 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:47.560 And some guys learned differently. Some guys are visual learners, 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:51.120 special learners, test takers. It's a hundred different ways. And 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:53.920 the thing we mean by intelligence means a million things 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:56.800 to a million different people. Um. There are people who 0:16:56.840 --> 0:16:59.200 scored low and wonder licks and got shamed by it, 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:03.920 who were incredibly smart football players. Um, we've seen that 0:17:04.040 --> 0:17:06.840 here without getting into names, because again I hate it 0:17:06.880 --> 0:17:09.760 because it got used as a scarlet letter on guys 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:13.479 and in a way to shame people, uh, for reasons 0:17:13.520 --> 0:17:15.680 I don't really understand why people get a kick out 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:19.720 of doing. Um. So, I mean that's going away. I 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:23.040 mean all of that, all of that stuff is just 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:25.520 part of the equation. I mean it's it's one more 0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:28.600 thing and you get all those measurables down. Sorry, I 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:31.919 got on my wonderly crazy I forgot that. I I 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:33.760 like it. I didn't really, I mean that's good for me. 0:17:33.760 --> 0:17:35.840 I didn't know that it was gone. So I'm I'm 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:39.280 glad to hear that. Um. Obviously, we we have a 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:41.439 lot coming up. There's you know, we're just getting started. 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:44.520 It's it's just early January, so it is, you know. 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:46.080 So I'm not going We're not gonna go too far 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:49.240 into every single day off. Yesterday and it was glorious. 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:51.920 You should take all day off tomorrow too. You you've 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:54.560 earned it, and I know we'll see. But I mean, 0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:57.639 I thought about this actively in the middle of the 0:17:57.720 --> 0:17:59.679 day and I was doing some I was doing some 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:04.359 foot all adjacent stuff yesterday, but I didn't write a 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:08.080 word for this website about the Carolina Panthers for probably 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:10.600 the first time since the middle of July. I like 0:18:10.720 --> 0:18:15.320 that it was pretty neat, gonna lie, Yeah, they needed 0:18:15.320 --> 0:18:18.600 a day off. It's I think I'm gonna go home 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:22.080 today and roast chicken or something. So okay, it's yeah, 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:24.880 this offseason is good. So I want to end this 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:28.520 for for this offseason, um or at least today's podcast. 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:31.280 There's a there's a great little tweet going around that 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:34.239 a bunch of your friends and are verified friends are 0:18:34.320 --> 0:18:37.600 quote tweeting with your goofiest sports take. This is from Mina, 0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:40.920 your goofiest sports take that you actually kind of believe 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:44.520 is true. And there's any number of crazy things that 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:46.240 are out there that are around this, so I was 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:50.439 curious what may fall into your into your There's a couple. 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:53.600 I mean, the one thing I believe is true that 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:56.439 sounds kind of crazy is that Ted Williams Head is 0:18:56.520 --> 0:19:00.119 frozen in some cryogenic bank and an underground lad in 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:04.119 Florida in hopes of reanimating the greatest hitter who's ever lived. 0:19:04.880 --> 0:19:07.240 You know, I've seen that debunked, but I want to 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:09.199 believe that that's true, because I want to believe that, 0:19:09.320 --> 0:19:11.520 oh my god, I could do that, that we could 0:19:11.600 --> 0:19:18.199 reanimate tidis Um. The sports thing that I believe in 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:22.639 my heart is that half court shots and basketball should 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:26.600 count four points, and that any field goal longer than 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:31.000 fifty should also count four points, and anything over sixty 0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:34.199 should count five. That's incredible. I think it would be 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:38.639 super fun, you know, because you've seen coaches try to 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:42.080 freeze kickers and try to draw in the difference between 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:45.920 a forty nine and a fifty. If you're confident your 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:47.880 guy can hit a fifty four yard or and you're 0:19:47.920 --> 0:19:52.040 lined up at fifty four, he take that delay a game, 0:19:52.359 --> 0:19:55.760 back him up five for the extra point. Let's have 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:59.000 some you know, people think analytics has gone a little overboard. 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:02.120 Put something like that in and watch Brandon Staley's head 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:04.959 explode speaking of a game that was going to be 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:08.800 one of mine. That that someone from somewhere made a 0:20:08.840 --> 0:20:11.480 call down to the sidelines with about fifty seconds left 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:14.440 and said, all right, guys, enough of this. We've got 0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:16.360 all the ratings. This game needs to end in a win. 0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:19.240 We're not ending this thing in a tie. That would 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:24.000 imply centralized planning of a scared scooter commodity that never happens. 0:20:24.280 --> 0:20:26.600 What about this? I would have been all for it. Now. 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:30.960 You know, people were joking online about both teams should 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:34.000 take knees the entire game, and I mean, as an 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:37.080 agent of chaos, I would have enjoyed seeing that at 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:41.000 a personal level. But UM, I understand why it can't happen. 0:20:41.080 --> 0:20:45.560 You have to have integrity of the game because reasons. Um, 0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:48.679 But I do think there was a point and it 0:20:48.800 --> 0:20:51.040 certainly looked like and I kept my miss help up 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:54.760 way too late the other night in Tampa, stuck watching 0:20:54.800 --> 0:20:57.720 that the end of that thing, because I believe the 0:20:57.800 --> 0:21:02.119 Raiders were content to take that right until Staley called 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:05.560 the time out. And then it's like, alright, big boy, fine, 0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:08.120 you you want to play it like that, We're gonna 0:21:08.200 --> 0:21:10.239 kick this ball and win this game. But weren't they 0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:12.080 still going to run a play? Yeah, they were still 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:13.720 going to run a play, But I think they ran 0:21:13.760 --> 0:21:17.520 it differently. They were running that same little goofy you 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:20.440 know run that you know, it wasn't really designed, and 0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:22.679 then I think kind of got their attention. It's like, 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:24.480