WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 100: The Way It Is 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:05.280 This week on the Happy Half Hour. This is a 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:08.280 thing that's going to be built over the course of years, 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:10.520 and I think if you want to get to a 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:12.600 place that's sustainable, if you want to get to a 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:16.200 place of regular playoff contention and stuff like that, you're 0:00:16.200 --> 0:00:18.840 going to have to go through times like this. That's 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:23.560 just the way it is. That's out how right, right, 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:26.880 I know it's time for the Happy half Hour with 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:35.480 your friends Kristin Balboni, Augusta Stone and Darren Gannon. All right, everybody, 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:39.560 welcome to the Happy half Hour here on Thursday, September 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:41.880 twenty First, I don't know that I can promise you happy. 0:00:42.280 --> 0:00:43.839 I don't know that I can even promise you a 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:46.320 whole half hour. But we're going to talk about football 0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:48.600 and whatever else comes to mind in the next little 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:51.520 bit before we have to go do the press conferences 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:56.200 and all the other stuff. Because there's stuff happening. People 0:00:56.280 --> 0:01:01.400 are worried, it's owing two, how's bry? Is it all 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:04.160 gonna be okay? And I don't have those answers for 0:01:04.200 --> 0:01:07.800 you here today, but I can try to offer a 0:01:07.840 --> 0:01:11.520 little perspective. I was just having a conversation recently with 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:15.080 a player from another franchise, and we were discussing certain 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:17.640 things about rookie quarterbacks for a story that'll be coming 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:22.160 up at some point soon, and I referenced Peyton Manning 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:26.000 and I said, I mean, people forget that Peyton Manning 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:29.520 went three and thirteen and through twenty eight picks his 0:01:29.680 --> 0:01:32.399 rookie year, and this guy's like, WHOA twenty eight? Was 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:35.640 it really that bad? I guess Bryce's start doesn't seem 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:37.480 so bad, does it? And we sort of laughed. But 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:40.200 that's kind of where we are. I mean, obviously the 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:43.000 Carolina Panthers are not off to an ideal start to 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:43.840 this season. 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:47.119 Exactly exactly well, I mean we talked about it before 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:49.640 we started. But it's not necessarily about being happy, but 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:51.280 it's about finding happiness, and what you. 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:53.480 Can perspective is a good place to start. 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:58.160 I think, you know, taking a long, longer view is 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:00.320 never a bad thing. First of all, you know, out 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:02.640 of your little where you're here, you can't see me 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:04.400 because we're on audio. But I'm making like a little 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:07.200 thing with my hands where you can have a narrow view, 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:10.760 close your eyes, or you can broaden the perspective. And 0:02:11.240 --> 0:02:14.360 I mean, right now, I think with as few answers 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:17.000 as we have, as you said, and I wonder you 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:19.560 know when those answers will come and if we won't 0:02:19.560 --> 0:02:22.960 get them until the long trip to Seattle. But like 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:24.639 you mentioned, you know, it's just it's one of those 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:28.200 things where there's not much to be had that is 0:02:28.240 --> 0:02:32.239 one answered and too awesome in this small little view. 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:34.640 So let's expand it out a little bit. 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:37.640 And I think it's it's probably important at this point 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.640 to kind of remind everybody. I mean, this franchise was 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:45.440 in a point when they hired the previous coach that 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:49.520 they acknowledged a rebuild need to happen. That rebuild did 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:52.360 not work, they change coaches again, and they're kind of 0:02:52.360 --> 0:02:55.679 back at the same spot. I think probably some of 0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:58.200 the angs that's going along with the so and two 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:02.239 start this season has to do with playing moderately good 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:05.160 football the second half of last year under interim coach 0:03:05.160 --> 0:03:07.800 Steve Wilks, and it was like it was almost a 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:11.000 taste of what the other stuff felt like. But whether 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:14.640 that happened or not, all the stuff that's happening this offseason, 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:17.960 the go get a quarterback, the bring in an offensive system, 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:20.960 that stuff needed to happen one way or another. And 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:24.880 so I think regardless anything that happened three years ago, 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:27.320 two years ago, or the second half of last year, 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:30.760 I think a reasonable expectation of what was going to 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:33.079 happen this year was it was going to take a minute. 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:36.520 You don't bring in half a dozen coaches from a 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:40.040 half a dozen different offensive systems, get in the room 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:42.760 and put together one playbook and expect everybody to be 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:47.920 cooking from it immediately. And I think you don't expect 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:51.240 a rookie quarterback to walk into that situation and fire 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:55.560 on every cylinder immediately. So this is going to be 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:58.320 one of those things. And this is not me making 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:02.000 excuses or anything like that, but I think you try 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:04.640 to look at in a situation like this, the things 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:07.920 that you can pick out, Okay, what's what's happening that's 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:10.880 good for the Carolina Panthers, not just in twenty twenty three, 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:14.080 but in twenty four, twenty six, Because this is a 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:17.640 thing that's going to be built over the course of years. 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:19.880 And I think if you want to get to a 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.000 place that's sustainable, if you want to get to a 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:25.800 place of regular playoff contention and stuff like that, you're 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:28.440 going to have to go through times like this. That's 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:29.280 just the way it is. 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:32.000 Well, it's tough too, because as you mentioned, there's it's 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:36.440 not all horrifically bad. Now, I say this with a 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:40.839 caveat because against New Orleans, the defense held its own 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:45.080 and kept it extremely competitive till I mean, look at 0:04:45.080 --> 0:04:48.360 the final score, but up until you know that second 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:51.960 New Orleans touchdown, it was it was close. Now there's 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:56.000 the shadow of the Shack Thompson injury, which was really 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:59.760 tough for the team just to lose kind of the. 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:02.600 Heart of that defense. A veteran leader, Frank. 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:04.840 Craik has talked a lot about how it's more than 0:05:05.000 --> 0:05:06.920 just the production on the field that they lost. 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:08.880 But at the same. 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:12.240 Time, you can look at how Kamu Grugey Hills stepped 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:14.320 up and it's kind of, you know, showing what he 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:16.520 showed throughout training camp. You know, a lot of time 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:19.640 training camp performances you don't really see them translate. He 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:22.440 came up with a really big stack against New Orleans 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:25.080 and it's looks like he'll be the guy going forward, 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.599 at least you know, as of right now. With what 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:29.520 Frank Craig told us yesterday. 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:30.480 So that that's a positive. 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:32.680 You know, not only did the defense look good and 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:35.839 they seem like they're really gelling under EGI Everro's new scheme, 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:40.440 but they have at least enough depth not seem like 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:42.960 one of the biggest holes that you could possibly create 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:45.040 with such a such a tough injury to go with 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:47.919 not be as major as it could have been in 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:50.279 that circumstance because they weren't expecting to lose him, and 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:52.400 obviously you played a lot. I mean, Derek Brown is 0:05:52.440 --> 0:05:55.960 having a great season right all the usage that he's getting, 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:58.320 all of the conditioning he's obviously put in. 0:05:58.520 --> 0:05:59.800 I think that's something that you could think of. 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:04.440 Obviously that doesn't necessarily translate to wins yet, but seeing 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:07.200 what they've built there and seeing how, you know, the 0:06:07.640 --> 0:06:10.000 three to four transition and the new coordinator and the 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:12.520 new pieces, and how it's all really come together in 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:13.039 a good way. 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:15.400 I mean, von Bell looked great. Yeah, he came up 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:16.800 with that pick doing things that he did when he 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:17.520 was in Cincinnati. 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:20.359 So there are individual parts of this thing. But again 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:22.200 I don't want to get away from the fact, I 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:25.000 mean he was in the first two weeks that defense 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:28.240 has lost j c Horn. Yes, who are Shaq Thompson 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:30.159 for the entire year. That's a real kick to the 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:33.360 front of the shorts. All right, there's no getting around that. 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:37.880 That's that's bad. And you could tell there was almost 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:40.800 a shell shot quality amongst those guys. When you talk 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.760 to Derek and Dante and Burns after the game Monday night, 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:46.400 you know, it's like, oh God, we're doing this again. 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:49.080 We just had this conversation last week about jac and 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:52.040 now we're talking about it again. And then to realize 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:53.960 that Shaq is out for the year. I mean, that's 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:57.800 going to be tough to overcome. The good news is, 0:06:57.960 --> 0:07:01.200 as you mentioned, they are continuing. They continued throughout the 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:05.279 second half of that game to hit their car. I 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:08.279 mean really, the two plays downfield the Saints made were 0:07:08.560 --> 0:07:11.280 about the only times all night he wasn't being pressured 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:14.280 or wasn't getting hit. So they have shown that they 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:17.320 can get after quarterbacks. I mean, Burns justin Houston the 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:21.120 tour made more plays Monday night than we've seen out 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:23.160 of him in quite some time. So they can get 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:26.200 consistent pressure. And Frankie's running around with his hair on 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:29.800 fire like Frankie does. It's just going to be a 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:33.400 matter of making that stuff last and kind of being 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:37.000 able to patch work it together until maybe JC gets 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:40.200 back in a month or so, whenever he's healthy again. 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:43.200 You know, there's not going to be replacing Shack this year. 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:46.440 You know, even if Kamuu plays at Pete Kamu levels, 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:50.440 it's not the same. So they're going to have to adjust. 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:54.080 But this is the this kind of spot therein. I 0:07:54.120 --> 0:07:56.720 think the other thing, if you were looking for things 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.679 to latch onto at this moment about this football team, 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:04.160 I think some of the personalities of the people are 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:07.800 suitable for the task at hand. I mean, if you're 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:10.680 in a situation where you know you're building, where you 0:08:10.840 --> 0:08:13.800 know you're trying to do something long term rather than 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:16.720 this week, Frank Craig's kind of guy you want in 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.360 charge of that project, because Frank Reik's not a guy 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:22.520 who is going to flip out. I know you probably 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:25.760 weren't born when this game happened augustin but once upon 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:28.320 a time, Frank Craik's team was down thirty five to 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:32.080 three at a halftime in the playoffs, and maybe you 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:34.480 heard about it. The Bills came back and won that game. 0:08:34.640 --> 0:08:37.440 You know, Frank Reich has been in a situation where 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:40.520 a team's been one in five and it's easy for 0:08:40.559 --> 0:08:42.880 people to freak out and worry and panic and all 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.600 this kind of stuff. But Frank always says the only 0:08:45.679 --> 0:08:48.079 thing he said Monday night when he was talking about 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:50.000 Shagby and heard, he said, all we can really worry 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:53.520 about is Seattle. And that's the mindset you want in 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:57.960 a coach in a situation like this, because if the 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:03.000 coach projects this project is on track, where we're doing 0:09:03.040 --> 0:09:05.079 the right stuff. I see this and this and this. 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:08.719 I think that calm filters through the entire organization. 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:13.319 And it's more it's more I guess, definite or he's 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:15.120 able to pinpoint different things. 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:15.840 I think too. 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:18.880 He does have that sort of commanding at it. We 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:21.440 talked about it when he got hired here. But he 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:24.600 is one calming, but two also very much so a leader, 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:27.839 and I think that leadership is going to be paramount 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:29.760 right now. Like you mentioned, with the experience that he 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:32.600 has in tougher situations, He's dealt with a lot of 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:34.800 those things, and he also has a lot of veteran 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:37.480 leadership still in that locker room, even without Shaq Thompson. 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:39.880 I mean, you look at the offensive side, all of 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:41.520 the pieces that they've brought in, a lot of them 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:43.680 are more mature guys that have seen a lot of ball. 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:46.400 Adam Feelin for one who gives a lot of perspective. 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:47.880 When we talked with him in the locker room today 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:50.319 about all the uncertainty, really solid. 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:50.840 Head on his shoulders. 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:52.640 I mean, a guy that's been over a decade in 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:54.480 the league, so he kind of knows what's going on. 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:56.640 Same with Hayden Hurst, the guy that's been around for 0:09:56.679 --> 0:09:58.599 a while in his thirties. 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:01.320 I think just kind of leaning on that you're not 0:10:01.320 --> 0:10:02.760 gonna have a ton of panic when there a lot 0:10:02.760 --> 0:10:05.280 of guys have seen a lot of things and bringing 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:08.040 them in not only whenever they were they came in 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:10.160 in free agency and you're like, oh, here's some some 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:13.040 people with experience on field to pair with, you know, 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:15.720 a younger, newer staff and all these new pieces, but 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:18.920 also in times like this, whenever the morale could get 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:21.800 down to have those those uh, I guess those calm heads, 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:25.120 cool heads prevail in those situations and be the leaders 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:27.640 and also the ones kind of talking and setting tones. 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:29.240 You know, when we ask them questions. 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:31.600 I think that's pretty pretty big for the at least 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:34.520 the face of the organization, and Adam Feelin, I think 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:36.280 is a really solid face for that. 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:38.400 So he was He's a grab in multiple ways. 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:42.160 He also is the most productive receiver last week, but 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:44.640 also kind of the one of the coolest heads you 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:47.240 can talk about whenever it looks like you know, you 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:49.760 could see you know, crashing and like you said, but 0:10:50.120 --> 0:10:53.080 he's a really good pair with kind of Frank's mentality. 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:54.600 You can kind of hear it from him as well. 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:59.040 Ye, big dad energy, Absolutely, big dad energy, no doubt 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:02.640 about that. And you need that this week because oh, 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:05.760 by the way, and this is the not happy part. 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:07.880 We don't know who the quarterback is going to be 0:11:07.960 --> 0:11:12.400 on Sunday. So the one thing I do want to 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:15.600 clear up and I'll let this be our little island 0:11:15.640 --> 0:11:21.080 of sanity and a sea of overreaction. Bryce is actually hurt, y'all. 0:11:21.200 --> 0:11:24.560 This is not some phantom injury that's part of an 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:27.440 elaborate plot. If this was a plot, it would be 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:33.920 the most elaborately staged. You know. Yes, Bryce is actually injured. 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.720 Bryce is in the training room. I've seen it. Source 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:41.680 my two eyes point. Yeah, we really are at that point. 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:45.560 And I've already you know, I have learned, and I 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:48.480 truly am trying as I get older, to pay less 0:11:48.480 --> 0:11:52.400 and less attention to the comments and spend far fewer 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.800 amounts of time reading the notifications on Twitter and stuff 0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:59.000 like that. I just it's no good for you a 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:02.000 this situation. I don't think there's a lot to be 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:06.400 gained from it. I mean, again, Rice is actually hurt. 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.600 He's actually got an ankle issue that's getting treatment. You know, 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:15.040 these are things that are actually happening gang, So they're 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:18.599 not just trying to acknowledge a mistake or anything. Come on, 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:22.040 it's it's an injury. It's football guys come up sore 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:24.640 after games all the time and realize they need treatment 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:27.320 for stuff that is an actual thing. And that is 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:29.080 actually what's happening right now. 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:31.040 And it kind of goes back to what I was 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:33.920 talking about with the veterans. I mean, you know, when 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:36.960 you don't know and you have to assess all options. 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:37.560 We wrote about it. 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:40.360 I wrote about it yesterday after the locker room and 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:43.160 after talking with Frank, But yesterday I walked through It 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:47.880 was Andy Dalton and he has a ton of experience 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:52.240 in the league. He knows how to how to lead, 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:55.760 how to keep you know, calm, calm heads. And you know, 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:58.400 it's not like they're trying out someone who hasn't been 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:02.040 here before. He's been here here quite a lot. And uh, 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:04.240 it's you know, part of the reason. And it was 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:06.319 another thing that Adam Fieln said, but it part of 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:08.439 the reason they brought him here wasn't necessarily to send 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:10.319 him the whole time, you know, it was to train 0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:12.960 up Bryce. But in a worst case scenario, you have 0:13:13.080 --> 0:13:16.360 a guy that knows what to do, and and if 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:18.160 that's what they need to do, I mean, there's there's 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:21.800 worse positions to be in for sure, and you know, 0:13:21.840 --> 0:13:24.520 obviously we don't we don't know, and that's part of it. 0:13:24.559 --> 0:13:26.120 But when you don't know, you do have to assess 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:26.679 all options. 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:29.160 And that's the that's the other option if if Bryce's 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:32.160 ankle doesn't he will buy a Sunday at Seattle, which 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:34.280 is another It's kind of a tough week for this 0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:36.000 to happen because of the quick week, because of the 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:40.319 longest uh, the furthest trip according to the game preview, 0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:43.360 and uh, just a lot of kind of bad factors 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:45.760 into that. But when you hear yours says both options, 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:47.680 he kind of gotta kind of gotta look at it. 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:49.600 This, listen. This is why they went and got an 0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:52.559 Andy Dalton anyway, m you know, because a you didn't 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:54.640 know if a rookie quarterback would be ready to do 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:57.120 this and if he and if he wasn't, he's the 0:13:57.200 --> 0:13:58.920 kind of guy you want in charge for a little bit. 0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:01.920 Andy Dalton started one hundred and sixty two games in 0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:05.560 the NFL. He has started a baseball season's worth of 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:09.080 football games in his career. So and when we were 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:11.800 I was actually talking to Frank yesterday taping an interview 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:14.320 for The Huddle TV show, and oh my god, you 0:14:14.360 --> 0:14:17.640 should absolutely tune in for my television debut on The 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:21.320 Huddle ah this week on all your local channels. It's 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:26.480 gonna be amazing. I'm sure a television host, I am not. 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:29.000 But Frank was very kind. But Frank said when I 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:31.680 mentioned the one sixty two, he kind of sort of 0:14:31.720 --> 0:14:34.120 made that Frank face and he said, I know it 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:35.920 was a lot, but I didn't know it was that many. 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:39.000 And it kind of it brings it back to the 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.520 idea that you know, Andy Dalton is not. There's not 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:45.640 a situation where Andy Dalton's gonna freak out where Andy 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:47.760 Dalton's going to be like, oh my god, I've never 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:50.320 seen this. He's seen all of it. And here's here's 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:52.680 the other thing to remember about Andy Dalton. He was 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:55.640 actually pretty good last year with the Saints. I mean, 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:58.640 his numbers were good. You know, he was a ninety 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:02.080 five point two passer eight quarterback. He you know, one 0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:05.280 of my pet stats with quarterbacks you look at accuracy, 0:15:05.600 --> 0:15:07.880 but I put a lot of stock in yards for 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:10.480 pass attempt, you know, and are you getting the most 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:13.000 out of those past attempts? And his was up over 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:16.000 seven and a half. And Andy Dalton still moving the 0:15:16.040 --> 0:15:18.680 ball down the field? Is he almost thirty six years old? 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:22.840 He is? Is that still very very young from a 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:26.000 comparative basis to some people in this room? It is? 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:29.080 But Andy's a guy. I mean, he's got a career 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:31.920 winning record. He's three and one all time against the Seahawks. 0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:34.440 If you get in a situation on Sunday where Andy 0:15:34.520 --> 0:15:36.720 Dalton runs out of that tunnel leading the offense, it 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:39.120 ain't the worst thing to happen in the world, exactly. 0:15:39.160 --> 0:15:41.600 And they're they're preparing us such or they were yesterday 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:43.080 at walk through. We'll have to see what happens at 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:46.360 practice today. As we filmed this since Thursday morning, the 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:49.400 team has one hundred percent rallied around him if it 0:15:49.440 --> 0:15:51.560 needs to be him, or rallied around whoever it's going 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:51.880 to be. 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:53.920 Spoke with Miles Sanders. 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:57.040 He said that his job doesn't change in that he's 0:15:57.080 --> 0:15:58.920 he's very focused when you talk with him. I talked 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:01.760 with him after the game and on Wednesday, and you know, 0:16:01.960 --> 0:16:04.840 he's always focused on just finding the best ways to 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:06.560 protect the guys. And that's kind of the message he 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:08.680 had about Bryce after the game, like we just got 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:11.240 to protect Bryce and you know, elevate Bryce. And he 0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:14.120 had the same the same message about Andy. So it's 0:16:14.200 --> 0:16:16.480 not one of those things where again, like if we're 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:18.600 just taking the temperature check of the locker room, we 0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:21.280 don't wanna don't want to mischaracterize and be like, oh 0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:25.440 my goodness, everyone's so downtrod and everyone's so sad, Like 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:27.840 it's tough. There's a lot going on, especially after the 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:31.200 shock injury. And but but they're not they're not panicking. 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:33.560 As you mentioned, they have the leadership in place to 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:35.400 not do that, and at the same time, you know 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:36.000 they they. 0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:38.120 Know that either way, they gotta judge for it. Either way. 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:41.320 They're flying to Seattle this weekend. Either way, they're gonna 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:43.840 have a quarterback back there. And if it's Andy, then 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:46.120 they know what to expect from Andy. If it's Bryce, 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:49.040 they've played two games with Bryce. There's just there's a 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:51.280 lot of there's nones in the unknowns. You don't know 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:53.640 who it is, but you know that it's gonna be somebody. 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:55.560 They're gonna play the game. And that's just kind of 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:59.480 how they're moving forward. So nothing you know, catastrophic in 0:16:59.520 --> 0:16:59.960 that room. 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:03.000 There you go, it's Augustus Stone the Donald Rumsfeld of 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:07.800 this podcast, Ladies and gentlemen. But wait what Donald Rumsfeld? 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:08.879 You don't know who that is? 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:10.880 Should I own? 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:14.720 He's a historical figure. He was former Secretary of Defense 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:17.359 during the Iraq War. He talked about the known nomes 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:22.720 and the unknown nomes. Yeah, at any rate we press 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:28.879 on people younger than Andy Dalton. At any rate, I 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:31.600 bet Andy knows who Donald Rumsfeld is. At any rate, 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:33.960 we should probably talk more about you know what, you 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:37.040 want to really make this thing depressing. We should talk 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:40.719 about my fantasy football team. That'll really kill me. For 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:43.520 the first time in twenty one years, the men's group 0:17:43.520 --> 0:17:45.680 in my church wanted to do a fantasy football league, 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:48.280 and so I agreed to join up and sort of 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:51.080 be part of this effort. I have not played fantasy 0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:53.439 football in twenty one years for a reason, and you 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:57.040 might ask me what is that reason, Darren? Twenty one 0:17:57.119 --> 0:17:59.919 years ago in two thousand and two, I had a 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:03.240 revolutionary strategy that was going to change the way people 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:06.720 played fantasy football. Steve Spurrier was in his first year 0:18:06.720 --> 0:18:10.240 as the head coach of the formerly Washington football team, 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:16.159 and after putting up incredible numbers across the SEC with 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:18.879 all manners of different quarterbacks, I said, I'm not just 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:21.520 going to draft one Steve Spurry or quarterback. I'm going 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:24.240 to draft all of them. So I walked into a 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:28.199 season and my quarterbacks were Patrick Ramsey, Shane Matthews, and 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:31.120 Danny Wirfel. And I was convinced I was going to 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:34.720 finish that league in one of two places, first by 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:38.119 a mile or last by the same distance. And I 0:18:38.280 --> 0:18:43.800 was right, and that scarred me sufficiently that I was 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:46.360 willing to take a twenty one year break before doing this, 0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:50.400 and after two weeks of doing this again, I realized 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:53.080 that might not have been a terrible decision. Yeah, because 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:55.480 I talk like I know something about football, but the 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:57.520 numbers do not necessarily bear that out. 0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:00.680 I have played one season of fantasy football entire life, 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:03.199 and I was actually pretty good at it, but I 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:06.080 took a very I didn't get into it as much. 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:06.720 As some people do. 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:10.000 I have so many friends that love it, and I 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:12.280 will say it's a really great catalyst for people who 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:15.200 aren't super into the NFL. I have a darling friend 0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:17.320 who is an opinion writer and she's one of the 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:19.600 best people I know, and she wanted to get into football, 0:19:20.200 --> 0:19:21.800 and I tried to, you know, show her some games, 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:23.600 especially during the playoff last year. You know'd invite her 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:25.960