December 16, 2025 • 42 mins
In the show's final hour, Kyle looks at the Bucs situation and if it could be good for the Panthers, and what college football environment would be the place to go before you die
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Kyle Bailey Show, powered by Victory Chevy Charlotte,
where every month is truck Month.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Victory Chevy Charlotte, your Silverado Destination.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Our number three Sports Radio ninety two seven w f
n z KB and Smoke with You emanating live from
the Chandler Voulta Studios, the Carolinas Personal Injury Lawyers. One call,
that's all go to Cvinjury Law dot com. That's Cvinjury
lawd dot com. Coach Joe's phone call there in the
previous segment has some people fired up. On the text line,
(00:42):
Coach Joe's a popular guy, but we have some people
jumping on him. Take notes says that's a terrible take
on Ikey. Coach Joe says the Panthers need to go
look for a left tackle, and respectfully, Coach Joe, I
think they're more likely to extend Ikey than they are
to go looking for a new left tackle on this team.
Welcome down on the text line, said that's where he
(01:02):
lost me. A different texture here, says that guy doesn't
remember Byron Bell smoke, I just I didn't know if
you saw that text or not, but I was hoping
you'd have a visceral reaction if you didn't and immediately
smoke buries his face in his hands. Byron Bell is
a cop to Ikey. That just seems mean.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
That just seems five most hated pan for my life.
I know I shouldn't hate, but I hated watching Byron
Bell quote unquote protect Cam Newton.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Oh my god, it's bad. It's a bad time for
offensive line playing Carolina.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
My god, it was it was him and Nate Chandler.
Oh yeah, yeah, David Folcoltz.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Let's see Clay says respect to coach Joe, but if
we break the bank for the offensive line this offseason,
I'll scream into the void.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
So uh yeah, death pieces. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
But outside of that, like because I think after I
wouldn't be shocked if you know, someone like Chains of
All is a training camp cup next year.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Sure, well they paid Robert Hunt. Yep, they've extended Taylor Modin.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Damian Lewis has still got a couple of years left,
he does.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
I believe they're going to look to extend to Kiakwanuho.
I think they tried to already, honestly, and he bet
on himself this year.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
And I bet they try to keep Kate.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Oh yeah, yeah, I like because Kate, I don't know,
he's not going to break the bank, but like Cade
has proven that he's a starting caliber player, at least
at center.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
The only problem with Kate is I don't know how
much flexibility you get, and this this franchise, specifically to
people running it, seemed to value flexibility from offensive lineman.
But I think, you know, I think they realize that
that Kate has proven once again.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
That he's the guy. Then the question is who what?
How does the deaf get followed?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
It sucks to say it because he deserves to get
paid as a starter and be a starter somewhere.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yep. But Brady Christensen I think could be back again. Yep.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
The only problem is he's coming off of Achilles, and
that's a biggie. I do think that. Oh who else? Honestly,
I think Jay Kerhan make it another shot next year.
He's cheap and he knows the system, and when he's
been out there he hasn't been a hindrance. No, I
agree with that. I think Austin Corbitt's probably gone at
the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Say that because I like Austin a lot.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Yeah, but I think that I think that's probably over
at the end of the year. We'll have to wait
and see, but I think that probably is where that goes.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
And Chandler's of all, it just hasn't been good enough.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
But I mean, I'd be happier if they continue to
invest by the draft in the offensive line.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, like early day three, four, fifth roundre.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Yeah, definitely, That's what I'd like to see them do
more of, and I think they will, honestly, And if
you missed the start of the show speaking of the offense,
I brought this up the Panthers and I would love
for the five o'clockers to weigh in on this. Seven
oh four or five seven ninety six ten Carolina is
averaging eighteen point nine points per game this year as
a team averaging eighteen point nine points per game. Last year,
(03:57):
they averaged twenty point one points per game, So right
now it's down one point two points per game. I'm
gonna stop saying points per game last time, I swear,
But I mean, eighteen point nine PPGs this year? Does
that bother you? With an offensive minded head coach like
Dave Canalis? Should it bother you? As a Panthers fan?
(04:19):
Or as a talking head like we are, because, like
I know, the only thing that matters is wins and losses,
and they are seven and seven. They control their destiny
in the playoff hunt. They can win their way in.
They are clearly an improved team this year. I am
not denying that in any way, shape or form. I'm
simply asking the question. The defense has gone from historically
bad giving up the most points in NFL history to
(04:40):
fourteenth in points allowed in the NFL this year. They're
fourteenth in the NFL in points allowed. That's more or
less what we ask for, right, get back to kind
of middle of the pack. They're not perfect. The pass
rush hasn't always been there when it needs to be.
They tallied five sacks on Sunday, couldn't get them when
they needed them late in the game. But, like you know,
points per game specifically, they're middle of the pack, fourteenth
(05:02):
in the NFL, But should eighteen points per game from
an offensive minded head coach like Dave Canalis.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
It's twenty eighth in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
The only teams worse are the Titans, the Browns, the Saints,
and the Raiders.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
And you're averaging nearly a point less per game than
the team that just beats you on Sunday. The Saints
are averaging nineteen point seven points per game. I think
that's a fair conversation to have. Should eighteen point nine
points per game bother you? Seven h four five seven
ninety six ten? I think it does a little bit.
I don't think that's good enough. Now, again, it doesn't
(05:40):
bother you as much when you're winning. If you're winning ugly,
nobody's having as good a time. But winning is all
that matters. I acknowledge that, you know, NASCAR, Brad says,
we've won more games this year. Stats are just numbers. Literally,
don't care if we win every game nine to seven. Again,
fair enough, fair enough, But I don't think it's unfair
to point out that the offensive to head coach has
(06:01):
this team averaging eighteen point nine points per game, fourth
worst in the NFL, fifth worst in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Pardon me. It's not a great number.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
It's not.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
And the defense has helped out, but it's been inconsistent.
The running game has been you know here, sometimes gone
other times. The passing game has been good one week,
abysmal the next week. I don't know, you tell me
seven oh four, five, seven ninety six to ten, seven
oh three numbers saying time of possession is a big factor.
Defense can't get off the field this year. See, this
(06:30):
is where you start getting into well, you know, like NASCAR,
Brad said, stats are just numbers. I mean, they're far
better in points allowed per game this year. That's a
fairly key statistic. I know we all get hung up
on all the you know, PFF advanced metrics, the NFL
next Gen numbers and things like that, but you know,
points allowed still pretty basic and still pretty you know,
(06:51):
pretty consequential at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
What are you looking at over there?
Speaker 1 (06:54):
I just think every year there's a team that you
look at stats and they paint one pitcher and it's
a very good pitcher, and then on the field, you know,
when you watch them play, it points a different picture
throughout a season, and so on and so forth. And
then there's just teams that have the statistics that make
(07:16):
you think one thing, the play makes you think another thing.
What I'm getting at, Kyle is this team don't make
any damn sense.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
It doesn't make any sense.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
So I most years I would be I think a
lot more frustrated. But this team's eight or seven and seven.
I think they're gonna be eight and seven after this weekend.
But I mean they've been in shootouts this year. The
two week stretch between the Dolphins and the Cowboys, they
were in a shootout against the Falcons. Let's face it,
that game against the Rams is basically a shootout. I
(07:48):
do think time and possession has maybe impacted in recent
weeks some of the games.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
But they've also front up stinkers. This is just an
inconsistent team playing inconsistently. Yeah, I get that point.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
A couple of texts coming in Dolphin Chris saying, you know,
don't you guys have a couple of defensive and special
teams touchdowns.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
The offense isn't good enough.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Will I am is saying Dave could be a great
head coach if you could let go of the play
calling and find someone trustworthy to run the offense.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
I mean, I was kind of hoping Mike McDaniels would
get fired and come here, But I don't know that's
going to happen.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I think it's gonna happen now.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Mac from Moors Will saying Canalys doesn't unleash the chains
on Bryce to run a complex offense.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
It is certainly felt that way. At times.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
He'll build it from high points, saying yes it should
bother fans, and Jamie from Belmont saying, hey, guys, happy holidays.
I think the low points per game is definitely an issue.
I just think it's a combination of factors. I think
Bryce is mediocre, of course, but that's another conversation altogether.
But I also think he doesn't quite have the weapons
around him other than ten and a pretty decent one
to punch at running back one two punch at running back?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
You say ten, did you mean ted? Is that what
you is?
Speaker 3 (08:55):
This voice to text, he says, other guys have shown flashes,
but you need to put points on the board. Look
at the really good offenses and now loaded they are.
It's not a one person problem. It's a several person
problem among personnel. I mean, that's the nature of football. Yeah,
you're right about that. You need all eleven guys moving
in the right direction, you know, guys running the right routes,
the right routes to the right depth, you know, and
(09:17):
all the other things that go along with playing offense.
But just bottom line, is you know, Gary from Texas
says you got to look at stats in context.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
You do.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
The problem is with these stats though you can. You
can take numbers and spend them with whatever context suits
your agenda. I just I believe that are there some
stats that are maybe a bit more you know, truthful
than others. I guess yeah, we could probably argue those two.
But all we're left is right left with right now?
(09:46):
Is that an offensive minded head coach his team is,
while seven and seven and in the playoff Hunt only
able to muster just under nineteen points per game on average.
John and Cornelius saying, on the flip side, Carolina is
eleventh in live the league in time of possession. They
are an enigma on offense. Yeah, I mean that's smoke.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Just said it.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
This team is frustrating. It's who they are, and we're
living with it right now. But you'd like to see, like,
not just overall consistency, but this offense fine, more consistency
week to week. I'm not saying you're gonna have to
win a thirty point shootout on Sunday against the Bucks,
but you might, like, I think Baker's clearly dinged up.
They're a little bit out of sorts, but Baker still
(10:27):
threw for what like two eighty and two touchdowns.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
I'll tell you what this feels like for Baker in
the Bucks.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Remember that Monday night game against the Saints for Carolina
back in twenty eighteen. That's what it feels like, except
this time it's Tampa that's on the pressure, has the
pressure because remember that was the last game before Cam
got set down for the year, and that's when we
really saw them that the shoulder was messed up. Yeah,
I think that's the type of pressure. If they lose
(10:53):
that game against Carolina on Sunday, I think they fold completely.
I think Baker will still play for the year, but
I just think everyone else will kind of be sleepwalking
to the point where I think they lose against Miami.
And like I said, I already feel confident that Carolina
is sweeping Tampa. So I feel like there's a lot
(11:14):
at stake. And like I said, that Monday night game
against New Orleans back in twenty eighteen, as crazy as
it was, Carolina went into that game still with a shot,
but that was the season where they collapsed from six
and two. What has Tampa Bay done this year collapse
from about six and two. I think the similarities from
(11:35):
twenty eighteen to to twenty five bucks are very similar.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Kyle, I like that speaking of the Bucks, sweet cheek,
says KB. See my last text. Dave did the same
in Tampa Bay, and she sent me a screenshot showing
that Dave in his one season in Tampa And it's
a very small sample size, we all acknowledge that, but
that he averaged around twenty and a half points per game,
ranking twentieth overall, and despite wrong finished with Baker Mayfield
(12:01):
setting career highs. Going to the divisional round. The offense
was twenty thirteen yards, but showed flashes on third and
fourth downs and in the red zone, which sounds similar here, right,
I mean that's think about that showed flashes success on
third and fourth down before Sunday's fourth and inches attempt,
Carolina was perfect on fourth down the previous two games.
(12:25):
I think Jason Bennetti was the one to quickly point
that out on Sunday, but then like pretty good in
the red zone, Like these are all things.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
That he's carried with him.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
So it's a small sample size, but it does look
reminiscent of that seven oh four five, seven ninety six ten.
The text line is just blowing up right now. Indian
Land Joe says, Bryce has exceeded my expectations because I
didn't have many expectations for him. I wasn't a fan
of the pick. But he's a good kid, and he
plays hard and he puts it all out there. He's
going to have to have some better players around him.
(12:55):
League at is non existent, and our number one is
a rookie. Without the running game, we'd have nothing. That's
going to sound like excuse making to certain people, but
you're not wrong. I don't know if McMillan's hit a
rookie wall or if he's just getting that much opposing
defensive attention he is getting that Cocher coming back has
been a big deal. It shouldn't be a shock that
(13:17):
Coker has been able to break out a little bit
in the last couple of games since coming back because
he's able to take some of that attention away from
Teoll McMillan. But it still hasn't led to big offensive numbers.
You're right, though, overall, this is still a young wide
receiver corps that's growing together, and we're still completely unsure
about Xavier league get moving forward, He's blocked better. There
have been fewer mental mistakes out there that I appreciate,
(13:39):
but he certainly hasn't made a big impact catching the football.
That part you can't spend.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
And I think moving forward, this offense needs a wide
receiver that can blow the top off. Yeah, just a
straight up speed guy. And I think that's what they're
going to have to work on this all season. When
you get a guy like that, what does that do
to XO moving forward?
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yeah, they might render him obsolete this offense. Yeah, it
could render him you know not, I will say, not
nearly as useful. We've got a few people gamecock mood.
He says, has smoke had too much cough syrup. Somebody
else said, is smoke sick? We both are. I'm just
a little bit. I'm a little bit ahead of him
in the recovery. Also point this out too.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Your voice is so damn deep that most of the
time people can't realize it.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Okay, fair, but I'm trying to have your back here, man.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I know, but you also get lucky with how your
voice is. Lucky it masks, Jesus gave me this voice.
I didn't get lucky. I'm just kidding, man, I'm trying
to have you back here.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Yeah, I know, well, thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
It's just you know, your voice, it's harder to hear
when your voice is messed up.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
I get you, I get you. But yes, he and
I both got sick over the weekend. But we are
devoted sports radio hosts. We did not want to leave
you to start the week on a panther Monday, and
we're coming through it together. So yeah, we are weathering
the storm, and we're both coming out of.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
A weekend of just crud. Everybody's got it right now.
You should have heard how I sounded Saturday night.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Yeah, I didn't think I was gonna make it. Honestly,
I thought on Sunday I might not be able to
physically perform on Monday. I know, for a blue shoe guy,
that sounds funny real quick. I had a text for
a minute ago, kind of a different turn. We got
to go to break here. But somebody said KB really
appreciated the conversation with Ryan McGee. What he said about
Oklahoma being a top five percent college football experience couldn't
(15:23):
be more true. I'm a Clemson fan, saw a game
out there two years ago. One of the coolest experiences
that I've had as a college football fan. I think
it's the low key bucket list item for any college
football fan.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Have you been?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
I have not, and it's actually on my short list
of places that I would like to go as a
college football fan. My hope as a sports fan, honestly
is I would like to hit every major league ballpark
and every major college football stadium before I die. That's
what I would like to do. And then, on top
of that, this might come as a surprise to some people,
I also would like to go back to Europe at
(15:57):
some point, and I want to see a big time,
you know, Premier League match at most all of their
venues over there.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
I love that that culture, that atmosphere. I think it's amazing.
By the way, how many college football stadiums have you
been to?
Speaker 3 (16:10):
A lot? Not the majority by any stretch, but a lot.
So I'm just sitting here thinking, like I've seen. I've
been to Ohio State when they broke the attendance record.
I've been to Clemson. I've been to LSU. Obviously, I
took you to Blacksburg. I've been to a lot of
different stadiums covering college football. Again, I wouldn't say I've
been to all of them. For me, like, if there's
(16:31):
one bucket list for you, one college football stadium you
have to get to before you croak, is it Notre Dame?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yeah it is? Okay, yeah, okay?
Speaker 3 (16:40):
For me, yeah, given my current mood surrounding Notre Dame,
I'm not going to include them. But they are the
right answer for a lot of people because it's, you know,
hallowed ground for college football. I've never seen a game
at Alabama. I've been to Bryant Denny Stadium, never seen
a game inside of Bryant Denny Stadium, never seen the
(17:00):
towels waving, none of that, the pomp poms with.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
None of that.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
So I for me, the answer is probably Bryant Denny Stadium.
I still need to see a game inside the stadium there.
If you what's the one college football stadium you only
get one this automatically we're giving you tickets before you die.
What's the one college football stadium you have to get
to before you croak?
Speaker 1 (17:22):
I will say my faults of going to Tennessee changed
after hearing Colin Hager experience earlier.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
This year.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Oh yeah, Neyland's incredible. You know, I love to pick
on Tennessee fans. I love to fight with Tennessee fans,
but they are fans now, and Knoxville on a Saturday
is about as fun as it gets.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
You don't remember Colin's story at Knoxville this year. It
was a mess.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
I kind of I kind of remember that it was
not fun for him. Okay, okay, I have to revisit that.
And again he was at Georgia pan Well with his family.
That's a big part of it too. I'd say Michigan
the Big House. I'd love to get to a game
in the Big House just because it's an iconic venue.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Speaking of timing, well that's true.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Let's see Todd from Detroit says you got to get
to Brian Denny for dixie Land Delight. Well, honestly, that's
my go to karaoke song. It was for like a
long time when I was still doing karaoke. Dixieland Delight
by Alabama it was my go to karaoke song. So
that's a big reason why too. I almost said the
Holy War, but that's not really a stadium. That's just
a rivalry that I want to see. I would go
to either place. Oh yeah, I'd go to either place,
(18:27):
like I desperately want to go see Utah and BYU
in the Holy War.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Especially the uniform matchups are my god, they're beautiful. Yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I've told Smidty for years that the one of these years,
I'm going to jump in his luggage and I'm going
with him to a Holy War game between Utah and
BYU because that one gets nasty. They don't get much
nastier of a rivalry than BYU and Utah. So that's
the one I'd like. That's a rivalry that I'd like
to see. But it doesn't really matter the stadium. What
college football stadium would you? I mean that number one
(18:56):
on your bucket list. Seven oh four or five, seven
oh ninety six, ten hit us up. Penn State Whiteout
game is great. That's really really good. I like Penn
State Saturday night State college whiteout game. I'd love to
be there for that. Keep them coming. We'll circle back
to it when we return. Skylar Callahan Sports Illustrated, Talking
Hornets for a few minutes. Next Sports Radio ninety two
to seven wfn Z, Oh Buddy, the text line'es hopping
(19:35):
right now. Ryan McGee ESPN hit us up earlier said
that Oklahoma is a top five percent college football experience
that everyone needs to get to. I agree with him.
I would love to see a game there. And I'm
asking you what your number one top of the bucket
list college football venue is before you croak, and the
text line is awesome. I think I might like Big
Cat Dan's answer the most. He wants to go to
(19:57):
Iowa so he can wave to the kids in the hospit.
I mean, if you feel like crying, go watch that
on YouTube. If you don't, don't, But I mean I
can't watch that one without without getting a little.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Missy and then you get missedy looking at how appear
at the offense is for Iowa as they won thirteen ten, but.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
It works for me. I love that.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
I love that because that's their identity. Iowa football has
an identity, dammit, and they stick to it for as
much as they.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Get laughed at. They're getting at seven eight wins per
year per year. There's a reason Kirk Ferris is the
longest tenured head coach in college football.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Yeah, three one zero numbers said the boat tailgating at
the University of Washington stadium is top notch. And I said,
that's a really really good answer. Oh it's a damn
good answer.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
West Coast schools don't get a lot of love on
this topic, but that's an underrated one.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Yeah, absolutely a lot of LSU at night. H'll Billy
from High Point Hill Billy hater that is sending that in.
We had some people saying, well, you know, Hayden said,
Arrowhead was sick. I know it's the NFL, but you know,
ten out of ten experience even with COVID and had attendance.
I like going to NFL venues, but they're all becoming
so I don't know, like homogenous, Like they're just these
(21:04):
big they're really impressive, high technology, but they just don't
have the same Like they're replacing NFL stadiums at such
a rapid pace. These buildings don't have any history, they
don't have any charm. Like they're not bad, you know,
they're impressive structures that are being built, but I like
buildings with history. I want to go to a stadium
with history, you know, where lots of incredible things have
(21:24):
happened before, And increasingly that's just not the case with
these NFL stadiums, like Allegiate in Las Vegas really impressive,
feels very sterile and corporate. Same thing with US Bank
Stadium in Minneapolis. Been to both of those. They're cool,
but it's just not the same as walking into LSU
at night or walking into Death Valley and Clemson at night,
which I've been to multiple times. Like it just to me,
they don't compare. They're awesome, but they don't compare. Let's
(21:47):
bring in a guy who covers the Hornets, but he
also covers college football and he is a proud West
Virginia Mountain neer. My buddy Skyler Callahana Sports Illustrated is
back with us on a Tuesday. Skyler, what's your number
one bucket list? Got to get to this college football
venue before I die?
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Oh this this is a great question, and I've been
listening to you guys, so I've been trying to think
about what it would be. I've got a couple tossing around,
and I guess I'm gonna stick in my big ball
allegiance here. I think Iowa State would be a sneaky
good one just because of how similar they are to
West Virginia in the fan base and how dedicated they
are the other one I would go with BYU. Now,
(22:25):
when you talk about drop backdrops, the Wahsatch Mountains back
there just an incredible sight. My coach for my West
Virginia podcast, He's the He's the radio sideline got for
WU said it was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.
They also hand out free ice cream to the visiting
scene to the visiting team's fans in the stands. So,
uh yeah, free ice cream, Wassatch Mountains. Take me up
(22:47):
on that.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Ooh, I love it.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
So I uh listen, man, I'm telling you I've been
to Iowa State. I'm glad you mentioned it. I called
a basketball game there years ago. I saw the stadium,
the football stadium outside it was just surrounded by tractors
and instirming equipment. It's exactly what you'd expect, but it's
really really cool, So I'm glad you brought that up.
How do you feel, by the way, about the first
year back of rich Rod at West Virginia.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
Yeah, I mean obviously it was what you would kind
of expect with eighty new players, and then on top
of it, you had for your top four quarterbacks get hurt.
Your top five running backs get hurt, and all of
a sudden you look like a team that just can't
find its way down the field and find a first down.
So I think there were some moments start towards the end,
they found some promise there with the freshman quarterbacks Scottie Fowkx.
(23:33):
But this is going to be a completely new roster
again this year. It's not going to be as big
of a roster turnover, but we're talking about starters, the
top twenty two guys. It's going to look completely different again.
I think they're in much better position now financially as
opposed to where they were last year when they got
in place. I mean, they were already way behind the
eight ball with the transfer portal. That's not going to
(23:54):
be the case this year.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Okay, let's talk some Hornets here, and you know probably
where I'm going first. Michael Scotto on the Yes Network
the other night saying that, hey, the Hornets now look
at Conka Nipple as the face of the franchise. That's
a really big conversation. I'll just give you the floor.
What do you think of that?
Speaker 4 (24:12):
I mean, I understand that. I think there's we always
get caught up in these debates and in reality it
really doesn't mean anything, because I mean, what does it
mean to be the face of the franchise. I mean,
you're going to build them around, to build the roster
around that one guy. I know you're still going to
build it around Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball and that. I
(24:34):
think you can have two to three guys that can
be the face of your franchise. I don't think it
has to be just one singular person. But I do
get you know where this is coming from, and I
think it is warranted. The way he has started out
his career has been phenomenal, and I do think that
you're going to see a lot more people around the
league kind of look at the Hornets to say, yes,
(24:54):
that's who they're going to try and build this thing around,
as Conk Nipple. But again, when you have Lamello on
your roster, you have Brandon Miller on your roster, you
still got to cater to those guys as well. They
do a lot of good things, well are a lot
of things well, and you still have to kind of
piece the offense around them, which I think is going
to be very interesting next year's draft in what direction
they go, assuming it's another lottery.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Pickt But we've all talked about con a Ton, right,
He's been really good. He's got seven twenty five plus
point games, more than every other rookie combined. He is
so far exceeded expectations but that anybody, even his biggest supporters,
could have had for him. What has impressed you the
most and where do you think he's really standing out
on the floor right now?
Speaker 4 (25:36):
I think it's it's really what we expected him to be,
is just that steady, reliable presence and that he knows
what a good shot is for him, what's not He
knows how to get his teammates involved. He just has
a feel for the game, like he knows how to
get to his spot, knows how to play. He can
hold his own on the defensive end, which I think
was obviously a question mark coming into it, but we
(25:57):
all knew he didn't have the prototypical athleticism of a
top five pick, but he makes up for that with
his IQ the way the game just kind of slows
down for him, and I think he has blown out.
You know, these expectations early on, and to be honest
with you, like I mean, I get again, I get
where this narrative is coming from. Why he could be
the face of the franchise, because what he is doing
(26:20):
is something we haven't seen in Charlotte and years. When
you can go back to Lamelow's rookie year, it took
some time before he even cracked the starting lineup under JB.
So this was this is completely a different type of
player that we're talking about here, at least the first
twenty five twenty six games of the season. And it's
crazy too, because you go back to the draft and
(26:40):
everybody and myself and cluded was saying, oh, this is
this is the safe pick of the draft. Right that's
kind of the bad kind of language that was being used,
as if it was a bad thing that he was
the safe pick. And all of a sudden, he's turning
into a Rookie of the Year camp.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
So what do you sind you mention LaMelo? Right there?
Speaker 3 (26:59):
There's always something with him. He's polarizing, he's often injured.
There was the report weeks ago that he wanted out.
You know, he snuffed that out really quickly, you know,
but more people coming out saying, hey, you know, people
around the league are telling me. He's an unseerious basketball player,
doesn't care about winning, but they do win more when
he's on the floor. And I'm just curious, you know, Skyler,
how you think the front office. I mean, we're all speculating,
(27:20):
but how you think the front office views him here
today on December sixteenth.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
I think they're they're still kind of TBD with him
in the future. I don't know that they're one hundred
percent sure he's going to be a part of this
thing through the entirety of his contract, but I think
they also realize the talent that he is, the potential
that this this franchise could could be with him a
part of it. But it all goes back to the
hell thing. I mean, we could talk about whether he'd
(27:47):
be better in a bigger market, or if he's a
serious basketball player or not. But I think if you
spend enough time around Lamelow, or if you just watch
these games closely, you know that that's not true about LaMelo.
He truly does hair, and I think some of that
is just because of the flamboyancy and the kind of
the flashy style that he plays with and maybe taking
(28:07):
some shots that he probably shouldn't take, but he's the
guy that can make those kind of one legged you know, threes,
and there's off balanced shots and the crazy passes. If
there's somebody in the elite that's going to do that,
it's LaMelo Ball. He can't do that, So you you
don't want to take that playmaking ability away from him
just because of some ridiculous narrative out there. But it
(28:28):
does come back to the health and if he can
stay healthy, I don't see why the Hornets would move
off of him. I get Connor has been phenomenal, Brandon
has looked good to when he has been healthy too,
And you can trade LaMelo if you want, but I
don't think that you're going to get back the package
that is going to just blow you away. I don't
(28:48):
think that's the case. Because of the injury history, because
of the contract. No one's going to be willing to
take that contract on and give up a king's ransom
for it, So you're probably not going to be pleased
with the return. And two, I think this is something
that somebody else pointed out and I agree with the wholeheartedly,
is if you trade LaMelo Ball away, you're trading a
huge piece of this franchise away in terms of revenue tickets,
(29:09):
you're I mean, this guy is a ticket seller, and
I don't think Charlotte in a small market can afford
to do that.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Skyler Callahan Sports Illustrated covers the Hornetsy's with us here
on the hot line. Brandon Miller still a big fan.
Don't don't have any bad things to say about him,
but you know, people text in. I got another one
yesterday that you know, why have they taken away his
mid range game? It seems like he's turned into almost
exclusively a three point shooter. You know, in the game
against Cleveland, he did have thirteen attempts inside the three
(29:37):
point line, but he was three of thirteen. He did
most of his damage again from outside the three point line,
hit the big three to send the game to overtime.
So again, I can't stress enough. I'm still a big
Brandon Miller fan, but I don't know, it just seems
like there's something missing there right now in terms of
his overall game and his continued development. And I realize
injuries have interrupted some things, but how do you feel
about his development as a player thus far?
Speaker 4 (29:59):
Yeah, I mean I would agree with you. I almost
kind of wonder if he's a little caught in between,
because if you kind of look at the Charles Lee philosophy,
it's trying to get up a bunch of threes. I mean,
that's what we've known his teams to be in the past,
where he's come from shoot threes, play defense, and spread
the floor. Obviously, this team doesn't really have the pieces
(30:20):
to really do either of those things at this point.
But I do think that was one of the things
when he was first hired that was questioned a lot,
is Okay, what about Brandon Miller's mid range game, because
that's not really a piece of a foundational piece of
this offense. So I think he's a little caught in
between right now, and I think he's maybe second guessing
some stuff. I think the confidence maybe isn't quite what
(30:43):
it was pre this injury that he had at the
beginning of the year. Who knows if that's something that's
bothering him. Maybe it's just lingering a little bit that
he can play through. There's a lot of different things
that can come across here, but I think the offense
is it's going to come back. He's been a high
level score his entire life, the official, and he's going
to get better once he gets more games under his belt.
(31:03):
But to me, I think the part that he has
to to really take the next step in is the
defensive end, because with his length, his athleticism, the way
he can cover ground, he should be a an all
league type of talent on the defensive end, and we
just haven't seen it. We've seen a little bit, you know,
bits and pieces of it here and there, but it
hasn't been consistent. And you know, last week and you
(31:25):
go back to the Chicago game, there were some moments
where I thought he took some of the offensive struggles
and carried them with him down to the defensive end
of the floor. He's getting out of position, wasn't moving
his feet, got had some bad fouls, just I wouldn't
say laziness, but just didn't maybe show the same effort
on that end as he did on the offensive end.
That's got to change for him, do you think that?
Speaker 3 (31:47):
And it's early yet, so I don't expect you to
make any grand declaration that's going to come back to
haunt you here in a year or two.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
But like Ryan Koch Printer, do.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
The early does the early returns look like a long
term starting in the NBA to you, I mean the numbers,
I think you could argue yes, But you know, some
people think that he's still a depth piece long term.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
What's your opinion, Yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (32:07):
Mean future Hall of Famer, right, so I put it
on the record. I mean, I don't know. I do
think he's probably best suited to be a number two
down the line. I mean, obviously he can make a
jump and be a more of a focal point of
this offense. But when you have three elite bucket getters,
I don't know that he's ever going to have to
(32:28):
be that. I think that eventually that Charlotte's going to
want to be able to stretch the floor more, like
I talked about with Charles and his philosophy to really
get five guys that can shoot the ball from the
range they don't have that you're undersize at the four spot.
That's going to have to change us at some point,
I think too. So I think he's played well enough
(32:48):
to be a solid number two that can help protect
the pain, protect the rim. I don't know if if
that's somebody that you can have though, as your your
number one option on a on a playoff team, And
that's no disrespect to him. I think he still has
a ton of room to grow, but I think you
probably do need a more athletic, better moving center that
(33:10):
can step out and shoot threes. And again, that's no
knock to Ryan because he's done fairly, fairly well throughout
these first couple of months.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
All right, So they've had a lot of time off
the last two weeks. Unfortunately, even with that time off,
a lot of guys still haven't been playing. They get
the Hawks Thursday night. What are you expecting from that
game based on what we saw in Cleveland and some
of the up and down stuff we've seen recently.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Yeah, I mean, you need to have more consistency on
the defensive end. And you know, Charles, that's one thing
that drives him crazy because he sees the potential with
this group. And I've talked about, well just a minute
ago with Brandon. The same thing applies to the rest
of that starting lineup in the bench. I mean, you
see see on James some nights where he looks like
you can understand the comparisons to Lou Dorton, and some
(33:54):
nights it's like, oh my goodness, he's clearly a rookie,
so you need to see some more some more consistency
on the defensive end. And I think what they did
in that overtime period that that held Cleveland scoreless, that
should be a confidence boost. I mean that that is
an insane stat I can't even tell you the last
time that's happened, if it's ever happened. I mean, that's
(34:15):
and that's a pretty damn good starting lineup too. That
Cleveland rolled out there and they did that again, So
that's got to be a huge, you know, momentum boost
for them, and that's something they have to build on.
You can't go out there against Atlanta on Thursday night
and give up one hundred and thirty.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
Skyler, always a pleasure, brother, Great catching up. We'll see
you real soon.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Mary. Christmas to you and yours.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
You got a buddy, take care of Merry Christmas.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
There you go, Skyler Callahan with us here on a
Tuesday seven oh four, five seven oh ninety six to ten.
Hit us up on the fan duel text line. We're
gonna come back and wrap up the show in a
couple of minutes, but stick around because something interesting just
came out of Tampa. That I think is worth discussing
as it relates to Panthers and Bucks. Stick around for that.
Right now we go to smoke on the headlights.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
Well, Kyle, it's a very very li night for sports. Indeed,
do have a couple of bowl games starting, but most
importantly in the ACC got some interesting games. East Tennessee
State takes on North Carolina or on fitting Marlow's going
to be there tonight covering the game for the Heal
Tough blog and for WFNZ. Do you want to mention
(35:18):
Lipscomb takes on Duke That's not really an impressive game,
but with a win tonight, which will likely happen John Shire,
believe it or not, Kyle will get to one hundred
wins as a head coach at.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Duke already one hundred Yeah, already.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
It feels fast because it is well yeah, I mean, yeah,
he's good, the team is good. But like the fact
that we're already talking about his one hundredth it feels
like two weeks ago that we were talking about the
succession plan and how things would look and if Shire
was ready, and how much of k he'd bring with him,
and if the culture would stay the same and he's
got one hundred.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Wins yep, only about a thousand more to go to
get the coach kto jam so you know times have taken.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Let's go John.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Anyway, the biggest game tonight doing the ACC involves the
Louisville Cardinals as they're taking on Tennessee. Now, Kyle, they
fell up shortened their sec ACC challenge against Arkansas. But
do you think they can get a win on Rocky
Top tonight?
Speaker 2 (36:17):
Mm? Can they? Of course they can? Will they? I'm gonna.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
I don't know how I feel about this Louisville team yet.
I don't know that I trust them yet. You mentioned
the Arkansas win lost or lost? Sorry my bad. Volunteers
are five and zero at home. They're moving the ball well.
I think they're top of the league and assists like
it's gonna have to be a really strong difficion Now
here's the thing, though, Louisville loves to shoot the three ball.
(36:49):
So if you go in and get hot from deep early, yeah,
they can win this game. I'm gonna I'm gonna be
the pro, I'm gonna be the ACC hawk.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
And I'm gonna say Louisville gets to win, well, I
will say that's not the only sec ACC game tonight,
because South Carolina also takes on Clemson. Clemson, if you
do not win this game, we cannot take you seriously
as a bubble team.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
That's correct. Please win this game. That's correct.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
Also, Ian Shefflin kicked off the Clemson team apparently the
football team, not the basketball team.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
The football team, Accordey dow to focus on basketball. Yeah
you were, Dabo said.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
When he was asked about it, he said, what you
go ask him? There's your chase. All right, we'll come
back and wrap up the show. Sports Radio ninety two
to seven wfn Z Sports Radio ninety two seven w
(37:50):
f n Z, KB and Smoke wrapping up the show.
We had the text for a minute ago, say, KB, Smoke,
you mentioned the Carolina game tonight right as you were
talking college basketball there or did you not?
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (37:59):
Against Eta Etsu East Tennessee State University Buccaneers fighting will
Heey's not so that's the football team, but they're actually
this could be. I'm not saying Carolina is getting upset here.
I don't think that. But Etsu pretty tough team. Off
to an eight and three start. I think they're number
one hundred in the net ratings right now. They're not
(38:20):
a bad team. This is a game that Carolina should
absolutely win. Their favorite I think by was it sixteen
seventeen and a half. But they better not come out
and play with their food tonight like that. I was
talking to Fiddy about this earlier. He was leaving the station.
He's going solo dolo out to Chapel Hill tonight. I
don't think Flounder can make it. So we got Fiddy
going out solo dolo to Chapel Hill tonight to cover
(38:42):
this game, and I think he had a similar feeling, like, yeah,
we should win the game.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
It is Fitty, after all, he's one of the most.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
There's nobody that you know with more unfounded arrogance and
conceit than that guy.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
And I love him.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
I don't mean that as an insult. I adore the kid,
but he will tell you exactly what he thinks, even
if he doesn't actually think it. But even he I think,
was like, you know, can't can't really toy around with
this team tonight.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
The problem was they did that against USC Upstate.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Yeah, so that's probably why there's more of a feeling
like this. But etsu they're expected to be one of
the best teams in the Soacon this year. Brooks also
Brooks Savage. Excuse me, I was getting confused with the
college football analysts. Brook Savage was an assistant with Oh gosh,
his name's escaped from me, wake Forest head coach oh Forbes. Yes,
(39:27):
he was a sister with Sea Forbes at Etsu and
wake Forest went back to Etsu. It's been a slow build,
but they've gotten better and better each year, and this
looks like it could be the year where they contend
for a conference title.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
So and he looks exactly like Will Heally, Like you
could swap him out on the sidelines, and I'm not
even sure the fans would tell the difference. Same age too,
Are they the exact same age? Forty years old?
Speaker 2 (39:50):
Look at him side by side.
Speaker 3 (39:51):
Tell me there's a discernible difference between brook Savage and
will Heally.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
I think they cloned one of them. Brooks looks a
little taller, lank here. I'll give you that. Yeah, yeah,
I'll give you that.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
From a headshot standpoint, you know, if you blake, if
you squint, there's not much difference between brooks Savage and
Will Heally.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Looks like has a type.
Speaker 3 (40:13):
Oh, man, let's see salty pirates, says I bet, oh, sorry,
a bunch of dolphins about last night, by the way,
said I bet there's a lot of pissed off pirates
that bought tickets to the bowl game. I bet Caiton
already had an sec or Big ten school quietly contact
him in ECU, kept it quiet to sell tickets.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
Yeah. Probably.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
I mean after the season that Kate and Howser had
did it always kind of feel destined for him to
transfer out, and especially after losing his offensive coordinator like
Blake Carroll is in such an unenviable position, got to
replace both coordinators and now his quarterback as well.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
And with what nil money?
Speaker 3 (40:46):
I'm not saying they have none, but like with what
who are you buying in the market to come play
at ECU?
Speaker 2 (40:53):
I don't know that quarterback from Mercer.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Where do we think Howser ends up, by the way,
because there's the hornsby kid from Cincinnati. He started his
career at Indiana, right, There's a chance there's a rumor
he goes back to Indiana, which could be weird because
he left as Kurt Signetti was on his way into Indiana.
So I don't know if Kurt Signette said no, I
don't want you. But that's interesting. Oh, news out of Tampa. Sorry,
(41:16):
somebody said, what's the news out of Tampa? My bad,
it's not news. But our counterparts down there in the
afternoon on WDAE the Pat and Aaron Show Afternoon Drive,
one of their hosts, Aaron Jacobson on the air. They're
actually pushing this out as a social graphic right now
reading quote, I think Todd Bowles has officially lost the
locker room end quote, according to his sources down there
(41:38):
saying he thinks Todd Bowles has lost the Tampa locker
room after what happened in the press conference following the
Falcons loss last Thursday night. I mean, it's not again,
it's not breaking news. We'll talk more about it tomorrow,
but that's a factor on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
I think Baker's going to compete. I think Mike Evans
is going to compete.
Speaker 3 (41:55):
But like when it comes down to nutcutting time, they
trust their coach. Now are they fighting for their coach now?
I don't know, but uh yeah. The WDA Afternoon Show
is saying that they believe Todd Bowles has officially lost
the Buccaneers locker room. Just something to keep in the
back of your mind as we head to Sunday. All right,
we got to go tipping our caps courtesy of our
friends at Neogenics, where they help heel joint pain naturally
(42:18):
with no surgery, no medication, no downtime. Go to neogenicstem
Sales dot com. Smoke what you got?
Speaker 1 (42:23):
Tip my cap to John Shire get that win number
one hundred tonight, Baby, I'm.
Speaker 3 (42:26):
Gonna tip my cap to Fiddy because I kind of
insulted in there a minute ago and didn't mean to.
I just wanted to make it home safely tonight. We
love you, Fiddy. We're back tomorrow, looking forward to it.
Until then, For smoke, I'm KB. It's Sports Radio ninety
two to seven WFNZ.
Speaker 2 (42:38):
You're gonna be dead in one hundred years anyway, Live
dangerously
This is the Kyle Bailey Show, powered by Victory Chevy Charlotte,
where every month is truck Month.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Victory Chevy Charlotte, your Silverado Destination.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Our number three Sports Radio ninety two seven w f
n z KB and Smoke with You emanating live from
the Chandler Voulta Studios, the Carolinas Personal Injury Lawyers. One call,
that's all go to Cvinjury Law dot com. That's Cvinjury
lawd dot com. Coach Joe's phone call there in the
previous segment has some people fired up. On the text line,
(00:42):
Coach Joe's a popular guy, but we have some people
jumping on him. Take notes says that's a terrible take
on Ikey. Coach Joe says the Panthers need to go
look for a left tackle, and respectfully, Coach Joe, I
think they're more likely to extend Ikey than they are
to go looking for a new left tackle on this team.
Welcome down on the text line, said that's where he
(01:02):
lost me. A different texture here, says that guy doesn't
remember Byron Bell smoke, I just I didn't know if
you saw that text or not, but I was hoping
you'd have a visceral reaction if you didn't and immediately
smoke buries his face in his hands. Byron Bell is
a cop to Ikey. That just seems mean.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
That just seems five most hated pan for my life.
I know I shouldn't hate, but I hated watching Byron
Bell quote unquote protect Cam Newton.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Oh my god, it's bad. It's a bad time for
offensive line playing Carolina.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
My god, it was it was him and Nate Chandler.
Oh yeah, yeah, David Folcoltz.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Let's see Clay says respect to coach Joe, but if
we break the bank for the offensive line this offseason,
I'll scream into the void.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
So uh yeah, death pieces. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
But outside of that, like because I think after I
wouldn't be shocked if you know, someone like Chains of
All is a training camp cup next year.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Sure, well they paid Robert Hunt. Yep, they've extended Taylor Modin.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Damian Lewis has still got a couple of years left,
he does.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
I believe they're going to look to extend to Kiakwanuho.
I think they tried to already, honestly, and he bet
on himself this year.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
And I bet they try to keep Kate.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Oh yeah, yeah, I like because Kate, I don't know,
he's not going to break the bank, but like Cade
has proven that he's a starting caliber player, at least
at center.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
The only problem with Kate is I don't know how
much flexibility you get, and this this franchise, specifically to
people running it, seemed to value flexibility from offensive lineman.
But I think, you know, I think they realize that
that Kate has proven once again.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
That he's the guy. Then the question is who what?
How does the deaf get followed?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
It sucks to say it because he deserves to get
paid as a starter and be a starter somewhere.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Yep. But Brady Christensen I think could be back again. Yep.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
The only problem is he's coming off of Achilles, and
that's a biggie. I do think that. Oh who else? Honestly,
I think Jay Kerhan make it another shot next year.
He's cheap and he knows the system, and when he's
been out there he hasn't been a hindrance. No, I
agree with that. I think Austin Corbitt's probably gone at
the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Say that because I like Austin a lot.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Yeah, but I think that I think that's probably over
at the end of the year. We'll have to wait
and see, but I think that probably is where that goes.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
And Chandler's of all, it just hasn't been good enough.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
But I mean, I'd be happier if they continue to
invest by the draft in the offensive line.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, like early day three, four, fifth roundre.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Yeah, definitely, That's what I'd like to see them do
more of, and I think they will, honestly, And if
you missed the start of the show speaking of the offense,
I brought this up the Panthers and I would love
for the five o'clockers to weigh in on this. Seven
oh four or five seven ninety six ten Carolina is
averaging eighteen point nine points per game this year as
a team averaging eighteen point nine points per game. Last year,
(03:57):
they averaged twenty point one points per game, So right
now it's down one point two points per game. I'm
gonna stop saying points per game last time, I swear,
But I mean, eighteen point nine PPGs this year? Does
that bother you? With an offensive minded head coach like
Dave Canalis? Should it bother you? As a Panthers fan?
(04:19):
Or as a talking head like we are, because, like
I know, the only thing that matters is wins and losses,
and they are seven and seven. They control their destiny
in the playoff hunt. They can win their way in.
They are clearly an improved team this year. I am
not denying that in any way, shape or form. I'm
simply asking the question. The defense has gone from historically
bad giving up the most points in NFL history to
(04:40):
fourteenth in points allowed in the NFL this year. They're
fourteenth in the NFL in points allowed. That's more or
less what we ask for, right, get back to kind
of middle of the pack. They're not perfect. The pass
rush hasn't always been there when it needs to be.
They tallied five sacks on Sunday, couldn't get them when
they needed them late in the game. But, like you know,
points per game specifically, they're middle of the pack, fourteenth
(05:02):
in the NFL, But should eighteen points per game from
an offensive minded head coach like Dave Canalis.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
It's twenty eighth in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
The only teams worse are the Titans, the Browns, the Saints,
and the Raiders.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That's it.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
And you're averaging nearly a point less per game than
the team that just beats you on Sunday. The Saints
are averaging nineteen point seven points per game. I think
that's a fair conversation to have. Should eighteen point nine
points per game bother you? Seven h four five seven
ninety six ten? I think it does a little bit.
I don't think that's good enough. Now, again, it doesn't
(05:40):
bother you as much when you're winning. If you're winning ugly,
nobody's having as good a time. But winning is all
that matters. I acknowledge that, you know, NASCAR, Brad says,
we've won more games this year. Stats are just numbers. Literally,
don't care if we win every game nine to seven. Again,
fair enough, fair enough, But I don't think it's unfair
to point out that the offensive to head coach has
(06:01):
this team averaging eighteen point nine points per game, fourth
worst in the NFL, fifth worst in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Pardon me. It's not a great number.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
It's not.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
And the defense has helped out, but it's been inconsistent.
The running game has been you know here, sometimes gone
other times. The passing game has been good one week,
abysmal the next week. I don't know, you tell me
seven oh four, five, seven ninety six to ten, seven
oh three numbers saying time of possession is a big factor.
Defense can't get off the field this year. See, this
(06:30):
is where you start getting into well, you know, like NASCAR,
Brad said, stats are just numbers. I mean, they're far
better in points allowed per game this year. That's a
fairly key statistic. I know we all get hung up
on all the you know, PFF advanced metrics, the NFL
next Gen numbers and things like that, but you know,
points allowed still pretty basic and still pretty you know,
(06:51):
pretty consequential at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
What are you looking at over there?
Speaker 1 (06:54):
I just think every year there's a team that you
look at stats and they paint one pitcher and it's
a very good pitcher, and then on the field, you know,
when you watch them play, it points a different picture
throughout a season, and so on and so forth. And
then there's just teams that have the statistics that make
(07:16):
you think one thing, the play makes you think another thing.
What I'm getting at, Kyle is this team don't make
any damn sense.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
It doesn't make any sense.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
So I most years I would be I think a
lot more frustrated. But this team's eight or seven and seven.
I think they're gonna be eight and seven after this weekend.
But I mean they've been in shootouts this year. The
two week stretch between the Dolphins and the Cowboys, they
were in a shootout against the Falcons. Let's face it,
that game against the Rams is basically a shootout. I
(07:48):
do think time and possession has maybe impacted in recent
weeks some of the games.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
But they've also front up stinkers. This is just an
inconsistent team playing inconsistently. Yeah, I get that point.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
A couple of texts coming in Dolphin Chris saying, you know,
don't you guys have a couple of defensive and special
teams touchdowns.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
The offense isn't good enough.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
Will I am is saying Dave could be a great
head coach if you could let go of the play
calling and find someone trustworthy to run the offense.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
I mean, I was kind of hoping Mike McDaniels would
get fired and come here, But I don't know that's
going to happen.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
I think it's gonna happen now.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Mac from Moors Will saying Canalys doesn't unleash the chains
on Bryce to run a complex offense.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
It is certainly felt that way. At times.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
He'll build it from high points, saying yes it should
bother fans, and Jamie from Belmont saying, hey, guys, happy holidays.
I think the low points per game is definitely an issue.
I just think it's a combination of factors. I think
Bryce is mediocre, of course, but that's another conversation altogether.
But I also think he doesn't quite have the weapons
around him other than ten and a pretty decent one
to punch at running back one two punch at running back?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
You say ten, did you mean ted? Is that what
you is?
Speaker 3 (08:55):
This voice to text, he says, other guys have shown flashes,
but you need to put points on the board. Look
at the really good offenses and now loaded they are.
It's not a one person problem. It's a several person
problem among personnel. I mean, that's the nature of football. Yeah,
you're right about that. You need all eleven guys moving
in the right direction, you know, guys running the right routes,
the right routes to the right depth, you know, and
(09:17):
all the other things that go along with playing offense.
But just bottom line, is you know, Gary from Texas
says you got to look at stats in context.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
You do.
Speaker 3 (09:24):
The problem is with these stats though you can. You
can take numbers and spend them with whatever context suits
your agenda. I just I believe that are there some
stats that are maybe a bit more you know, truthful
than others. I guess yeah, we could probably argue those two.
But all we're left is right left with right now?
(09:46):
Is that an offensive minded head coach his team is,
while seven and seven and in the playoff Hunt only
able to muster just under nineteen points per game on average.
John and Cornelius saying, on the flip side, Carolina is
eleventh in live the league in time of possession. They
are an enigma on offense. Yeah, I mean that's smoke.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Just said it.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
This team is frustrating. It's who they are, and we're
living with it right now. But you'd like to see, like,
not just overall consistency, but this offense fine, more consistency
week to week. I'm not saying you're gonna have to
win a thirty point shootout on Sunday against the Bucks,
but you might, like, I think Baker's clearly dinged up.
They're a little bit out of sorts, but Baker still
(10:27):
threw for what like two eighty and two touchdowns.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
I'll tell you what this feels like for Baker in
the Bucks.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Remember that Monday night game against the Saints for Carolina
back in twenty eighteen. That's what it feels like, except
this time it's Tampa that's on the pressure, has the
pressure because remember that was the last game before Cam
got set down for the year, and that's when we
really saw them that the shoulder was messed up. Yeah,
I think that's the type of pressure. If they lose
(10:53):
that game against Carolina on Sunday, I think they fold completely.
I think Baker will still play for the year, but
I just think everyone else will kind of be sleepwalking
to the point where I think they lose against Miami.
And like I said, I already feel confident that Carolina
is sweeping Tampa. So I feel like there's a lot
(11:14):
at stake. And like I said, that Monday night game
against New Orleans back in twenty eighteen, as crazy as
it was, Carolina went into that game still with a shot,
but that was the season where they collapsed from six
and two. What has Tampa Bay done this year collapse
from about six and two. I think the similarities from
(11:35):
twenty eighteen to to twenty five bucks are very similar.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Kyle, I like that speaking of the Bucks, sweet cheek,
says KB. See my last text. Dave did the same
in Tampa Bay, and she sent me a screenshot showing
that Dave in his one season in Tampa And it's
a very small sample size, we all acknowledge that, but
that he averaged around twenty and a half points per game,
ranking twentieth overall, and despite wrong finished with Baker Mayfield
(12:01):
setting career highs. Going to the divisional round. The offense
was twenty thirteen yards, but showed flashes on third and
fourth downs and in the red zone, which sounds similar here, right,
I mean that's think about that showed flashes success on
third and fourth down before Sunday's fourth and inches attempt,
Carolina was perfect on fourth down the previous two games.
(12:25):
I think Jason Bennetti was the one to quickly point
that out on Sunday, but then like pretty good in
the red zone, Like these are all things.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
That he's carried with him.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
So it's a small sample size, but it does look
reminiscent of that seven oh four five, seven ninety six ten.
The text line is just blowing up right now. Indian
Land Joe says, Bryce has exceeded my expectations because I
didn't have many expectations for him. I wasn't a fan
of the pick. But he's a good kid, and he
plays hard and he puts it all out there. He's
going to have to have some better players around him.
(12:55):
League at is non existent, and our number one is
a rookie. Without the running game, we'd have nothing. That's
going to sound like excuse making to certain people, but
you're not wrong. I don't know if McMillan's hit a
rookie wall or if he's just getting that much opposing
defensive attention he is getting that Cocher coming back has
been a big deal. It shouldn't be a shock that
(13:17):
Coker has been able to break out a little bit
in the last couple of games since coming back because
he's able to take some of that attention away from
Teoll McMillan. But it still hasn't led to big offensive numbers.
You're right, though, overall, this is still a young wide
receiver corps that's growing together, and we're still completely unsure
about Xavier league get moving forward, He's blocked better. There
have been fewer mental mistakes out there that I appreciate,
(13:39):
but he certainly hasn't made a big impact catching the football.
That part you can't spend.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
And I think moving forward, this offense needs a wide
receiver that can blow the top off. Yeah, just a
straight up speed guy. And I think that's what they're
going to have to work on this all season. When
you get a guy like that, what does that do
to XO moving forward?
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yeah, they might render him obsolete this offense. Yeah, it
could render him you know not, I will say, not
nearly as useful. We've got a few people gamecock mood.
He says, has smoke had too much cough syrup. Somebody
else said, is smoke sick? We both are. I'm just
a little bit. I'm a little bit ahead of him
in the recovery. Also point this out too.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Your voice is so damn deep that most of the
time people can't realize it.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Okay, fair, but I'm trying to have your back here, man.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I know, but you also get lucky with how your
voice is. Lucky it masks, Jesus gave me this voice.
I didn't get lucky. I'm just kidding, man, I'm trying
to have you back here.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Yeah, I know, well, thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
It's just you know, your voice, it's harder to hear
when your voice is messed up.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
I get you, I get you. But yes, he and
I both got sick over the weekend. But we are
devoted sports radio hosts. We did not want to leave
you to start the week on a panther Monday, and
we're coming through it together. So yeah, we are weathering
the storm, and we're both coming out of.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
A weekend of just crud. Everybody's got it right now.
You should have heard how I sounded Saturday night.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Yeah, I didn't think I was gonna make it. Honestly,
I thought on Sunday I might not be able to
physically perform on Monday. I know, for a blue shoe guy,
that sounds funny real quick. I had a text for
a minute ago, kind of a different turn. We got
to go to break here. But somebody said KB really
appreciated the conversation with Ryan McGee. What he said about
Oklahoma being a top five percent college football experience couldn't
(15:23):
be more true. I'm a Clemson fan, saw a game
out there two years ago. One of the coolest experiences
that I've had as a college football fan. I think
it's the low key bucket list item for any college
football fan.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Have you been?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
I have not, and it's actually on my short list
of places that I would like to go as a
college football fan. My hope as a sports fan, honestly
is I would like to hit every major league ballpark
and every major college football stadium before I die. That's
what I would like to do. And then, on top
of that, this might come as a surprise to some people,
I also would like to go back to Europe at
(15:57):
some point, and I want to see a big time,
you know, Premier League match at most all of their
venues over there.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
I love that that culture, that atmosphere. I think it's amazing.
By the way, how many college football stadiums have you
been to?
Speaker 3 (16:10):
A lot? Not the majority by any stretch, but a lot.
So I'm just sitting here thinking, like I've seen. I've
been to Ohio State when they broke the attendance record.
I've been to Clemson. I've been to LSU. Obviously, I
took you to Blacksburg. I've been to a lot of
different stadiums covering college football. Again, I wouldn't say I've
been to all of them. For me, like, if there's
(16:31):
one bucket list for you, one college football stadium you
have to get to before you croak, is it Notre Dame?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yeah it is? Okay, yeah, okay?
Speaker 3 (16:40):
For me, yeah, given my current mood surrounding Notre Dame,
I'm not going to include them. But they are the
right answer for a lot of people because it's, you know,
hallowed ground for college football. I've never seen a game
at Alabama. I've been to Bryant Denny Stadium, never seen
a game inside of Bryant Denny Stadium, never seen the
(17:00):
towels waving, none of that, the pomp poms with.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
None of that.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
So I for me, the answer is probably Bryant Denny Stadium.
I still need to see a game inside the stadium there.
If you what's the one college football stadium you only
get one this automatically we're giving you tickets before you die.
What's the one college football stadium you have to get
to before you croak?
Speaker 1 (17:22):
I will say my faults of going to Tennessee changed
after hearing Colin Hager experience earlier.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
This year.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Oh yeah, Neyland's incredible. You know, I love to pick
on Tennessee fans. I love to fight with Tennessee fans,
but they are fans now, and Knoxville on a Saturday
is about as fun as it gets.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
You don't remember Colin's story at Knoxville this year. It
was a mess.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
I kind of I kind of remember that it was
not fun for him. Okay, okay, I have to revisit that.
And again he was at Georgia pan Well with his family.
That's a big part of it too. I'd say Michigan
the Big House. I'd love to get to a game
in the Big House just because it's an iconic venue.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Speaking of timing, well that's true.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Let's see Todd from Detroit says you got to get
to Brian Denny for dixie Land Delight. Well, honestly, that's
my go to karaoke song. It was for like a
long time when I was still doing karaoke. Dixieland Delight
by Alabama it was my go to karaoke song. So
that's a big reason why too. I almost said the
Holy War, but that's not really a stadium. That's just
a rivalry that I want to see. I would go
to either place. Oh yeah, I'd go to either place,
(18:27):
like I desperately want to go see Utah and BYU
in the Holy War.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
Especially the uniform matchups are my god, they're beautiful. Yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
I've told Smidty for years that the one of these years,
I'm going to jump in his luggage and I'm going
with him to a Holy War game between Utah and
BYU because that one gets nasty. They don't get much
nastier of a rivalry than BYU and Utah. So that's
the one I'd like. That's a rivalry that I'd like
to see. But it doesn't really matter the stadium. What
college football stadium would you? I mean that number one
(18:56):
on your bucket list. Seven oh four or five, seven
oh ninety six, ten hit us up. Penn State Whiteout
game is great. That's really really good. I like Penn
State Saturday night State college whiteout game. I'd love to
be there for that. Keep them coming. We'll circle back
to it when we return. Skylar Callahan Sports Illustrated, Talking
Hornets for a few minutes. Next Sports Radio ninety two
to seven wfn Z, Oh Buddy, the text line'es hopping
(19:35):
right now. Ryan McGee ESPN hit us up earlier said
that Oklahoma is a top five percent college football experience
that everyone needs to get to. I agree with him.
I would love to see a game there. And I'm
asking you what your number one top of the bucket
list college football venue is before you croak, and the
text line is awesome. I think I might like Big
Cat Dan's answer the most. He wants to go to
(19:57):
Iowa so he can wave to the kids in the hospit.
I mean, if you feel like crying, go watch that
on YouTube. If you don't, don't, But I mean I
can't watch that one without without getting a little.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Missy and then you get missedy looking at how appear
at the offense is for Iowa as they won thirteen ten, but.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
It works for me. I love that.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
I love that because that's their identity. Iowa football has
an identity, dammit, and they stick to it for as
much as they.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Get laughed at. They're getting at seven eight wins per
year per year. There's a reason Kirk Ferris is the
longest tenured head coach in college football.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
Yeah, three one zero numbers said the boat tailgating at
the University of Washington stadium is top notch. And I said,
that's a really really good answer. Oh it's a damn
good answer.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
West Coast schools don't get a lot of love on
this topic, but that's an underrated one.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Yeah, absolutely a lot of LSU at night. H'll Billy
from High Point Hill Billy hater that is sending that in.
We had some people saying, well, you know, Hayden said,
Arrowhead was sick. I know it's the NFL, but you know,
ten out of ten experience even with COVID and had attendance.
I like going to NFL venues, but they're all becoming
so I don't know, like homogenous, Like they're just these
(21:04):
big they're really impressive, high technology, but they just don't
have the same Like they're replacing NFL stadiums at such
a rapid pace. These buildings don't have any history, they
don't have any charm. Like they're not bad, you know,
they're impressive structures that are being built, but I like
buildings with history. I want to go to a stadium
with history, you know, where lots of incredible things have
(21:24):
happened before, And increasingly that's just not the case with
these NFL stadiums, like Allegiate in Las Vegas really impressive,
feels very sterile and corporate. Same thing with US Bank
Stadium in Minneapolis. Been to both of those. They're cool,
but it's just not the same as walking into LSU
at night or walking into Death Valley and Clemson at night,
which I've been to multiple times. Like it just to me,
they don't compare. They're awesome, but they don't compare. Let's
(21:47):
bring in a guy who covers the Hornets, but he
also covers college football and he is a proud West
Virginia Mountain neer. My buddy Skyler Callahana Sports Illustrated is
back with us on a Tuesday. Skyler, what's your number
one bucket list? Got to get to this college football
venue before I die?
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Oh this this is a great question, and I've been
listening to you guys, so I've been trying to think
about what it would be. I've got a couple tossing around,
and I guess I'm gonna stick in my big ball
allegiance here. I think Iowa State would be a sneaky
good one just because of how similar they are to
West Virginia in the fan base and how dedicated they
are the other one I would go with BYU. Now,
(22:25):
when you talk about drop backdrops, the Wahsatch Mountains back
there just an incredible sight. My coach for my West
Virginia podcast, He's the He's the radio sideline got for
WU said it was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.
They also hand out free ice cream to the visiting
scene to the visiting team's fans in the stands. So,
uh yeah, free ice cream, Wassatch Mountains. Take me up
(22:47):
on that.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Ooh, I love it.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
So I uh listen, man, I'm telling you I've been
to Iowa State. I'm glad you mentioned it. I called
a basketball game there years ago. I saw the stadium,
the football stadium outside it was just surrounded by tractors
and instirming equipment. It's exactly what you'd expect, but it's
really really cool, So I'm glad you brought that up.
How do you feel, by the way, about the first
year back of rich Rod at West Virginia.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
Yeah, I mean obviously it was what you would kind
of expect with eighty new players, and then on top
of it, you had for your top four quarterbacks get hurt.
Your top five running backs get hurt, and all of
a sudden you look like a team that just can't
find its way down the field and find a first down.
So I think there were some moments start towards the end,
they found some promise there with the freshman quarterbacks Scottie Fowkx.
(23:33):
But this is going to be a completely new roster
again this year. It's not going to be as big
of a roster turnover, but we're talking about starters, the
top twenty two guys. It's going to look completely different again.
I think they're in much better position now financially as
opposed to where they were last year when they got
in place. I mean, they were already way behind the
eight ball with the transfer portal. That's not going to
(23:54):
be the case this year.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
Okay, let's talk some Hornets here, and you know probably
where I'm going first. Michael Scotto on the Yes Network
the other night saying that, hey, the Hornets now look
at Conka Nipple as the face of the franchise. That's
a really big conversation. I'll just give you the floor.
What do you think of that?
Speaker 4 (24:12):
I mean, I understand that. I think there's we always
get caught up in these debates and in reality it
really doesn't mean anything, because I mean, what does it
mean to be the face of the franchise. I mean,
you're going to build them around, to build the roster
around that one guy. I know you're still going to
build it around Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball and that. I
(24:34):
think you can have two to three guys that can
be the face of your franchise. I don't think it
has to be just one singular person. But I do
get you know where this is coming from, and I
think it is warranted. The way he has started out
his career has been phenomenal, and I do think that
you're going to see a lot more people around the
league kind of look at the Hornets to say, yes,
(24:54):
that's who they're going to try and build this thing around,
as Conk Nipple. But again, when you have Lamello on
your roster, you have Brandon Miller on your roster, you
still got to cater to those guys as well. They
do a lot of good things, well are a lot
of things well, and you still have to kind of
piece the offense around them, which I think is going
to be very interesting next year's draft in what direction
they go, assuming it's another lottery.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
Pickt But we've all talked about con a Ton, right,
He's been really good. He's got seven twenty five plus
point games, more than every other rookie combined. He is
so far exceeded expectations but that anybody, even his biggest supporters,
could have had for him. What has impressed you the
most and where do you think he's really standing out
on the floor right now?
Speaker 4 (25:36):
I think it's it's really what we expected him to be,
is just that steady, reliable presence and that he knows
what a good shot is for him, what's not He
knows how to get his teammates involved. He just has
a feel for the game, like he knows how to
get to his spot, knows how to play. He can
hold his own on the defensive end, which I think
was obviously a question mark coming into it, but we
(25:57):
all knew he didn't have the prototypical athleticism of a
top five pick, but he makes up for that with
his IQ the way the game just kind of slows
down for him, and I think he has blown out.
You know, these expectations early on, and to be honest
with you, like I mean, I get again, I get
where this narrative is coming from. Why he could be
the face of the franchise, because what he is doing
(26:20):
is something we haven't seen in Charlotte and years. When
you can go back to Lamelow's rookie year, it took
some time before he even cracked the starting lineup under JB.
So this was this is completely a different type of
player that we're talking about here, at least the first
twenty five twenty six games of the season. And it's
crazy too, because you go back to the draft and
(26:40):
everybody and myself and cluded was saying, oh, this is
this is the safe pick of the draft. Right that's
kind of the bad kind of language that was being used,
as if it was a bad thing that he was
the safe pick. And all of a sudden, he's turning
into a Rookie of the Year camp.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
So what do you sind you mention LaMelo? Right there?
Speaker 3 (26:59):
There's always something with him. He's polarizing, he's often injured.
There was the report weeks ago that he wanted out.
You know, he snuffed that out really quickly, you know,
but more people coming out saying, hey, you know, people
around the league are telling me. He's an unseerious basketball player,
doesn't care about winning, but they do win more when
he's on the floor. And I'm just curious, you know, Skyler,
how you think the front office. I mean, we're all speculating,
(27:20):
but how you think the front office views him here
today on December sixteenth.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
I think they're they're still kind of TBD with him
in the future. I don't know that they're one hundred
percent sure he's going to be a part of this
thing through the entirety of his contract, but I think
they also realize the talent that he is, the potential
that this this franchise could could be with him a
part of it. But it all goes back to the
hell thing. I mean, we could talk about whether he'd
(27:47):
be better in a bigger market, or if he's a
serious basketball player or not. But I think if you
spend enough time around Lamelow, or if you just watch
these games closely, you know that that's not true about LaMelo.
He truly does hair, and I think some of that
is just because of the flamboyancy and the kind of
the flashy style that he plays with and maybe taking
(28:07):
some shots that he probably shouldn't take, but he's the
guy that can make those kind of one legged you know, threes,
and there's off balanced shots and the crazy passes. If
there's somebody in the elite that's going to do that,
it's LaMelo Ball. He can't do that, So you you
don't want to take that playmaking ability away from him
just because of some ridiculous narrative out there. But it
(28:28):
does come back to the health and if he can
stay healthy, I don't see why the Hornets would move
off of him. I get Connor has been phenomenal, Brandon
has looked good to when he has been healthy too,
And you can trade LaMelo if you want, but I
don't think that you're going to get back the package
that is going to just blow you away. I don't
(28:48):
think that's the case. Because of the injury history, because
of the contract. No one's going to be willing to
take that contract on and give up a king's ransom
for it, So you're probably not going to be pleased
with the return. And two, I think this is something
that somebody else pointed out and I agree with the wholeheartedly,
is if you trade LaMelo Ball away, you're trading a
huge piece of this franchise away in terms of revenue tickets,
(29:09):
you're I mean, this guy is a ticket seller, and
I don't think Charlotte in a small market can afford
to do that.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Skyler Callahan Sports Illustrated covers the Hornetsy's with us here
on the hot line. Brandon Miller still a big fan.
Don't don't have any bad things to say about him,
but you know, people text in. I got another one
yesterday that you know, why have they taken away his
mid range game? It seems like he's turned into almost
exclusively a three point shooter. You know, in the game
against Cleveland, he did have thirteen attempts inside the three
(29:37):
point line, but he was three of thirteen. He did
most of his damage again from outside the three point line,
hit the big three to send the game to overtime.
So again, I can't stress enough. I'm still a big
Brandon Miller fan, but I don't know, it just seems
like there's something missing there right now in terms of
his overall game and his continued development. And I realize
injuries have interrupted some things, but how do you feel
about his development as a player thus far?
Speaker 4 (29:59):
Yeah, I mean I would agree with you. I almost
kind of wonder if he's a little caught in between,
because if you kind of look at the Charles Lee philosophy,
it's trying to get up a bunch of threes. I mean,
that's what we've known his teams to be in the past,
where he's come from shoot threes, play defense, and spread
the floor. Obviously, this team doesn't really have the pieces
(30:20):
to really do either of those things at this point.
But I do think that was one of the things
when he was first hired that was questioned a lot,
is Okay, what about Brandon Miller's mid range game, because
that's not really a piece of a foundational piece of
this offense. So I think he's a little caught in
between right now, and I think he's maybe second guessing
some stuff. I think the confidence maybe isn't quite what
(30:43):
it was pre this injury that he had at the
beginning of the year. Who knows if that's something that's
bothering him. Maybe it's just lingering a little bit that
he can play through. There's a lot of different things
that can come across here, but I think the offense
is it's going to come back. He's been a high
level score his entire life, the official, and he's going
to get better once he gets more games under his belt.
(31:03):
But to me, I think the part that he has
to to really take the next step in is the
defensive end, because with his length, his athleticism, the way
he can cover ground, he should be a an all
league type of talent on the defensive end, and we
just haven't seen it. We've seen a little bit, you know,
bits and pieces of it here and there, but it
hasn't been consistent. And you know, last week and you
(31:25):
go back to the Chicago game, there were some moments
where I thought he took some of the offensive struggles
and carried them with him down to the defensive end
of the floor. He's getting out of position, wasn't moving
his feet, got had some bad fouls, just I wouldn't
say laziness, but just didn't maybe show the same effort
on that end as he did on the offensive end.
That's got to change for him, do you think that?
Speaker 3 (31:47):
And it's early yet, so I don't expect you to
make any grand declaration that's going to come back to
haunt you here in a year or two.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
But like Ryan Koch Printer, do.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
The early does the early returns look like a long
term starting in the NBA to you, I mean the numbers,
I think you could argue yes, But you know, some
people think that he's still a depth piece long term.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
What's your opinion, Yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (32:07):
Mean future Hall of Famer, right, so I put it
on the record. I mean, I don't know. I do
think he's probably best suited to be a number two
down the line. I mean, obviously he can make a
jump and be a more of a focal point of
this offense. But when you have three elite bucket getters,
I don't know that he's ever going to have to
(32:28):
be that. I think that eventually that Charlotte's going to
want to be able to stretch the floor more, like
I talked about with Charles and his philosophy to really
get five guys that can shoot the ball from the
range they don't have that you're undersize at the four spot.
That's going to have to change us at some point,
I think too. So I think he's played well enough
(32:48):
to be a solid number two that can help protect
the pain, protect the rim. I don't know if if
that's somebody that you can have though, as your your
number one option on a on a playoff team, And
that's no disrespect to him. I think he still has
a ton of room to grow, but I think you
probably do need a more athletic, better moving center that
(33:10):
can step out and shoot threes. And again, that's no
knock to Ryan because he's done fairly, fairly well throughout
these first couple of months.
Speaker 3 (33:17):
All right, So they've had a lot of time off
the last two weeks. Unfortunately, even with that time off,
a lot of guys still haven't been playing. They get
the Hawks Thursday night. What are you expecting from that
game based on what we saw in Cleveland and some
of the up and down stuff we've seen recently.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
Yeah, I mean, you need to have more consistency on
the defensive end. And you know, Charles, that's one thing
that drives him crazy because he sees the potential with
this group. And I've talked about, well just a minute
ago with Brandon. The same thing applies to the rest
of that starting lineup in the bench. I mean, you
see see on James some nights where he looks like
you can understand the comparisons to Lou Dorton, and some
(33:54):
nights it's like, oh my goodness, he's clearly a rookie,
so you need to see some more some more consistency
on the defensive end. And I think what they did
in that overtime period that that held Cleveland scoreless, that
should be a confidence boost. I mean that that is
an insane stat I can't even tell you the last
time that's happened, if it's ever happened. I mean, that's
(34:15):
and that's a pretty damn good starting lineup too. That
Cleveland rolled out there and they did that again, So
that's got to be a huge, you know, momentum boost
for them, and that's something they have to build on.
You can't go out there against Atlanta on Thursday night
and give up one hundred and thirty.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
Skyler, always a pleasure, brother, Great catching up. We'll see
you real soon.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
Mary. Christmas to you and yours.
Speaker 4 (34:34):
You got a buddy, take care of Merry Christmas.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
There you go, Skyler Callahan with us here on a
Tuesday seven oh four, five seven oh ninety six to ten.
Hit us up on the fan duel text line. We're
gonna come back and wrap up the show in a
couple of minutes, but stick around because something interesting just
came out of Tampa. That I think is worth discussing
as it relates to Panthers and Bucks. Stick around for that.
Right now we go to smoke on the headlights.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
Well, Kyle, it's a very very li night for sports. Indeed,
do have a couple of bowl games starting, but most
importantly in the ACC got some interesting games. East Tennessee
State takes on North Carolina or on fitting Marlow's going
to be there tonight covering the game for the Heal
Tough blog and for WFNZ. Do you want to mention
(35:18):
Lipscomb takes on Duke That's not really an impressive game,
but with a win tonight, which will likely happen John Shire,
believe it or not, Kyle will get to one hundred
wins as a head coach at.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
Duke already one hundred Yeah, already.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
It feels fast because it is well yeah, I mean, yeah,
he's good, the team is good. But like the fact
that we're already talking about his one hundredth it feels
like two weeks ago that we were talking about the
succession plan and how things would look and if Shire
was ready, and how much of k he'd bring with him,
and if the culture would stay the same and he's
got one hundred.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
Wins yep, only about a thousand more to go to
get the coach kto jam so you know times have taken.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Let's go John.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Anyway, the biggest game tonight doing the ACC involves the
Louisville Cardinals as they're taking on Tennessee. Now, Kyle, they
fell up shortened their sec ACC challenge against Arkansas. But
do you think they can get a win on Rocky
Top tonight?
Speaker 2 (36:17):
Mm? Can they? Of course they can? Will they? I'm gonna.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
I don't know how I feel about this Louisville team yet.
I don't know that I trust them yet. You mentioned
the Arkansas win lost or lost? Sorry my bad. Volunteers
are five and zero at home. They're moving the ball well.
I think they're top of the league and assists like
it's gonna have to be a really strong difficion Now
here's the thing, though, Louisville loves to shoot the three ball.
(36:49):
So if you go in and get hot from deep early, yeah,
they can win this game. I'm gonna I'm gonna be
the pro, I'm gonna be the ACC hawk.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
And I'm gonna say Louisville gets to win, well, I
will say that's not the only sec ACC game tonight,
because South Carolina also takes on Clemson. Clemson, if you
do not win this game, we cannot take you seriously
as a bubble team.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
That's correct. Please win this game. That's correct.
Speaker 3 (37:10):
Also, Ian Shefflin kicked off the Clemson team apparently the
football team, not the basketball team.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
The football team, Accordey dow to focus on basketball. Yeah
you were, Dabo said.
Speaker 3 (37:18):
When he was asked about it, he said, what you
go ask him? There's your chase. All right, we'll come
back and wrap up the show. Sports Radio ninety two
to seven wfn Z Sports Radio ninety two seven w
(37:50):
f n Z, KB and Smoke wrapping up the show.
We had the text for a minute ago, say, KB, Smoke,
you mentioned the Carolina game tonight right as you were
talking college basketball there or did you not?
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (37:59):
Against Eta Etsu East Tennessee State University Buccaneers fighting will
Heey's not so that's the football team, but they're actually
this could be. I'm not saying Carolina is getting upset here.
I don't think that. But Etsu pretty tough team. Off
to an eight and three start. I think they're number
one hundred in the net ratings right now. They're not
(38:20):
a bad team. This is a game that Carolina should
absolutely win. Their favorite I think by was it sixteen
seventeen and a half. But they better not come out
and play with their food tonight like that. I was
talking to Fiddy about this earlier. He was leaving the station.
He's going solo dolo out to Chapel Hill tonight. I
don't think Flounder can make it. So we got Fiddy
going out solo dolo to Chapel Hill tonight to cover
(38:42):
this game, and I think he had a similar feeling, like, yeah,
we should win the game.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
It is Fitty, after all, he's one of the most.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
There's nobody that you know with more unfounded arrogance and
conceit than that guy.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
And I love him.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
I don't mean that as an insult. I adore the kid,
but he will tell you exactly what he thinks, even
if he doesn't actually think it. But even he I think,
was like, you know, can't can't really toy around with
this team tonight.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
The problem was they did that against USC Upstate.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Yeah, so that's probably why there's more of a feeling
like this. But etsu they're expected to be one of
the best teams in the Soacon this year. Brooks also
Brooks Savage. Excuse me, I was getting confused with the
college football analysts. Brook Savage was an assistant with Oh gosh,
his name's escaped from me, wake Forest head coach oh Forbes. Yes,
(39:27):
he was a sister with Sea Forbes at Etsu and
wake Forest went back to Etsu. It's been a slow build,
but they've gotten better and better each year, and this
looks like it could be the year where they contend
for a conference title.
Speaker 3 (39:39):
So and he looks exactly like Will Heally, Like you
could swap him out on the sidelines, and I'm not
even sure the fans would tell the difference. Same age too,
Are they the exact same age? Forty years old?
Speaker 2 (39:50):
Look at him side by side.
Speaker 3 (39:51):
Tell me there's a discernible difference between brook Savage and
will Heally.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
I think they cloned one of them. Brooks looks a
little taller, lank here. I'll give you that. Yeah, yeah,
I'll give you that.
Speaker 3 (40:02):
From a headshot standpoint, you know, if you blake, if
you squint, there's not much difference between brooks Savage and
Will Heally.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Looks like has a type.
Speaker 3 (40:13):
Oh, man, let's see salty pirates, says I bet, oh, sorry,
a bunch of dolphins about last night, by the way,
said I bet there's a lot of pissed off pirates
that bought tickets to the bowl game. I bet Caiton
already had an sec or Big ten school quietly contact
him in ECU, kept it quiet to sell tickets.
Speaker 2 (40:28):
Yeah. Probably.
Speaker 3 (40:29):
I mean after the season that Kate and Howser had
did it always kind of feel destined for him to
transfer out, and especially after losing his offensive coordinator like
Blake Carroll is in such an unenviable position, got to
replace both coordinators and now his quarterback as well.
Speaker 2 (40:45):
And with what nil money?
Speaker 3 (40:46):
I'm not saying they have none, but like with what
who are you buying in the market to come play
at ECU?
Speaker 2 (40:53):
I don't know that quarterback from Mercer.
Speaker 3 (40:55):
Where do we think Howser ends up, by the way,
because there's the hornsby kid from Cincinnati. He started his
career at Indiana, right, There's a chance there's a rumor
he goes back to Indiana, which could be weird because
he left as Kurt Signetti was on his way into Indiana.
So I don't know if Kurt Signette said no, I
don't want you. But that's interesting. Oh, news out of Tampa. Sorry,
(41:16):
somebody said, what's the news out of Tampa? My bad,
it's not news. But our counterparts down there in the
afternoon on WDAE the Pat and Aaron Show Afternoon Drive,
one of their hosts, Aaron Jacobson on the air. They're
actually pushing this out as a social graphic right now
reading quote, I think Todd Bowles has officially lost the
locker room end quote, according to his sources down there
(41:38):
saying he thinks Todd Bowles has lost the Tampa locker
room after what happened in the press conference following the
Falcons loss last Thursday night. I mean, it's not again,
it's not breaking news. We'll talk more about it tomorrow,
but that's a factor on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
I think Baker's going to compete. I think Mike Evans
is going to compete.
Speaker 3 (41:55):
But like when it comes down to nutcutting time, they
trust their coach. Now are they fighting for their coach now?
I don't know, but uh yeah. The WDA Afternoon Show
is saying that they believe Todd Bowles has officially lost
the Buccaneers locker room. Just something to keep in the
back of your mind as we head to Sunday. All right,
we got to go tipping our caps courtesy of our
friends at Neogenics, where they help heel joint pain naturally
(42:18):
with no surgery, no medication, no downtime. Go to neogenicstem
Sales dot com. Smoke what you got?
Speaker 1 (42:23):
Tip my cap to John Shire get that win number
one hundred tonight, Baby, I'm.
Speaker 3 (42:26):
Gonna tip my cap to Fiddy because I kind of
insulted in there a minute ago and didn't mean to.
I just wanted to make it home safely tonight. We
love you, Fiddy. We're back tomorrow, looking forward to it.
Until then, For smoke, I'm KB. It's Sports Radio ninety
two to seven WFNZ.
Speaker 2 (42:38):
You're gonna be dead in one hundred years anyway, Live
dangerously
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Betrayal: Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a brand new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack. And make sure to check out Seasons 1-4 of Betrayal, along with Betrayal Weekly Season 1.