The Kyle Bailey Show: Nate Wimberly

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the Chandler voulta WFNZ studio. Nate Wemberley, longtime Sports
Directors Sports anchor WBTV. He's back for a Friday sit down.
What's up, Nate Wemberley? How are you, buddy?

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hey, what's up? Uh? You're not interested in Travis Hunter?

Speaker 3 (00:13):
That will be the biggest reason why people might watch,
is like, what is Travis Hunt gonna do?

Speaker 2 (00:17):
No, of course you're interestingly.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
But do you think that's enough to push this up
toward the top of the one o'clock window viewership? Could
you think so it could? Okay, I'm just trying to think.
We got New York and d C. Right, you got
Giants and Commanders. That's gonna be on Fox. That'll be
a widely watched game. Steeler Steelers and Jets, Aaron Rodgers
and Justin Fields.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Stop right there there, you got no I'm sorry, my bad.

Speaker 4 (00:40):
That's okay.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Right there, that's where you're going.

Speaker 4 (00:42):
That's where you're probably going.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
Uh. Raiders Patriots like Raider Nation, they're still out there.
There's there's still a lot of them. Uh. And the
Patriots have Drake May so they're they're pretty you know,
they're really committed fans up there.

Speaker 4 (00:53):
I don't know. I'm not sure.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
I think a lot of people are interested in Carolina
and Jacksonville, but I don't know. It's the NFL. We
know the NFL is back, and that's the story of
the ball. So let me start with that. All that's happened.
I think it was back on July twenty sixth. I
believe for twenty fourth that camp broke and everybody reported,
and we've seen joint practices and preseason games and injuries

(01:14):
and roster cut downs and re signings and everything else.
It's kind of been a roller coaster again as we
are now forty eight hours out, less I guess from
from week one, what are you thinking about this football team?

Speaker 2 (01:26):
I still don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
I mean, like we didn't get a lot that we
didn't see a lot in the preseason game. So I'm
still left wondering and scratching my head and all those
good things. I just I feel like I felt last
year going into the season. I just don't like the
way they're going into this season. You bubble wrapped everybody,
You didn't play anybody in the final preseason game, and
you bubble wrapped them up and a couple of weeks later.

(01:48):
Now you've got three of your three fields of your
offensive line dealing with injury. It's just, you know, the
way the roster is, the roster cuts went down and
things of that nature. I just don't have a good feeling,
and I think that what I'm feeling is this thing
is gonna play out exactly the same way it played
out last year. You're gonna stumble out the gates, you're
gonna figure it out, and then you're gonna be playing

(02:09):
your best at the end. Uh. That's just my gut
feeling for this team this year. I thought, you know,
I'll go ahead and say I put it out there.
I picked earlier the day on the point, after six
and eleven, I had them at seven. I'm dropping it
back to six. I just don't have a good feeling
about the start. But eventually this team is gonna figure
it out. And I'm not even gonna say the team.
The defense is finally gonna figure it out midway through
the season, and that's where you're gonna start seeing this

(02:31):
team just like last year started when they're playing those
tougher teams in the middle of the Buffalos and the Green.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Bays you're gonna figure out.

Speaker 3 (02:38):
You're gonna see a team that's playing but they can't
get over the hump, but they're playing well enough to win.
And then at the end it's where you're gonna pick
up the chunk of your wins at the end of
the season. I just don't have a good feeling going
into the year. But this team is it's too talented
to not win six. You know, I'm saying the base
is six, I think the height is nine.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Okay, but I guess for me six and eleven. Does
that Does that get somebody fired? Ta get somebody replaced?

Speaker 2 (03:03):
No?

Speaker 3 (03:03):
And you know what, I posed that same question to
Alex Zandler of the Observative Day on the point after.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
I think it depends on how it looks.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
If everybody stays healthy and Bryce plays well and he's
looking like a franchise quarterback and at least he makes
you think about giving him that fifth year, and you're
going towards that, you know, big extension at the end
of the the rainbow. You know, I don't I don't
think you know, that's gonna get anybody fired.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Now.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
If Bryce doesn't look good and this thing, they just
kind of just sputter, they're good, they're bad, they're good,
they're bad, and at the end you're left scratching your
head like, hm uh, then it might be time to,
you know, have some of those kind of conversations. But
you know, as long as there's progression and a step,
I think, you know, six wins, you're one more than

(03:51):
you were last year. That's one more winning you did
had last year. I think they're fine. Oh okay, that's interesting.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
I mean, now, if that better case scenario happens, right,
you said six and eleven, you think that the ceiling
is nine. Yes, if they win nine, what will be
the difference in six versus nine? It will it be
because an individual player steps up and as a big year.
What will be the difference between six and let's say,
best case scenario nine wins.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
It's the defense.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
To me, I'm not worried about the offense in the least,
even with these injuries right now, on the offensive line,
that's the deepest part of this team. I think they're
gonna be fine. They'll be able to whather that storm.
I think it all just comes down to this defense.
This defense is you got to be much better than
you were last year, and you can't really go down
because you have one of the worst ever. You know,

(04:37):
but you're not gonna take a It's hard for you
to take a step from being one of the worst
ever to maybe even midpack. I mean like they're gonna
have to and if they get to midpack, middle of
the you know, you know, fifteenth in the league. In defense,
I think they can get to nine wins, but it's
all on the defense. I have no worries about this offense.

(04:58):
I think I think Bryce Young is going to on
again like a first round first number one overall pick.
I think tedor Roy mcmidland's gonna have an outstanding gear
to run a game. They're gonna run the ball more
than what they did last year and is gonna help
Bryce play even better.

Speaker 2 (05:13):
I do not worry about the offense.

Speaker 3 (05:14):
It is strictly on the defense this year, and they
have got to come around quickly if they're gonna win
nine games, all right.

Speaker 1 (05:21):
Nate Wimberley WBTV in studio with us here, I wonder
about the run defense on Sunday, Nate. That's a big
part of it for me because I think, to your
question about the defense, will they be better. How much
better can they be if you're a believer, right, if
you're of the more optimistic variety, Let's say you got
Derrick Brown back, you signed Bobby Brown for that express purpose.

(05:41):
Ashawn Robinson was missing his running mate last year, but
he had some very good Sundays. Turk Wharton's coming over
everything else. I'm looking to Sunday and I see Travis
Etn and I see Tank Bigsby, and I respect it.
But if I'm Dan Morgan, I am expecting those guys
to go out there together and be run stoppers. If
they could go out there and stop the run consistently,

(06:02):
I think that changes the complexion of this defense entirely.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (06:06):
If Jacksonville is gonna run on you on Sunday, folks
getting ready for a long season, I just you know,
if you're not stopping Jacksonville from running the football on
you and running it down your throat, it is definitely
gonna be a long season. And then you're gonna be
looking at that base of six. But I think they
will be able to stop that running attack. It's just
I don't think it's that potent. Uh So you should
be able to stop the run now, Middle linebacker comes

(06:28):
into question then or inside linebacker. I'm sorry with Trevan
Wallace and Rose Boom that they're gonna have to play
in it because they're gonna they're very important in stopping
that run.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
So you know that is a very huge key to
this game.

Speaker 3 (06:43):
You know, if you can make them one dimensional, then yeah,
everything's gonna be I'd say that. And then you got
to go to the back end of the thing. So
especially at safety, you know, the second safety other than Morty,
but you know they definitely under start.

Speaker 2 (06:58):
If that'll be a tail to.

Speaker 3 (07:00):
If this team cannot stop to run against Jacksonville, boy,
it's gonna be a long season around here.

Speaker 4 (07:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:06):
Nate Wimberley WBTV in studio with us here, let me
transition back to college game real quick. Gotta get your
thoughts on Monday night Primetime, Bill Belichick, Michael Jordan LT.
I mean, is there a greater alumni tandem ever in
the history of a stadium sitting together than Michael Jordan
and Lawrence Taylor together at Kingdom Memorial Stadium and everybody's there.

Speaker 4 (07:29):
The lights are bright, the fireworks are going off.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
Eric Church is doing this this montage on ESPN and
they go out there and they march down the field
and they score seven points right away, and everybody's thinking,
I'll be damn, Bill Belichick.

Speaker 4 (07:41):
Ain't playing around.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
And then they just get worked for the next three
and a half quarters plus and it's forty eight to fourteen,
and the all week long, the entire national media and
college football fan base, everybody has been destroying Belichick since
what happened Monday night?

Speaker 4 (07:57):
What is your take on what happened there?

Speaker 2 (07:59):
He deserves destroyed. That that that that that team deserves
to destroyed, that destroyed.

Speaker 4 (08:04):
It was so bad.

Speaker 3 (08:05):
Michael Jordan was up at Philadelphia. He won'ted at least
go watch a good football game this week at some point,
so he went to the Eagles Cowboys game in yesterday.
I'm like, what, But back to that was just it
was shocking to me that it that it played out
that way. I would have thought that, you know, you know,
everybody would have thought that Bill Belichick team would be

(08:25):
at least competitive. North Carolina wasn't even competitive. That was
just ridiculous, and that just that's just mind blowing. It's
just really really mind blowing. And now you know, I'm
listening to sports talk radio and Atlanta and everybody's like, woo,
glad we didn't hire him because boy, if it would look.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
Like that, like what are we doing?

Speaker 4 (08:46):
What are you doing? Listening to the sports talking Atlanta day?

Speaker 3 (08:48):
You know it's home brother, but you know, I mean,
it's just it was crazy and it puts a once again.
The spotlight will be on Charlotte tomorrow as they try
and see is North Carolina what are they gonna do
against the forty nine ers. Now, I think it's gonna
look a lot better. But if it doesn't, oh my god,

(09:08):
the sky is going to fall in Chapel Hill. And
if if I'm if I'm a fan, I'm a forty five.
I think the forty nine ers fans feel a little
bit better about their team, and their team didn't look
that good. But I would feel a little bit better
going into this game as a forty nine Er fan
than than a Tario fan, because that the forty nine
ers they at least put up us. I'm what of

(09:31):
a fight after after you know, they got molly wopped
coming up towards the house. That game was over for
North Carolina and and and and TCU. So I just
don't where was the fight for North Carolina. Yeah, that's
the question. Where was your fight? Where was your heart?
It's just like that, that was just ridiculous.

Speaker 1 (09:50):
So then are you one of those that looks at
the Charlotte matchup this weekend at Jerry Richardson Stadium it says, well,
they they're probably not gonna lose, but dot dot dot
Now all of a sudden, it's a lot more queshtionon
that it was a week ago.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
I kind of look at it that way, you do,
I do.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
I mean, like I still think, you know, no, Killina
should win by a couple of touchdowns or ten points
or something like that. If they don't, if it's a
if it's a one score game in the fourth quarter,
then boy, no Tario fans better. They'll be looking at like, uh, Hubert,

(10:24):
Hubert Davis. When does the basketball season start? Cause they're
gonna they're gonna mel it in at that point if
you can't, if you're not gonna beat up on Charlotte. Oh,
and I think it's I do believe about a half
everybody's gonna be sitting there looking at it like what's
going on here? Yeah, So I think Saturday's gonna be
interesting that generations.

Speaker 4 (10:44):
I do too.

Speaker 1 (10:44):
And an underrated element of this discussion is simply the
fact that and I think you've been around long enough.

Speaker 4 (10:49):
I know you've been around long enough to know this.

Speaker 1 (10:50):
We don't see it that often, but an instance is
like this, where you have a goat, you know, who's
taken over. He's in a different place. Every he's getting
everybody's best shot. Every single week. Every coaching staff is
desperate to beat him. They want to say they beat
Bill Belichick. That's the message they're conveying to their teams
all week long. So in addition to him taking over
and doing this for the first time and starting over
and try to rebuild the roster, they are going to

(11:12):
literally get everybody's best shot. This is gonna be so
many teams super Bowl over the course of this season
date because they all want to say they beat Bill Belichick.

Speaker 3 (11:19):
And maybe that's the thing that the tar Hill players
don't understand, or they really hadn't grasped it. They grasp
it now a little bit. But Charlt's gonna come out
there and they're gonna want to prove a point. And
a guy like kind kind of araund at quarterback who
was at nor Calina last year. What do you think
he's thinking. He's like, man, I want to show these

(11:40):
these these guys what they're missing. And to your point,
I never even thought about that yet. This is their
super Bowl. You know they're gonna come out. They're gonna
give a Nocklina their best shot. And I think the
Tarhill players now know that.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
You know, bro, we did.

Speaker 3 (11:54):
We got to come ready to go because if we don't,
anybody can you know, put it right upside our head
again and we'll be then I'm be looking like what's
going on?

Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (12:02):
Oh yeah, that's an underrated aspect that I didn't even
think about it at all. That you know, Yeah, you're
gonna get everybody's back, even though you're North Carolina and
you because you have that coach, everybody's wanting. They're gonna
come out one approve a point that hey, uh, welcome
to Welcome to college football.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
This is how we do things.

Speaker 1 (12:18):
Yep uh Terrell on the text slide, Terrell tells me
if we beat the Tar Hills, y'all won't be able
to tell me bleep.

Speaker 4 (12:24):
And I get a pick.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
I get a picture of Shannon Sharp shaking his head.
The famous jiff of Shanner Gift or whatever, of Shannon
Sharp shaking his head. If we beat the Tar Hills,
y'all won't be able to tell me bleep, I get it.
I can't blame you a bit if that turns out
to be the case. All right, Nate, real quick before
we switch to high school football. Biggest result of Week
one in college football other than what we were discussing obviously,
some big wins, some big losses. Alabama comes to mind,

(12:48):
Clemson bit of a let down. What was the biggest
result from week one for you? It would have to
be Florida State absolutely. But you know, I'll go here.

Speaker 3 (12:56):
I pick South Carolina as my dark horse to win
the SEC, and I'm I'm you know, it's coming out.

Speaker 2 (13:02):
At the first drive, I was like, oh boy, look
at it. I might be right here.

Speaker 3 (13:05):
And then they kind of just kind of settled into
the game, but you know, they pulled it out in
the end. I feel good about South Carolina and I
think they're going to improve as they go each and
every week, So you know it. You know, I'm not gonna,
you know, say that was the biggest one, but it's
got to be Florida State. The way they just manhandled
Alabama up front on the offensive defensive lines. Many they
thoroughly whipped that tail and uh, that was just shocking

(13:29):
to me that Florida State did that. But it has
to be the Florida State over Alabama.

Speaker 1 (13:34):
All right, let's talk high school football. Uh, somehow we're
already in the week three again. We always wonder how
this happened so quickly, but we got a bunch of
games tonight. Let me start with this where you headed?
What games are you covering?

Speaker 2 (13:45):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (13:45):
Actually, let me let me let me do one more thing.
Gardner well over Western Carolina as well. Oh that was somebody.

Speaker 4 (13:51):
Oh yeah, no, yes that was for smoke, right, okay,
all right.

Speaker 2 (13:56):
Yeah, Well.

Speaker 3 (14:00):
I'm going to Catholic Providence Day battle between two two
of those teams. Uh. You know, Providence Day is just
kind of quietly going about their business winning games, and
they beat Roman Catholic in Week one. They went up
to Roseville, the state runners up last year, beat them.
So Providence Day is back right now. You know Raven
Gap who won the state championship last year versus them,

(14:20):
they're on two. But they played a couple of great teams.
But Providence Day is looking like that juggernaut again. Uh,
but Catholic just you know, just just doing their thing.
Gotta running back Garrett and Nowlan. Uh he's run for
three hundred yards and four touchdowns. So uh, Providence Day
is gonna try and shut him down and make Catholic
beat them some other way. So it's gonna be an

(14:42):
interesting battle to see how Catholic can handle things. If
they can slow down Garrett, how are how is Catholic
going to school? Both defenses are great in this game though,
So that's a pretty big game. Our game of the
week is Ashbrook and Northwest. Cobari's Camp Gas is gonna
be at that one. That's a battle between two more
two and teams both teams a high expectations so that

(15:03):
they're out the gates and playing well. Probably the most
underrated game and smoking out talking about it. Made that
North Lincoln. North Lincoln's running back from last season, Shannon Wingott,
is now at Mayden, so you know, North Lincoln is
gonna be like, Okay, you want to leave, all right,
We're gonna shut you down tonight. So that that's gonna
be a very interesting matchup at the biggest little football

(15:24):
town in the world made in North Carolina.

Speaker 4 (15:26):
Well, if you got a question for that, you might
want to sneak it in real quick. I'll throw in one.

Speaker 1 (15:30):
Butler Irmo game is interesting, right because I got Butler
in week one against Olympic. They looked at I mean,
they probably should have lost that game, but they find
a way to win it. It's one of the most
misleading scorers I've ever seen in the history of high
school football game. And I mean that respectfully. It's week one,
weird things happen. But Brian Hales, who's back on the
sideline at Butler, he started two and oh and they've
been shaky in both of them. But two and oh

(15:52):
is two and oh and now they're going down to
to see Aaron Brandon Ermo tonight at seven o'clock.

Speaker 3 (15:56):
Irmo's two and O got a real impressive went over Burns,
South Carolina last week. Uh, they're they're rolling again, even
though his son is now at Virginia Tech. Uh, you know,
this is gonna be a tough one for for for Butler.
They're gonna have to really, really really play well to
to bet Irmo down at Irmo. So, uh, that is
gonna be a big game. I think Imo is gonna

(16:18):
be too much, but you just never know. Sometimes Butler
goes on the road. They went down to Georgia a
couple of years ago and everybody thought, oh, I ain't
gonna go down and get smashed. They upset the team
down there, so uh uh. And they were coached by
Hell's at that point, so you just never know. Uh,
Butler's gonna get The thing about Butler was this year.
You know, coach Hals told me they're gonna be better

(16:39):
at the end than they are at the beginning because
you know, he's got a whole bunch of new guys
because a lot of the guys kind of left and
once the coaching change happened, so he was working with
some guys that you know, he really wasn't He knew him,
but he wasn't really familiar with him, and he knew
that they was gonna get better towards the end of
the year.

Speaker 2 (16:57):
Hey, you're two and old right now.

Speaker 3 (16:58):
If you're gonna get better than that, it's gonna be
a special season for Butler though.

Speaker 2 (17:03):
Uh, but I think tonight Irmo is gonna get him.

Speaker 1 (17:05):
How about Deshaun Baker and huff Headed up eighty five
going to Richmond, Uh in Virginia. They're they're playing out
of state tonight to face Highland Springs. For those that
don't know, Laura Johnson the head coach a Highland Springs. Uh,
he's won state championships up their former Division one football
player himself. He's built a powerhouse program up in Richmond.
And that's where Huff's headed tonight.

Speaker 4 (17:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (17:24):
The the unfortunate thing behind the Springs. I think they
lost their best running back. But he's got a couple
of brothers that play on the team as well. Uh,
they're gonna be They're gonna be a formidable foe for Huff.
But man, you know what travels defense. Huff shut Independence.
They shut Independence out last week thirty five to nothing.

Speaker 2 (17:42):
Uh. Their defense is good, folks, So that thing's gonna travel.

Speaker 3 (17:45):
Uh. And I you know, I don't know exactly how
they're gonna do it, but I do believe Huff is
gonna go up there and and and surprise those guys
and beat them because that defense they're playing well, and
and Ethan Royle is playing well at quarterback right now,
Huff has got it going on. But you know, I'll
tell you this. There is a team in their conference,
Myers Park that they better watch out for. Myers Park

(18:07):
beat Wennington last week twenty eight to eighteen at Wennington,
so you know, against that defense, myers Park put twenty
eight points up and Winnington has a three power four
guys on that team. One going to Notre Dame, two
going to South Carolina. Myers Park is good. So pay
attention to Myers Park and I think Huff the Huff

(18:30):
Huff season, they got their attention. Now Myers Park and
Huff are on a colision course in that conference.

Speaker 1 (18:36):
Boy, we got some good games tonight outside of Mecklenburg County,
Al Brown and Morrisville tonight. That one's gonna be fun.
We got Weddington and Roe coming up tonight as well,
some really good games. And shout out to of course,
our guy branded Gandy Victory Cheville's Victory Chevrolet, his son
Camera Gandy quarterback at South Lake Christian. They've got Charlott
Latin tonight. So I mean the games around the region again,
they one another week, great games all over the place.

Speaker 3 (18:57):
Absolutely, West Charlotte has at south Point rock Hill. So
Westhall I got a rebound win last week over Monroe
forty seven to nothing. They got to go down and
do it again because Outh Point their defense they've already
got in two games. They got fourteen sacks and thirty
three tackles for loss in two games.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
Better bring you, better bring your offense.

Speaker 3 (19:16):
And but you know jimorr Nichols man he did at
quarterback for we shall he gets better and better every week.
That's gonna be an outstanding game, the test to see
how he goes up against that South Point defense.

Speaker 2 (19:26):
So yeah, that's a very big game as well.

Speaker 1 (19:29):
All right, love it, Nate, have fun tonight, be safe.
We'll talk to you next Friday, Buddy.

Speaker 2 (19:32):
I have a good weekend. Everybody. Enjoy the games.

Speaker 4 (19:33):
There you go.

Speaker 1 (19:34):
Nate Wemberley WBTV longtime sports anchor, sports director, twenty eight
years on the job here in the Queen City. We
appreciate him hanging out with us each and every Friday.
Don't forget Monday headlines today asking for him. You got
about thirty minutes to get him in Panthers and Jags
Week one, your thoughts on the game. Don't forget Sunday morning,
eleven a m. We got count down to kickoff live

(19:54):
from Twin Peaks in Concord Mills. We'd love to see
a ton of you out there, I know Frank from
Waxhall with love for all of you to come out
there and hang out with us at Twin Peaks at
Concord Mills. But a tradition, just like many other Sunday morning,
myself and Chris McClean two hours of Panthers pregame. So
send me your Monday headlines today. What happens in headline form,
we'll talk about it. Sports Radio ninety two seven wfn

(20:16):
Z