The Kyle Bailey Show: Nick Carboni

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We get back to a regular weekly conversation on this
show that we always look forward to. Nick Carbony, NBC
Charlotte Sports Director sports anchor, is back with us on
the hot Line. Nick Carboni, what's going on, brother? How
are you this week?

Speaker 2 (00:12):
What's going ok? At least the weather's nice and Charlotte
right incredible?

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Oh it feels so good. There's no doubt about that.
Let's get right to it. Nick. Your thoughts on a
twenty six to ten ugly loss in Jacksonville Sunday?

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah. I think the biggest questions going into the season
were could the Panthers build off the momentum that they
had coming out of last season at the end of
the season, and more specifically, could Bryce Young start this
season how he finished last season? And from hot sticky
and see me Duval County Man. The resounding answer to

(00:48):
both of those questions were a no, I do see
some silver linings if you want to call him that,
and positives which I can get to. But I think
the most disappointing thing, and Dave Canalis has said this
basically in two consecutive days now, was that the team
just didn't appear to be ready to play in that
opening game. The coaching staff for whatever reason, and there's

(01:11):
a couple of excuses you probably could use, but none
of them are really good enough. They didn't look as
cohesive and as comfortable together after having a year and
changed together than a Jacksonville team that had a brand
new staff, rookie head coach and rookie coordinators. And I
just I don't think there's any excuse for that when

(01:31):
it comes to the coaching staff or even the a
lot of the veterans on this football team to put
that product out there Week one.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
You know, I had vowed going into the year, I
was not picking them to win at all on our
pregame show again until they showed they could actually win
some football games. So I already felt that way. But
when the Ikey Aquanu news came down two and a
half weeks ago or whenever that was, I guess two
weeks ago, at this point, I got a really, really
sick feeling in my stomach because it just I didn't
think it, you know, would bode well. I thought they

(02:00):
would go to Naman, who I don't trust, and he
validated that on Sunday with a twenty seven passer protection
grade and six pressures allowed. How much do you think
Ikey's absence ultimately ended up impacting that game?

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Honestly? And I know those advanced stats spared out and
some of them aren't even advanced, they're just octape, right.
I mean, he did get beat a few times there.
I don't think that was like the overwhelming reason that
things didn't work on offense. I think you also factor
in the disruption in the receiver room, mistakes by the

(02:35):
receivers offensively, turnovers by Bryce Young, two of at least
two of which were completely avoidable, and then you you know,
not to give the coaching staff an excuse because they
should be kind of a year better than a rookie
coaching staff, But I mean, they really had no idea
what to expect from Jacksonville's defense. I mean, they had

(02:56):
familiarity with Liam Cohen, but they had a completely rookie
defensive coordinator on the other side who I thought did
a pretty nice job. And you know, it's probably pretty
pretty difficult to know what the heck they're going to
do week one. That's why I don't think they were
too worried about what they were going to do with
Travis Hunter. I think they were more worried about what
they were going to do in general on defense. So

(03:17):
by the time maybe they started to figure it out
its way way way too late. They didn't score it
till or five minutes ago, and by that Jacksonville kind
of just you know, letting you take a little more. So,
you know, I think it was all those combined. I
don't think it's exactly on yosh Niemen for sure, but
getting Icky back is certainly going to help. What you know.

Speaker 1 (03:37):
I caught a little flak from a couple of people,
not many, but I was pretty harsh about Excel on Sunday.
I'm out at this point Nick until unless he wants
to prove otherwise. Because between the lack of the toe drag,
which is bad enough because that's routine stuff and he
had half an acre to get his foot down, but
then following that up with refusing to block on a
short yardage situation, like, to me, it's screams you don't

(03:57):
get it that you've spent all this time being a
social media star folks loving on your accent and being
from mull In, South Carolina and being an outdoor boy
and everything else, like all that stuff is fine. But
when you play into it, you open yourself up to
a lot of criticism if you don't perform. And when
you open up the season with that kind of bone
headed stuff, it calls into question whether whether or not

(04:18):
you truly get it. From my perspective, how do you
feel about that?

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah, he had about as bad of a day as
anybody on that football team did. And a lot of
people on that football team had a bad day, right,
I mean you have to have to. I mean, high
school kids on Friday night KP get in bounds on
that play nine times out of ten, and if they don't,
they get chewed out by their high school football coach.
It was completely inexcusable. Yeah, maybe the effort on the

(04:44):
short yardage, the miscommunication with Bryce on that fourth down
play where you know, we all were convinced Bryce just
kind of gave up and flung it away. Maybe he did,
but he clearly thought XL was going to be in
a different area. And you know Bryce's reaction said to me, like,
XCEL should have been in that area on that play

(05:06):
given whatever they were looking at on defense. So you
know a lot of people are probably out on him
like you are. But the Panthers cannot afford to be
out on Exavier leaguet, at least not right now. I
think he will have better moments, but he's got a
lot to make up for. He's got him puff phill climb,
given the kind of hole he's dug himself in early

(05:27):
in his career here with the drops last year, in
those big moments, and then coming into this year had
to be all about you know, he needs to improve. Okay,
then Adam Deelon is traded. We're gonna need you to
get on that right away xl oh. And then Jalen
Poker is injured. Now we really need it, and we
need it now, and the team didn't get what they

(05:48):
needed from him in Game one.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
Nick Carboni, NBC Charlotte Sports Director sports ank Or hanging
out with us for a Tuesday conversation, and TC just says, KB,
you're out on Excel. So are you out on Dave Can?
I mean, not yet, but a few more of those thinkers.
It's gonna be hard not to be if they continue
to look like that. But I guess my question for
you is Dave's Sunday press conference. Like a lot of coaches,

(06:12):
you know, it's it's good to have them, but they
don't watch the tape and can be more informed on things.
Until Monday, I thought yesterday there were some comments that
really stuck out. What did you think of his Monday
press conference after he watched the tape?

Speaker 2 (06:24):
I let the comment that stuck out the most was
that he's pushing for younger players to play on defense,
which begs the question, aren't you the one who decides
that that is nuanced? I'm the son of a football coach,
full disclosure, and I know football coaches don't want to
put young dudes out there like that is just part
of their DNA, and so maybe that is some of

(06:45):
what is happening with Guero Rivero. He trusts Nick Scott
to you know, at least know the system and be
in the right place, although when he's in the right place,
he doesn't generally make the play, which we saw bear
out on the field on Sunday. You put in laythan Ransom,
which I think they will eventually and a lot of
people want to do. Now, you're putting in somebody who

(07:06):
may not be in the right place, but may still
make a play somewhere else because he's just that, you know,
good of an athlete and good of a playmaker. I
do think you need to get more snaps for laythan Ransom.
You absolutely need to get more from Nick Gorton and
prince lygum On Miellen. Being way behind all game doesn't
help you put young pass rushers on the field anymore.

(07:28):
I totally understand that. So I think that was one
of the things that stood out for sure. The other
thing that stood out was, you know, do you need
to work with Bryce on his sliding? It was just
like a quick app you know, maybe I think Bryce
Young absolutely needs to work on his sliding. That was
kind of similar, if I'm not mistaken, that kind of
stumble fumble to what he did against Dallas and Michael

(07:52):
Parson's last year, where he's got tripped up and exposed
the football. And these guys are professional athletes on defense too.
They are going to pop that loo for that. He
has to work on that. It is year three, So
I guess those two things would be the first two
things that stood out to me. You know, Sunday saying
the team seemed surprised about how poorly they played, You know,

(08:14):
I'm not sure. I think a lot of people were disappointed.
I'm not sure how surprised they were, given that the
preseason game results didn't look that great and then they
were kind of cut short. And that leads you to
the preseason debate. I don't think everybody needs to play
in the preseason around the league. I think this group
does and didn't need to play more.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
I agree, all right. Any any thoughts on Arizona Sunday.
They all feel big because there are only seventeen of them,
but I can't recall feeling more anxiety and more pressure
on a week two game for Carolina since I've been here.
What do you think about the Arizona and the feeling
around it going into this game?

Speaker 2 (08:51):
Buddy, James Connor's tying a big old cloth napkin around
his neck right now and licking his chops. He's read
at a bus one for seventy one, just like et
ended on for Jacksonville. Listen, it's another road game. They
are heavily the underdog. I think, actually doublely so than
they were having in a Jacksonville. Man, I don't want

(09:14):
to sound crazy because I've just spent the last ten minutes,
you know, talking about everything that went wrong on Sunday
and how the team wasn't ready, Like I think they
will be more ready to play in this game because
they just took one on the chin and got embarrassed
not just locally but nationally and lost twenty six to ten,
And it could have been worse to a team that

(09:35):
didn't make the playoffs last year, and it's like a
dark horse to make the playoffs this year with a
completely rookie head coaching staff. So I do think they
will be more ready. There always does seem to be
something about Arizona that the Panthers, no matter who the
coach or personnel is, have success with Arizona still hasn't

(09:57):
seemed to kind of they have been spinning their wheels
in a sense too for the last handful of years.
I really like Tediro McMillan, and I wanted to bring
that up because I think he looks the part of
a top ten wide receiver and I think he's going
to really, you know, you talk about kind of fixing
your mistakes. If he even made a few mistakes last week,
I think he's the guy that we saw all training camp.

(10:19):
He made a mistake, next time out, he fixed it,
and I think he's going to be really looking to
do that in Arizona, where he played college. So I'm
not predicting a win, but I'm predicting a more ready
and competitive team because they have egg.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
I'm going to face Well, now, I know you were
going to do this entire interview without letting us know
that today's your birthday. But I've been reliably informed on
the text line that today is in fact your birthday.
So happy birthday, buddy. How old are you?

Speaker 2 (10:42):
Well in the wise words of a I don't want
to say, great college football coach, come after me, Kyle Bailey,
I am a man forty whoa dude?

Speaker 1 (10:54):
Really? Congratulations, I'm going to be forty in like two months.

Speaker 2 (10:58):
This is the peak right here, buddy, I'll tell you.
I'll let you know how it is. Damn all right,
you know how it is.

Speaker 1 (11:04):
Happy birthday, brother. You don't look at day over twenty nine.
We appreciate your man, We talked to you next.

Speaker 2 (11:08):
We appreciate that. Alright, make up of the heck of
a drug.

Speaker 1 (11:11):
Here you be good man. There you go, CARBONI forty
years young today. How about that