November 25, 2025 • 9 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right now, we go to the hot line and we
check in with Nick Carboni, NBC Charlotte Sports Director, Sports anchor,
Back with us for a Tuesday conversation. Nick, how about
them Carolina Panthers last night?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Well, well they answered one question. We were wondering if
they were ready for prime time and offensively, the answer
was a resounding no. You know, another disappointment after some success,
and it just seems like, you know, keep in mind,
there's still five hundred, there's still six and six, but
it seems like all six of the losses come with
(00:31):
an existential crisis, especially when it comes to the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Well, they bucked one trend last night. They won the
coin toss and lost the game, So I guess we've
lost that. But in all seriousness, the defense JC Horn,
Mike Jack, I mean, they were forcing turnovers last night.
They tried to give the Panthers offense every opportunity, but
the offense just would not take control of it. What
was your biggest problem with what happened offensively last night?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
That there was a forty nine ers defense that you know,
and this is this is the norm there in San Francisco,
But this defense, this secondary and this pass rush for
them was ripe to be had, and the Panthers were
coming off a record breaking performance carrying. You would think
all the confidence in the world onto the biggest stage
in football, and we're not able to attack a vulnerable defense. Listen,
(01:20):
they're well coached, there's no doubt about it. They do
have some pieces, including the kid from Charlotte, Malik Mustafa,
and the kid that obviously made two interceptions. But this
is an offense that should have been able to dictate
what it wanted to do a little more. And nine
design runs to your two very good running backs with
good running averages on the night is just not going
(01:43):
to cut it. I know they were behind, but even
Troy Aikman was begging Dave Canalis late in the game,
you're behind two scores, you still should stick to the run.
I thought there are plenty of opportunities throughout the game
and situationally where that should have happened. So I think
the most disappointing thing is to not see that offensive
attack mode, aggressiveness carryover into a week it certainly should have.
(02:06):
I don't think they can have that game plan against everybody,
but I thought yesterday they should have so I mean.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
What, I guess what changed in your mind from last week?
Last week against Atlanta, against the number one ranked pass
defense in the league, Dave clearly trusted Bryce to throw
the football down the field. I can't imagine that trust
just evaporated. Why do you think there was only one
real shot down the field last night?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Well, I don't know if it's if it's a lack
of trust or confidence going into the game, but I
think when Bryce has that early turnover, it does change
the dynamic. It changes the mindset, and it changes the
confidence level in coach, quarterback and everything in between. So
when he drives down the field and he throws that
(02:49):
backbreaking interception in a situation you absolutely can't do it
in you know, it's just reverts back to That's what
we saw the first two weeks. That's what we see
in the lost as these early turnovers and things kind
of crumble from there. So I don't know, you know,
the the lack of ability to kind of rebound from that.
Although they believe it or not, they've actually done better
(03:11):
and and Bryce has done better at rebounding from it
than a years past. It's still not good enough to
go out there and win you a game. I mean,
you can't shrink from that, especially when you're not going
to run the ball either. And listen, there were drops
last night. There were clearly receivers in the wrong spots.
I don't think Bryce Young is that inaccurate. In fact,
I know he's not. So to have an incompletion that
(03:32):
was called an intentional grounding, Yeah, sure, I've seen that before.
It was everybody, but you know you have to point
to coaching quarterbacks first.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Well, it clearly was a miscommunication and the ball was
tipped upon review, So I mean it was a very
very weird circumstance. I do want to pass along some
more breaking news. A lot of this is the Breaking
News Show. After all, Trayvon merreg has been suspended, of
course for a game for the crotch punch to Juwan Jennings,
but also three minutes ago, Adam Schefter reporting the Panthers
(03:59):
have signed Isaiah Simmons. Veteran linebacker, former Clemson standout Isaiah
Simmons has finally made his way home to can Of course,
he was part of that Derek Brown draft all those
years ago, but they've signed him, and I'd love your
thoughts on that. But also the fact that they lost
JC and Claude and cherylistic concussions last night, Corey Thornton's hurt.
I mean it kind of feels like they might have
(04:21):
lost the Rams game last night too with all these injuries.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, yeah, I mean absolutely brutal. And did see the
Isaiah Simmons news right before I came on KB big name,
obviously local ties. Not sure how much it's going to
help you against the top team in the NFC on Sunday.
He's practice squad for now. Obviously we've seen guys kind
of shuttle between the two. But yeah, kind of takes
(04:43):
you back to that twenty twenty COVID draft. He was
all the rage. You know, what are the what do
you do with him? Linebacker? Safety, How do you utilize him?
How do you deploy him? Cardinals couldn't figure it out,
Other teams couldn't figure it out. And now he's just
kind of floating along here and getting to a pres squad.
Good for him for you know, continuing the battle and
his career and find a new spot. Yeah, we'll see.
(05:06):
Listen looking at especially the second half last night, you
may see Isaiah Simmons out there on Sunday, because that's
kind of the the the way it's going for this
defense is just next man up, and then the next guy,
and then the next guy. And I credit them for
most of their performance last night. To be honest, I.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Don't we got Nick Carbone hanging out with us NBC Charlotte.
I hate the way last night went for the offense.
I really do. I despise it, but I'm not despondent today,
and I know that you know, we all have different
perspectives on this. I don't expect to beat reporters to
look at this the same way that you know a
radio show talking head does who openly roots for the team.
But like I, I'm frustrated by the way they played
last night. I think they left a lot of opportunities
(05:45):
out there. But I still think this division comes down
to the final three weeks of the season with two
against Tampa.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Dick, what do you think, Yeah, I mean, once you
kind of dig yourself out of that hole you probably
put yourself in last night with that los and you
look at the newspaper. I don't know, but you know, love,
I love you me too. You look at the standings
and you're six and six, and you're a half game
out of first place still and Baker May feels injured
(06:11):
and you get to play the Bucks twice, so you know,
it's still right there in front of this team. They
don't control their own destiny, certainly, but they have they
have a great shot still. But you know, last night
was a reminder to them that they're they're clearly just
not ready, especially quarterback and offensively and maybe play calling
(06:31):
and head coach wise for that big stage, for that
you know, big challenge. You know, they they may have
a better game against the better team on Sunday because
it's in the comforts of Bank of America Stadium and
it's at one o'clock. You know, I would not be
surprised if that happened somehow. But yeah, last night was
just a glaring, you know, admission basically in the performance
(06:54):
that we're not ready for this yet. And and when
it comes to quarterback, I wonder when they will at
this point, that's.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
A fair question to make. I mean, what about this
roster stick because we are very rapidly moving toward the
end of the season, a lot of football left. We
don't have to talk about draft or free agency yet.
But you know, I do think it's interesting now understanding
that we all know this team is not going to
win a super Bowl, not going to play for a
Super Bowl. But like next year, I think is where
we look at Dave Canalis and think, buddy, you better
make the playoffs next season. I think we also believe
(07:23):
Dan Morgan's done a good job rebuilding this roster. So like,
how close do you think they are overall, with a
couple of holes plugged here or there to being a
playoff team next year? And what do they need?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I mean, shoot, they're still close now, like we just
talked about. So yeah, I mean, listen, they need more
top line talent at key positions, pass rush stands out
they need you know, listen, They've got a number one receiver,
you know, te Max still going through some growing pains,
but overall, I mean, what a hit on that draft pick.
But you need help outside of him. You know, xavierly
(07:56):
Get still showing fundamental issues last night, Jalen Koker's and piece,
I'm not sure he's he's going to live up to
the expectations. Uh those with a certain nickname for him
have Uh, So I think you need those those other
pieces tight end. I just you know that it seems
like a position that disappears in this offense to more
often than not. And you look across the field against
(08:17):
most teams and they have that big move past catching
tight end. Who can who can really help you break
things open? So, uh, those positions to me and linebacker. Obviously,
they still need to fill those spots. You know. Is
not all going to happen overnight, not gonna happen in
one off season. But as you mentioned, Dan Morgan has
been building this inside out, and the offensive line is
(08:39):
banged up as it gets. Listen, We've we've seen with
our own eyes some horrid offensive lines around here, KP.
This is not one of them. Bryce Young was not
under just in an insane amount of pressure last night
or anything like that. You know. So they've done a
great job of building from the out the inside out,
but you've got to fill those capsistions with top talent.
(09:01):
You got to hit on those acquisitions however you get them.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Love it, Nick. We appreciate you as always, brother, Thank
you for the time. Have a great week, Happy Thanksgiving.
We'll talk to you next Tuesday
Speaker 2 (09:10):
You too, sir, Thank you in you as well.
Right now, we go to the hot line and we
check in with Nick Carboni, NBC Charlotte Sports Director, Sports anchor,
Back with us for a Tuesday conversation. Nick, how about
them Carolina Panthers last night?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Well, well they answered one question. We were wondering if
they were ready for prime time and offensively, the answer
was a resounding no. You know, another disappointment after some success,
and it just seems like, you know, keep in mind,
there's still five hundred, there's still six and six, but
it seems like all six of the losses come with
(00:31):
an existential crisis, especially when it comes to the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Well, they bucked one trend last night. They won the
coin toss and lost the game, So I guess we've
lost that. But in all seriousness, the defense JC Horn,
Mike Jack, I mean, they were forcing turnovers last night.
They tried to give the Panthers offense every opportunity, but
the offense just would not take control of it. What
was your biggest problem with what happened offensively last night?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
That there was a forty nine ers defense that you know,
and this is this is the norm there in San Francisco,
But this defense, this secondary and this pass rush for
them was ripe to be had, and the Panthers were
coming off a record breaking performance carrying. You would think
all the confidence in the world onto the biggest stage
in football, and we're not able to attack a vulnerable defense. Listen,
(01:20):
they're well coached, there's no doubt about it. They do
have some pieces, including the kid from Charlotte, Malik Mustafa,
and the kid that obviously made two interceptions. But this
is an offense that should have been able to dictate
what it wanted to do a little more. And nine
design runs to your two very good running backs with
good running averages on the night is just not going
(01:43):
to cut it. I know they were behind, but even
Troy Aikman was begging Dave Canalis late in the game,
you're behind two scores, you still should stick to the run.
I thought there are plenty of opportunities throughout the game
and situationally where that should have happened. So I think
the most disappointing thing is to not see that offensive
attack mode, aggressiveness carryover into a week it certainly should have.
(02:06):
I don't think they can have that game plan against everybody,
but I thought yesterday they should have so I mean.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
What, I guess what changed in your mind from last week?
Last week against Atlanta, against the number one ranked pass
defense in the league, Dave clearly trusted Bryce to throw
the football down the field. I can't imagine that trust
just evaporated. Why do you think there was only one
real shot down the field last night?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Well, I don't know if it's if it's a lack
of trust or confidence going into the game, but I
think when Bryce has that early turnover, it does change
the dynamic. It changes the mindset, and it changes the
confidence level in coach, quarterback and everything in between. So
when he drives down the field and he throws that
(02:49):
backbreaking interception in a situation you absolutely can't do it
in you know, it's just reverts back to That's what
we saw the first two weeks. That's what we see
in the lost as these early turnovers and things kind
of crumble from there. So I don't know, you know,
the the lack of ability to kind of rebound from that.
Although they believe it or not, they've actually done better
(03:11):
and and Bryce has done better at rebounding from it
than a years past. It's still not good enough to
go out there and win you a game. I mean,
you can't shrink from that, especially when you're not going
to run the ball either. And listen, there were drops
last night. There were clearly receivers in the wrong spots.
I don't think Bryce Young is that inaccurate. In fact,
I know he's not. So to have an incompletion that
(03:32):
was called an intentional grounding, Yeah, sure, I've seen that before.
It was everybody, but you know you have to point
to coaching quarterbacks first.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Well, it clearly was a miscommunication and the ball was
tipped upon review, So I mean it was a very
very weird circumstance. I do want to pass along some
more breaking news. A lot of this is the Breaking
News Show. After all, Trayvon merreg has been suspended, of
course for a game for the crotch punch to Juwan Jennings,
but also three minutes ago, Adam Schefter reporting the Panthers
(03:59):
have signed Isaiah Simmons. Veteran linebacker, former Clemson standout Isaiah
Simmons has finally made his way home to can Of course,
he was part of that Derek Brown draft all those
years ago, but they've signed him, and I'd love your
thoughts on that. But also the fact that they lost
JC and Claude and cherylistic concussions last night, Corey Thornton's hurt.
I mean it kind of feels like they might have
(04:21):
lost the Rams game last night too with all these injuries.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Yeah, yeah, I mean absolutely brutal. And did see the
Isaiah Simmons news right before I came on KB big name,
obviously local ties. Not sure how much it's going to
help you against the top team in the NFC on Sunday.
He's practice squad for now. Obviously we've seen guys kind
of shuttle between the two. But yeah, kind of takes
(04:43):
you back to that twenty twenty COVID draft. He was
all the rage. You know, what are the what do
you do with him? Linebacker? Safety, How do you utilize him?
How do you deploy him? Cardinals couldn't figure it out,
Other teams couldn't figure it out. And now he's just
kind of floating along here and getting to a pres squad.
Good for him for you know, continuing the battle and
his career and find a new spot. Yeah, we'll see.
(05:06):
Listen looking at especially the second half last night, you
may see Isaiah Simmons out there on Sunday, because that's
kind of the the the way it's going for this
defense is just next man up, and then the next guy,
and then the next guy. And I credit them for
most of their performance last night. To be honest, I.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Don't we got Nick Carbone hanging out with us NBC Charlotte.
I hate the way last night went for the offense.
I really do. I despise it, but I'm not despondent today,
and I know that you know, we all have different
perspectives on this. I don't expect to beat reporters to
look at this the same way that you know a
radio show talking head does who openly roots for the team.
But like I, I'm frustrated by the way they played
last night. I think they left a lot of opportunities
(05:45):
out there. But I still think this division comes down
to the final three weeks of the season with two
against Tampa.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Dick, what do you think, Yeah, I mean, once you
kind of dig yourself out of that hole you probably
put yourself in last night with that los and you
look at the newspaper. I don't know, but you know, love,
I love you me too. You look at the standings
and you're six and six, and you're a half game
out of first place still and Baker May feels injured
(06:11):
and you get to play the Bucks twice, so you know,
it's still right there in front of this team. They
don't control their own destiny, certainly, but they have they
have a great shot still. But you know, last night
was a reminder to them that they're they're clearly just
not ready, especially quarterback and offensively and maybe play calling
(06:31):
and head coach wise for that big stage, for that
you know, big challenge. You know, they they may have
a better game against the better team on Sunday because
it's in the comforts of Bank of America Stadium and
it's at one o'clock. You know, I would not be
surprised if that happened somehow. But yeah, last night was
just a glaring, you know, admission basically in the performance
(06:54):
that we're not ready for this yet. And and when
it comes to quarterback, I wonder when they will at
this point, that's.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
A fair question to make. I mean, what about this
roster stick because we are very rapidly moving toward the
end of the season, a lot of football left. We
don't have to talk about draft or free agency yet.
But you know, I do think it's interesting now understanding
that we all know this team is not going to
win a super Bowl, not going to play for a
Super Bowl. But like next year, I think is where
we look at Dave Canalis and think, buddy, you better
make the playoffs next season. I think we also believe
(07:23):
Dan Morgan's done a good job rebuilding this roster. So like,
how close do you think they are overall, with a
couple of holes plugged here or there to being a
playoff team next year? And what do they need?
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I mean, shoot, they're still close now, like we just
talked about. So yeah, I mean, listen, they need more
top line talent at key positions, pass rush stands out
they need you know, listen, They've got a number one receiver,
you know, te Max still going through some growing pains,
but overall, I mean, what a hit on that draft pick.
But you need help outside of him. You know, xavierly
(07:56):
Get still showing fundamental issues last night, Jalen Koker's and piece,
I'm not sure he's he's going to live up to
the expectations. Uh those with a certain nickname for him
have Uh, So I think you need those those other
pieces tight end. I just you know that it seems
like a position that disappears in this offense to more
often than not. And you look across the field against
(08:17):
most teams and they have that big move past catching
tight end. Who can who can really help you break
things open? So, uh, those positions to me and linebacker. Obviously,
they still need to fill those spots. You know. Is
not all going to happen overnight, not gonna happen in
one off season. But as you mentioned, Dan Morgan has
been building this inside out, and the offensive line is
(08:39):
banged up as it gets. Listen, We've we've seen with
our own eyes some horrid offensive lines around here, KP.
This is not one of them. Bryce Young was not
under just in an insane amount of pressure last night
or anything like that. You know. So they've done a
great job of building from the out the inside out,
but you've got to fill those capsistions with top talent.
(09:01):
You got to hit on those acquisitions however you get them.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Love it, Nick. We appreciate you as always, brother, Thank
you for the time. Have a great week, Happy Thanksgiving.
We'll talk to you next Tuesday
Speaker 2 (09:10):
You too, sir, Thank you in you as well.
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