The Kyle Bailey Show: Roman Harper

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
But mister seven oh four texted us and said, I
don't know what you guys don't understand. Bryce sucks. He's
the problem. His issues are the reason that this team
is lacking leadership right now, so on and so forth,
to which one Texter responded, I guess mister seven oh
four doesn't remember the Jimmy Clausen era of Panthers football.
We got one or two of those that came in. Philip, though,

(00:21):
did back him up and says that he thinks we've
just been too nice and that he knew from day
one that Bryce was no good and that Sunday against
the Saints proved it. So we got a lot to
get to and we'll start with this as Roman Harper,
two time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champion, former Saints and
Panthers safety our buddy Rome is back with us on
a Wednesday afternoon. What's going on, mister Harper, Howard things, Cole,

(00:42):
what's up?

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Maybe I'm doing well, man, I can't complain. I've seen
Dave Canalis in the last seventy two hours. I've also
seen Charles leading the last seventy two hours.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
So it's good rub rubbing those with luminaries yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Man, it's been good man and positive vibes all around.
Despite what everybody else thinks. It still is called the
season for a reason, and I think both of these
teams are in a different mindset of what they're trying
to build. I think the Warders that are playing a
lot of young guys, and I think they're the second
youngest team in the NBA right now. So you've got

(01:17):
to take the good with the bad. And when the
players you're actually trying to count on aren't healthy, that
doesn't help you either. So that's what the NBA is,
and it's tough and it's a grind, but this seems
like the players are playing differently and playing harder, and
so you want to build upon the good that they're
doing and then try and correct the negative.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Well, I'd see clearly both teams are doing that right now,
and I do think that in the midst of a
season sometimes we can forget where they are big picture,
and I don't know, because that still brings arguments, especially
with the NFL, where there's a belief out there that
you should be able to get good, let's say, quicker
than you can in the NBA. Panthers are five and

(01:58):
five and again I'll use that phrase and some people
will roll their eyes, and that's fine. But if we
told you through ten games they'd be five and five,
I think a lot of folks would have signed up
for that. But it doesn't really make people feel better
because of the way the Saints game looked on Sunday,
A one and eight Saints team comes in here and
their defense shuts down the run game, Darris Bryce young

(02:19):
to beat them, and Bryce in the passing game can't
do that. What were your major takeaways from that in particular.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
I'll get to that in a second. Oh, I would
tell you this overall, okay, and this is just NFL terms,
And I would tell this to any Panthers fans and
that Panthers team, that you were not good enough to
take Sundays off or address the game like, oh, I
think we're just going to show up and win. You're
not good enough. You're still a team that's got to
quote unquote get it out the mud. You know you're

(02:48):
not good enough to think that you can just show
up just because you beat green Bay. Because green Bay
just showed up. Anybody can beat you anytime, any week
on Sundays. That is ever prevalent, and the same did't
have a good enough defense they have and they let
them hit him in deep, big plays offensively, and you
lose the turnable batter like you're gonna lose that game

(03:08):
all the time. It doesn't matter what the logos look
like or what the records are the NFL. There's too
many good players out there. And then to go to
specifically about the lack of offense and production in the
past game by Bryce, I think the out route was
a terrible play. I thought they didn't handle nickel pressure
all day. Alonte Taylor was in the backfield and he
made a lot of good plays for the Saints, disrupting

(03:29):
all of the things that they were trying to do
offensively and run and end in the past. And once
Bryce started getting hit that started to affect him. I
thought the old line did not play well at all.
So you got that combination of all those things breaking
down at the same time, and your quarterback's coming off
of a high ankle spring where he has been most
effective when he's able to move within the pocket create
extend plays for these wide receivers who aren't veteran guys

(03:53):
that are still learning how to be pros themselves in
an offense that we're still trying to build out or
figure out what this personality is, especially when your team
is not running the football well, which we've all known
that is the formula for winning for this team. So
trying to win a different way than what you've done
the previous couple weeks with a quarterback who now you're

(04:13):
dependent on that's not coming out of hi ankles brain.
That may not be one hundred percent. So I'm not
here to make excuses. I'm just here to tell you
the truth. And it's unfortunate because you lose against the Saints,
but you're exactly where you think I think this team
is supposed to be at. They're at five hundred, which
I would not have thought they would have been at.
I thought this team would win seven eight games. They're
kind of ahead of that. So people are going to

(04:35):
take it out they want to take it, But at
the end of the day, it's kind of exactly his
team at in roster wise. They're not good enough Kyle
to just show up and beat anybody.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
Did you Because it's interesting you're saying that because Ikyakwanu, JT.
Sanders and Nick s Gorton pretty much all came out
and said it Sunday and the Monday. We didn't have
a great week of practice. You know, we weren't as
meticulous and prepared as we should have been. And I
know Dave Canalis doesn't want that stuff being talked about
outside the building. That's sari. I mean, did you just
spot it on the field? Have you talked to people?

(05:03):
Is that just something you noticed during the game, Hey,
Carolina does not look ready to play.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
Well they it's looked like they came out flat. And
so when you come out flat versus a team that's
probably not as good as you, you make them feel
like they have a chance to beat you. You give
them confidence, and then that's all they need. Then they're
off and running. I lost the game to Minnesota in
twenty fourteen. He gave up two punt blocks versus a
team that didn't even want to be out there. It
was freezing cold. Nobody wanted to be there. They definitely didn't.

(05:29):
Then all of a sudden, you give them life, makes
you know they want to play, and they win the game.
So that happens all the time, every week, even in
the NFL, especially late in the season. So that happens.
But when you hear the rookies talking, I think Nick Gordon,
I think somebody needs to say, hey, look dude, it's
the way to address things. And I don't want to
hear a rookie's name in the media except for him

(05:50):
doing good things. It's a level to it. And I
think older guys in that locker room have to come
around and love on this guy. Come from a place
of sternness, but with love that is coming from a
place of love. So we don't lose a kid because
he's coming. You want him to practice the right way,
and what he's saying is not wrong. I just don't
need to hear from you. And so you ain't earned

(06:11):
enough strips to be able to do that. And guys
need to understand that. And then with I keep Fano,
I mean, at least they're being honest about it. Now
it's up to them. Coaches can't beg guys to play
hard and show it with the right attitude. They're all professionals.
That's a player's dilemma. That's not on coaches. You got
to be ultimate pros and you got to have the

(06:32):
guys that are pros in that room. Step up and
get that handled. So these things are not being said
outside of the locker room, and if they are, then
we got to get rid of the guys and you
got to figure out what's going to work best, because
ultimately you're going to be judged upon how many games
you win and lose as a coaching staff. And I
got to fire you before they fire me.

Speaker 1 (06:50):
I hear you, and I'm glad you said that because
I've heard Dave say it. Obviously coaches have to take
the ultimate level of accountability. But Dave said, hey, the
best teams are player led teams, and you got to
find that that leadership and that drive within the locker room.
And I appreciate you pointing that out. Roman Harper hanging
out with us here on a Wednesday, let me ask
you some college football questions here. We were talking earlier
about this, like big picture stuff. Tom lougan Bill was

(07:12):
on this morning with Mack and Bone, and he was
making the point that you know, hey, we got a
lot of one score games in college football this year.
The talent's more dispersed because of nil. Guys aren't sitting
they're going elsewhere for the money. So the talent's more
spread out. I know Kirby Smart has made this argument
or this claim earlier this year as well. A couple
of years ago, when all the nil stuff started, there

(07:32):
were a lot of people saying, Oh God, the rich
are just gonna get richer. The rich are only gonna
get richer.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
Roman.

Speaker 1 (07:37):
I don't know if that's true. A couple of years later,
what do you think.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
I know it's not true. The talent has dispersed. Guys
aren't going to be the third corner. They'll go somewhere
else and start. So when the first one gets hurt
or something happens, the depth is the lack of depth
is shown. And so that's why Georgia's defense they're playing
a lot of freshmen and sophomores because they don't have
the juniors. You know, the seniors are no longer there,

(08:02):
So that part of it, or the backup seniors that
would have been a fourth or fifth year guy who's
been in your program for four years, they're no longer there.
So that part of it is true. That part has
made the game more fun. I appreciate it because it's
so competitive on a week to week basis, and any
team can win, especially in the SEC when you don't
play your a game and it will continue to balance

(08:24):
yourself out. You look at the ACC, but it's good
or it is bad. Everybody looks about the same and
anybody can beat anybody. I think it's just made it
more more balanced and I kind of appreciate it. The
ACC is going to get punished this year for it,
but that's also because their middle tier and bottom tier
teams have not been good as well. So everybody's just

(08:45):
got to win as many as game as they can.
And I like it, Kyle, Honestly, I really like it.
I really really do.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
I've enjoyed it. I mean, I'm not gonna lie. I mean, listen,
ratings are huge, and some people will attribute that to
gambling and the prevalence of it, and I think there's
definitely some truth to that, but.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
I think overall that's basketball.

Speaker 1 (09:03):
Yeah, i'd say basketball is in a very different place
right now because of it. But yeah, I'm with you
on that. Roman Harper hanging out with us here, and
I think, again, the game is in a good place now.
Since we're talking about the playoff, we've got another twelve
team playoff coming up here very soon. We're almost already
finished with the regular season, which makes me sad. But
are we going to sixteen? Should we go to sixteen teams?
Does that make everything better?

Speaker 2 (09:24):
No, I don't think it is. Like I think, keep
it where it is. We don't need any more teams.
Like I just think the separation from one to sixteen
or from like like one through six, I think are
going to be really really good and they can beat anybody.
Then you're gonna have seven and eight well, I mean ten, eleven, twelve, eight, nine, ten, like,

(09:47):
I think those are all gonna be a little bit closer.
And then ultimately I think you're gonna have two or
three teams in there that can't touch the other teams cleats,
And so if we go to sixteen, you're gonna have
five teams in there that can't touch any boy these
cleats also, Kyle, from just a player's health perspective, I
don't want these kids playing more and more games. I
just don't want to see it. I think they're going
to play enough football as they continue to progress in life,

(10:09):
and just every down that you're out there, you're risking it,
and you know, you never know, you know. The Willis
McGahee story like it worked out for him, but how
many other people does it not work out for? And
so I'm just always aware of that. I'm always conscious
of that. And so that's also my perspective, is that
I played in college. When you play ten eleven games,
now they're up to like fifteen or sixteen, and I

(10:29):
think that's a lot.

Speaker 1 (10:31):
Talk to our buddy Ryan McGee yesterday and I asked him,
who do you think is the most overlooked team in
the top twelve of the rankings in college football? And
without missing a beat, without any hesitation, he said, Texas
A and M. And they've got South Carolina this week.
Why do you think that is? I mean, they're nine
to oh six and zero in the SEC. They're a
big brand, they have lots of money to spend, but
it does feel like nobody really wants to talk about them.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
I was gonna say why that is, because it's exactly
what you just said. Are you surprised like nobody talks
about him? And a lot of it is because I'll
tell you why you should talk about it. They're ferocious
on defense, they got a real weapon up front, and
cashus Howell all right. I love watching him play and
he talks trash to everybody, Coue, so I like that

(11:14):
he's talking reckless to people out there. So I like
that part of it too, especially out of my d lineman.
And then they forced a lot of turnovers. Marcel Reid
and his offense is explosive with two extremely good wide
receivers Mario Craver and Casey Concepts. You on the former
the Charlotte native, that former NC State player that is
making big waves there in the SEC this year where

(11:36):
they're in the return game and as a wide receiver,
and they have a really good run game with a
solid offensive line and I think it's the only offensive
line in the SEC that has started every game together.
So you're talking about blue wind jail. They have that
part of it too, so the ability to be able
to run the football and they need to throw it
however they need to at times. And then defensively they
don't allow I think they're number one in the FBS

(11:57):
that only allow on twenty four percent on conversion rates
on third down, so you're not converting a lot. So
they're playing great complimentary football offense, defense, special teams, and Kyle,
they're just kicking tail. They really are and they got
a great coach in Mike Ilco And the biggest reason
why nobody's talking about him is because Texas A and
M and all the curses of the past texting them

(12:18):
has never won the big game. They've never been in
a championship situation where they have to do these things.
And because we're not used to seeing that, or we
always hesitate to say, oh well, it still is just
Texas A and M. Then that's why we're not talking
about them enough. But they're going to have their opportunities.
They need to get into the SEC championship game. They
need to win it.

Speaker 1 (12:37):
You know, there are a lot of us sitting around
who whose college football teams are no longer relevant in
the twenty twenty five season at all. Not that mine
never was, but wait, unt me, not you, but waiting
for their programs to hire new head coaches. And you know,
Lane Kiffin appears to be the bell of the ball
in what's already a wild coaching carousel cycle. Does he

(12:57):
need a different job or is he better suited staying
at all? In your mind?

Speaker 2 (13:01):
I don't think he needs a different job. I think
Lane Kibben has reached a place where you can't put
a monetary value on happiness. You know, he is the
same coach that got fired on the tarmac, that didn't
even get to go into office with his USC. And
then he is the same coach that left in the
middle of the night leaving Knoxville, right, So like he's
been through all the He also got fired in the
NFL as an early coach, So he has been around

(13:23):
the block. And it's weird when you see it because
I just saw washing this son. I was in Starkville
last week. His son led his team in the playoffs
as a quarterback at Oxford High School. They beat Start
Building the playoffs last week, and so like you're getting
these big highs and joys outside of just what you're
doing on a day to day basis, inside of the
inside of that building. I think he means a lot

(13:45):
to the city in town and the people of Oxford.
I'd be really intrigued if he actually left him for
what job because LSU everybody keeps telling me how great
of a job that is. But too bad, I can't
talk about anything about the job. I can only talk
about all the smoke outside that's going on because of
the small embers and flames that can't get put out
on that campus as far as trying to hire a

(14:07):
coach and get it off cleaned up, So that makes
that job less attractive. And then you got Florida, Like,
do you really want to go to Florida? Not only that,
but at LSU you got to win a championship in
the first four years or that's a fail too, because
that's what the precedent is. And so at Florida, is
it really as great of a job as we say
it is? We say it is, but does Lane want
to do that when he can still just win nine

(14:27):
games and they still love him. Where Florida you win
nine games back to back years, it's like, is he
really paying off? And so when you're able to build
their own culture versus coming in and then trying to
recreate teardown kind of have the sins and the burdens
of the past and have to carry those two versus
the old myss, you don't have to do that. It'll
be interesting. I don't think he goes anywhere.

Speaker 1 (14:46):
I'm with you, all right, last thing, and it's just
a fun question. I'm going to put you on the
spot a little bit. We started the show like I
was having some conversations with the boys the other night.
We were just strolling down memory Lane Sports Edition and
just talking about guys who they don't get enough credit
for how how good they were back in the day,
you know, and that doesn't have to be like fifties, sixties, seventies,
but you know, athletes who we maybe've kind of forgotten about,

(15:07):
but you know, we're fantastic. They're not the Hall of
Fame type, but they were incredible players. One of the
names that I came up with was Priest Holmes in
Kansas City and his unbelievable, you know, three year run there.
Jason Williams, White Chocolate came up, a bunch, we had
guys like who else? We had, oh Rip Hamilton with
the Detroit Pistons come in. Is there a guy I'll

(15:28):
say that you played against in your career, especially in
the NFL, that you look back and think people don't
appreciate just how good this guy was.

Speaker 2 (15:39):
So the original thought, Susan, as you mentioned this thing
comes into my head. I think of basketball, I think
of Glenn Rice. Okay, I like that, I love Glenn Rice.
And then as a football player, somebody that I played
against that I thought was just so good that doesn't
get enough love. It's probably it's probably either Stephen Stephen

(16:02):
Jackson of the Saint Louis Rams when he was rolling, Yeah,
because nobody wanted to tackle that dude and the teams suck,
but he was like really dang good, like nobody wanted
to hit that guy. And then Michael Turner, the running
back for the Atlanta Malcolms, Yes for a couple of years. Yeah,
it was really good and no, and he was running

(16:22):
through everybody too in that offense that they had too,
So like that was another one I would say. And
I don't know if D'Angelo Williams gets enough love here
because to me, he was the better back out of
him and Jay Stu Jay Stew. Of course I appreciate
Jay Stew and loved him, not no knock on him,
but D'Angelo Williams had the ability to house call it
in cribbit so much. He was really really dang good

(16:43):
for these guys. We always worried about him more than
Jay Stu. I don't know why, but we we really
had our mark on D'Angel Williams. Not let him go.

Speaker 1 (16:49):
But I've kept you long enough but that Steven Jackson
answer made me smile. That dude was a monster. He
was fantastic at his job. Man, he was so good.
All right, buddy, listen.

Speaker 2 (16:59):
KB, Happy birthday, Happy belated birthday. And I saw guys
create angles when trying to tackle Stephen Johnson. They just
like made it up, Like, dude, that's not even where
you were going. It's like I just missed it. Bad angler,
you know, created anglers.

Speaker 1 (17:13):
Uh, you're the best, buddy. Thank you, save travels this weekend.
We'll talk to you soon.

Speaker 2 (17:17):
Thank babie. There you go.