December 1, 2025 • 46 mins
In the second hour of the show, Walker and Flounder discuss the wild ACC Championship Game that is on deck this weekend, tell you what they make of the Tar Heels' disastrous first year under Bill Belichick and talk about Dave Canales' case to be Coach of the Year.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You were listening to the Wes and Walker Show. Is
that how you would want to go? Do you want
to fall in a tub of beer and die that way?
If it is indeed your time, it's Wes, I want
to go into bed doing the uh here we go
and Walker?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
No explain, I have no clue. What's wrong with this?
What are you saying? I want to die in bed?
You know, just napping, just peacefully in your sleep. Yeah,
I guess we're gonna put it like that. We'll call
it nap okay only on Sports Radio ninety two point
seven FM w FNZ. No clue. Yeah, one day you
will flounder.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
I just hope that when that does happen, that that
doesn't happen to you, you don't go to the buzzom
at Abraham.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
That would be that would be my lock right.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
West and Walker back in the one o'clock hour, the
Westless and Walker Show, flounder filling in Wes not gonna
be here all week long. We had Myron Goodman on
the FanDuel text line worried about Wes, saying, I hope
he's okay, He's okay, he's just taking off for this
upcoming week and then he'll take some time off, I
believe around Christmas.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I don't know the exact schedule.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Around New Year's it's just about that time for US
radio people taking some time off, just a couple of
times here and there, and I imagine you'll be yeah,
there you go. Let me settle in here. Guys, pop
those knuckles, get get the microphone ready to go. It's
time for young guns see young guns, prod squad. Whatever
(01:38):
you want to call him, Fitty, floundy, shrappy, maybe smoke
you every once in a minile, Yeah, smoke Smoke checks.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
In every once in a while.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Sometimes he gets uh, he gets the Willie p assignment, So.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah he does. But I don't even know. I think
I'm just gonna be missing some time around Christmas and
that's it. So I think that's about it. Yeah, so uh,
sorry that I'm that guy.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
But you got to miss some time, and if you
choose to work through it, there will be consequences.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I'm scared a little scared. I didn't realize that you
would be the one that scares me. I thought Fitty
might be the one that scared crime family. As people
have said around here, you know, don't want to mess
with him. Yeah, I do not want you to make
me an offer that I can't refuse.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
I do not want that.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
I'm scared now of not only your family, but also
Fitty because he's just devious in his own ways. Before
we visit the campus corner, I do want to tell
you a few other things regarding the Adam Thielen situation.
Flounder just read the statement released by the Minnesota Vikings
about having waived Adam Thielen. His representation approached the team
last week and asked if they would be willing to
(02:44):
release Adam. He's a healthy scratch this past weekend, he
only has eight catches sixty nine yards. He has three drops,
a twenty seven percent drop percentage on sixteen targets this year.
It's been a terrible season straight up for Adam thlen
who it feels like Father Time slapped him across the face.
He showed up late, did Father Time, but once it
(03:07):
showed up, he beat him down. At least that's how
it looks over there, because it's not like Minnesota is
chopped full of all these receivers. Yes, you have Jay Jetta,
you also have Jordan Addison. Those guys are good. Let's
not forget Jordan Adison missed the first couple of games
of the season, right, and I think you have Jalen Naylor,
who Jalen Naylor has been solid fair enough. It's a
it's a good wide receiving corps. I should say that.
(03:29):
I guess you would expect more than eight catches from theling.
But just to move on here, we had been talking
about Dan Morgan receiving a fourth round pick in return
for Thelan. That actually isn't the only part of the
hall that they got. They got a much bigger haul
than that. Joe Person just twitted out ten minutes ago
that the Panthers received a twenty twenty six fifth round
(03:51):
pick a twenty twenty seven fourth round pick for Adam Thelen.
They also received a twenty twenty six conditional seventh with
which will remain a seventh, and also a twenty twenty
seven to fifth. Dan Morgan drove a hard bargain for
I believe you pronounce his name Quassi Adofo menso the
(04:12):
GM for Minnesota, but drove a hard bargain there and
got what you wanted even more. I'd be cool with
just the fourth rounder. I imagine that they wanted the twenty
twenty sixth fourth rounder. Minnesota said, now, we'd really like
to keep it. We'll give you this year's fifth, but
maybe we give you next year's fourth. Because Minnesota came
into this season wanting to compete. That was a thing
they wanted to do, and boy have they not done
(04:34):
that at all with all of the problems with JJ McCarthy,
Carson Wentz and yes, Max Brosmer, who if you paid
attention at all via fantasy football, gave you a nice
little negative six depending on your scoring format, negative six
point scored.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I'd be goodness. Yeah, that's that's how well it went
for Max.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Under that underhand interception is one of the worst picks
you will ever see thrown.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
How can I make this situation the worst possible situation.
I know, I'll throw it right to the guy's chest
falling down to the ground and have him score a
touchdown off of oh Man brutal game. Anyways, Yeah, that's
all the Panthers got. You had the twenty twenty sixth
fifth rounder, twenty twenty seven fourth rounder, a twenty twenty
sixth conditional seventh, which will remain a seventh, and a
(05:18):
twenty twenty seven fifth.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Another fifth, we'll take it.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Who buddy, that's is that a better haul than what
you got for Mingo, which was just a straight fourth
rounder from what I remember, Yes, I would believe that. Yes,
cooking man is Dan Morgan Thanksgiving? Does he no thanks?
He got to cook him more?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
If you kept feeling? I mean, do you think this
team is really that much better?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
No? I think they're probably about the same. Well, who
are you playing him over? So Coker? I guess, But yeah,
I don't. I don't think.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
I don't think Bryce is really targeting at him deeling
a lot more than he had been Coker leading up
to this game, right right, let's say it because I
want to get to some college stuff here and this
the time to do it. Time now for the campus
cut on a Monday without West, It never hits the same.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I don't want the same, but I liked it creative.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Yeah, done hit the same. Anyways, we have an a
SEC championship game set, folks. Oh, if you want to
call it, that's sure kind of brutal. And I gotta
be careful because I currently live with somebody that went
to UVA and is excited that's not the brutal part.
It's that's totally fair. It's not the brutal part is
we thought that we had cleared this hurdle Flounder.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
That's the funny part.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
We thought we had set it up as that it
is a possibility for Duke to actually see themselves in
Charlotte playing for an ACC championship. And really we thought
we had cleared that hurdle. We didn't think that it
was really going to happen, except you have everything that
happened the way that it did, And now a seven
and five Duke Blue Devil football team is going to
(06:55):
be playing a two loss Virginia football team for the
ACC champion.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Of both of these teams, by.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
The way, Virginia, I don't trust all that much, but
they'll have deserved to get to the college football playoff
if they win the ACC championship. Yes, they deserve to
be one of the top rated teams to get to
the field. If Duke wins Flounder and they go eight
and five, oh god, can you say the same thing
about them, because I can't tell you that. I watch
(07:22):
Duke and I think, yep, that's a top twelve college
football team.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Even if they win the ACC championship. God, no, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
If they win the ACC championship, they need to be
left out of the field. You need to put in
the champion of the American Conference, and you probably should
put in the champion of the Sunbell Conference.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
The James Madison Dukes.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Now, the interesting thing about James Madison is James Madison
just lost their head coach. Bob Chesney is going across
the country to UCLA. Don't ask me why that's a
I don't understand it. It makes absolutely no sense to me,
but that's where he's going. So now you're gonna have
this thing that people are going to have to debate.
(08:04):
Is that team who is eleven and one right now?
If they win their conference championship, they'll be twelve and one?
Is that team deserving to go over a duke team
but without their head coach?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Right now we're in that situation. I mean, you bring
up the head coach not having your guy part, Well,
should we take a look at what's happening down in Oxford?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
They got they've got one loss on the season.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
I know, I know, I know, I'm just saying I
heard I think Mac and bone touch on that very
idea earlier, and no, there's no way you leave him out.
But but we're seating should be hurt. That's I believe
that that's the question. How does it affect you with
the ability that you might have to pull off at
first round upset so to speak, like does because you
don't have Lane Kiffin at the helm, which should matter
(08:49):
if Lane Kiffin is a good coach. Not having him
coaching your football team should matter if he's good, right like,
if he's replaceable and you just throw any old assistant
up there, then is LSU giving him all of this
money and all of this opportunity to go coach? I'm
probably not you make this higher because you think he's
a good coach exactly. We can have that conversation a
little bit later as well. I don't want to get
(09:10):
ahead of myself. The ACC Championship this is the weird
This is the weirdest one that we've seen. We thought
we could get away from coastal chaos and it would
all be hunky dory, everything would be fine. We'd have
an ACC Championship truly representative of what the best teams,
the best two teams in the conference are supposed to
look like. Nah, man, you get rid of Coastal, but
you don't get rid of the chaos. Goodness, gracious, we
(09:32):
got Duke and Virginia playing for the champions This is worse.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
It is worse.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
We never had one in the previous times where you
looked at your you looked at the matchup, and you
said to yourself, Yeah, this isn't deserving at all. Gods,
Duke doesn't deserve to be there. This should be Miami.
But because the way that the tie breakers are formatted,
it ends up working out the Duke's there. The disaster
scenario for the ACC is in play here. I mean
(10:00):
an eight win football team being your representative for the
college football playoff. Like, if they make it there, they're
gonna get blasted. They are gonna get killed. They went
one in three in the non conference and they lost
to Yukon.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
That team could be playing for a championship. How does
that make sense? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
By the way, just to be clear, at ten and
two is the overall record for Virginia. They're seven and
one in conference. The overall record for Duke is seven
and five, which is why I went overall record just
to truly represent what these teams look like against all opponents.
But obviously it's the conference standings that matter. Virginia seven
and one, Duke six and two in conference, and because
of all of the tie breakers, you have an ACC
(10:44):
championship that settles on the calves taken on the Blue Devils.
And by the way, SMU losing this weekend the way
that they did the cow that was the one that
was the thing. That's why I go back to we
thought that we had cleared the hurdles because I forget
it was well, maybe we didn't think it was I
wrong in saying that flounder like, I don't think we
(11:06):
were really worried about No.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I think we had put that scenario.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Then got to the point when they were five and five,
we had said to ourselves, yeah, that scenario is kind
of out of the way. We don't necessarily have to
worry about that. It snuck up on us and all
of a sudden, when we were watching on Saturday night,
we were in here, me and Fiddy were in here
in the studio because we did the I did the
Hornets game, and we start looking at the scenarios and
(11:30):
we're like, dude, if SMU loses this game, Duke is
going to Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It just unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
It was Mike Meyers esque and that you had already
we had already anointed SMU as the team of the
a SEC that we all trust the most at this
point that whoever wore that crown only wore it for
a week at a time, exactly exactly, and.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Now it was SMU.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
I guess we just play musical chairs with this crown
and we give it right back to Virginia.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
I hope, so, I hope, So man, Virginia, just do
what you gotta do because you're preserving of being there.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
You know what's crazy. I think Duke could win this game.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yeah, they have the better quarterback in my opinion, and
you know how much I love Mits. I think he's
that talented. Can you do the thing where you randomize
the game by having the best quarterback even if your
overall team isn't the best. Can he just go nuclear
in this one, which I think is possible. We've seen
it before.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
So what he did against Wake Forest Man, that was
a huge win for them, huge win for them.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I had Wake winning that and SMU winning their game.
But because the exact opposite of that happens. We find
Duke coming to Charlotte. Baby, Wow, many Dia is tip
of the cap.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Oh yeah, Charlotte's sad for Bill Belichick and his staff.
You got to be looking at this and saying, all
you had to do was go seven and five and
you could have made it to short.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
That hurts. How pathetic is that? That hurts and you
go four and eight. It's a good point. Disgust me.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
I had not heard that point yet to just drive
the knife even further into the back of North Carolina fans.
But you just did that by mentioning that, because that
hurts a lot. With the week schedule, that played out
to be true and even weaker than I think we
thought coming in, right, we knew it was going to
be weak.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
It might have been weak again. Yeah, I would say,
on on par with this week as we can.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Clemson wasn't as good. That's a big championship contender. Yeah,
that's a good point.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
And Florida was a little bit better, I guess than
we thought they were going to be. But does that
balance because TCU wasn't that good as good as we
thought NC State was.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Yeah, you're probably right. It probably was even easier. Either way,
it was either on par or slight. It wasn't better
than you thought. I know that the schedule was not better.
How about this, We're up against it. We'll get your
North Carolina n C state thoughts. On the other side,
because people want to hear from you, Lovely, I want
to hear from you. I am them, I am the
people on the fandal text line wanting to hear Flounder
(13:54):
Pagnadas thoughts on a full season of Bill Belichick in
the books. We'll get to that. On the other side,
it's Sports Radio ninety two to seven WFNZ four and
(14:18):
eight record on the season, thirteenth in the ACC. Bill
Belichick finishes out his first season as a college coach
as North Carolina's head coach on an zero to three
record to finish the year. It was progress when Carolina
only lost by a field goal on the road to California.
(14:39):
They only lost by one point against the team that
is going to represent the ACC in its championship game.
They beat Syracuse, they beat Stanford, two of the only
teams that are behind North Carolina in the ACC standings,
And that was progress. And then they lose to Wake
twenty eight to twelve, they lose to Duke thirty two
to twenty five, and they get lacked by NC State
(15:01):
forty two to nineteen. Bill Belichick is going to end
his first season in Chapel Hill four and eight after
what many had thought would at least be a ball
eligible season and probably less drama. Even if you thought
there would be some Jordan Hudson drama, we all knew
there would be some of that.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
You probably thought there would.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Be less with all of the stuff happening behind the scenes,
the dudes getting speeding tickets galore, favorable treatment towards some
of the Washington transfers because Steve Belichick, of course, the
son of Bill Belichick, brought some of those guys in,
and so they reportedly could do a couple of things
that the other players couldn't or didn't and there was
(15:42):
no punishment.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
There was a lot of stuff that Bill.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Don't forget Saudi Arabia, I mean, how storyline, just the
whole Mike Lombardi experience of it all, just all of it, right, Gosh,
how would you describe Bill Belichick's first year as North
Carolina's head football coach?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
We suck yep.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
I mean that's pretty much how you would feel. I mean, dude,
it's just a complete disaster. And you thought mid season
you were getting to a point where you were starting
to show progress, right, We thought, Okay, they're starting to
become more competitive in these games. Cal was one thing.
Then Virginia, Oh okay, let's open some eyes here. This
(16:22):
team's competing with one of the best teams in the ACC.
You turn around and you win two games, But we
should have known at that moment that this team was
still incredibly flawed. You trailed at halftime to a team
that had a quarterback that did not throw a freaking
completion in the first half of the game. Yea in Syracuse.
(16:42):
You come back and win that game. You find a
way to hold on and beat Stanford. That was a
game you were controlling and nearly lost. And then we
said to ourselves, Walker, we sat here on the radio
and talked about whether or not there was an actual
chance that this team could beat Wake Forest. And as
(17:03):
as we should have known, they were dominated up front.
And from that point forward, this team got dominated by
every opponent that they played. Where it mattered the most
in the trenches. We thought going into NC State. Well,
you know, Bill says that he understands that this rivalry
is important. Did that look like a team that understood
(17:23):
that the rivalry was an important rivalry. They didn't even
bring the same mindset that they brought to the duke game.
So it's just it's a it's a complete all round
failure this season.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
You built no momentum. And now we're being.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Told by the jackass that runs this Michael Lombardi, hey man,
twenty twenty six is really the ground four where we
built the ground floor and you should have known that.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
And that's not what we're saying. That's not what he
was saying too. At the beginning of all of this.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
No, no, we're saying, this was the thirty third team. Yes, right,
this was the thirty third NFL team. We were going
to cut year and run college football immediately. Now you're saying, no, no,
we need patience. Really, that's interesting because the team that's
not even one hundred miles down the road, they got
a first year head coach and guess what his ass
(18:15):
is doing. His ass won eight games, So what is
the excuse? I hate it? And there are Tario fans
that are brainwashed by these idiots that think, oh, this
is perfectly fine. We should have expected this in year one. No,
you should not.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
So that's my biggest issue with it, too. Flower. I don't,
I really genuinely don't get it.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
There is a monster disconnect between me and Tarhill fans,
and presumably, I guess with the way that you talk
you and other Tarhell guests, I think everything is totally
fine with the way that this season played out. If
you think Bill Belichick learned a lot from this year, cool,
I can understand it. If you think that Bill Belichick
is going to have a better year next season, I
(18:56):
would say, I really hope.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
So this was terrible. This schedule was awful.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
We knew that Tarheel fans were using that as a
point of emphasis to say that we're going to get
to a bowl game. Don't switch it up now. The
schedule played out just as bad.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
As you thought.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Yeah, in my opinion, even a little worse, considering Clemson
was not a championship contender.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
That team was gettable.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
I mean, they were got to buy lots of teams
not even close in Chapel Hill. This is an acc
season that we'll see Virginia and Duke play for the
ACC championship with Duke having gotten there with a seven
to five overall record. So there was some opportunity there
for you to take over, and you just didn't step
(19:39):
up to the plate. You recruited gl Lopez, paid millions
of dollars to play him in a system that didn't
accentuate his talent, didn't accentuate his skill set. You put
him under center, you didn't have him spread it out.
So now you have a week we can force a
square peg into a round hole, and we're going to
keep Freddy Kitchens, which you can. I'd say, once we
(20:00):
get rid of Freddy Kitchens, everything will be fine. Except
this is how Bill Belichick lost his job in the
first place, is that he wasn't making good hires. So
now what you have here, it's a hire with Freddy
Kitchens that you kept on staff.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Who's still here, by the way.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
No, I really can't tell you any North Carolina fan
that thought that was a good decision. No, So nobody
felt good about that. Still here and the defensive coordinator
job was given to his son. Has there been a
hire that Belichick Michael Lombardi, by the way, is the
jem has there been a hire that Belichick has made.
That proves to you, man, you know what, he did
(20:36):
a really great job of evaluating, researching everything that those
guys did in their previous stop or what they did
last year, and said, this is what's going to work
for our team, or do you just hire your kid's plural?
Did you hire a guy that was not very good
at his job last year and one of your best
friends to take over all of this that was an
(20:58):
issue that was there in the NF And it looks like,
and I'm not even trying to exaggerate here, it looked
like this past season he learned nothing from the things
that got him fired from the NFL. And I say
the NFL, not even just the Patriots. Nobody in the
NFL wanted them. It looks like Flounder he learned nothing
(21:18):
from the things that got him fired from the NFL.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah, and it doesn't matter to him because he can
do whatever he wants. At the college level, he's getting
no pushback. Now you're a dude that's making ten million dollars,
We've got no choice but to invest in you because
we can't afford the buyout. So that's what it means
is that you get to control everything. He did this
because he wanted it to be a favor to certain friends.
(21:43):
I feel like that's part of the reason that he
got back into this, and I think that's the reason
why he brought in Michael Lombardi. That's the thing that's
amazing to me is you said it, look at this
entire coaching staff. Can you tell me one guy that
you thought did a good job this year? One name
one guy who Bob Diaco, the d line coach, that
(22:05):
might be the only guy, and even he.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Sucked at the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Not to even break the spirit of what your point is,
because I agree with it. I guess you could say
the defense played pretty well.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
They collapsed when it mattered, though, I think that's fair.
The last three games they were horrible. Yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
So I mean that's the thing is that, Yeah, you
can think that maybe there was some signs of progress,
maybe it wasn't that bad under Stephen Belichick, But when
it mattered the most against the teams that could get
you to a bowl game, this team couldn't stop the anybody.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
They couldn't stop wake for this offense at all.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
They had very few answers for Duke's offense, and it's
really you know, third down and fourth down were the
biggest issues against Duke and against NC State. They put
in a backup quarterback for NC State who you knew
all he was gonna do was run the football.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
That's all Will Wilson does. Credit to them.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Their offensive line just bullied hit him into the end
zone every single time.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
That is unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
So you can't even give me Steven Belichick as a
guy that did a good job.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Yeah, fair enough to cross the finish line on this
before we go back to professional football. It has ties
to professional football. I do think more and more as
we see some of these coaches make the transition from
one level of football to the other, they are so
different from an emotional standpoint. I think you got to
have some emotion. You have to get it as a
college football coach to understand some of these rivalry games,
(23:34):
some of these conference games that you're going into every
single week. I don't know if Bill Belichick gets it right.
I think he might had seen Duke North Carolina promoted
every single college basketball season on ESPN as the best
rivalry in sports, and so he says to everybody that
his first words were beat Duke, and he focuses on
(23:57):
Duke as the football rival when that seems like a
common mistake that the national audience might make here locally,
we know what time it is.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah, there's a.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Reason these two teams play dead last, and that Duke
is all across the schedule. You're playing for the victory
bell all. I mean you could be playing for it
week three, you could be playing for it week seven.
I mean we've played for it in September one year.
That's my point. That's exactly my point, because it doesn't
who cares. Oh what North Carolina Duke? Which she was
good whenever, and so stay Oh that needs to be
(24:27):
the last game of the season. Yes, that needs to
be rivalry week. And here's Belichick telling you, hey man,
we're going beat Duke. Yeah I get excited. Okay, yeah,
we want the victory bell. Can you beat that team
we haven't beaten in four years?
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Can do five? Now? Five years? Five years? Losing to
these to a bunch of engineers and farmers.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
And you got to this is the correct me If
I'm wrong, this is the first time that you that
you guys got salacked in any of these games.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
No, they got shellacked two years ago in Raleigh under
Mac Brown. So this is two out of three years
now that you have gotten your asses handed to you
in this game.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
I remember the closer games to be fair. Yeah, but
I mean there wasn't even a contest. Dave Doran gets it,
by the way, Like we all know that Doran is
here for the smoke. He wants all of it. He
understands Rivalry Week matters. That's the only game that matters
on their schedule.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Nothing else matters to them except beating Carolina and it works.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
So why can't we get something like that?
Speaker 3 (25:25):
Look, man, if we're not gonna win any other games,
can we at least win that one.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
This is one of those things too, where perception is reality.
The perception is you gotta beat the rivalry teams. It's
why it was such a pressure packed game for Ryan
Day to take care of business. When Ryan Day's coming
off of a championship, and yet the Ohio State fans
they care about beating Michigan and Wolverines fans have been
laughing at Ohio State despite a championship because they know, yeah,
(25:51):
we know, you want to beat us. Real, real bad.
We know that's what needs to happen here, and it's
why we have these conversations about North Carolina and NC
State and all these other other rivalry games. Like you,
I am more and more convinced that you have to
get it as a college football coach. And that's not
unique to Belichick who doesn't. But I don't think he does.
I don't think he gets no, absolutely not, absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
He does not. I don't get why he doesn't get it,
because you got it in the NFL. You treated your
division games like these were the these people had all
done you wrong. I will never forget how you treated
the Jets. And we said it on the podcast when
we talked about this, he'll up blog podcast anywhere you
find your podcast. We said, you have to treat this
(26:39):
game like it's the Jets. You have to, for some
reason in your mind, believe that this is the worst
thing that could ever happen to you is to lose
to this team. And for some reason, that was not
the mindset that was taken to this game. I mean,
he walks out, first of all, great point from Fiddy.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
He walks out.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
This is a guy that coached in New England walks
out with a jacket that makes him look like he's
from the movie Coneheads. He looked, you look ridiculous. So
that's the way that you started off. And then again,
I've asked this question so many times, and I'd love
to ask Ashley Stroline, who was on the sidelines the
other night for this game. Does it look like somebody
(27:19):
on that sideline actually cares? Because I don't think Bill
Belichick cares. I really don't.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
FanDuel text line seven oh four five seven oh ninety
six ten. Again, you can share your thoughts on the
FanDuel text line seven oh four five seven oh ninety
six ten. Let's transition to professional football. It's something Bill
Belichick used to be good at. Dave Canalis seems to
be pretty good at it right now. We used this
as a vehicle to get to the Dan Morgan conversation
that we had in the last hour. Is Dan Morgan
(27:46):
the NFL Executive of the year. Brad Holmes had won
it each of the last two seasons. Could Dan Morgan
win it this season? But I had heard Mack and
Bone and maybe I heard Colin and Shropy talk about
this a little bit on my way in as well.
They discussed Dave can All whether he should win Coach
of the Year and flounder. What's hilarious about that to
me is there have been so many times coming in
(28:08):
to a Monday show where fans are ready to fire him,
and maybe even if that is too strong so true,
they were at least ready to criticize him to no
end for unusual play calling, a weird game plan, not
having his guys ready, being the person that's holding Bryce back.
(28:29):
That's been a big thing, especially for the Bryce stands
as well. Like and yet here we are the Panthers
are ahead of schedule, at the very least right on
schedule to do exactly what you came into twenty twenty
five looking to accomplish. Going to twenty twenty six is
a real playoff contender. So it would be one of
(28:50):
the weirder narrative based Coach of the Year candidates that
I think we've had in quite some time. I don't
cover every other market, but usually we're supposed to just
feel nothing but good about the coach, right, nothing but
success pretty much all the way through, or at least
a large portion of success. But it's a rollercoaster in
(29:10):
every sense of the term. We've had so many ups
and downs. You've gotten shellacked by a couple of teams early,
and you've won against some of the teams that you're
supposed to lose to on the road against Green Bay,
and of course you have this win against la Is.
Dave Canalis up there with guys like Mike Vrabel, Mike McDonald,
(29:30):
and Ben Johnson, who I think all should be in contention.
And I'm one that feels like some of the best
coaches deserve their name in the hat as well, like
Sean McVay. I know, you just lost to Carolina, but
sometimes Sean McVay and some of the coaches that have
coached the best teams in football deserve to be here too.
So anyways, Sean McVay I think could have his name
(29:51):
thrown out there as well. Where does Dave Canalis rank
compared to some of those other names that I just
mentioned flatter?
Speaker 3 (29:57):
I mean, he's got to be, he's got to be
near the top, But I don't think because of the
up and down nature of his season, Like when was
the last time that we saw a coach that was
at or around five hundred, won't be able to finish
the season five hundred because you play seventeen games, But
when was the last time you saw one around that
mark that ended up actually winning Coach of the year.
(30:20):
I think if he closes the season strong, then maybe
he's got an argument. But I think he's gonna need
the help Ben Johnson has to fade in Chicago and
that team. Right now, they aren't leading the NFC. They
are the one seed if the season ended today. That
is insane to think about how far they've come, right,
(30:40):
But I would say behind that, I mean it's Dave two,
so I think he's very close.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
So, not to get into the semantics of it all,
but Coach of the year, it's often defined by how
you evaluate what that truly means. Because you could say
Sean McVay is coach of the year despite having what
many people believe to be the best team in football. Yeah,
they got a lot of talent. Sean mcvayh does a
lot of really cool and interesting stuff with all of
that talent, So I wouldn't mind if he wins. Okay,
(31:09):
there's one. The other way to evaluate coach of the
year is doing the most with the least, which is
typically who this award goes to Mike Rabel. Is one
where you have a second year quarterback in the MVP race.
Maybe he just got We'll see what he does tonight.
But Matt Stafford opened the door certainly more so than
(31:29):
it was before this Panthers game. So if Drake May
comes out in balls, then maybe you have a two
man race that's a little tighter than what it was
coming into this weekend. But Drake May didn't play like
an MVP candidate last year until you had Rabel and
McDaniels there too. You also have done a great job
of bringing in the right kind of talent. But I
(31:49):
don't think we look at New England and think, ooh,
they got players all across the board. They are loaded
with talent. I don't feel like I don't feel that
specially offensively, and I do think Mike McDonald deserves a
lot of credit. Sam donald has been excellent, but when
your defense is that dominant, they have been phenomenal and
(32:10):
that's how he wins games. And they are going to
be towards the top of the NFC standings this entire
time as well, and you win games when Sam donald
isn't particularly good, they just blew out the Vikings yesterday.
Despite JSN maybe the most productive receiver in football this year.
He went for like, what twenty forty yards yesterday. There's
(32:30):
something like nothing. All that first catch came I think
in the second half or something like that. That's right,
that's right. They don't even have that great of a
running game and they're still finding ways to win.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I think.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
I think if you give Dave Canalis the coach of
the Year award, it has to be because you still
feel like there is not enough talent to compete with
some of those other teams that we just mentioned, which
could be true, but also it's because you think Bryce
Young is not great and he is so clearly spheres
behind Drake May and a couple of gaps away from.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Even Sam Donald. The way that he's playing.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Depending on how you feel about Bryce Young, I think
that's what's going to be talked about the most when
considering Dave Canalis for Coach of the Year. And even
if you think Bryce Young is playing really well this year,
you might give Dave Canawi's credit for that. So the
way that Bryce finishes the season, I wonder if there
(33:28):
is a direct correlation with Bryce goes up Dave Canalis.
Coach of the Year candidacy goes up Bryce Falters. So
does the coach of the year candidacy for Dave Canalis.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Either way.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
To me, I think Bryce has a big say in
how we view what Dave Canalis has accomplished from a
coy standpoint.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Yeah, I think you are one hundred percent correct.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
I think that's you know, really how all these coaches,
you know, you talk about it with Mike Rabel, talk
about it with Ben Jonson. You know, if they're quarterbacks,
these are guys, not that you ever really questioned Drake May.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
But I mean, no one saw this coming.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
No one saw him being a guy that now you
can debate whether or not he's a top yeah five
quarterback in the league.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Right to be fair, Meryl Hodge never questioned Drake May.
He was just so sure it was written in stone
that he was going to be the worst quarterback ever exactly.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
And then Caleb Williams, I mean we were questioning him
NonStop coming into the year, and you look at what
he's become. So maybe it is going to be up
to these quarterbacks to really determine this same thing. You know,
Sam Darnold polarizing quarterback. You know, he's a guy that
you know as the season goes along. Last year he
faded down the stretch. You're going to see that again.
So it really comes back to what are these quarterbacks do?
(34:42):
That's a really interesting way to look.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
At Yeah, no doubt it does. Is that how we
view it?
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Like I know, people always say Coach of the Year
goes to who does the most with the least. That's
ninety five percent of the time where those awards go.
Now in football, can we just simplify it to so
who does the most with the worst quarterback or the
most questionable quarterback? Because that does seem to be at
play with all of the names that we're considering this
(35:09):
year in twenty twenty five seven oh four, five, seven
oh ninety six to ten.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
That's the FanDuel text line.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Let's also move and finish the one o'clock hour by
talking more about the Panthers, and we'll even sprinkle some
Hornets in there, because it's been a long time since
we've talked about the Hornets. It feels like a two
months worth of basketball has been played within the last
five days. Considering all the storylines for them. Kan Kin
Nipple has tied a game, They've won two. They've also
(35:34):
lost a terrible game against the Knicks where it felt
like we were at a crossroads with LaMelo.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
Now all that's fixed.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
I mean, it's been a whole season's worth of storylines
within five days.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
We get to all of it. Coming up next on
Weston Walker.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
Western Walker Sports Radio ninety two to seven WFNZ, we
are brought podcasting live from the Chandler vaulta studio CV
Injury Law dot COMCV Injury Law dot Com.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
One call.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
That's all the Carolinas personal injury lawyers. And of course,
before we get started with some more Panthers conversation, Flounder,
he's got an update for you. He's a renaissance man.
Time now for a Neogenics college football injury Report. Hit it, Floundy,
that's right, walk in this trialog walkout there?
Speaker 2 (36:25):
All right? I like it? What's up to try it out?
Some walk out there? Huh? I like that. I think
that's a nice short nickname for you.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
This is the Neogenics College Football Injury Report. Neogenics where
all you have to lose is the pain. Well, guy
that's dealing with some pain right now would be Jordan Lamar,
the running back for the Oregon Ducks. He did not
play in oregon'st twenty six to fourteen victory over Washington
on Saturday, and his status is uncertain for the College
(36:52):
Football Playoff when Oregon inevitably begins their run. Meanwhile, Noah Burnett,
the starting kicker for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, he
did not play during Saturday's matchup with Stanford. He's been
dealing with hip injuries throughout the entirety of the season,
so we'll have to see whether or not he is
healthy enough to go for Notre Dame in the College
football playoffs, and that could be a big loss for them.
(37:15):
That is the Neogenics College Football Injury Report.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Neogenics, We're all you have to lose is the pain.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
We got so many storylines to get to. There are
a lot of good questions from you guys on the
FANDUL text line. I want to answer some of them.
I want to read some of the texts that have
been coming in seven oh four, five, seven oh ninety
six to ten.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Again FANDUL text line.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
People are pushing back a little on Dave Canalis winning
Coach of the Year, and DOGG says Devil's Advocate, how
can he be coach of the year if he's been
so inconsistent? TC says Dave is not the best coach
on his own staff. In fact, that's zero averro he's
been the better coach this season.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
Oh interesting.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
Can of Corn says, you can't give Coach of the
Year to a guy who's play calling contributed so much
to embarrassing losses New Orleans and San Francisco. And so
here we are again asking is it the QB or
is it the head coach? Slash play calling?
Speaker 2 (38:09):
Here we go. That's been the theme of the entire year.
This is what I'll say.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
I actually want to know if most people feel the
way that Cannonicorn, m dog and TC do, like, do
you guys also feel the same way they do and
that Dave at times is holding this team back? Has
there been too much inconsistency from Dave Canalis to win
head Coach of the Year? And I think that's a
fair question because we have seen more consistency from Seattle Chicago. Offensively,
(38:39):
it's been up and down, but they still find a
way to win games. I think they've also put more
resources defensively into what they've done, because you've seen trading
for Montese sweat some of the guys that they've drafted.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
I need to look up some more of their roster, but.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Maybe that's not even enough to give Dave Canalis an
excuse all that much, or a Jarrover who's the one
running the defense over there. I think when you're a
top the standings the way that you are, and you
beat Philadelphia, which they're crashing out a little bit up
there in Philly, just like they did a couple of
years ago when they eventually lost to Tampa in the postseason,
(39:15):
feels like we're getting a carbon copy. Man, it feels
like we're getting that a carbon copy of that. Even so,
it's a good team that Chicago just beat. I do
think you've had also an up and down type of
season from Caleb Williams. He's been good, but I don't
think anybody's talking about him making the Pro Bowl, right,
you know? You know, So it's it's not like what
(39:38):
you've seen. It's it's not the McVeigh Stafford coach QB. Combo,
it's not New England Mike Rabel deserving a lot of
credit and Drake may being a top the ladder here too.
It's Ben Johnson is winning while also helping Caleb Williams
become a professional quarterback. But it doesn't even feel like
Caleb Williams has made it yet by any means. Like
(39:58):
Drake may argue that he's made it, and most people
wouldn't argue against you.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
You might say he has some of this CJ.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
Stroud fall off whatever, But I don't know, man, the
inconsistent stuff from Dave Canalis. I really had an issue
with his play calling and his game plan against San
fran I did a little bit against the Saints.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
Again.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
I think sometimes we condle Brice a little too much
classic QB play caller stuff. But I do think it
wasn't a great game plan with Dave. And we've had
our questions about him even against Arizona, and you know,
not running the ball as much, not going to Rico
when they should have.
Speaker 2 (40:37):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
There are a lot of questions, and to be fair,
I don't know if we actually gave our answer on this.
I would not give Dave Canalis Coach of the Year,
to be sure, No, I wouldn't either.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
I would have him in the conversation, but I would
not give him the Coach of the Year award. I
think there is a guy in Ben Johnson who deserves
it over him.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Panther t Dog writes in Canalis gets it because it's
been so long since we've been relevant and he worked
for so that's enough to win it alone. I like
that text seven five seven says, this is Big Drew.
I think Dave was the blame for the Saints and
the forty nine ers loss. You're not the only one,
Big Drew two six seven says we need to talk
about how egregious the two minute drill was before halftime.
(41:16):
That's on Canals. Yeah, it wasn't great. A lot of
lack of urgency in some of those situations, Excel defender.
I think Dave Canalis would be potential coach of the Year,
but he has to win all the games that are
coming up towards them, so finishing the year strong, Oh okay,
or like is it as simple as hey? If the
Panthers reach the playoffs with this roster, then he wins it,
(41:38):
or that he deserves it way more than maybe the
way that we feel about him.
Speaker 2 (41:41):
Right but yeah, now, yes, if he.
Speaker 3 (41:43):
Makes the playoffs, then yes, I think that the because
here's here's what matters the most. It's not what we
think locally here we're going to hyper analyze everything about
Dave Canalis and what he's doing. What does the national
media think about him? What are the national voters think
about him? If they make the playoffs, their perspective is
(42:04):
going to be this team came from nothing to being
a playoff team this year, and they overcame because at
this point, Baker Mayfield's not going to sit out.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
He's playing through this injury.
Speaker 3 (42:16):
So if you find a way to overcome that and
make it to the playoffs, I think that the national
media is going to give you a lot a lot
of credit for that. So I think that's ultimately what
matters the most is how do the national people sort
of comprehend what he's done this season. I think they
probably look at it as a little bit better than
(42:36):
what we look at it here.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
I think the reason I give Dave a lot of
credit those guys care about playing for him. He hasn't
lost the locker room in any of these weeks that
have been down weeks New England, right, That was one
where I focused on the morale of the locker room.
You get beat down by the Patriots before we knew
they were the Patriots. Whole team said, hey, this is
(43:01):
not Dave's fault. We got to go out there and
we have to perform. Remember how the players took it
upon themselves as we were the reason. It wasn't coaching.
We were the reason that we lost. Now, the only
time that I've seen anything to the contrary has been
Rico Dawdle's tweet when he didn't run the ball enough
against San France. There was that Dave didn't seem pleased
when asked about that in post game availability. But the
(43:24):
thing I'll I give Dave a lot of credit here too.
I think, man, he does not coach with an ego.
I don't think he coaches with an ego. In the slightest.
He came out after that San Francisco game and he said,
you know what, there's really not an excuse.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
Should have ran it more.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
I apologize to the team for holding them back, because
that game was not out of reach for me to
have abandoned the run the way that I did. I
didn't put my guys in great situations. That's on me
and what does he do? He runs it a million
times against the Rams and he finally, In my opinion,
I think it was the best ratio of running the
football and deep shots that we've seen all season long. Right,
(44:06):
Bryce Young, you trust him on clutchdowns, you trust him
throwing the ball down field on clutchdowns and in between,
then you just run it all the time. That's all
you do. That's what I think we want to see
marrying the run game with the deep shots. It was
the best marriage of those two concepts that we have
seen all season long. And to be fair, it's not
(44:29):
like Dave Canalis should just give in to what the
fan base wants every week.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
Because we don't coach.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
Football, we can criticize the hell out of it and
we can love watching the wins that come along the way.
We wouldn't know what we were doing if we were coaching,
But we do have all of our thoughts and opinions.
Some of them are right on though some of them
are right about and Dave Canalis isn't too egotistical to say, ah,
you guys don't know what you're talking about. I know
how to do this. I'm the head coach. What I
(44:55):
say goes around here now, man, I don't think he's
ever been like that, even with some of the questions
that we had when he wouldn't bring Bryce's name up
last year. There were a lot of people frustrated when
he got benched. Why do you act like Bryce doesn't exist?
We learned after with some of the reports that he
didn't want to bring Bryce up because he didn't want
the focus to be on him while he's trying to
(45:17):
get back. Remember it was lauded afterwards that he was
benched because the spotlight wasn't on.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
Him as much.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
Well, if Dave entertains any of those Bryce Young questions,
you're inviting the spotlight to shine brighter on him. I'm
not saying Dave Canalis is falling on the sword for
Bryce's inconsistency slash deficiencies, but he's not giving it any
more room for thought. He's trying to move on from it.
(45:44):
When you don't run it enough, he runs it the
next week. He's been inconsistent too. That's a theme. We
need to find something different to chastise him with. And
I get it, but like I just think the ego
isn't there, and that's comforting to me, Dave isn't going
to let an issue linger for longer than it has to.
(46:05):
He's going to fix it then, because all he cares
about is winning, not about being right, and I think
that's what matters and a good head coach, even if
he doesn't get any kind of validation with hardware at
the end of the season, I still feel good about
what the head coach is here in Carolina. It's Weston
Walker Sports Rady ninety two to seven WFNZ, One more
hour to go.
You were listening to the Wes and Walker Show. Is
that how you would want to go? Do you want
to fall in a tub of beer and die that way?
If it is indeed your time, it's Wes, I want
to go into bed doing the uh here we go
and Walker?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
No explain, I have no clue. What's wrong with this?
What are you saying? I want to die in bed?
You know, just napping, just peacefully in your sleep. Yeah,
I guess we're gonna put it like that. We'll call
it nap okay only on Sports Radio ninety two point
seven FM w FNZ. No clue. Yeah, one day you
will flounder.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
I just hope that when that does happen, that that
doesn't happen to you, you don't go to the buzzom
at Abraham.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
That would be that would be my lock right.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
West and Walker back in the one o'clock hour, the
Westless and Walker Show, flounder filling in Wes not gonna
be here all week long. We had Myron Goodman on
the FanDuel text line worried about Wes, saying, I hope
he's okay, He's okay, he's just taking off for this
upcoming week and then he'll take some time off, I
believe around Christmas.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
I don't know the exact schedule.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Around New Year's it's just about that time for US
radio people taking some time off, just a couple of
times here and there, and I imagine you'll be yeah,
there you go. Let me settle in here. Guys, pop
those knuckles, get get the microphone ready to go. It's
time for young guns see young guns, prod squad. Whatever
(01:38):
you want to call him, Fitty, floundy, shrappy, maybe smoke
you every once in a minile, Yeah, smoke Smoke checks.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
In every once in a while.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Sometimes he gets uh, he gets the Willie p assignment, So.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah he does. But I don't even know. I think
I'm just gonna be missing some time around Christmas and
that's it. So I think that's about it. Yeah, so uh,
sorry that I'm that guy.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
But you got to miss some time, and if you
choose to work through it, there will be consequences.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I'm scared a little scared. I didn't realize that you
would be the one that scares me. I thought Fitty
might be the one that scared crime family. As people
have said around here, you know, don't want to mess
with him. Yeah, I do not want you to make
me an offer that I can't refuse.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
I do not want that.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
I'm scared now of not only your family, but also
Fitty because he's just devious in his own ways. Before
we visit the campus corner, I do want to tell
you a few other things regarding the Adam Thielen situation.
Flounder just read the statement released by the Minnesota Vikings
about having waived Adam Thielen. His representation approached the team
last week and asked if they would be willing to
(02:44):
release Adam. He's a healthy scratch this past weekend, he
only has eight catches sixty nine yards. He has three drops,
a twenty seven percent drop percentage on sixteen targets this year.
It's been a terrible season straight up for Adam thlen
who it feels like Father Time slapped him across the face.
He showed up late, did Father Time, but once it
(03:07):
showed up, he beat him down. At least that's how
it looks over there, because it's not like Minnesota is
chopped full of all these receivers. Yes, you have Jay Jetta,
you also have Jordan Addison. Those guys are good. Let's
not forget Jordan Adison missed the first couple of games
of the season, right, and I think you have Jalen Naylor,
who Jalen Naylor has been solid fair enough. It's a
it's a good wide receiving corps. I should say that.
(03:29):
I guess you would expect more than eight catches from theling.
But just to move on here, we had been talking
about Dan Morgan receiving a fourth round pick in return
for Thelan. That actually isn't the only part of the
hall that they got. They got a much bigger haul
than that. Joe Person just twitted out ten minutes ago
that the Panthers received a twenty twenty six fifth round
(03:51):
pick a twenty twenty seven fourth round pick for Adam Thelen.
They also received a twenty twenty six conditional seventh with
which will remain a seventh, and also a twenty twenty
seven to fifth. Dan Morgan drove a hard bargain for
I believe you pronounce his name Quassi Adofo menso the
(04:12):
GM for Minnesota, but drove a hard bargain there and
got what you wanted even more. I'd be cool with
just the fourth rounder. I imagine that they wanted the twenty
twenty sixth fourth rounder. Minnesota said, now, we'd really like
to keep it. We'll give you this year's fifth, but
maybe we give you next year's fourth. Because Minnesota came
into this season wanting to compete. That was a thing
they wanted to do, and boy have they not done
(04:34):
that at all with all of the problems with JJ McCarthy,
Carson Wentz and yes, Max Brosmer, who if you paid
attention at all via fantasy football, gave you a nice
little negative six depending on your scoring format, negative six
point scored.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I'd be goodness. Yeah, that's that's how well it went
for Max.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Under that underhand interception is one of the worst picks
you will ever see thrown.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
How can I make this situation the worst possible situation.
I know, I'll throw it right to the guy's chest
falling down to the ground and have him score a
touchdown off of oh Man brutal game. Anyways, Yeah, that's
all the Panthers got. You had the twenty twenty sixth
fifth rounder, twenty twenty seven fourth rounder, a twenty twenty
sixth conditional seventh, which will remain a seventh, and a
(05:18):
twenty twenty seven fifth.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Another fifth, we'll take it.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Who buddy, that's is that a better haul than what
you got for Mingo, which was just a straight fourth
rounder from what I remember, Yes, I would believe that. Yes,
cooking man is Dan Morgan Thanksgiving? Does he no thanks?
He got to cook him more?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
If you kept feeling? I mean, do you think this
team is really that much better?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
No? I think they're probably about the same. Well, who
are you playing him over? So Coker? I guess, But yeah,
I don't. I don't think.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
I don't think Bryce is really targeting at him deeling
a lot more than he had been Coker leading up
to this game, right right, let's say it because I
want to get to some college stuff here and this
the time to do it. Time now for the campus
cut on a Monday without West, It never hits the same.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
I don't want the same, but I liked it creative.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
Yeah, done hit the same. Anyways, we have an a
SEC championship game set, folks. Oh, if you want to
call it, that's sure kind of brutal. And I gotta
be careful because I currently live with somebody that went
to UVA and is excited that's not the brutal part.
It's that's totally fair. It's not the brutal part is
we thought that we had cleared this hurdle Flounder.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
That's the funny part.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
We thought we had set it up as that it
is a possibility for Duke to actually see themselves in
Charlotte playing for an ACC championship. And really we thought
we had cleared that hurdle. We didn't think that it
was really going to happen, except you have everything that
happened the way that it did, And now a seven
and five Duke Blue Devil football team is going to
(06:55):
be playing a two loss Virginia football team for the
ACC champion.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Of both of these teams, by.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
The way, Virginia, I don't trust all that much, but
they'll have deserved to get to the college football playoff
if they win the ACC championship. Yes, they deserve to
be one of the top rated teams to get to
the field. If Duke wins Flounder and they go eight
and five, oh god, can you say the same thing
about them, because I can't tell you that. I watch
(07:22):
Duke and I think, yep, that's a top twelve college
football team.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Even if they win the ACC championship. God, no, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
If they win the ACC championship, they need to be
left out of the field. You need to put in
the champion of the American Conference, and you probably should
put in the champion of the Sunbell Conference.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
The James Madison Dukes.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Now, the interesting thing about James Madison is James Madison
just lost their head coach. Bob Chesney is going across
the country to UCLA. Don't ask me why that's a
I don't understand it. It makes absolutely no sense to me,
but that's where he's going. So now you're gonna have
this thing that people are going to have to debate.
(08:04):
Is that team who is eleven and one right now?
If they win their conference championship, they'll be twelve and one?
Is that team deserving to go over a duke team
but without their head coach?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Right now we're in that situation. I mean, you bring
up the head coach not having your guy part, Well,
should we take a look at what's happening down in Oxford?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
They got they've got one loss on the season.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
I know, I know, I know, I'm just saying I
heard I think Mac and bone touch on that very
idea earlier, and no, there's no way you leave him out.
But but we're seating should be hurt. That's I believe
that that's the question. How does it affect you with
the ability that you might have to pull off at
first round upset so to speak, like does because you
don't have Lane Kiffin at the helm, which should matter
(08:49):
if Lane Kiffin is a good coach. Not having him
coaching your football team should matter if he's good, right like,
if he's replaceable and you just throw any old assistant
up there, then is LSU giving him all of this
money and all of this opportunity to go coach? I'm
probably not you make this higher because you think he's
a good coach exactly. We can have that conversation a
little bit later as well. I don't want to get
(09:10):
ahead of myself. The ACC Championship this is the weird
This is the weirdest one that we've seen. We thought
we could get away from coastal chaos and it would
all be hunky dory, everything would be fine. We'd have
an ACC Championship truly representative of what the best teams,
the best two teams in the conference are supposed to
look like. Nah, man, you get rid of Coastal, but
you don't get rid of the chaos. Goodness, gracious, we
(09:32):
got Duke and Virginia playing for the champions This is worse.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
It is worse.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
We never had one in the previous times where you
looked at your you looked at the matchup, and you
said to yourself, Yeah, this isn't deserving at all. Gods,
Duke doesn't deserve to be there. This should be Miami.
But because the way that the tie breakers are formatted,
it ends up working out the Duke's there. The disaster
scenario for the ACC is in play here. I mean
(10:00):
an eight win football team being your representative for the
college football playoff. Like, if they make it there, they're
gonna get blasted. They are gonna get killed. They went
one in three in the non conference and they lost
to Yukon.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
That team could be playing for a championship. How does
that make sense? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
By the way, just to be clear, at ten and
two is the overall record for Virginia. They're seven and
one in conference. The overall record for Duke is seven
and five, which is why I went overall record just
to truly represent what these teams look like against all opponents.
But obviously it's the conference standings that matter. Virginia seven
and one, Duke six and two in conference, and because
of all of the tie breakers, you have an ACC
(10:44):
championship that settles on the calves taken on the Blue Devils.
And by the way, SMU losing this weekend the way
that they did the cow that was the one that
was the thing. That's why I go back to we
thought that we had cleared the hurdles because I forget
it was well, maybe we didn't think it was I
wrong in saying that flounder like, I don't think we
(11:06):
were really worried about No.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I think we had put that scenario.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Then got to the point when they were five and five,
we had said to ourselves, yeah, that scenario is kind
of out of the way. We don't necessarily have to
worry about that. It snuck up on us and all
of a sudden, when we were watching on Saturday night,
we were in here, me and Fiddy were in here
in the studio because we did the I did the
Hornets game, and we start looking at the scenarios and
(11:30):
we're like, dude, if SMU loses this game, Duke is
going to Charlotte.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It just unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
It was Mike Meyers esque and that you had already
we had already anointed SMU as the team of the
a SEC that we all trust the most at this
point that whoever wore that crown only wore it for
a week at a time, exactly exactly, and.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Now it was SMU.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
I guess we just play musical chairs with this crown
and we give it right back to Virginia.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
I hope, so, I hope, So man, Virginia, just do
what you gotta do because you're preserving of being there.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
You know what's crazy. I think Duke could win this game.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Yeah, they have the better quarterback in my opinion, and
you know how much I love Mits. I think he's
that talented. Can you do the thing where you randomize
the game by having the best quarterback even if your
overall team isn't the best. Can he just go nuclear
in this one, which I think is possible. We've seen
it before.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
So what he did against Wake Forest Man, that was
a huge win for them, huge win for them.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I had Wake winning that and SMU winning their game.
But because the exact opposite of that happens. We find
Duke coming to Charlotte. Baby, Wow, many Dia is tip
of the cap.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Oh yeah, Charlotte's sad for Bill Belichick and his staff.
You got to be looking at this and saying, all
you had to do was go seven and five and
you could have made it to short.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
That hurts. How pathetic is that? That hurts and you
go four and eight. It's a good point. Disgust me.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
I had not heard that point yet to just drive
the knife even further into the back of North Carolina fans.
But you just did that by mentioning that, because that
hurts a lot. With the week schedule, that played out
to be true and even weaker than I think we
thought coming in, right, we knew it was going to
be weak.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
It might have been weak again. Yeah, I would say,
on on par with this week as we can.
Speaker 1 (13:17):
Clemson wasn't as good. That's a big championship contender. Yeah,
that's a good point.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
And Florida was a little bit better, I guess than
we thought they were going to be. But does that
balance because TCU wasn't that good as good as we
thought NC State was.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Yeah, you're probably right. It probably was even easier. Either way,
it was either on par or slight. It wasn't better
than you thought. I know that the schedule was not better.
How about this, We're up against it. We'll get your
North Carolina n C state thoughts. On the other side,
because people want to hear from you, Lovely, I want
to hear from you. I am them, I am the
people on the fandal text line wanting to hear Flounder
(13:54):
Pagnadas thoughts on a full season of Bill Belichick in
the books. We'll get to that. On the other side,
it's Sports Radio ninety two to seven WFNZ four and
(14:18):
eight record on the season, thirteenth in the ACC. Bill
Belichick finishes out his first season as a college coach
as North Carolina's head coach on an zero to three
record to finish the year. It was progress when Carolina
only lost by a field goal on the road to California.
(14:39):
They only lost by one point against the team that
is going to represent the ACC in its championship game.
They beat Syracuse, they beat Stanford, two of the only
teams that are behind North Carolina in the ACC standings,
And that was progress. And then they lose to Wake
twenty eight to twelve, they lose to Duke thirty two
to twenty five, and they get lacked by NC State
(15:01):
forty two to nineteen. Bill Belichick is going to end
his first season in Chapel Hill four and eight after
what many had thought would at least be a ball
eligible season and probably less drama. Even if you thought
there would be some Jordan Hudson drama, we all knew
there would be some of that.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
You probably thought there would.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Be less with all of the stuff happening behind the scenes,
the dudes getting speeding tickets galore, favorable treatment towards some
of the Washington transfers because Steve Belichick, of course, the
son of Bill Belichick, brought some of those guys in,
and so they reportedly could do a couple of things
that the other players couldn't or didn't and there was
(15:42):
no punishment.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
There was a lot of stuff that Bill.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Don't forget Saudi Arabia, I mean, how storyline, just the
whole Mike Lombardi experience of it all, just all of it, right, Gosh,
how would you describe Bill Belichick's first year as North
Carolina's head football coach?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
We suck yep.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
I mean that's pretty much how you would feel. I mean, dude,
it's just a complete disaster. And you thought mid season
you were getting to a point where you were starting
to show progress, right, We thought, Okay, they're starting to
become more competitive in these games. Cal was one thing.
Then Virginia, Oh okay, let's open some eyes here. This
(16:22):
team's competing with one of the best teams in the ACC.
You turn around and you win two games, But we
should have known at that moment that this team was
still incredibly flawed. You trailed at halftime to a team
that had a quarterback that did not throw a freaking
completion in the first half of the game. Yea in Syracuse.
(16:42):
You come back and win that game. You find a
way to hold on and beat Stanford. That was a
game you were controlling and nearly lost. And then we
said to ourselves, Walker, we sat here on the radio
and talked about whether or not there was an actual
chance that this team could beat Wake Forest. And as
(17:03):
as we should have known, they were dominated up front.
And from that point forward, this team got dominated by
every opponent that they played. Where it mattered the most
in the trenches. We thought going into NC State. Well,
you know, Bill says that he understands that this rivalry
is important. Did that look like a team that understood
(17:23):
that the rivalry was an important rivalry. They didn't even
bring the same mindset that they brought to the duke game.
So it's just it's a it's a complete all round
failure this season.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
You built no momentum. And now we're being.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Told by the jackass that runs this Michael Lombardi, hey man,
twenty twenty six is really the ground four where we
built the ground floor and you should have known that.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
And that's not what we're saying. That's not what he
was saying too. At the beginning of all of this.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
No, no, we're saying, this was the thirty third team. Yes, right,
this was the thirty third NFL team. We were going
to cut year and run college football immediately. Now you're saying, no, no,
we need patience. Really, that's interesting because the team that's
not even one hundred miles down the road, they got
a first year head coach and guess what his ass
(18:15):
is doing. His ass won eight games, So what is
the excuse? I hate it? And there are Tario fans
that are brainwashed by these idiots that think, oh, this
is perfectly fine. We should have expected this in year one. No,
you should not.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
So that's my biggest issue with it, too. Flower. I don't,
I really genuinely don't get it.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
There is a monster disconnect between me and Tarhill fans,
and presumably, I guess with the way that you talk
you and other Tarhell guests, I think everything is totally
fine with the way that this season played out. If
you think Bill Belichick learned a lot from this year, cool,
I can understand it. If you think that Bill Belichick
is going to have a better year next season, I
(18:56):
would say, I really hope.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
So this was terrible. This schedule was awful.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
We knew that Tarheel fans were using that as a
point of emphasis to say that we're going to get
to a bowl game. Don't switch it up now. The
schedule played out just as bad.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
As you thought.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Yeah, in my opinion, even a little worse, considering Clemson
was not a championship contender.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
That team was gettable.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
I mean, they were got to buy lots of teams
not even close in Chapel Hill. This is an acc
season that we'll see Virginia and Duke play for the
ACC championship with Duke having gotten there with a seven
to five overall record. So there was some opportunity there
for you to take over, and you just didn't step
(19:39):
up to the plate. You recruited gl Lopez, paid millions
of dollars to play him in a system that didn't
accentuate his talent, didn't accentuate his skill set. You put
him under center, you didn't have him spread it out.
So now you have a week we can force a
square peg into a round hole, and we're going to
keep Freddy Kitchens, which you can. I'd say, once we
(20:00):
get rid of Freddy Kitchens, everything will be fine. Except
this is how Bill Belichick lost his job in the
first place, is that he wasn't making good hires. So
now what you have here, it's a hire with Freddy
Kitchens that you kept on staff.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Who's still here, by the way.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
No, I really can't tell you any North Carolina fan
that thought that was a good decision. No, So nobody
felt good about that. Still here and the defensive coordinator
job was given to his son. Has there been a
hire that Belichick Michael Lombardi, by the way, is the
jem has there been a hire that Belichick has made.
That proves to you, man, you know what, he did
(20:36):
a really great job of evaluating, researching everything that those
guys did in their previous stop or what they did
last year, and said, this is what's going to work
for our team, or do you just hire your kid's plural?
Did you hire a guy that was not very good
at his job last year and one of your best
friends to take over all of this that was an
(20:58):
issue that was there in the NF And it looks like,
and I'm not even trying to exaggerate here, it looked
like this past season he learned nothing from the things
that got him fired from the NFL. And I say
the NFL, not even just the Patriots. Nobody in the
NFL wanted them. It looks like Flounder he learned nothing
(21:18):
from the things that got him fired from the NFL.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yeah, and it doesn't matter to him because he can
do whatever he wants. At the college level, he's getting
no pushback. Now you're a dude that's making ten million dollars,
We've got no choice but to invest in you because
we can't afford the buyout. So that's what it means
is that you get to control everything. He did this
because he wanted it to be a favor to certain friends.
(21:43):
I feel like that's part of the reason that he
got back into this, and I think that's the reason
why he brought in Michael Lombardi. That's the thing that's
amazing to me is you said it, look at this
entire coaching staff. Can you tell me one guy that
you thought did a good job this year? One name
one guy who Bob Diaco, the d line coach, that
(22:05):
might be the only guy, and even he.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Sucked at the end of the year.
Speaker 1 (22:08):
Not to even break the spirit of what your point is,
because I agree with it. I guess you could say
the defense played pretty well.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
They collapsed when it mattered, though, I think that's fair.
The last three games they were horrible. Yeah, that's fair.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
So I mean that's the thing is that, Yeah, you
can think that maybe there was some signs of progress,
maybe it wasn't that bad under Stephen Belichick, But when
it mattered the most against the teams that could get
you to a bowl game, this team couldn't stop the anybody.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
They couldn't stop wake for this offense at all.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
They had very few answers for Duke's offense, and it's
really you know, third down and fourth down were the
biggest issues against Duke and against NC State. They put
in a backup quarterback for NC State who you knew
all he was gonna do was run the football.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
That's all Will Wilson does. Credit to them.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
Their offensive line just bullied hit him into the end
zone every single time.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
That is unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
So you can't even give me Steven Belichick as a
guy that did a good job.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Yeah, fair enough to cross the finish line on this
before we go back to professional football. It has ties
to professional football. I do think more and more as
we see some of these coaches make the transition from
one level of football to the other, they are so
different from an emotional standpoint. I think you got to
have some emotion. You have to get it as a
college football coach to understand some of these rivalry games,
(23:34):
some of these conference games that you're going into every
single week. I don't know if Bill Belichick gets it right.
I think he might had seen Duke North Carolina promoted
every single college basketball season on ESPN as the best
rivalry in sports, and so he says to everybody that
his first words were beat Duke, and he focuses on
(23:57):
Duke as the football rival when that seems like a
common mistake that the national audience might make here locally,
we know what time it is.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah, there's a.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
Reason these two teams play dead last, and that Duke
is all across the schedule. You're playing for the victory
bell all. I mean you could be playing for it
week three, you could be playing for it week seven.
I mean we've played for it in September one year.
That's my point. That's exactly my point, because it doesn't
who cares. Oh what North Carolina Duke? Which she was
good whenever, and so stay Oh that needs to be
(24:27):
the last game of the season. Yes, that needs to
be rivalry week. And here's Belichick telling you, hey man,
we're going beat Duke. Yeah I get excited. Okay, yeah,
we want the victory bell. Can you beat that team
we haven't beaten in four years?
Speaker 2 (24:39):
Can do five? Now? Five years? Five years? Losing to
these to a bunch of engineers and farmers.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
And you got to this is the correct me If
I'm wrong, this is the first time that you that
you guys got salacked in any of these games.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
No, they got shellacked two years ago in Raleigh under
Mac Brown. So this is two out of three years
now that you have gotten your asses handed to you
in this game.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
I remember the closer games to be fair. Yeah, but
I mean there wasn't even a contest. Dave Doran gets it,
by the way, Like we all know that Doran is
here for the smoke. He wants all of it. He
understands Rivalry Week matters. That's the only game that matters
on their schedule.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Nothing else matters to them except beating Carolina and it works.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
So why can't we get something like that?
Speaker 3 (25:25):
Look, man, if we're not gonna win any other games,
can we at least win that one.
Speaker 1 (25:29):
This is one of those things too, where perception is reality.
The perception is you gotta beat the rivalry teams. It's
why it was such a pressure packed game for Ryan
Day to take care of business. When Ryan Day's coming
off of a championship, and yet the Ohio State fans
they care about beating Michigan and Wolverines fans have been
laughing at Ohio State despite a championship because they know, yeah,
(25:51):
we know, you want to beat us. Real, real bad.
We know that's what needs to happen here, and it's
why we have these conversations about North Carolina and NC
State and all these other other rivalry games. Like you,
I am more and more convinced that you have to
get it as a college football coach. And that's not
unique to Belichick who doesn't. But I don't think he does.
I don't think he gets no, absolutely not, absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
He does not. I don't get why he doesn't get it,
because you got it in the NFL. You treated your
division games like these were the these people had all
done you wrong. I will never forget how you treated
the Jets. And we said it on the podcast when
we talked about this, he'll up blog podcast anywhere you
find your podcast. We said, you have to treat this
(26:39):
game like it's the Jets. You have to, for some
reason in your mind, believe that this is the worst
thing that could ever happen to you is to lose
to this team. And for some reason, that was not
the mindset that was taken to this game. I mean,
he walks out, first of all, great point from Fiddy.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
He walks out.
Speaker 3 (26:57):
This is a guy that coached in New England walks
out with a jacket that makes him look like he's
from the movie Coneheads. He looked, you look ridiculous. So
that's the way that you started off. And then again,
I've asked this question so many times, and I'd love
to ask Ashley Stroline, who was on the sidelines the
other night for this game. Does it look like somebody
(27:19):
on that sideline actually cares? Because I don't think Bill
Belichick cares. I really don't.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
FanDuel text line seven oh four five seven oh ninety
six ten. Again, you can share your thoughts on the
FanDuel text line seven oh four five seven oh ninety
six ten. Let's transition to professional football. It's something Bill
Belichick used to be good at. Dave Canalis seems to
be pretty good at it right now. We used this
as a vehicle to get to the Dan Morgan conversation
that we had in the last hour. Is Dan Morgan
(27:46):
the NFL Executive of the year. Brad Holmes had won
it each of the last two seasons. Could Dan Morgan
win it this season? But I had heard Mack and
Bone and maybe I heard Colin and Shropy talk about
this a little bit on my way in as well.
They discussed Dave can All whether he should win Coach
of the Year and flounder. What's hilarious about that to
me is there have been so many times coming in
(28:08):
to a Monday show where fans are ready to fire him,
and maybe even if that is too strong so true,
they were at least ready to criticize him to no
end for unusual play calling, a weird game plan, not
having his guys ready, being the person that's holding Bryce back.
(28:29):
That's been a big thing, especially for the Bryce stands
as well. Like and yet here we are the Panthers
are ahead of schedule, at the very least right on
schedule to do exactly what you came into twenty twenty
five looking to accomplish. Going to twenty twenty six is
a real playoff contender. So it would be one of
(28:50):
the weirder narrative based Coach of the Year candidates that
I think we've had in quite some time. I don't
cover every other market, but usually we're supposed to just
feel nothing but good about the coach, right, nothing but
success pretty much all the way through, or at least
a large portion of success. But it's a rollercoaster in
(29:10):
every sense of the term. We've had so many ups
and downs. You've gotten shellacked by a couple of teams early,
and you've won against some of the teams that you're
supposed to lose to on the road against Green Bay,
and of course you have this win against la Is.
Dave Canalis up there with guys like Mike Vrabel, Mike McDonald,
(29:30):
and Ben Johnson, who I think all should be in contention.
And I'm one that feels like some of the best
coaches deserve their name in the hat as well, like
Sean McVay. I know, you just lost to Carolina, but
sometimes Sean McVay and some of the coaches that have
coached the best teams in football deserve to be here too.
So anyways, Sean McVay I think could have his name
(29:51):
thrown out there as well. Where does Dave Canalis rank
compared to some of those other names that I just
mentioned flatter?
Speaker 3 (29:57):
I mean, he's got to be, he's got to be
near the top, But I don't think because of the
up and down nature of his season, Like when was
the last time that we saw a coach that was
at or around five hundred, won't be able to finish
the season five hundred because you play seventeen games, But
when was the last time you saw one around that
mark that ended up actually winning Coach of the year.
(30:20):
I think if he closes the season strong, then maybe
he's got an argument. But I think he's gonna need
the help Ben Johnson has to fade in Chicago and
that team. Right now, they aren't leading the NFC. They
are the one seed if the season ended today. That
is insane to think about how far they've come, right,
(30:40):
But I would say behind that, I mean it's Dave two,
so I think he's very close.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
So, not to get into the semantics of it all,
but Coach of the year, it's often defined by how
you evaluate what that truly means. Because you could say
Sean McVay is coach of the year despite having what
many people believe to be the best team in football. Yeah,
they got a lot of talent. Sean mcvayh does a
lot of really cool and interesting stuff with all of
that talent, So I wouldn't mind if he wins. Okay,
(31:09):
there's one. The other way to evaluate coach of the
year is doing the most with the least, which is
typically who this award goes to Mike Rabel. Is one
where you have a second year quarterback in the MVP race.
Maybe he just got We'll see what he does tonight.
But Matt Stafford opened the door certainly more so than
(31:29):
it was before this Panthers game. So if Drake May
comes out in balls, then maybe you have a two
man race that's a little tighter than what it was
coming into this weekend. But Drake May didn't play like
an MVP candidate last year until you had Rabel and
McDaniels there too. You also have done a great job
of bringing in the right kind of talent. But I
(31:49):
don't think we look at New England and think, ooh,
they got players all across the board. They are loaded
with talent. I don't feel like I don't feel that
specially offensively, and I do think Mike McDonald deserves a
lot of credit. Sam donald has been excellent, but when
your defense is that dominant, they have been phenomenal and
(32:10):
that's how he wins games. And they are going to
be towards the top of the NFC standings this entire
time as well, and you win games when Sam donald
isn't particularly good, they just blew out the Vikings yesterday.
Despite JSN maybe the most productive receiver in football this year.
He went for like, what twenty forty yards yesterday. There's
(32:30):
something like nothing. All that first catch came I think
in the second half or something like that. That's right,
that's right. They don't even have that great of a
running game and they're still finding ways to win.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I think.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
I think if you give Dave Canalis the coach of
the Year award, it has to be because you still
feel like there is not enough talent to compete with
some of those other teams that we just mentioned, which
could be true, but also it's because you think Bryce
Young is not great and he is so clearly spheres
behind Drake May and a couple of gaps away from.
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Even Sam Donald. The way that he's playing.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Depending on how you feel about Bryce Young, I think
that's what's going to be talked about the most when
considering Dave Canalis for Coach of the Year. And even
if you think Bryce Young is playing really well this year,
you might give Dave Canawi's credit for that. So the
way that Bryce finishes the season, I wonder if there
(33:28):
is a direct correlation with Bryce goes up Dave Canalis.
Coach of the Year candidacy goes up Bryce Falters. So
does the coach of the year candidacy for Dave Canalis.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
Either way.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
To me, I think Bryce has a big say in
how we view what Dave Canalis has accomplished from a
coy standpoint.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
Yeah, I think you are one hundred percent correct.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
I think that's you know, really how all these coaches,
you know, you talk about it with Mike Rabel, talk
about it with Ben Jonson. You know, if they're quarterbacks,
these are guys, not that you ever really questioned Drake May.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
But I mean, no one saw this coming.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
No one saw him being a guy that now you
can debate whether or not he's a top yeah five
quarterback in the league.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
Right to be fair, Meryl Hodge never questioned Drake May.
He was just so sure it was written in stone
that he was going to be the worst quarterback ever exactly.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
And then Caleb Williams, I mean we were questioning him
NonStop coming into the year, and you look at what
he's become. So maybe it is going to be up
to these quarterbacks to really determine this same thing. You know,
Sam Darnold polarizing quarterback. You know, he's a guy that
you know as the season goes along. Last year he
faded down the stretch. You're going to see that again.
So it really comes back to what are these quarterbacks do?
(34:42):
That's a really interesting way to look.
Speaker 2 (34:44):
At Yeah, no doubt it does. Is that how we
view it?
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Like I know, people always say Coach of the Year
goes to who does the most with the least. That's
ninety five percent of the time where those awards go.
Now in football, can we just simplify it to so
who does the most with the worst quarterback or the
most questionable quarterback? Because that does seem to be at
play with all of the names that we're considering this
(35:09):
year in twenty twenty five seven oh four, five, seven
oh ninety six to ten.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
That's the FanDuel text line.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Let's also move and finish the one o'clock hour by
talking more about the Panthers, and we'll even sprinkle some
Hornets in there, because it's been a long time since
we've talked about the Hornets. It feels like a two
months worth of basketball has been played within the last
five days. Considering all the storylines for them. Kan Kin
Nipple has tied a game, They've won two. They've also
(35:34):
lost a terrible game against the Knicks where it felt
like we were at a crossroads with LaMelo.
Speaker 2 (35:38):
Now all that's fixed.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
I mean, it's been a whole season's worth of storylines
within five days.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
We get to all of it. Coming up next on
Weston Walker.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
Western Walker Sports Radio ninety two to seven WFNZ, we
are brought podcasting live from the Chandler vaulta studio CV
Injury Law dot COMCV Injury Law dot Com.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
One call.
Speaker 1 (36:06):
That's all the Carolinas personal injury lawyers. And of course,
before we get started with some more Panthers conversation, Flounder,
he's got an update for you. He's a renaissance man.
Time now for a Neogenics college football injury Report. Hit it, Floundy,
that's right, walk in this trialog walkout there?
Speaker 2 (36:25):
All right? I like it? What's up to try it out?
Some walk out there? Huh? I like that. I think
that's a nice short nickname for you.
Speaker 3 (36:31):
This is the Neogenics College Football Injury Report. Neogenics where
all you have to lose is the pain. Well, guy
that's dealing with some pain right now would be Jordan Lamar,
the running back for the Oregon Ducks. He did not
play in oregon'st twenty six to fourteen victory over Washington
on Saturday, and his status is uncertain for the College
(36:52):
Football Playoff when Oregon inevitably begins their run. Meanwhile, Noah Burnett,
the starting kicker for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, he
did not play during Saturday's matchup with Stanford. He's been
dealing with hip injuries throughout the entirety of the season,
so we'll have to see whether or not he is
healthy enough to go for Notre Dame in the College
football playoffs, and that could be a big loss for them.
(37:15):
That is the Neogenics College Football Injury Report.
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Neogenics, We're all you have to lose is the pain.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
We got so many storylines to get to. There are
a lot of good questions from you guys on the
FANDUL text line. I want to answer some of them.
I want to read some of the texts that have
been coming in seven oh four, five, seven oh ninety
six to ten.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Again FANDUL text line.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
People are pushing back a little on Dave Canalis winning
Coach of the Year, and DOGG says Devil's Advocate, how
can he be coach of the year if he's been
so inconsistent? TC says Dave is not the best coach
on his own staff. In fact, that's zero averro he's
been the better coach this season.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
Oh interesting.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
Can of Corn says, you can't give Coach of the
Year to a guy who's play calling contributed so much
to embarrassing losses New Orleans and San Francisco. And so
here we are again asking is it the QB or
is it the head coach? Slash play calling?
Speaker 2 (38:09):
Here we go. That's been the theme of the entire year.
This is what I'll say.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
I actually want to know if most people feel the
way that Cannonicorn, m dog and TC do, like, do
you guys also feel the same way they do and
that Dave at times is holding this team back? Has
there been too much inconsistency from Dave Canalis to win
head Coach of the Year? And I think that's a
fair question because we have seen more consistency from Seattle Chicago. Offensively,
(38:39):
it's been up and down, but they still find a
way to win games. I think they've also put more
resources defensively into what they've done, because you've seen trading
for Montese sweat some of the guys that they've drafted.
Speaker 2 (38:51):
I need to look up some more of their roster, but.
Speaker 1 (38:53):
Maybe that's not even enough to give Dave Canalis an
excuse all that much, or a Jarrover who's the one
running the defense over there. I think when you're a
top the standings the way that you are, and you
beat Philadelphia, which they're crashing out a little bit up
there in Philly, just like they did a couple of
years ago when they eventually lost to Tampa in the postseason,
(39:15):
feels like we're getting a carbon copy. Man, it feels
like we're getting that a carbon copy of that. Even so,
it's a good team that Chicago just beat. I do
think you've had also an up and down type of
season from Caleb Williams. He's been good, but I don't
think anybody's talking about him making the Pro Bowl, right,
you know? You know, So it's it's not like what
(39:38):
you've seen. It's it's not the McVeigh Stafford coach QB. Combo,
it's not New England Mike Rabel deserving a lot of
credit and Drake may being a top the ladder here too.
It's Ben Johnson is winning while also helping Caleb Williams
become a professional quarterback. But it doesn't even feel like
Caleb Williams has made it yet by any means. Like
(39:58):
Drake may argue that he's made it, and most people
wouldn't argue against you.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
You might say he has some of this CJ.
Speaker 1 (40:05):
Stroud fall off whatever, But I don't know, man, the
inconsistent stuff from Dave Canalis. I really had an issue
with his play calling and his game plan against San
fran I did a little bit against the Saints.
Speaker 2 (40:18):
Again.
Speaker 1 (40:18):
I think sometimes we condle Brice a little too much
classic QB play caller stuff. But I do think it
wasn't a great game plan with Dave. And we've had
our questions about him even against Arizona, and you know,
not running the ball as much, not going to Rico
when they should have.
Speaker 2 (40:37):
I get it.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
There are a lot of questions, and to be fair,
I don't know if we actually gave our answer on this.
I would not give Dave Canalis Coach of the Year,
to be sure, No, I wouldn't either.
Speaker 3 (40:46):
I would have him in the conversation, but I would
not give him the Coach of the Year award. I
think there is a guy in Ben Johnson who deserves
it over him.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Panther t Dog writes in Canalis gets it because it's
been so long since we've been relevant and he worked
for so that's enough to win it alone. I like
that text seven five seven says, this is Big Drew.
I think Dave was the blame for the Saints and
the forty nine ers loss. You're not the only one,
Big Drew two six seven says we need to talk
about how egregious the two minute drill was before halftime.
(41:16):
That's on Canals. Yeah, it wasn't great. A lot of
lack of urgency in some of those situations, Excel defender.
I think Dave Canalis would be potential coach of the Year,
but he has to win all the games that are
coming up towards them, so finishing the year strong, Oh okay,
or like is it as simple as hey? If the
Panthers reach the playoffs with this roster, then he wins it,
(41:38):
or that he deserves it way more than maybe the
way that we feel about him.
Speaker 2 (41:41):
Right but yeah, now, yes, if he.
Speaker 3 (41:43):
Makes the playoffs, then yes, I think that the because
here's here's what matters the most. It's not what we
think locally here we're going to hyper analyze everything about
Dave Canalis and what he's doing. What does the national
media think about him? What are the national voters think
about him? If they make the playoffs, their perspective is
(42:04):
going to be this team came from nothing to being
a playoff team this year, and they overcame because at
this point, Baker Mayfield's not going to sit out.
Speaker 2 (42:14):
He's playing through this injury.
Speaker 3 (42:16):
So if you find a way to overcome that and
make it to the playoffs, I think that the national
media is going to give you a lot a lot
of credit for that. So I think that's ultimately what
matters the most is how do the national people sort
of comprehend what he's done this season. I think they
probably look at it as a little bit better than
(42:36):
what we look at it here.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
I think the reason I give Dave a lot of
credit those guys care about playing for him. He hasn't
lost the locker room in any of these weeks that
have been down weeks New England, right, That was one
where I focused on the morale of the locker room.
You get beat down by the Patriots before we knew
they were the Patriots. Whole team said, hey, this is
(43:01):
not Dave's fault. We got to go out there and
we have to perform. Remember how the players took it
upon themselves as we were the reason. It wasn't coaching.
We were the reason that we lost. Now, the only
time that I've seen anything to the contrary has been
Rico Dawdle's tweet when he didn't run the ball enough
against San France. There was that Dave didn't seem pleased
when asked about that in post game availability. But the
(43:24):
thing I'll I give Dave a lot of credit here too.
I think, man, he does not coach with an ego.
I don't think he coaches with an ego. In the slightest.
He came out after that San Francisco game and he said,
you know what, there's really not an excuse.
Speaker 2 (43:42):
Should have ran it more.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
I apologize to the team for holding them back, because
that game was not out of reach for me to
have abandoned the run the way that I did. I
didn't put my guys in great situations. That's on me
and what does he do? He runs it a million
times against the Rams and he finally, In my opinion,
I think it was the best ratio of running the
football and deep shots that we've seen all season long. Right,
(44:06):
Bryce Young, you trust him on clutchdowns, you trust him
throwing the ball down field on clutchdowns and in between,
then you just run it all the time. That's all
you do. That's what I think we want to see
marrying the run game with the deep shots. It was
the best marriage of those two concepts that we have
seen all season long. And to be fair, it's not
(44:29):
like Dave Canalis should just give in to what the
fan base wants every week.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
Because we don't coach.
Speaker 1 (44:33):
Football, we can criticize the hell out of it and
we can love watching the wins that come along the way.
We wouldn't know what we were doing if we were coaching,
But we do have all of our thoughts and opinions.
Some of them are right on though some of them
are right about and Dave Canalis isn't too egotistical to say, ah,
you guys don't know what you're talking about. I know
how to do this. I'm the head coach. What I
(44:55):
say goes around here now, man, I don't think he's
ever been like that, even with some of the questions
that we had when he wouldn't bring Bryce's name up
last year. There were a lot of people frustrated when
he got benched. Why do you act like Bryce doesn't exist?
We learned after with some of the reports that he
didn't want to bring Bryce up because he didn't want
the focus to be on him while he's trying to
(45:17):
get back. Remember it was lauded afterwards that he was
benched because the spotlight wasn't on.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
Him as much.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
Well, if Dave entertains any of those Bryce Young questions,
you're inviting the spotlight to shine brighter on him. I'm
not saying Dave Canalis is falling on the sword for
Bryce's inconsistency slash deficiencies, but he's not giving it any
more room for thought. He's trying to move on from it.
(45:44):
When you don't run it enough, he runs it the
next week. He's been inconsistent too. That's a theme. We
need to find something different to chastise him with. And
I get it, but like I just think the ego
isn't there, and that's comforting to me, Dave isn't going
to let an issue linger for longer than it has to.
(46:05):
He's going to fix it then, because all he cares
about is winning, not about being right, and I think
that's what matters and a good head coach, even if
he doesn't get any kind of validation with hardware at
the end of the season, I still feel good about
what the head coach is here in Carolina. It's Weston
Walker Sports Rady ninety two to seven WFNZ, One more
hour to go.
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