October 9, 2025 • 25 mins
Today on the Happy Half Hour, Darin and Kassidy discuss the emergence of Rico Dowdle and what it means for the Panthers offense, look ahead to this weekends game against the Cowboys, take a look back at the 2015 season, and so much more!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Happy Half Hour.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hello friends, and welcome to a frankly perfect fall day.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Really the Happy half Hour it I.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Walked outside this morning to water my plants because I
didn't do it last night before I went to bed,
and so I had to go outside this morning to
do it, and it felt so nice and crisp. I
was like, oh my gosh, I can't wait to put
on a sweater like this is so exciting.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
You're probably already on the pumpkin spice, aren't you.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
See? You know what's funny is I like the pumpkin
spice vibe and aura, but I don't actually drink pumpkin
spice coffees because they are too sweet. But give me
a pumpkin spice bread or a pumpkin pie and I'll yeah,
I'll do that all day.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
You're not in a coffee you know? What's his? Fall
to me?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
What a nice lemonade flavored vodka buy our friends at
Deep Eddie. And speaking of which, this episode says fall les.
This episode of the Happy half Hours brought to you
by our friends.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
At Deep Eddy.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
You two friends can be part of the Deep Eddie
Happy half Hour family by entering the Deep Eddy Vodka
Sweet Zip Sweep Steaks. Get your entry in, create your
perfect craft cocktail using these fine products, and enter before
October twenty six for a chance to win not one,
but two tickets to the New Orleans Saints game on
November ninth, access to the one Carolina Sweet and the
(01:18):
Deep Eddy Sweet with all the cool swag and craft
cocktails and good times and good vibes. And you never know,
we might just stick our head in and greet you
before that game, since we are such big fans of
their product and the fact that they sponsor us here
at the Happy half hour.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
So what a Darren Gant meet and greet look like?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Oh, it would be quite the event social occasion. I
think security would have to be called for either me
or them one way or the other. But yeah, get
your entries in by October twenty six.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Join us here.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Hopefully the lucky winners can join us here a Bank
of America Stadium for that game on November the ninth,
and which will also be a perfect fall afternoon because
the sun always shines at Bank of America Stadium and
we get to stay here for another week.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
It's so nice, it's so cool. I don't know, how
to act. I'm kind of.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
I'm a little bit shaken at the idea of two
weeks in a row at home, so I.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Think, especially because the three of the first four were
on the road.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
That was rough.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
It was just playing after playing after playing, and so yeah,
getting two weeks at home feels luxurious, you know, and
then one week away and then we're right back at home.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
That's right. All good things happen here. Bank of America Stadium.
Your Carolina Panthers are two to zero in this building,
and you know, we talked about the Miami game a
lot on Monday. One of the things that's impressed me
about this team in the last couple of days is
how utterly normal this week has been. I mean, it's
just been kind of a regular thing. There's some guys
(02:46):
dealing with injuries who were rehabing and aren't necessarily practicing,
but on the whole, everything is kind of operating as
if Okay, this is what it's supposed to look like,
and there were so many things in practice yesterday. The
operation and stuff is all the same. You know.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Cuba Hubbard is getting a little better.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
He's still Stay tuned to Panthers dot Com for all
the latest on the injury reports. But Cuba's dealing with
that calf injury and we don't know if he's gonna
be able to go this week, but he's obviously feeling better.
Because when Cuba's feeling good, a couple of things happen.
Number One, he shows up on the practice field about
an hour before anybody else. Corey Thornton tries to beat
him out there, and he always fails. He did it
(03:24):
one time, and Cuba has determined to never be caught
short again. Juba'll be out there an hour before practice starts.
D l will be crawling on the floor on his
belly like an army man to stay out of our shot,
and Cuba will go stretch with the defensive guys and
he just gets in the middle of him and he's,
you know, talking trash and getting everybody pumped up. So
(03:44):
even though he's not practicing, you can kind of feel
that vibe.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Right, And when Cuba's out there, they all kind of
respond because he pushes them so much further. You know,
we had a great video on our Carolina Panthers YouTube
page this week of Bryce Young Mike up during that
Dolphins win, and you saw even at the very beginning
of it. It was Cuba in street clothes and his
beanie because he wasn't playing, but he was still in
the middle of the locker room making sure everybody was
(04:09):
ready to go, making sure everybody knew what the goal
of the day was. So you want you and then
went up to He went up to Bryce I think
before the game was like, I'm gonna be here cheering
for you on the sidelines, like I got you. And
so that's what Cuba brings to this team, even when
he's not playing. It's impactful.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
And I'm not here to pick on any other members
of the media, but I are a lot of questions
yesterday to Cuba and Rico Dwdell. Who congratulations Rico Dawdle
your NFC Offensive Player of the Week for that two
hundred and.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Six yard rushing Loadian.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah, it just so many and angry runs and angry runs,
so many awards.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
All of your awards belonged to Rico Dawdle this week,
and so there were a lot of questions to both
Rico and Cuba about well, what happens when you're both
healthy and Cuba literally looked at people like they had
two heads. He was like that, that doesn't need I
don't think like that. I don't I don't know how
to answer that, because I just don't think that way.
Cuba's been around here, whether it was Christian McCaffrey and Cuba,
(05:08):
whether it's Deontay Foreman and Cuba, whether it was Cuba
and somebody else, or Cuba and Rico Dowdell. Cuba just
knows that it takes multiple dudes to be around. And
you know, when he had such a successful season last year,
it was Miles Sanders who jumped in in the in
the finale in Atlanta and scored that game win and
touchdown overtime.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
So he knows.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
A it's hard to play seventeen games in the NFL
because football is hard, and B you can find plenty
of work for a couple of running backs over the
course of a season.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Speaking of Miles, we'll get to see our old friend
this weekend. That's right in Dallas.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
But nothing but good things to say.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
About great, great guy to have around to come and
go back to Cuba and Rico. Like, people are probably
going to roll their eyes in their car listening to
me say this, because I feel.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Like because they had been dangerous while you were driving,
to roll your eyes, yeah, or why video while you're driving?
Speaker 3 (06:01):
You have very high standards, Please be saying.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yes, I do, and I'm not going to apologize for them.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
The point being I know I've said this already, and
I've said it, I think even already this week, I'm
gonna say it again, like Shuba and Rico were two
very very different running backs. You can find a way
to implement both of them into an offense. You can
find a way to implement them. And Trevory ten there
was I know we're going to talk about this later
(06:27):
on in the episode, but I went back and watched
week six of twenty fifteen for our Throwback Thursday, and
there was a play at one point where it was
four people in the backfield. It was Cam Newton and
what I can only assume we're three running backs and uh.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Probably Stu, Mike Tolbert, and Fozzy Whittaker.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
That sounds about right, And so I took note of
it because I was like, oh, there's there's like a
whole crowd back there. There's a committee and all of that.
To say, like, when you when you have the talent
to do it. And you've got coaches say it all
the time. It sounds like coach such coach peak, but
they really do mean it. It's about getting the best
eleven on the field. And if Cuba Hubbard and Rico
(07:04):
Daldell are two of your best eleven, you'll put them
out there together, or you'll give them you'll trade them
off and Ano. There's something to be said for letting
running backs work up a lather. But to your point,
there's also seventeen games in a season, no doubt. Sometimes
you just need to tie your shoelace and get a
bottle of water and switch off. And again, two very
very different styles, and so they can compliment each other,
(07:27):
they're not pulling from each other.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
And again a lot of this stuff tends to take
care of itself. Again, we'll check out the injury report
later this afternoon on Panthers dot Com to see what
Cuba does today. But the fact that he wasn't practicing
yesterday maybe I don't know. We'll see what he does
the rest of the week, but you know, Rico might
have to do this thing by himself again this week.
And to your point, it's not really by yourself because
(07:53):
he kind of mixed in in that two thirds of
the snap space where Cuba had always been with Trevor
ETN with even a little DJ Dallas.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
And by the way, DJ Dallas is on my list.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I talked to him last week for a story I'm
sure you all read on Panthers dot com about him
being a special teams player part Excellence. But DJ kind
of got on my list because he said, I always
consider myself old school. Oh yeah, And I said, djh,
who do you consider old school? He's like, I like
safeties that would come up and hitch it, you know,
(08:24):
old school guys like Sean Taylor and Bob Sanders.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
The funniest part of this, Matt, is that when Darren
told me the story, I said, isn't Sean Taylor an
old player?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Sean Taylor, God rest his souls no longer among us,
but he was playing in.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
The two thousands Alabama great.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
So it's a It's a little hard for me to
see guys who were drafted after I had children born
who are now referred to as old school players. I
was hoping maybe he would give me a Ronnie Lot
or maybe even a Troy Polamalu maybe, but no.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Palla Malo has been playing more recently now.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Troy's and well, I mean, Troy's a Hall of Famer now.
But the point is I'm one hundred years old, and anyway,
that's a long way to get back around to DJ Dallas.
I mean, even if Tuba's not out there this week,
it's not gonna be all Rico.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
And you know, although I think Rico would be happy
to take all this nounstly.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
No question, He's seeing his old friends in Dallas and
him and Brian Schottenheimer have gotten each other's attention over
the last couple of days. This is the most benign
set of trash tall or bulletin board material. I think
I'm like sospecful because they both love each other. So
that's gonna be a big thing to watch. I mean,
I think to me, one of those big takeaways from
(09:39):
last week's game was how normal this offense can be
when you're running the ball that way and it doesn't
have to be a two hundred yard game. I mean,
just the amount of running, keeping guys in phase so
that everything else works well around it. Again, that's going
to depend on Cuba's status you know, we're also keeping
(09:59):
an eye on tail Tershall and Warden did not practice
yesterday along with Caleb Evans, special steamer cornerback. He's out
yesterday on the injury report. So we'll see how some
of that stuff goes. But as they go into this
Dallas game, I think the big headline for a lot
of people is going to be that number one ranked
Dallas offense against the defense that's really made strides over
(10:22):
the last five weeks.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
I mean, hey, you're just facing you know, the second
ranked quarterback in the NFL right now. In terms of
passing yards. There is something to be said, you know,
full picture, let's take it. Let's let's look at the
full picture. Some of that yardage does come because Dallas's
defense is giving up a lot of points. So they're
(10:44):
getting into shootouts and they know they're gonna have to
outscore the opponent.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
That being familiar with that.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Past, and so there is something to be said for
you know, if there's your quarterback's gonna have a lot
more yards if you're out there throwing a lot of
go balls to try to stay in or get back
into the game versus just running it to run down
the clock. That being said, Dak Prescott is playing at
full peak Dak Prescott level. He is just playing lights
out right now. This is everything if you're a Cowboys fan,
(11:12):
everything you want out of Dak. When you know he's
had injuries that have taken him off the field and
made the last few years kind of up and down.
But right now he is clicking along at exactly the
level you want Dak Prescott to be playing at. He's
seeing the field well, he's getting it downfield. He's using
his legs not to He's a big guy. So you
look at him and immediately think, oh, he could scramble
(11:35):
and run because he can like knock people over. He
doesn't do that unless he absolutely has to. He moves
just to kind of keep downfield. I think he's only
scrambled like four or five times this year if I'm
remembering correctly. But when he does run, and when he
they used a quarterback draw on a touchdown not too
long ago for him. When he does do that, he's
(11:57):
like he's reminding the players on defense, Yeah, I am
bigger than you still, and I'm the one with the
ball in my hand. Great quarterback playing at a high level,
It'll be a fun challenge because this defense has really improved,
Like you said, over the past five weeks, they've shot
up so many every measurable category on defense from what
(12:18):
they were last year. Now you get to put it
to the test against a really good quarterback. I know,
CD lamps on the sideline, but George Pickens is still
out there, and you know, a really good running back
in Williams as well.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, and Javonte's guy.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
A lot of people around here know really well they
are a test. But in talking about getting back to
a normal kind of pattern for the Carolina Panthers, having
that kind of defense that can win a game for
you is playing at a high level. We were scarred
by watching last year, and last year got away from
him with all the injuries and so many replacements and
(12:54):
new people coming in and all that kind of stuff,
and it was not normal in any by any stretch
of the imagination. But now the Carolina Panthers, I've heard
so many friends and neighbors just talking about the game
in the last week saying, man, that was like old
school Panthers football. And by old school Panthers football, they
actually mean old going back to the nineties or early
two thousands, and it was eye opening for me to
(13:20):
kind of pick up a stat sheet this week and
see the Carolina Panthers twelfth in the league in total defense.
And that's not you know, it's twelfth in a thirty
two team league. It's above average. It's pretty good, not great,
And those guys will all say, we want to get
better at all these things. But after going through last
season and seeing thirty twos in all those categories a
(13:40):
year ago, seeing how much ground they have covered in
five weeks has been amazing. Obviously, having Derek Brown back
is a big part of that, but they added in
so many people to stabilize that front. I think the
biggest thing for me is you bring in a tursche
On Wharton who's been in and out of the line
up with injuries. But you've got a Nation Robinson who
(14:01):
doesn't have to play every single snapped the way he
did last year as like the last man standing. And
you've got Derek Brown coming back, and you've got Bobby Brown,
and you've got Lebrian Ray coming back last week to
add to that mix, and it's just so much more
stable and plays aren't beginning three yards down field right
the way they were tailing to last year. That to
me has been the biggest difference. And then you see
(14:23):
Trevin Wallace Christian rose Boom. They flipped you know, Trevin's
calm defense now and rose Boom was run round playing free,
a better graded defense from front to back. And that's
the way Dan Morgan designed this thing this offseason.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
That's the way he built it.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
So it's just kind of wild, and it shouldn't be
because that was very intentional. That was very much their plan.
But having witnessed last year and lived through it to
see how much better things are right now is still
kind of impressive.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
A moment on Turk Wharton because I know you mentioned Jim.
You can read this story too on Panthers dot com.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
There's another pot.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
But by this Thursday of last week, Turk pretty much
knew he wasn't gonna be playing versus the Dolphins. So
I think it says a life that he took it
upon himself to kind of pull the rush group together,
that not even just the pass rushers, but the defensive
line as well. He pulled those guys together after Thursday's
practice and essentially was like, hey, like two sacks and
(15:20):
four games that's unacceptable. Like get after the quarterback, get
in there, rush the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Do better, And he.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Applied that to himself as well for when he is
out there. But he was like, guys, we've got like
this is we were better than this. Granted, I like
to say it should be like two and then parentheses
like three, three and a half. Because dj Wantam got
accounted for a tackle for loss on Kyler Murray. That
has also some stack keepers might would count it as
(15:49):
a sack, some as a tackle for loss. That being said,
it was still two sacks during four games, and Turk
was basically just like, we're better than this. We've got
to prove it. They go out there on Sunday against
the Dolphins and they get three sacks, including essentially a
game winner from Pat Johnes, and so what does that
do now? Next week? You know, can they carry it over?
(16:10):
That's gonna be the question. But huge improvement from that
front last week. And credit to Turk for kind of
taking that responsibility role and you know, being the one
to stand up to say something.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Yeah, they've got some adults on that defense.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Even though they signed young free agents, most of those
guys twenty five twenty six years old walking in the
door rather than sign up a bunch of old heads.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
But Turk Wharton's got old head energy.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
You know, he's been around championship teams in Kansas City
and he just kind of carries himself as a guy
with that gravity. Obviously, Derek and a Shawan do too,
So they've got a real stable base for all those
young guys. And you've seen Nick and Princely take strides.
I think we're just gonna end up calling them Nick
and Princely.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah, that's their name, like a Buddy Cops show.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Exactly, and we'll just be saying that for the next
four years. Those guys came here as rushers, Nicks obviously
a little more of an every down player, but you
saw each of them step up last week too. Playing
run defense, I mean, Princeville and miel And making plays
in the run game is not anything that was on
the Bengo card maybe at the beginning of the year,
but you've just seen that's another sign of.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
That continued improvement as the defense as a whole.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
But yeah, getting that pass rush was Keyzerio Everro talked
about that today during his press conference. He was like
Darren Waller goes from five catches for seventy eight yards
and a touchdown in the first half to five catches
for seventy eight yards and a touchdown for the entire game.
Because they were getting after too a little bit, they
were hurrying to it. He wasn't able to find that
spot in the deep middle that he was finding early
(17:40):
in the game. So just another sign of that defensive
improvement all the way around. As all those things start
to come together and all these new people. I mean,
that's the thing that's not lost on me watching this
team week after week, is all of these dudes are
brand new. You go back to the Atlanta game closed
last season and they're only three dudes who started that
(18:01):
game on defense were even still.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Still starting.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
I mean, there were some other guys who backed up
that game and different things, but Mike Jackson, DJ Wanham
and Ashan are the only dudes who started that game
and are still starting on this team. So they've turned
this thing. There's a lot of new coming together and
it's coming together pretty well. So we look forward to Sunday,
big game against Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Big game. You know how you can tell it's a
big game. Our old friend Greg Olsen.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Oh yeah, he's on the call.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Greg Olsen's on the call. Friend of the program, Greg Olson.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
It may not have always been that way, but thanks
to our friend JJ Jansen for brokering that piece, me
and Greg are in a good place now.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Speaking of JJ Janssen, we're coming in from practice yesterday.
JJ is trying to convince Sam Martin and I because
I usually come in when they come in, that's my
cue for the time, yep, And that he was trying
to convince us to buy up all these tickets because
the Checkers is about to have their season opener, uh huh.
And Sam was like, you know, how much is a
ticket gonna cost me if I want like on the glass,
(19:02):
exclusive meet and greet, free beer the whole time. And
JJ was like, I don't know, sixty dollars And I
was like, JJ, what do I have to pay to
let me drop the puck at the beginning of the game?
And he was like, I think you just have to
know the right person like me. And I was like, okay,
let's let's put it out here. Then I think that
means JJ Jansen told me I could drop the pucket
(19:22):
a Checkers game.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Yeah, when the Checkers were in the Calder Cup finals
last year. Me and a buddy went to one of
the games, and JJ's just being a good owner and
JJ's minority owner and the Charlotte Checkers in case you
did not know, but.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Oh yeah, I guess I just assumed everybody you knew
where we are coming from.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
JJ just is wandering around the stadium and I get
a text and he's like, hey, where are you sitting?
And I tell him where my seats are and JJ
just wanders up and hangs out and sits in the
in the bleachers.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
So uh, it's always cool.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
And with those guys getting started again, we'll get more
hockey content from JJ.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
I'm going to use that influence. I would like to
drive the amboni.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
Oh that's all. I don't want to be a better one.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
I don't want the ceremony you'll, you know, riding shotgun
on the zamboni.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
You want to actually drive.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
I want to actually drive it now. I want to
like drive it around in a parking lot. Maybe I
can drive it home.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
So I think it only works on ice.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
It's got tires, we'll say, but we'll work on the
zamboni later. Uh, but yes, our old friend Greg Olsen.
We'll be back in the building, so it'll be a
big game. You saw plenty of Greg Olsen if you
watch that Seattle again in twenty fifteen Throwback Thursday.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Last week twenty fifteen was on a bye week, so
Cassidy was on a bye week for Throwback Thursday. This
week they were at Seattle. First off, Just first, note,
this is such a girl note. This was such an
aesthetically pleasing uniform game, like just such fun colors, but
not like over the top. I loved it.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Not like Seahawks highlighter green exactly.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
This was like the Seahawks, like you know, navy blue
with the highlighter green, like like touch points on it.
It was really nice. For a large portion of this game,
it was a defense like this was two top notch
defenses and like they swarmed. Buddy, you always talk about
are you here? Defense is saying like we need to
swarm to the ball. Go watch the twenty fifteen week
(21:10):
six Panthers at Seattle game to watch what it looks
like when defenses swarmed to the ball like they were everywhere.
I think this was the first game Luke Keegley was
back after being out for a couple of times. At
one point he just like completely closeline Marshall Lynch behind
the line of scrimmage, and I was like, goodness, like
that's Marshawn Lynch. That's a guy that runs. That's beast mode,
and like he just got tossed around like a lot,
(21:32):
like a rag doll. Yeah, it was impressive.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
We talked about that game a good bit and there's
some cool twenty fifteen content on the team's YouTube channel
that you can circle back and see, but we talked
about that game in particular. That was really the moment
when that twenty fifteen team really became kind of the
heavy in the NBC because that was right after Seattle's
Super Bowl run a couple of years in a row.
You know, they were the big dogs and they were
(21:55):
the team the Panthers couldn't get passed, and that was
really the game where they broke through the ceiling and
that Panthers team became the guy that day.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I can see that because there were still some great
offensive moments in this game. Cam had a big touchdown
to Greg Olsen. At one point, Seahawks had like a
little razzle dazzle where more, Sean pitched it back to
Rus and he threw it from the logo to Ricardo
Lockett in the end zone for a touchdown. Also interesting
to watch this game and see big plays like that.
Didn't think about the fact that Dave Canallis was the
(22:24):
wide receivers coach for that Seattle Seahawks team at the time, and.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I think Dan Morgan was a pro personet the director
for the Seattle Seahawks at that point.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
But yeah, just at one point, like eally almost took
Russ's head off. I mean, defense was just all over
the place for both of these teams. Again, this is
one of those games where, like, I know they win
because I know what the record was of that season,
but I'm sitting there going, okay, like they had to
punt and go over eighty yards or is just over
two minutes left? Cam takes a sack with one twenty left,
(22:56):
They're at the logo and I'm sitting there going like,
is this like a Mandela effect where I thought they
won this game and everybody thinks they won this game,
but they actually lost it, because then it's like there's
thirty seven seconds left and I'm like how And I
was literally sitting there thinking to myself. I think he
even said it out loud, like there's thirty seven seconds left?
Did they know they win this game? Like do they remember?
(23:17):
How are they gonna do it? And then I'm in
the middle of that thought and I go, oh my god,
Greg Olsen is wide open in the end zone, like,
does just Cam see that? Does Cam see it? He's
wide open? And yeah, threw it to him and they
won the game.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
That's right, big play for Greg one of many Greg
Olson made. So the other cool thing about that game
and maybe they were a little sleepy coming down the
stretch because the fire alarm went off to night before
the game.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
League Team Hotel.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Somebody played a little prick on your Carolina Panthers on
that trip and fire alarms were going off middle of
the night.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Did the world may never know.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
I'm not sure the culprit was ever apprehended, but that
was one of the things that made that That was
kind of one of the subplot.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Speaking of alarms, what time does your alarm go off
in the morning?
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Uh, well, when we have our nine ten meetings, it
goes off around seven forty.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Five, Okay seven five? Why well, I was just kind
of curious. We live very different lives, me and her.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
The other day against talking about J J. Jansen, I
came in on a Monday, I come in a little
later on Mondays and he I think he made the
I may have told you all this like, he made
the joke like, well, I'm leaving and I was like, well,
I'm just gotting here. And he said, why did you
just get here? And I said, because unlike Darren Ghant,
I don't wake up at the crack of dawn.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
That's right, that alarm. That alarm hits at uh what time?
Five thirty in the morning. Sometimes sometimes on the weekends
I'll sleep in until seven or so because I'm an
old old man. But anyway, we uh, we've got a
lot to get to the rest of the week. So
keep it locked on Panthers dot com. A lot of
cool stuff come in your way. Some also some cool
(24:56):
stuff coming your way on the YouTube channel Panthers Blueprint.
The Rookie I did, It's gonna be there. We got
all kinds of cool behind the scenes nuggets from this
rookie class. And those guys are all playing well. That
was another one of the things about the Dolphins game
all those rookies were really contributed, really doing their part,
and so it's gonna be cool to look at blueprint
this weekend and kind of get that idea of how
(25:18):
their progress is coming. So all kind of cool behind
the scenes footage. Check it out on the YouTube channel
keep it locked on Panthers dot com. Thanks for joining
us on another perfect follow afternoon episode of The Happy
Half Hour. I assume it will not be the last one,
so thanks to Cassie, thanks to our friends at Deep
Eddie Chuck the Ducks here doing his part as always,
(25:39):
I'm Darren Gant. We will see you on Monday, breaking
down a game against the Dallas Cowboy
Happy Half Hour.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hello friends, and welcome to a frankly perfect fall day.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Really the Happy half Hour it I.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Walked outside this morning to water my plants because I
didn't do it last night before I went to bed,
and so I had to go outside this morning to
do it, and it felt so nice and crisp. I
was like, oh my gosh, I can't wait to put
on a sweater like this is so exciting.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
You're probably already on the pumpkin spice, aren't you.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
See? You know what's funny is I like the pumpkin
spice vibe and aura, but I don't actually drink pumpkin
spice coffees because they are too sweet. But give me
a pumpkin spice bread or a pumpkin pie and I'll yeah,
I'll do that all day.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
You're not in a coffee you know? What's his? Fall
to me?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
What a nice lemonade flavored vodka buy our friends at
Deep Eddie. And speaking of which, this episode says fall les.
This episode of the Happy half Hours brought to you
by our friends.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
At Deep Eddy.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
You two friends can be part of the Deep Eddie
Happy half Hour family by entering the Deep Eddy Vodka
Sweet Zip Sweep Steaks. Get your entry in, create your
perfect craft cocktail using these fine products, and enter before
October twenty six for a chance to win not one,
but two tickets to the New Orleans Saints game on
November ninth, access to the one Carolina Sweet and the
(01:18):
Deep Eddy Sweet with all the cool swag and craft
cocktails and good times and good vibes. And you never know,
we might just stick our head in and greet you
before that game, since we are such big fans of
their product and the fact that they sponsor us here
at the Happy half hour.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
So what a Darren Gant meet and greet look like?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Oh, it would be quite the event social occasion. I
think security would have to be called for either me
or them one way or the other. But yeah, get
your entries in by October twenty six.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Join us here.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Hopefully the lucky winners can join us here a Bank
of America Stadium for that game on November the ninth,
and which will also be a perfect fall afternoon because
the sun always shines at Bank of America Stadium and
we get to stay here for another week.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
It's so nice, it's so cool. I don't know, how
to act. I'm kind of.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
I'm a little bit shaken at the idea of two
weeks in a row at home, so I.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Think, especially because the three of the first four were
on the road.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
That was rough.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
It was just playing after playing after playing, and so yeah,
getting two weeks at home feels luxurious, you know, and
then one week away and then we're right back at home.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
That's right. All good things happen here. Bank of America Stadium.
Your Carolina Panthers are two to zero in this building,
and you know, we talked about the Miami game a
lot on Monday. One of the things that's impressed me
about this team in the last couple of days is
how utterly normal this week has been. I mean, it's
just been kind of a regular thing. There's some guys
(02:46):
dealing with injuries who were rehabing and aren't necessarily practicing,
but on the whole, everything is kind of operating as
if Okay, this is what it's supposed to look like,
and there were so many things in practice yesterday. The
operation and stuff is all the same. You know.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
Cuba Hubbard is getting a little better.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
He's still Stay tuned to Panthers dot Com for all
the latest on the injury reports. But Cuba's dealing with
that calf injury and we don't know if he's gonna
be able to go this week, but he's obviously feeling better.
Because when Cuba's feeling good, a couple of things happen.
Number One, he shows up on the practice field about
an hour before anybody else. Corey Thornton tries to beat
him out there, and he always fails. He did it
(03:24):
one time, and Cuba has determined to never be caught
short again. Juba'll be out there an hour before practice starts.
D l will be crawling on the floor on his
belly like an army man to stay out of our shot,
and Cuba will go stretch with the defensive guys and
he just gets in the middle of him and he's,
you know, talking trash and getting everybody pumped up. So
(03:44):
even though he's not practicing, you can kind of feel
that vibe.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Right, And when Cuba's out there, they all kind of
respond because he pushes them so much further. You know,
we had a great video on our Carolina Panthers YouTube
page this week of Bryce Young Mike up during that
Dolphins win, and you saw even at the very beginning
of it. It was Cuba in street clothes and his
beanie because he wasn't playing, but he was still in
the middle of the locker room making sure everybody was
(04:09):
ready to go, making sure everybody knew what the goal
of the day was. So you want you and then
went up to He went up to Bryce I think
before the game was like, I'm gonna be here cheering
for you on the sidelines, like I got you. And
so that's what Cuba brings to this team, even when
he's not playing. It's impactful.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
And I'm not here to pick on any other members
of the media, but I are a lot of questions
yesterday to Cuba and Rico Dwdell. Who congratulations Rico Dawdle
your NFC Offensive Player of the Week for that two
hundred and.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Six yard rushing Loadian.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah, it just so many and angry runs and angry runs,
so many awards.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
All of your awards belonged to Rico Dawdle this week,
and so there were a lot of questions to both
Rico and Cuba about well, what happens when you're both
healthy and Cuba literally looked at people like they had
two heads. He was like that, that doesn't need I
don't think like that. I don't I don't know how
to answer that, because I just don't think that way.
Cuba's been around here, whether it was Christian McCaffrey and Cuba,
(05:08):
whether it's Deontay Foreman and Cuba, whether it was Cuba
and somebody else, or Cuba and Rico Dowdell. Cuba just
knows that it takes multiple dudes to be around. And
you know, when he had such a successful season last year,
it was Miles Sanders who jumped in in the in
the finale in Atlanta and scored that game win and
touchdown overtime.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
So he knows.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
A it's hard to play seventeen games in the NFL
because football is hard, and B you can find plenty
of work for a couple of running backs over the
course of a season.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Speaking of Miles, we'll get to see our old friend
this weekend. That's right in Dallas.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
But nothing but good things to say.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
About great, great guy to have around to come and
go back to Cuba and Rico. Like, people are probably
going to roll their eyes in their car listening to
me say this, because I feel.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Like because they had been dangerous while you were driving,
to roll your eyes, yeah, or why video while you're driving?
Speaker 3 (06:01):
You have very high standards, Please be saying.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yes, I do, and I'm not going to apologize for them.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
The point being I know I've said this already, and
I've said it, I think even already this week, I'm
gonna say it again, like Shuba and Rico were two
very very different running backs. You can find a way
to implement both of them into an offense. You can
find a way to implement them. And Trevory ten there
was I know we're going to talk about this later
(06:27):
on in the episode, but I went back and watched
week six of twenty fifteen for our Throwback Thursday, and
there was a play at one point where it was
four people in the backfield. It was Cam Newton and
what I can only assume we're three running backs and uh.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Probably Stu, Mike Tolbert, and Fozzy Whittaker.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
That sounds about right, And so I took note of
it because I was like, oh, there's there's like a
whole crowd back there. There's a committee and all of that.
To say, like, when you when you have the talent
to do it. And you've got coaches say it all
the time. It sounds like coach such coach peak, but
they really do mean it. It's about getting the best
eleven on the field. And if Cuba Hubbard and Rico
(07:04):
Daldell are two of your best eleven, you'll put them
out there together, or you'll give them you'll trade them
off and Ano. There's something to be said for letting
running backs work up a lather. But to your point,
there's also seventeen games in a season, no doubt. Sometimes
you just need to tie your shoelace and get a
bottle of water and switch off. And again, two very
very different styles, and so they can compliment each other,
(07:27):
they're not pulling from each other.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
And again a lot of this stuff tends to take
care of itself. Again, we'll check out the injury report
later this afternoon on Panthers dot Com to see what
Cuba does today. But the fact that he wasn't practicing
yesterday maybe I don't know. We'll see what he does
the rest of the week, but you know, Rico might
have to do this thing by himself again this week.
And to your point, it's not really by yourself because
(07:53):
he kind of mixed in in that two thirds of
the snap space where Cuba had always been with Trevor
ETN with even a little DJ Dallas.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
And by the way, DJ Dallas is on my list.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
I talked to him last week for a story I'm
sure you all read on Panthers dot com about him
being a special teams player part Excellence. But DJ kind
of got on my list because he said, I always
consider myself old school. Oh yeah, And I said, djh,
who do you consider old school? He's like, I like
safeties that would come up and hitch it, you know,
(08:24):
old school guys like Sean Taylor and Bob Sanders.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
The funniest part of this, Matt, is that when Darren
told me the story, I said, isn't Sean Taylor an
old player?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Sean Taylor, God rest his souls no longer among us,
but he was playing in.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
The two thousands Alabama great.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
So it's a It's a little hard for me to
see guys who were drafted after I had children born
who are now referred to as old school players. I
was hoping maybe he would give me a Ronnie Lot
or maybe even a Troy Polamalu maybe, but no.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Palla Malo has been playing more recently now.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Troy's and well, I mean, Troy's a Hall of Famer now.
But the point is I'm one hundred years old, and anyway,
that's a long way to get back around to DJ Dallas.
I mean, even if Tuba's not out there this week,
it's not gonna be all Rico.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
And you know, although I think Rico would be happy
to take all this nounstly.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
No question, He's seeing his old friends in Dallas and
him and Brian Schottenheimer have gotten each other's attention over
the last couple of days. This is the most benign
set of trash tall or bulletin board material. I think
I'm like sospecful because they both love each other. So
that's gonna be a big thing to watch. I mean,
I think to me, one of those big takeaways from
(09:39):
last week's game was how normal this offense can be
when you're running the ball that way and it doesn't
have to be a two hundred yard game. I mean,
just the amount of running, keeping guys in phase so
that everything else works well around it. Again, that's going
to depend on Cuba's status you know, we're also keeping
(09:59):
an eye on tail Tershall and Warden did not practice
yesterday along with Caleb Evans, special steamer cornerback. He's out
yesterday on the injury report. So we'll see how some
of that stuff goes. But as they go into this
Dallas game, I think the big headline for a lot
of people is going to be that number one ranked
Dallas offense against the defense that's really made strides over
(10:22):
the last five weeks.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
I mean, hey, you're just facing you know, the second
ranked quarterback in the NFL right now. In terms of
passing yards. There is something to be said, you know,
full picture, let's take it. Let's let's look at the
full picture. Some of that yardage does come because Dallas's
defense is giving up a lot of points. So they're
(10:44):
getting into shootouts and they know they're gonna have to
outscore the opponent.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
That being familiar with that.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
Past, and so there is something to be said for
you know, if there's your quarterback's gonna have a lot
more yards if you're out there throwing a lot of
go balls to try to stay in or get back
into the game versus just running it to run down
the clock. That being said, Dak Prescott is playing at
full peak Dak Prescott level. He is just playing lights
out right now. This is everything if you're a Cowboys fan,
(11:12):
everything you want out of Dak. When you know he's
had injuries that have taken him off the field and
made the last few years kind of up and down.
But right now he is clicking along at exactly the
level you want Dak Prescott to be playing at. He's
seeing the field well, he's getting it downfield. He's using
his legs not to He's a big guy. So you
look at him and immediately think, oh, he could scramble
(11:35):
and run because he can like knock people over. He
doesn't do that unless he absolutely has to. He moves
just to kind of keep downfield. I think he's only
scrambled like four or five times this year if I'm
remembering correctly. But when he does run, and when he
they used a quarterback draw on a touchdown not too
long ago for him. When he does do that, he's
(11:57):
like he's reminding the players on defense, Yeah, I am
bigger than you still, and I'm the one with the
ball in my hand. Great quarterback playing at a high level,
It'll be a fun challenge because this defense has really improved,
Like you said, over the past five weeks, they've shot
up so many every measurable category on defense from what
(12:18):
they were last year. Now you get to put it
to the test against a really good quarterback. I know,
CD lamps on the sideline, but George Pickens is still
out there, and you know, a really good running back
in Williams as well.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, and Javonte's guy.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
A lot of people around here know really well they
are a test. But in talking about getting back to
a normal kind of pattern for the Carolina Panthers, having
that kind of defense that can win a game for
you is playing at a high level. We were scarred
by watching last year, and last year got away from
him with all the injuries and so many replacements and
(12:54):
new people coming in and all that kind of stuff,
and it was not normal in any by any stretch
of the imagination. But now the Carolina Panthers, I've heard
so many friends and neighbors just talking about the game
in the last week saying, man, that was like old
school Panthers football. And by old school Panthers football, they
actually mean old going back to the nineties or early
two thousands, and it was eye opening for me to
(13:20):
kind of pick up a stat sheet this week and
see the Carolina Panthers twelfth in the league in total defense.
And that's not you know, it's twelfth in a thirty
two team league. It's above average. It's pretty good, not great,
And those guys will all say, we want to get
better at all these things. But after going through last
season and seeing thirty twos in all those categories a
(13:40):
year ago, seeing how much ground they have covered in
five weeks has been amazing. Obviously, having Derek Brown back
is a big part of that, but they added in
so many people to stabilize that front. I think the
biggest thing for me is you bring in a tursche
On Wharton who's been in and out of the line
up with injuries. But you've got a Nation Robinson who
(14:01):
doesn't have to play every single snapped the way he
did last year as like the last man standing. And
you've got Derek Brown coming back, and you've got Bobby Brown,
and you've got Lebrian Ray coming back last week to
add to that mix, and it's just so much more
stable and plays aren't beginning three yards down field right
the way they were tailing to last year. That to
me has been the biggest difference. And then you see
(14:23):
Trevin Wallace Christian rose Boom. They flipped you know, Trevin's
calm defense now and rose Boom was run round playing free,
a better graded defense from front to back. And that's
the way Dan Morgan designed this thing this offseason.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
That's the way he built it.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
So it's just kind of wild, and it shouldn't be
because that was very intentional. That was very much their plan.
But having witnessed last year and lived through it to
see how much better things are right now is still
kind of impressive.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
A moment on Turk Wharton because I know you mentioned Jim.
You can read this story too on Panthers dot com.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
There's another pot.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
But by this Thursday of last week, Turk pretty much
knew he wasn't gonna be playing versus the Dolphins. So
I think it says a life that he took it
upon himself to kind of pull the rush group together,
that not even just the pass rushers, but the defensive
line as well. He pulled those guys together after Thursday's
practice and essentially was like, hey, like two sacks and
(15:20):
four games that's unacceptable. Like get after the quarterback, get
in there, rush the quarterback.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Do better, And he.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Applied that to himself as well for when he is
out there. But he was like, guys, we've got like
this is we were better than this. Granted, I like
to say it should be like two and then parentheses
like three, three and a half. Because dj Wantam got
accounted for a tackle for loss on Kyler Murray. That
has also some stack keepers might would count it as
(15:49):
a sack, some as a tackle for loss. That being said,
it was still two sacks during four games, and Turk
was basically just like, we're better than this. We've got
to prove it. They go out there on Sunday against
the Dolphins and they get three sacks, including essentially a
game winner from Pat Johnes, and so what does that
do now? Next week? You know, can they carry it over?
(16:10):
That's gonna be the question. But huge improvement from that
front last week. And credit to Turk for kind of
taking that responsibility role and you know, being the one
to stand up to say something.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Yeah, they've got some adults on that defense.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
Even though they signed young free agents, most of those
guys twenty five twenty six years old walking in the
door rather than sign up a bunch of old heads.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
But Turk Wharton's got old head energy.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
You know, he's been around championship teams in Kansas City
and he just kind of carries himself as a guy
with that gravity. Obviously, Derek and a Shawan do too,
So they've got a real stable base for all those
young guys. And you've seen Nick and Princely take strides.
I think we're just gonna end up calling them Nick
and Princely.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Yeah, that's their name, like a Buddy Cops show.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Exactly, and we'll just be saying that for the next
four years. Those guys came here as rushers, Nicks obviously
a little more of an every down player, but you
saw each of them step up last week too. Playing
run defense, I mean, Princeville and miel And making plays
in the run game is not anything that was on
the Bengo card maybe at the beginning of the year,
but you've just seen that's another sign of.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
That continued improvement as the defense as a whole.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
But yeah, getting that pass rush was Keyzerio Everro talked
about that today during his press conference. He was like
Darren Waller goes from five catches for seventy eight yards
and a touchdown in the first half to five catches
for seventy eight yards and a touchdown for the entire game.
Because they were getting after too a little bit, they
were hurrying to it. He wasn't able to find that
spot in the deep middle that he was finding early
(17:40):
in the game. So just another sign of that defensive
improvement all the way around. As all those things start
to come together and all these new people. I mean,
that's the thing that's not lost on me watching this
team week after week, is all of these dudes are
brand new. You go back to the Atlanta game closed
last season and they're only three dudes who started that
(18:01):
game on defense were even still.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
Still starting.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
I mean, there were some other guys who backed up
that game and different things, but Mike Jackson, DJ Wanham
and Ashan are the only dudes who started that game
and are still starting on this team. So they've turned
this thing. There's a lot of new coming together and
it's coming together pretty well. So we look forward to Sunday,
big game against Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Big game. You know how you can tell it's a
big game. Our old friend Greg Olsen.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
Oh yeah, he's on the call.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Greg Olsen's on the call. Friend of the program, Greg Olson.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
It may not have always been that way, but thanks
to our friend JJ Jansen for brokering that piece, me
and Greg are in a good place now.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Speaking of JJ Janssen, we're coming in from practice yesterday.
JJ is trying to convince Sam Martin and I because
I usually come in when they come in, that's my
cue for the time, yep, And that he was trying
to convince us to buy up all these tickets because
the Checkers is about to have their season opener, uh huh.
And Sam was like, you know, how much is a
ticket gonna cost me if I want like on the glass,
(19:02):
exclusive meet and greet, free beer the whole time. And
JJ was like, I don't know, sixty dollars And I
was like, JJ, what do I have to pay to
let me drop the puck at the beginning of the game?
And he was like, I think you just have to
know the right person like me. And I was like, okay,
let's let's put it out here. Then I think that
means JJ Jansen told me I could drop the pucket
(19:22):
a Checkers game.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Yeah, when the Checkers were in the Calder Cup finals
last year. Me and a buddy went to one of
the games, and JJ's just being a good owner and
JJ's minority owner and the Charlotte Checkers in case you
did not know, but.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Oh yeah, I guess I just assumed everybody you knew
where we are coming from.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
JJ just is wandering around the stadium and I get
a text and he's like, hey, where are you sitting?
And I tell him where my seats are and JJ
just wanders up and hangs out and sits in the
in the bleachers.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
So uh, it's always cool.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
And with those guys getting started again, we'll get more
hockey content from JJ.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
I'm going to use that influence. I would like to
drive the amboni.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
Oh that's all. I don't want to be a better one.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
I don't want the ceremony you'll, you know, riding shotgun
on the zamboni.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
You want to actually drive.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
I want to actually drive it now. I want to
like drive it around in a parking lot. Maybe I
can drive it home.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
So I think it only works on ice.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
It's got tires, we'll say, but we'll work on the
zamboni later. Uh, but yes, our old friend Greg Olsen.
We'll be back in the building, so it'll be a
big game. You saw plenty of Greg Olsen if you
watch that Seattle again in twenty fifteen Throwback Thursday.
Speaker 3 (20:25):
Last week twenty fifteen was on a bye week, so
Cassidy was on a bye week for Throwback Thursday. This
week they were at Seattle. First off, Just first, note,
this is such a girl note. This was such an
aesthetically pleasing uniform game, like just such fun colors, but
not like over the top. I loved it.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Not like Seahawks highlighter green exactly.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
This was like the Seahawks, like you know, navy blue
with the highlighter green, like like touch points on it.
It was really nice. For a large portion of this game,
it was a defense like this was two top notch
defenses and like they swarmed. Buddy, you always talk about
are you here? Defense is saying like we need to
swarm to the ball. Go watch the twenty fifteen week
(21:10):
six Panthers at Seattle game to watch what it looks
like when defenses swarmed to the ball like they were everywhere.
I think this was the first game Luke Keegley was
back after being out for a couple of times. At
one point he just like completely closeline Marshall Lynch behind
the line of scrimmage, and I was like, goodness, like
that's Marshawn Lynch. That's a guy that runs. That's beast mode,
and like he just got tossed around like a lot,
(21:32):
like a rag doll. Yeah, it was impressive.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
We talked about that game a good bit and there's
some cool twenty fifteen content on the team's YouTube channel
that you can circle back and see, but we talked
about that game in particular. That was really the moment
when that twenty fifteen team really became kind of the
heavy in the NBC because that was right after Seattle's
Super Bowl run a couple of years in a row.
You know, they were the big dogs and they were
(21:55):
the team the Panthers couldn't get passed, and that was
really the game where they broke through the ceiling and
that Panthers team became the guy that day.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
I can see that because there were still some great
offensive moments in this game. Cam had a big touchdown
to Greg Olsen. At one point, Seahawks had like a
little razzle dazzle where more, Sean pitched it back to
Rus and he threw it from the logo to Ricardo
Lockett in the end zone for a touchdown. Also interesting
to watch this game and see big plays like that.
Didn't think about the fact that Dave Canallis was the
(22:24):
wide receivers coach for that Seattle Seahawks team at the time, and.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I think Dan Morgan was a pro personet the director
for the Seattle Seahawks at that point.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
But yeah, just at one point, like eally almost took
Russ's head off. I mean, defense was just all over
the place for both of these teams. Again, this is
one of those games where, like, I know they win
because I know what the record was of that season,
but I'm sitting there going, okay, like they had to
punt and go over eighty yards or is just over
two minutes left? Cam takes a sack with one twenty left,
(22:56):
They're at the logo and I'm sitting there going like,
is this like a Mandela effect where I thought they
won this game and everybody thinks they won this game,
but they actually lost it, because then it's like there's
thirty seven seconds left and I'm like how And I
was literally sitting there thinking to myself. I think he
even said it out loud, like there's thirty seven seconds left?
Did they know they win this game? Like do they remember?
(23:17):
How are they gonna do it? And then I'm in
the middle of that thought and I go, oh my god,
Greg Olsen is wide open in the end zone, like,
does just Cam see that? Does Cam see it? He's
wide open? And yeah, threw it to him and they
won the game.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
That's right, big play for Greg one of many Greg
Olson made. So the other cool thing about that game
and maybe they were a little sleepy coming down the
stretch because the fire alarm went off to night before
the game.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
League Team Hotel.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Somebody played a little prick on your Carolina Panthers on
that trip and fire alarms were going off middle of
the night.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Did the world may never know.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
I'm not sure the culprit was ever apprehended, but that
was one of the things that made that That was
kind of one of the subplot.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Speaking of alarms, what time does your alarm go off
in the morning?
Speaker 3 (24:04):
Uh, well, when we have our nine ten meetings, it
goes off around seven forty.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Five, Okay seven five? Why well, I was just kind
of curious. We live very different lives, me and her.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
The other day against talking about J J. Jansen, I
came in on a Monday, I come in a little
later on Mondays and he I think he made the
I may have told you all this like, he made
the joke like, well, I'm leaving and I was like, well,
I'm just gotting here. And he said, why did you
just get here? And I said, because unlike Darren Ghant,
I don't wake up at the crack of dawn.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
That's right, that alarm. That alarm hits at uh what time?
Five thirty in the morning. Sometimes sometimes on the weekends
I'll sleep in until seven or so because I'm an
old old man. But anyway, we uh, we've got a
lot to get to the rest of the week. So
keep it locked on Panthers dot com. A lot of
cool stuff come in your way. Some also some cool
(24:56):
stuff coming your way on the YouTube channel Panthers Blueprint.
The Rookie I did, It's gonna be there. We got
all kinds of cool behind the scenes nuggets from this
rookie class. And those guys are all playing well. That
was another one of the things about the Dolphins game
all those rookies were really contributed, really doing their part,
and so it's gonna be cool to look at blueprint
this weekend and kind of get that idea of how
(25:18):
their progress is coming. So all kind of cool behind
the scenes footage. Check it out on the YouTube channel
keep it locked on Panthers dot com. Thanks for joining
us on another perfect follow afternoon episode of The Happy
Half Hour. I assume it will not be the last one,
so thanks to Cassie, thanks to our friends at Deep
Eddie Chuck the Ducks here doing his part as always,
(25:39):
I'm Darren Gant. We will see you on Monday, breaking
down a game against the Dallas Cowboy
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