August 25, 2025 • 43 mins
This week on Panther Talk, Anish, Jim and Eugene speak with Dave Canales, Captain Munnerlyn, and Max Chadwick (PFF) about the Panthers preseason, the roster cuts, and so much more!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The following is an exclusive presentation of the Carolina Panthers
in the National.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Football League's Panther Doll and They're doll and They're Done.
This is Panther Talk on the Carolina Panthers Radio network.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
WAPs it to the right.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Tye got a man wide open.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's just Tina James Mitchel left.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Alone on a tender trim very touchdown.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
This is a group that cares about each other, plays hard,
you know, and you know, the commitment to each other
was really evident with the guys who didn't play were
just like involved in all the plays, celebrating the guys
and making the play. So a really special moment for me.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
And now, along with Jim Zoki and Eugene Robinson, here's
a niche shruff with Panther Talk live from the Panthers
broadcast facility at Bank of America Sterio.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Kind of one of those tough days to be in
the building. Tomorrow at four pm, NFL rosters get trimmed
down to fifty three. And earlier today it was down
by the cafeteria. Team meeting had just commenced, and you
can tell there were guys walking out of there and
some had been given the news, and you feel for them,
(01:11):
you feel the emotion. You put football away for a second, Eugene,
you know this on a very human level. There's a
lot of emotions going through those bodies when you devote
your whole life to something and to a dream. And
for a lot of the guys who were cut today,
(01:34):
there may be a second chance. For some, this may
be the end of the road.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
You know, for most of those guys, this is one
of the first times they've been told that they weren't
good enough. I mean, you think about it. I mean,
even whether they were in Little league, whether they were
midget put one in football, I'm sorry, whether they were
in JV varsity college.
Speaker 6 (01:56):
They've always been the guy.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
They've always been the person that, Hey, that guy's gonna
be in the pros, you mark my words. And now
they're told that this service is not good enough, that
the effort they put in doesn't make the grade. Yeah,
we can use you, but we got somebody who's better.
And having that culture shock and having that being told
to them, I'm telling.
Speaker 6 (02:18):
You, depression sets in.
Speaker 7 (02:20):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
There's a lot of long faces, there's a lot of
tears behind the scenes, a lot of guys will start crying,
and so this is a very sad day because this
will be the last time some of them ever put
on a uniform. And so it comes to an end.
And so I mean, this is really uh. For those
who make it, it's gonna be sweet. But for those
who don't make a zilk's gonna be bitter, very bitter.
Speaker 7 (02:41):
I've always liked that that phrase. You know how good
you have to be to be cut in the NFL.
You mean, to your point, to be what a star
you were in college, in high school, in your whole life.
And it's it's a numbers game. So even though rosters
are somewhat expanded hard as practice squad and stuff over
the past couple of years, there's still very limited numbers
that get into the NFL. And it's not even one
(03:02):
size fits all. It's not even like you're not good enough.
In some cases you are good enough, but we don't
need your position, we don't need or your coach got
changed and so we're going with a different style.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
And there's somebody better in the building.
Speaker 7 (03:13):
Yeah, and sometimes younger and cheaper, And it's not that
you're not good enough.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Even so that that's got to be.
Speaker 7 (03:19):
I think even a bigger frustration is something like that,
because you are good enough, but there's just, you know,
different things out of your control.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
As far as there's only thirty two of these teams,
you know.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
I've always thought if I got got cut, it's not
going to be because I wasn't good enough for it,
didn't understand the defense, or didn't understand how to play football.
It was going to be because that you said, Oh,
you know what, Jean, we just don't use your services.
We can't use you. You know, we're gonna go with
this person. I'm saying, Okay, I can deal with that
being told no, I can. I can deal with that,
(03:50):
but I want to make sure I put my best
foot forward and gave every effort. And so for those
who did that, you know, everybody's career comes to and
at some point it just does. You can't play football forever,
and so hopefully you can make the practice squad. If
you don't make the practice squad, make sure that you
invest in the time that you've he's been in school
(04:13):
to make sure that you work on something other than.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Or the schools.
Speaker 7 (04:15):
So you went to the four or five schools you
want you Yeah, I forgot portal.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Whichever one you got the degree from us?
Speaker 6 (04:21):
How about that one.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Amongst the notables who were waived, some don't come as
a surprise. Bryce Perkins, we knew when he played against
Pittsburgh he was not going to be here for much
longer unless he wowed Jack Plummer, who a year ago
was the number three quarterback developmental guy and did not
(04:43):
have a strong preseason. No he didn't, he was let go.
Maybe one surprising name on the list was Jacobe WindMan,
who actually had a strong game in the preseason finale
against the Steelers, and given how that position is shaking out,
it inside linebacker not a ton of depth. Oh, there
was a thought he might be in the mix to
make the team. And then Matthew Wright, who was in
(05:04):
a kicking competition with Ryan Fitzgerald, was also cut. Now
I don't know if that means Fitzgerald is getting the job,
but it may be Fitzgerald's job for now. Now Panthers
may also be monitoring who else is potentially out there.
They have until noon tomorrow where they have to wait,
(05:25):
and then you can start signing the players off of
waivers who are out there. You start to fill out
your practice squad. But listen, the reality is there's going
to be some faces on the fifty three man roster
that did not play a single snap for the Panthers
right in the preseason and that did not take a
(05:46):
single snap in training camp.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Absolutely, and that's what's maybe if you're on this list
of being cut and you look at that, you think, men,
it's unfair. That's unfair, But football is not fair at all.
Coaches have idea what what's gonna be the make up
of the team when they go and from early from
when when when the season ends, they kind of got
an idea of like who's gonna fit in their team?
(06:08):
What pieces that are gonna make up that you know, and
also to the practice squad. I think WindMan finds himself
when the practice squad. I think he's played well enough
and he was sensational enough that you go, oh, I
can invest in him. I can invest in his ability.
He has a ferocity, he has a motor that doesn't quit.
He reminds me of Frankie Louville for some reason. He
(06:30):
just has a good, high motor guy. And so I
expect him that if he doesn't get picked up by
somebody else that he'll be on the practice squad.
Speaker 7 (06:38):
Yeah, sixteen guys, and so it is just just playing
room for some of these guys to come back. We
don't we still think have seventeen more to cut something
like that. But to your point about kickers, like the
last preseason game he playing Pittsburgh and Ben sALS goes
four for four.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
We were all thinking, we were all thinking.
Speaker 7 (06:54):
Dealers are not cutting him because they're hoping to get
a draft pick or something, because they got the greatest
kicker in the league right now. It's subject change. But
Boswell was a Pro Bowl kicker last year. But Saul's
will be kicking somewhere and if they wave him, he
will not be out of work for no, not a
couple hours.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
Somebody will. Somebody will pick a kicker you might be
worth sending a six. Was interesting is because he's a
left footed kicker. It does change how you do the
mechanics for the snap and the hold. And I was
talking to Tracy Smith a while ago, and I mentioned,
all right.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
You're the holder. You're used to catching the ball, turning
get a certain way, and it may seem very simple,
but you sort of have to reverse your mechanics, and
if you bring in a left footed kicker, now let's say, okay, uh,
you haven't had all of training camp, off preseason to
work through that. Not to say it can't be done.
These are all pros and high level pros, but again
(07:48):
that's something to potentially consider.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
This is right, well, John Casey was a left footed
kicker here very wor it worked on extremely well.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
And who was it?
Speaker 5 (07:57):
Maybe was it a baker? Was he was the punter,
he was the holder at the time, I think he was.
And yeah, you know, and that's the skill level that
they all have. They just do the punters, I mean quarterbacks,
they just have a skill level that they they touch
the ball the most out of anybody and they can
have them that ball. So whether it's on the right
(08:18):
side of the left side, laces still need to be out,
they still need to be out. You're right about that,
still need to be out. But that's something that as
a professional you would expect them to handle.
Speaker 7 (08:27):
Yeah, there's so many nuances to how many times the
ball spins from the snap. Is the ball could be
tilted a little bit if you have some wind going on.
Domes are obviously much easier. All those factors they take in.
It's like a sports science class to listen to guys
talk about a forty yard field goal, just all all
the things that go into that we take for granted
and we get so mad when they missed, but they
(08:47):
should make them because they're pros. But on the other end,
you kind of go, there's a lot going on like
that none of us could ever do, Like we would
never get the snap, the hold, and the kick, Like
we could sit here for the next five years and
never make that kick.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Part of it. Though. Special teams guys you found out recently,
they like to talk and they like to take it
into that minutia.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
And they'll tell you because they have the most time
their practice. That's what they do at practice.
Speaker 7 (09:09):
If they talk about it, they practice and they go
home and they talk about it some more.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
And to the point that the fact that they handle
the ball so much and so often that seals the
ball as spinning tow of them and they catch it.
They're automatically able to adjust the ball, just like you
get in an interception. You're automatically able to adjust the ball
to get it to fit just right so that you're
holding the ball properly, and you do it unconsciously.
Speaker 6 (09:30):
And so for them.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
Spinning the ball half spin, full spin, it doesn't matter
because they play the practiced so much that it becomes
so easy that they do it unconsciously.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Again, the deadline to cut the roster to fifty three
is four pm Tuesday, that is tomorrow, and so a
lot of moves expected between now and then. Again. The
Panthers already made a number of transactions today, Jack Plumber,
Bryce Perkins, a couple of guys you saw Moni Bailey,
Kiran Lynch Adams running backs amongst the receivers cut, Kobe Hudson,
(10:02):
Jacoby George TJ Luther, Dominique Daphney tight end we told
you about Jacoby Winman. A couple of cornerbacks cut, brought
in Dotson Swilling, no surprise there. And then Matthew Wright
again one of the notables, the kicker who was in
that kicking competition preseason, though Jim has come to an end.
And as we sit with about a week and change
(10:25):
until the regular season starts September seventh at Jacksonville, you
kind of look at this roster and you look at
this team, where do you feel the Panthers can lean on.
I think one of the areas you have to start
with is the offensive line. I think that's got a
chance to be a real strength for this team and
maybe the strength for this team.
Speaker 7 (10:42):
Yeah, I think it's you know, I think people talk
about it, but when you look at it, like what
Cuba accomplished last year, credit to the offensive line, because
that's that's where it begins.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Is with the offensive line created that.
Speaker 7 (10:52):
Now he got two backs like ric O'Donnell, then Etn
to whatever degree he comes in to running the ball
as well. So you start with that, you know, can
you run the ball, and then that that helps the
passing game out. We know we've got a deep receiver room,
so that but that's kind of the like that's the
rock you build on, right, It's like you have that
offensive line, you got the running game, and then from
there you have all the offshoots. Like people say, well
how much, how many yards, how many touchdowns? You think
(11:14):
for Bryce, like fantasy football talking, I don't think it's
gonna be that kind of team. We probably won't have
a thousand yard receivers my guess, because there's such a
number of receivers that are could be available, and I
think they like having different sets come in, different guys
coming in, and then spreading the wealth makes you more
unpredictable as opposed to like we're gonna just target the
team act only No, I don't think it's gonna be
like that. It's gonna be spread out, and they always
(11:36):
kind of envisioned. I think Bryce coming in as like
a point guard, like a basketball point guard, distributing the ball.
So I don't think it has to be something like
we're gonna like fill the bucket where some guys will
get fifteen hundred yards and Bryce is gonna throw for
forty touchdowns.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
But I don't think they have to with the running
game and the other things they.
Speaker 6 (11:49):
Have going, you know.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
I also you know second that I think that the
running game is gonna be the thing that we talk about.
The offensive line. I think that's we in it last year.
I think they're just too good. I think it's money.
Imagine a matter of chemistry as we come from preseason
to now. But I think the best thing that this
team has is the offensive line. And now you put
(12:11):
Dado back there, there's something special about them. There's something
special about each ten. I mean there really is that
there's not enough ball to go around, and I think
that it's gonna be like a sixty to forty you know,
I think maybe run to pass ratio. And then to
your point, if I'm Bryce and Bryce has done this,
I'm distributed at ball across across the field. I'm looking
(12:32):
at all my options to see who's open, and I'm
getting the rock out.
Speaker 6 (12:36):
That's what I'm gonna be doing.
Speaker 5 (12:37):
And that's gonna be based on the timing that coach
Canalis wants them to get the ball out quickly. So
who's ever open, who's coming open? I'm getting the rock out.
So I don't think it's gonna be a thousand yard catcher.
I don't think a guy's gonna have like one hundred catches.
It's gonna be somewhere around forty five, fifty sixty somewhere
around there should be Eugene.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
When it comes to the defense, this was an area
where the Panthers went into the offseason, went into the draft,
and they wanted to fort to five the edges. They
wanted to get better on the defensive line. There's still
some questions out there. How do you feel about this
defense going into the season.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
When Derek Brown got back in the mix, I was
much much happier. I know that we were talking about
an edge rusher and we looked at edge Russer and
we have scorting and as an edge rusher. But I
believe that DJ Wantum and what I saw last year,
I think he's the guy. I think with a Derek
Brown and the DJ want him down there, you got
Shy Toto, you got you got some big bodies down there, Brown,
(13:34):
you got a Robinson, you got a lot of big
bodies down there right there. I think that is going
to make somebody's gonna be able to get loose on
the edge. And I believe that's gonna be DJ Wantum.
I think he's going to be that person. And so
from the standpoint, I think our front seven, if I'm
coaching Jarro is a get after the quarterback, put pressure
(13:56):
and then my guys at the back end don't have
to go ahead and cover for like five days. So
put that pressure on him. So I really think it
starts with Derek Brown back in the mix. And if
I'm coaching zero Man, I'm dilling stuff up to make
sure that my front seven is ferocious.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
The Panthers last year with Wantum in the lineup, had
twenty two sacks in eight games. That's almost three he's special,
including nine in the two games against Philly and Kansas City.
The Super Bowl teams in the nine games without Wantum
ten sacks, so they doubled their sack total basically in
the same amount of games with Wanam versus without him.
Speaker 6 (14:37):
And he was hurt. I mean he was hurt. Earlier.
Speaker 5 (14:39):
I was like, man, what has guy been at this?
Dude is he's very, very good. You know, the length
that he has, the ferocie which he rushes off the edge,
you better put two people on him. And now that
you've got dB out there, Derek Brown is gonna take
up a lot of space. They're gonna have to double
team him because he's just that type of player. And
if you're a double team to him, that that means
(15:00):
somebody else is gonna be able to get loose, somebody
else is going to be able to put that presser
on neck quarterbit.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
Yeah, I see.
Speaker 7 (15:07):
Stopping the run first is what you gotta start with.
That's the staple obviously there. That's the thing that's been
missing last year. But now I think a jarro Vero's
got the pieces he needs to do that with all
those big guys you mentioned in the middle, and then
the special factor is having Derek Brown, who's a unique
player in this league, record setting player, and that makes
those edge guys that much better. I think, I guess
only like Pat Jones is gonna, you know, excel here
(15:28):
because they have that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Jones had a career high seven sacks last year for Minnesota,
only had five in his first three seasons with the Vikings.
All right, when Panther Talk returns, we will hear from
head coach Dave Kanalis, Jim caught up with former Panthers
dB captain Munnolin, and we will hear from Max Chadwick
(15:49):
from Pro Football Focus with some interesting nuggets on the
Panthers outlook for twenty twenty five. You're listening to the
Carolina Panthers Radio network.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
This is Panther Talk.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
Ron.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Do you buy Bank of America? What would you like
the power to do?
Speaker 4 (16:08):
I really believe that we've captured the play style that
we're looking for on a daily basis. He always talk
about how important practices are, and I didn't have to
do it a lot honestly, you know, we've set the foundation,
but it was it was Derek and JC and Ashan
and Cuba and you know, Trey Merrick doesn't say a lot,
but he plays exactly how we want our guys to play,
(16:29):
you know. And you know Bryce being in there and
being able to keep the energy up and keep that
attacking mentality, you know, throughout this camp, it was just
it was really amazing to watch those guys come together,
to watch the staff all we all understand what it's
supposed to look like on a daily basis to give
us success on on game day.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Panther Talk continues on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Back here on Panther Talk with head coach Dave Canalis,
this is a tough time of the season when you've
got a trim your roster to fifty three. How much
thought do you put into what you say and how
you say it? A lot?
Speaker 4 (17:06):
I think that my hope is that with each player
that we release, that I have some feedback, something that
I witnessed about something they do well and something that
I believe they can work on. And you know, the
truth of the matter is those conversations are ongoing, you know,
during camp, but like this there's a little bit more
(17:29):
finality to it. And you know, if I were a player,
I would always want to have that last conversation to
know what I did well and what I could be
working on that will help me as I continue to
pursue my career.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
What are in your eyes, the toughest decisions coming up here?
Speaker 4 (17:51):
I think in terms of just roster you know, decisions.
I think that there was an amazing battle at the
wide receiver position. I think there was an amazing battle
in the interior defensive line at corner. You know, there
were there were a lot of guys that really represented
themselves well and put them in the conversation that we
(18:13):
have to take all the way to the end of it,
you know, to to try to see what the best
move is, you know, for the Panthers for twenty twenty five.
I think those are probably you know, the critical ones.
Not that any of these decisions are easy, you know,
And and all these guys have have given so much
to create this team. It takes all ninety you know,
(18:34):
to throw a great camp and to practice the way
we want to practice and and play the way we
want to play. But I think you know specifically in
those positions. Those that has caused us to have a
lot of conversation, a lot of phone calls between Dan
and I, you know, just in the last couple of
days in the staff all getting together and having our
final comments on that.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
What is the feedback loop like between you, Dan Brant
as you put the pieces together for fifty three man
roster and also I would imagine the scouts when you're
monitoring who else might be available.
Speaker 6 (19:08):
Yeah, that's a big piece.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
That's a big part of it because as camp goes
on and as you have preseason games available, really the
only other information you have are the joint practices, you know.
So we we practiced against Cleveland and saw that their roster.
We saw the Houston Texans roster as well, and but
it's not really intigue into those games that you can
start studying the film of who all else is out there.
(19:31):
And that's what you know, these last couple of days
has been about, like let's now, let's challenge our roster
from the outside and let's see, you know, if there's
anyone that can help us, you know, on the fifty
three or on the practice squad and compare it to
the whole league. And I think that's the beauty of
the league and having so many great coaches out there
that trained players is we can we can look and see,
(19:52):
you know, the development and growth of players who may
have they may be in their second year, you know,
with the full year another belt, and to see the
growth of these guys. And then also just the whole
wave of rookies you know that may have come out
of nowhere, you know, from different schools, who came after
the draft process, you know, that are making a name
for themselves.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Well.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Dan Morgan was telling us last week that at this
point last year, you guys were scouring the waiver wire
and the free agents for potential starters. Now it's trying
to get guys on the fringes of your roster. What
does that say about how far the roster is coming here?
Speaker 4 (20:28):
Yeah, just that constant incremental growth and our commitment to
challenging our roster, you know, and knowing who you have,
knowing what we're looking for, and continue to try to
add players that fit those profiles, you know. And I
just can't give Dan enough credit, you know, and the
scouting staff for being committed to a process and being
(20:49):
committed to a type of player that we're looking for,
and with all the play style attributes that we talk about,
you know, all the time, and so I just love
the fact that they're continuing to build that and you know,
refine it, you know, and get these guys closer and
closer to what we're looking for and challenge our roster
that way.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
You get to the end of preseason. From your standpoint,
what are the biggest strengths on this team?
Speaker 4 (21:15):
You know, I think youth. I think that's one of
the things that I'm kind of blown away by, is
the tremendous youth. And with youth comes challenge. And the
challenge is how quickly can we play together as a unit.
How quickly can we advance our communication pre snap post
snap to see the guys start to feed off of
(21:37):
and play off of each other, trust each other, you know,
And I think, you know, to point out any one
particular group, you know, I think it's there's some strong
position groups on this team, but I think it's just
a matter of you know, coming together in a good
mix of veteran players, but with a lot of young
(21:58):
a lot of young, hungry players. So strength of the
team would be just a young and hungry team in.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Terms of where you have questions or you need to
see more in the regular season will reveal that what
are some areas that you know you may have questions
about going into the season.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
I love thinking in terms of possibilities and the possibilities
and potential that I have in my mind for where
this offense can go. We're not there yet. There's flashes
of brilliance, you know, and I see it, and I
can see what's what can come and what it can become.
And that's something that we're going to have to earn.
You know, that the group's going to have to earn together,
(22:37):
you know. Defensively, I see the pieces coming together. I
see strong veteran leadership, I see young talent. But I
want to see a group that just feeds off of
each other and they kind of just you know, communicate seamlessly.
And I kind of go back to that. It really
comes back to the chemistry of playing together that I
(22:59):
know is going to just be one week at a time,
one practice at a time, one game at a time.
But can we be locked into that mindset, that mentality
of constant growth, pursuing our best Let's go find the
best possible version of Panthers football this year.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Dave, before we go, what do you do with the
last free weekend until early December?
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Yeah, just spend time with my family. Lizzie and I
will still away for a date here or there.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
You know, what's your spot? What's your spot in Charlotte?
Speaker 4 (23:32):
We got a few Red Rocks first and foremost, that's
our family spot. They're so good to us there. And
then you know, we've gone to Stake forty eight. I mean,
I don't know if you can get better quality food
than anywhere anywhere else in Stake forty eight. Super Chicks
has been a really hot one that's at Strawberry Hill
in that area. And then Los Streca is a restaurant
(23:53):
that does the small size, five course, ten course type
of meal, and that's been a place that's kind of
us away lately. So just to name a few.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Here you go, Dave Canalis hashtag where to eat in Charlotte.
We're back after this on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
This is Panther Talk, brought to you by Atrium Health.
At Atrium Health, we do more to keep you moving, achieving,
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Speaker 7 (24:29):
Captain Munerland played not once, but twice two different stints
with the Panthers. He has five pick sixes in his
five year career with the Carolina Panthers overall, a team record,
of course. Played at the University of South Carolina. Now
a high school football coach here in Charlotte, we'll check
in with Captain Munterland.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Today Thirty Seasons of Panther Football, a celebration of the players, coaches,
and other key figures who've contributed to the organizational success.
Speaker 7 (24:59):
Do you think about your career and how many years
you played in this league? Double figure years. I mean,
that's to do those kind of things, to be in
the moment after a game. It's easy after a big win,
but after a loss, it's five it's ten minutes. The
coach has maybe said a few words.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
To you guys.
Speaker 7 (25:14):
That'd be hard because it's like you guys, the fans
take it so hard, Broadcasters nitpick it all, but you
guys live and breathe it, and physically, I mean you
delb your whole life. You leave your wife and kids
to go there all day to be you know, working
and out in the heat and preparing for this. It's
gotta be devastating when things don't go your way.
Speaker 8 (25:31):
Oh yeah, it's definitely is, especially when you had like
a heart fault game and you might be the part
of the reason why you lost the game, and to
have the that happened and you have to talk to
the media after, it's tough. It's definitely tough. I'm a
guy who always owned up today his mistakes. I've never
wanted to not talk to the media and get a
(25:53):
guy's insight on what happened in the game and different
things like that. So it was tough. But at the
same time, I went trade it for the world.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Man.
Speaker 8 (26:00):
I wanted to get them the insight and you know,
let him know what happened, you know, even though sometimes
I was on the wrong side you know of it.
So that part was definitely tough, But at the same time,
wasn't changing for the world. I kind of like kind
of missed those things. You know, you missed those things
when you're done and retired, you kind of missed talking
to the media, you know, being in the locker room
with your brothers, and like you said, man, it's something
(26:21):
that was built around here that was very special, you know.
I wasn't part of the twenty fifteen season when they
made the run to the Super Bowl, but I remember
in twenty thirteen when we started out one in three
and we went on a roll and Coach Rivera right
then and there. I think he ended up going in
and Coach of the Year that year. Louke Keighley was
(26:42):
a defensive Player of the Year that year. And it
was a lot of different things that change the makeup
of this organization. You know, we was back on top,
and to leave in free agency, it was tough.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
It was tough.
Speaker 8 (26:54):
I remember being in Minnesota man, being in Rick Spearman office,
and I had to sit there and look at my phone.
Coach Rivera was calling me. I had to act like
a kid that was in school. I raised my hand,
say hey, can I go use the restaurant right fast.
I was one of those guys because I didn't want
to be disrespectful in answer the phone right then. So
I like, I had to use the restaurant rich. I didn't,
but I wanted to answer the phone for Coach Rivera
(27:16):
and Sean McDermott before I signed up my contract. You know,
they was telling me, you know, a cap we want
you to hold off a little bit long as you can.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
It hurt.
Speaker 8 (27:24):
I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to leave
because I knew this place was going to be very special.
And fast forward a couple years later, they make it
to the Super Bowl and I actually went out there
to San Franz to watch those guys play because those
my teammates. I wanted them to win so bad. Man,
just for the guys like Thomas Davis, Ryan Khalil, you know,
the Charles Johnson's, the Cam Newton's, the Luke Keithley's, all
(27:47):
those guys that I put in to work with. I
wanted to see those guys successful. And you know, they
fell a little short. And I was kind of bilter
about it because I wanted them to win. I wanted
them to win. And I remember playing coming to the
playoff games. I actually said in Charles justin box doing
the playoff games when they played against Arizona, and I
was sitting there like man, and I went after the game,
(28:08):
those guys were celebrating. I was talking to Charles and
I was sitting there like man. I was like, you know,
y'all going to the Super Bowl, and you know, the
only thing y'all missing is me. He said, yeah, Cap,
but we went fifteen to one with out you and
I was like, yo, but you know it was just
all up.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
I'd have got sixteen to know with you that you
can only throw that back.
Speaker 8 (28:26):
So man, just to see those guys have success, man,
I was happy.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
For subscribed to thirty seasons of Panther football on the
iHeartRadio app, Panthers dot com, and Team Apple Apple podcast
or Spotify. This is Panther Talk. Coke. Dude deserves the
great taste of coca cola because fan work is thirsty.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Work back here on Panther Talk on the Carolina Panthers
Radio Network. And our next comes to us from PFF
the PFF NFL Show. You can follow him on exit CFB.
Max Chadwick. He is Max Chadwick. If you haven't seen it,
go on YouTube. They did a full segment on the
Panthers previewing the twenty twenty five season. We'll talk a
(29:17):
little bit about that and Max appreciate you coming on here.
Let's just start with this because a question that not
only I have, but a lot of folks have the
PFF grades, how does that work? Is that AI generated
is somebody watching every snap of every game. Can you
just take us behind the curtain a little bit and
(29:38):
explain how the PFF grades work.
Speaker 9 (29:41):
Yeah, I will. It's actually not AI generated at all.
We do have the impossible task of watching every single
player on every single play in every single game, both
in college football and the NFL, with a dedicated team
of analysts that have been trained up to the highest
level by former coach and former players kind of what
to look for a certain place, so kind of the
(30:02):
most accurate grades possible on those plays. So yeah, like
I said, there's a lot of people obviously need to
do that for both college football and the NFL and
the CFL too, So yeah, we do have a dedicated
team that is watching these games over and over and
over again, basically watching every single play eleven times over
to get a grade for every single player. So yeah,
(30:23):
it is a very long and intensive process, but it
does produce, in my opinion, one of the best stats
to kind of contextualize how good a player is.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
How much coffee is being consumed.
Speaker 9 (30:35):
Oh it's too much. I actually I never was involved
in that process, thankfully. I came from a different background
in the CFF, but my co host Dalton Washerman, he
actually did that full time before became more into content,
and I can tell you it is. It is a
grind for those guys. They definitely do a lot of
a lot of hours on the weekend.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Yeah, no, that puts it into perspective. Let's shift to
the Panthers. So the easy narrative is, hey, the arrows
pointing up. After last season, Bryce Young finished strong. The
eye test bears that out, the surface level numbers bear
that out. But when you guys do the deep dive,
what was it about Bryce's play second half of the
(31:15):
season post benching that jumped out?
Speaker 9 (31:19):
I think it had to be a confidence right. I mean,
this is the guy who you look back at his
time at Alabama. He's not the biggest in the world, obviously,
thene of the biggest arm in the world, is not
the most most mobile quarterback in the world. How he
wins is with his mind right, with his processing, with
his timing and all that. And we are not confident,
and your whole game is centered around your your mental
(31:40):
you know your mental advantage. That's when you see Bryce
Young's struggles. So then he got benched last year, and
then when he came back in he looked a lot
more confident. His whole game is really centered around his
confidence because of how smart of a quarterback he is,
and I think there's something click for him after getting
benched last year, and honestly, the few weeks is found
on the bench behind Dalton was huge for his career
(32:02):
to kind of reset his career. So I think that's
what really sauded about Bryce Young is like, yes, he's
not the biggest or the strongest of the fastest in
the world, but his mind is up there in terms
of the best in the NFL. And you saw that
in the second half of the season last.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Year when you looked at some of the quantitative numbers
that you guys have access to. Was there anything in
particular that jumped out when it came to Bryce.
Speaker 9 (32:25):
Yeah, he, Like I said, the confidence before. You can
see it by his willingness to make throws in the
tight windows. You know, I don't want to see he
was playing scared before, but you can see he wasn't
very confident, maybe in himself or even in his supporting cast.
But from Week nine through Week eighteen of last year's
really the second half of the season, get the second
most big time throws in our system in the entire
(32:46):
NFL with twenty four big time throws.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Well, what constitutes a big time throw? How do you
define that?
Speaker 9 (32:52):
Yeah, So it's basically at PFF we grade every play
on zero or negative two to positive two scale and
zero point five increments. So basically, for a big time
throw for a quarterback, any throw that's grated about a one,
one and a half or two is a big time
throw in our system. Basically, any tight window throw where
(33:13):
you're going above and beyond your job requirement and making it,
like I said, like a really nice throw that constant
is really a big time and any thriller gets a one,
one and a half or two in our system is
a big time throw. He had twenty four of those
in the second half of the year, which, like I said,
was the second most in the NFL. In that stretch,
you just saw his confidence take over and his accuracy
take over too, and he started making some huge throws
(33:35):
on the stretch.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
The Panthers offense returns a ton of continuity up front
on the offensive line. Chewba Hubbard is back wide receivers
return plus the addition of Teteroa McMillan again, I test
calling all the games down the stretch, you watched an
offense that was growing leaps and bounds. I'm curious from
(34:00):
a number standpoint, from a PFF perspective, did you guys
look and say, hey, this Panthers offense was you know,
top ten, top fifteen offense in terms of how they
were grading out, Like, was there anything there that kind
of gives fans here some optimism about what this offense
can be in twenty twenty five if you're using the
(34:20):
end of twenty four as a jumping off point.
Speaker 9 (34:23):
Yeah, definitely. I think the offensive line it might be
the biggest strength of the entire team right now. You know,
they've had a couple of free agency additions and Damian
Lewis and Robert Hunt at guard. They were seventh in
the NFL last year and offensive line great, and really
that allowed Bright Young to be confident back there, to
have time back there to work with, and Taylor Moowen
(34:45):
obviously has been one of the best right tackles we've
got in the NFL in recent years. You're hoping that
a Chemikwan who can move up to the first round.
Hype that he had a few years ago too, But yeah,
I think the offensive line is the best part of
the entire team right now. Now you have some young
receivers like Tterer mcmill, hoping Xavier Laguette, as a fourth
first round pick last year, can have a big year
two jump. Jalen Cocher was awesome as an undrafted rookie
(35:08):
last year too, Maybe he could have a bigger role
this year. So you have used in the receiving corps
and then also an offensive line that I think is
right now the best part of the entire team.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Yeah, great stuff there. Defensively, last year, the defense, there's
no way to say that was historically bad. They gave
up three thousand plus rushing yards. With the reinforcements that
they have brought in, especially up front, how much does
that change the calculus on defense?
Speaker 9 (35:36):
Could be a big time you know, and I think
you know, Yes, the defensive line last year, I would
argue was the worst in the NFL. But people have
to remember Derek Brown barely played last year, and Derek
Brown is one of the best dtackles that we have
in football, and certainly one of the best run defenders
we have in football. So yeah, the Carolina's run defense
was a disaster last year, but a big part of
that was Derek Brown being absent all year. Bobby Brown,
(35:56):
the third comes in. He's been grading out really well
in the pre so far. Believe he's got like an
eighty nine grade so far as eighty nine point five,
so he's been really good. He's been a good run
defender his career to a nose tackle. And I love
the additions of Nick Scorton and Princely Montmeela. I know
scorts is kind of battling a collapsed lung right now,
but I thought he was a first round caliber prospect
(36:17):
out of Texas A and M. They got him on
Day two of the draft. Princely Mont Miellen could have
gone top fifty. He went later than that too. So
you got two guys and I think at edge that
I think was the biggest problem with their team last year,
and you got two really good prospects and on Day
two of the NFL Draft to help out in that area.
So I'm acpecting a little bit of a jump from
(36:38):
Carolina defensive line this year.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
We're talking to Max Chadwick. You can follow him at
CFB Max Chadwick. He hosts both the PFF, NFL and
College Football show Max before we let you go. When
you look at the overall forecast for Carolina in twenty
twenty five, what is the PFF projection for what this
team can be.
Speaker 9 (37:02):
I think expecting a jump is like a maybe like
a seven to ten type of year is certainly feasible,
maybe a little bit better than that. Maybe they compete
in what's wide open NFC South. Is maybe the second
best team NFTY South right now, because I think the
Buccaneers are pretty clear favor in that division. But I
think a jump but not enough to become a true
(37:23):
playoff team just and maybe they blow all expectations out
of the water, and maybe they do make the playoffs
this year. But I think expecting more of a you know,
five hundred record around seven to eight wins is probably
what I would say for Carolina this.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
Year in the NFC South. That puts you in the
mix for a division title. And again it means you're
playing meaningful games in December and January, and we know
how those can go. Sometimes you leave it up to chance,
good things can happen. Panther fans certainly think they're overdue
for a few breaks and they are Max Chadwick from
(37:57):
pff C NFL Show. You can check them out on
YouTube Tube. They do a tremendous job with their team breakdowns.
They've got one up on the Carolina Panthers. Give him
a follow at CFB Max Chadwick on AX. Max, appreciate
you coming on. Panther Talk continues after this on the
Carolina Panthers Radio networks.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Panther Talk continues on the Carolina Panthers Radio network and
we're back.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
In the shroth Eugene Robinson, Jim Zochi. One week from Sunday,
It's Week one Panthers at Jaguars. The ties that bind
are plenty. Both teams entered the league in nineteen ninety five,
couple of quarterbacks taken first overall two years apart. You
got the brothers et, and you got the coaching connection
(38:46):
to Eugene, where Dave Canalis left Tampa as the OC
to be the head coach of the Panthers. Tampa hires
Liam Cohen to be their offensive coordinator. Liam Cohen now
the head coach of the Jaguars. Listen, I'll be honest, huge,
and I think there's a lot of mystery as to
what version of the Panthers we get in Week one.
(39:08):
There's a lot to be excited about coming off of
last year, But how much better does the defense get?
Is there enough depth on the back end and in
the secondary, and does Bryce Young continue to build off
of what we saw at the tail end of last year.
Those are gonna be some of the questions that the
Panthers will need to answer in that Week one game
(39:28):
we set up before coming home with at least one
win this.
Speaker 6 (39:32):
Year is huge.
Speaker 5 (39:33):
This is a winnable game, this no doubt about that.
I guess the Jaguars, But the Jaguars I think the
exact same thing to go, hey, this is good the paths,
this is a winnable game. I think the third down
percentage is going to be key for both our offense
and our defense. We gotta get off the field on
third down, and on third down we gotta continue to
(39:54):
move the chains. And so I'm hoping that our third
downs are like third down and three minus right around
there from the offensive standpoint, and I'm hoping that the
third down on the defensive side is third down is
seven plus. Those things that you can go ahead and
win and that means you've got to be better on
first and second down. So this is going to be
(40:14):
really in the trenches. I think this game is won
in the trenches. Who offensive line does well and what
defense of line is able to put pressure on the
quarterback or put pressure on the offensive line, because I
think both teams are built based on the offensive line
and they able to run the ball and then a
lot of quarterbacks will throw the rock.
Speaker 7 (40:33):
I mean, it's a long season, but what a tone
setter if you go on the road and get that win.
Takes a lot of pressure off, I think, and it
kind of dedicates you know what you think about with
Bryce and the commitment to the running game you talked
about and what we'll see with that offensive line again.
And then defensively, I think, you know this has to
be the year, right there were the steps up and
they stopped the run. We saw got some pressure on
(40:54):
the quarterback last year, but you know, all these new
players coming in like that has to happen right away.
I want to get your thoughts to you on what you
think about Travis Hunter's ability to be a two way
player in this league, Like to what to what degree
can he be obviously it can't be like it was
in college, and he's gont have to pick his spots
on one side of the ball the other. But if
you spend a top five pick, I mean, doesn't have
to be more time at receiver to get your value
(41:15):
because a pass breakup versus catching a couple of passes
scoring touchdowns. If I feel like you're not gonna get
your bank for the buck if you just use him
more as defense and then a spot offensive player as
opposed to an offensive player that does some spot defense.
Speaker 5 (41:26):
You know exactly if he's an offensive player and it
can make that type of you know, have that type
of impact, you know, then you put him at receiver
where he's oh man, he's dominant.
Speaker 6 (41:35):
He's dominant. But I don't think he's a dominant receiver.
Speaker 5 (41:37):
He's better. I think he's better at defense. I think
he is one of a shut down corner. And from
that standpoint, I'm putting him on defense and I'm gonna
keep him on defense. I might give you some spot stuff,
but I want you to play defense solely because if
you can take away aside like a dreul Reeves, like
a d Al Sanders, then we can go ahead and
plan defensively accordingly. You know, and I don't care about
(42:01):
I can always find a Travis Hunter to catch the
ball on offense. I don't need a Travis un on offense,
but I do need a Travis on on defense. He's
that special on defense.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Yeah, listen, when he plays offense, He's still going to
be a challenge for this secondary, especially when you consider
Brian Thomas on the other side coming off a tremendous
rookie season. One thing I'm watching for this was a
Jaguars offensive line that was pretty bad last year. They
went and did some work there, did some surgery, They
signed for offensive linemen, they drafted another one. Can the
(42:30):
rebuilt Panthers defensive front. Yes, win some matchups. Dominate the
trenches or at least control the trenches to get the
ball back to the offense. Let Brice Cook and let
the season get off on a strong foot.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
This has been on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network, brought
to you by Atrium Health. At Atrium Health, we do
more to keep you moving, achieving, striving at every eight
stage so you can live fully. Bank of America, what
would you like the power to do? Coke Gandy deserves
(43:08):
the great taste of coca cola because fan work is
thirsty work.
Speaker 1 (43:12):
Pantherton, panthertoll, panther doll.
Speaker 2 (43:15):
This is the Carolina Panthers radio network.
The following is an exclusive presentation of the Carolina Panthers
in the National.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Football League's Panther Doll and They're doll and They're Done.
This is Panther Talk on the Carolina Panthers Radio network.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
WAPs it to the right.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Tye got a man wide open.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
It's just Tina James Mitchel left.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Alone on a tender trim very touchdown.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
This is a group that cares about each other, plays hard,
you know, and you know, the commitment to each other
was really evident with the guys who didn't play were
just like involved in all the plays, celebrating the guys
and making the play. So a really special moment for me.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
And now, along with Jim Zoki and Eugene Robinson, here's
a niche shruff with Panther Talk live from the Panthers
broadcast facility at Bank of America Sterio.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Kind of one of those tough days to be in
the building. Tomorrow at four pm, NFL rosters get trimmed
down to fifty three. And earlier today it was down
by the cafeteria. Team meeting had just commenced, and you
can tell there were guys walking out of there and
some had been given the news, and you feel for them,
(01:11):
you feel the emotion. You put football away for a second, Eugene,
you know this on a very human level. There's a
lot of emotions going through those bodies when you devote
your whole life to something and to a dream. And
for a lot of the guys who were cut today,
(01:34):
there may be a second chance. For some, this may
be the end of the road.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
You know, for most of those guys, this is one
of the first times they've been told that they weren't
good enough. I mean, you think about it. I mean,
even whether they were in Little league, whether they were
midget put one in football, I'm sorry, whether they were
in JV varsity college.
Speaker 6 (01:56):
They've always been the guy.
Speaker 5 (01:58):
They've always been the person that, Hey, that guy's gonna
be in the pros, you mark my words. And now
they're told that this service is not good enough, that
the effort they put in doesn't make the grade. Yeah,
we can use you, but we got somebody who's better.
And having that culture shock and having that being told
to them, I'm telling.
Speaker 6 (02:18):
You, depression sets in.
Speaker 7 (02:20):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (02:20):
There's a lot of long faces, there's a lot of
tears behind the scenes, a lot of guys will start crying,
and so this is a very sad day because this
will be the last time some of them ever put
on a uniform. And so it comes to an end.
And so I mean, this is really uh. For those
who make it, it's gonna be sweet. But for those
who don't make a zilk's gonna be bitter, very bitter.
Speaker 7 (02:41):
I've always liked that that phrase. You know how good
you have to be to be cut in the NFL.
You mean, to your point, to be what a star
you were in college, in high school, in your whole life.
And it's it's a numbers game. So even though rosters
are somewhat expanded hard as practice squad and stuff over
the past couple of years, there's still very limited numbers
that get into the NFL. And it's not even one
(03:02):
size fits all. It's not even like you're not good enough.
In some cases you are good enough, but we don't
need your position, we don't need or your coach got
changed and so we're going with a different style.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
And there's somebody better in the building.
Speaker 7 (03:13):
Yeah, and sometimes younger and cheaper, And it's not that
you're not good enough.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Even so that that's got to be.
Speaker 7 (03:19):
I think even a bigger frustration is something like that,
because you are good enough, but there's just, you know,
different things out of your control.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
As far as there's only thirty two of these teams,
you know.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
I've always thought if I got got cut, it's not
going to be because I wasn't good enough for it,
didn't understand the defense, or didn't understand how to play football.
It was going to be because that you said, Oh,
you know what, Jean, we just don't use your services.
We can't use you. You know, we're gonna go with
this person. I'm saying, Okay, I can deal with that
being told no, I can. I can deal with that,
(03:50):
but I want to make sure I put my best
foot forward and gave every effort. And so for those
who did that, you know, everybody's career comes to and
at some point it just does. You can't play football forever,
and so hopefully you can make the practice squad. If
you don't make the practice squad, make sure that you
invest in the time that you've he's been in school
(04:13):
to make sure that you work on something other than.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
Or the schools.
Speaker 7 (04:15):
So you went to the four or five schools you
want you Yeah, I forgot portal.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Whichever one you got the degree from us?
Speaker 6 (04:21):
How about that one.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
Amongst the notables who were waived, some don't come as
a surprise. Bryce Perkins, we knew when he played against
Pittsburgh he was not going to be here for much
longer unless he wowed Jack Plummer, who a year ago
was the number three quarterback developmental guy and did not
(04:43):
have a strong preseason. No he didn't, he was let go.
Maybe one surprising name on the list was Jacobe WindMan,
who actually had a strong game in the preseason finale
against the Steelers, and given how that position is shaking out,
it inside linebacker not a ton of depth. Oh, there
was a thought he might be in the mix to
make the team. And then Matthew Wright, who was in
(05:04):
a kicking competition with Ryan Fitzgerald, was also cut. Now
I don't know if that means Fitzgerald is getting the job,
but it may be Fitzgerald's job for now. Now Panthers
may also be monitoring who else is potentially out there.
They have until noon tomorrow where they have to wait,
(05:25):
and then you can start signing the players off of
waivers who are out there. You start to fill out
your practice squad. But listen, the reality is there's going
to be some faces on the fifty three man roster
that did not play a single snap for the Panthers
right in the preseason and that did not take a
(05:46):
single snap in training camp.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Absolutely, and that's what's maybe if you're on this list
of being cut and you look at that, you think, men,
it's unfair. That's unfair, But football is not fair at all.
Coaches have idea what what's gonna be the make up
of the team when they go and from early from
when when when the season ends, they kind of got
an idea of like who's gonna fit in their team?
(06:08):
What pieces that are gonna make up that you know, and
also to the practice squad. I think WindMan finds himself
when the practice squad. I think he's played well enough
and he was sensational enough that you go, oh, I
can invest in him. I can invest in his ability.
He has a ferocity, he has a motor that doesn't quit.
He reminds me of Frankie Louville for some reason. He
(06:30):
just has a good, high motor guy. And so I
expect him that if he doesn't get picked up by
somebody else that he'll be on the practice squad.
Speaker 7 (06:38):
Yeah, sixteen guys, and so it is just just playing
room for some of these guys to come back. We
don't we still think have seventeen more to cut something
like that. But to your point about kickers, like the
last preseason game he playing Pittsburgh and Ben sALS goes
four for four.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
We were all thinking, we were all thinking.
Speaker 7 (06:54):
Dealers are not cutting him because they're hoping to get
a draft pick or something, because they got the greatest
kicker in the league right now. It's subject change. But
Boswell was a Pro Bowl kicker last year. But Saul's
will be kicking somewhere and if they wave him, he
will not be out of work for no, not a
couple hours.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
Somebody will. Somebody will pick a kicker you might be
worth sending a six. Was interesting is because he's a
left footed kicker. It does change how you do the
mechanics for the snap and the hold. And I was
talking to Tracy Smith a while ago, and I mentioned,
all right.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
You're the holder. You're used to catching the ball, turning
get a certain way, and it may seem very simple,
but you sort of have to reverse your mechanics, and
if you bring in a left footed kicker, now let's say, okay, uh,
you haven't had all of training camp, off preseason to
work through that. Not to say it can't be done.
These are all pros and high level pros, but again
(07:48):
that's something to potentially consider.
Speaker 5 (07:50):
This is right, well, John Casey was a left footed
kicker here very wor it worked on extremely well.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
And who was it?
Speaker 5 (07:57):
Maybe was it a baker? Was he was the punter,
he was the holder at the time, I think he was.
And yeah, you know, and that's the skill level that
they all have. They just do the punters, I mean quarterbacks,
they just have a skill level that they they touch
the ball the most out of anybody and they can
have them that ball. So whether it's on the right
(08:18):
side of the left side, laces still need to be out,
they still need to be out. You're right about that,
still need to be out. But that's something that as
a professional you would expect them to handle.
Speaker 7 (08:27):
Yeah, there's so many nuances to how many times the
ball spins from the snap. Is the ball could be
tilted a little bit if you have some wind going on.
Domes are obviously much easier. All those factors they take in.
It's like a sports science class to listen to guys
talk about a forty yard field goal, just all all
the things that go into that we take for granted
and we get so mad when they missed, but they
(08:47):
should make them because they're pros. But on the other end,
you kind of go, there's a lot going on like
that none of us could ever do, Like we would
never get the snap, the hold, and the kick, Like
we could sit here for the next five years and
never make that kick.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Part of it. Though. Special teams guys you found out recently,
they like to talk and they like to take it
into that minutia.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
And they'll tell you because they have the most time
their practice. That's what they do at practice.
Speaker 7 (09:09):
If they talk about it, they practice and they go
home and they talk about it some more.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
And to the point that the fact that they handle
the ball so much and so often that seals the
ball as spinning tow of them and they catch it.
They're automatically able to adjust the ball, just like you
get in an interception. You're automatically able to adjust the ball
to get it to fit just right so that you're
holding the ball properly, and you do it unconsciously.
Speaker 6 (09:30):
And so for them.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
Spinning the ball half spin, full spin, it doesn't matter
because they play the practiced so much that it becomes
so easy that they do it unconsciously.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Again, the deadline to cut the roster to fifty three
is four pm Tuesday, that is tomorrow, and so a
lot of moves expected between now and then. Again. The
Panthers already made a number of transactions today, Jack Plumber,
Bryce Perkins, a couple of guys you saw Moni Bailey,
Kiran Lynch Adams running backs amongst the receivers cut, Kobe Hudson,
(10:02):
Jacoby George TJ Luther, Dominique Daphney tight end we told
you about Jacoby Winman. A couple of cornerbacks cut, brought
in Dotson Swilling, no surprise there. And then Matthew Wright
again one of the notables, the kicker who was in
that kicking competition preseason, though Jim has come to an end.
And as we sit with about a week and change
(10:25):
until the regular season starts September seventh at Jacksonville, you
kind of look at this roster and you look at
this team, where do you feel the Panthers can lean on.
I think one of the areas you have to start
with is the offensive line. I think that's got a
chance to be a real strength for this team and
maybe the strength for this team.
Speaker 7 (10:42):
Yeah, I think it's you know, I think people talk
about it, but when you look at it, like what
Cuba accomplished last year, credit to the offensive line, because
that's that's where it begins.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
Is with the offensive line created that.
Speaker 7 (10:52):
Now he got two backs like ric O'Donnell, then Etn
to whatever degree he comes in to running the ball
as well. So you start with that, you know, can
you run the ball, and then that that helps the
passing game out. We know we've got a deep receiver room,
so that but that's kind of the like that's the
rock you build on, right, It's like you have that
offensive line, you got the running game, and then from
there you have all the offshoots. Like people say, well
how much, how many yards, how many touchdowns? You think
(11:14):
for Bryce, like fantasy football talking, I don't think it's
gonna be that kind of team. We probably won't have
a thousand yard receivers my guess, because there's such a
number of receivers that are could be available, and I
think they like having different sets come in, different guys
coming in, and then spreading the wealth makes you more
unpredictable as opposed to like we're gonna just target the
team act only No, I don't think it's gonna be
like that. It's gonna be spread out, and they always
(11:36):
kind of envisioned. I think Bryce coming in as like
a point guard, like a basketball point guard, distributing the ball.
So I don't think it has to be something like
we're gonna like fill the bucket where some guys will
get fifteen hundred yards and Bryce is gonna throw for
forty touchdowns.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
But I don't think they have to with the running
game and the other things they.
Speaker 6 (11:49):
Have going, you know.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
I also you know second that I think that the
running game is gonna be the thing that we talk about.
The offensive line. I think that's we in it last year.
I think they're just too good. I think it's money.
Imagine a matter of chemistry as we come from preseason
to now. But I think the best thing that this
team has is the offensive line. And now you put
(12:11):
Dado back there, there's something special about them. There's something
special about each ten. I mean there really is that
there's not enough ball to go around, and I think
that it's gonna be like a sixty to forty you know,
I think maybe run to pass ratio. And then to
your point, if I'm Bryce and Bryce has done this,
I'm distributed at ball across across the field. I'm looking
(12:32):
at all my options to see who's open, and I'm
getting the rock out.
Speaker 6 (12:36):
That's what I'm gonna be doing.
Speaker 5 (12:37):
And that's gonna be based on the timing that coach
Canalis wants them to get the ball out quickly. So
who's ever open, who's coming open? I'm getting the rock out.
So I don't think it's gonna be a thousand yard catcher.
I don't think a guy's gonna have like one hundred catches.
It's gonna be somewhere around forty five, fifty sixty somewhere
around there should be Eugene.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
When it comes to the defense, this was an area
where the Panthers went into the offseason, went into the draft,
and they wanted to fort to five the edges. They
wanted to get better on the defensive line. There's still
some questions out there. How do you feel about this
defense going into the season.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
When Derek Brown got back in the mix, I was
much much happier. I know that we were talking about
an edge rusher and we looked at edge Russer and
we have scorting and as an edge rusher. But I
believe that DJ Wantum and what I saw last year,
I think he's the guy. I think with a Derek
Brown and the DJ want him down there, you got
Shy Toto, you got you got some big bodies down there, Brown,
(13:34):
you got a Robinson, you got a lot of big
bodies down there right there. I think that is going
to make somebody's gonna be able to get loose on
the edge. And I believe that's gonna be DJ Wantum.
I think he's going to be that person. And so
from the standpoint, I think our front seven, if I'm
coaching Jarro is a get after the quarterback, put pressure
(13:56):
and then my guys at the back end don't have
to go ahead and cover for like five days. So
put that pressure on him. So I really think it
starts with Derek Brown back in the mix. And if
I'm coaching zero Man, I'm dilling stuff up to make
sure that my front seven is ferocious.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
The Panthers last year with Wantum in the lineup, had
twenty two sacks in eight games. That's almost three he's special,
including nine in the two games against Philly and Kansas City.
The Super Bowl teams in the nine games without Wantum
ten sacks, so they doubled their sack total basically in
the same amount of games with Wanam versus without him.
Speaker 6 (14:37):
And he was hurt. I mean he was hurt. Earlier.
Speaker 5 (14:39):
I was like, man, what has guy been at this?
Dude is he's very, very good. You know, the length
that he has, the ferocie which he rushes off the edge,
you better put two people on him. And now that
you've got dB out there, Derek Brown is gonna take
up a lot of space. They're gonna have to double
team him because he's just that type of player. And
if you're a double team to him, that that means
(15:00):
somebody else is gonna be able to get loose, somebody
else is going to be able to put that presser
on neck quarterbit.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
Yeah, I see.
Speaker 7 (15:07):
Stopping the run first is what you gotta start with.
That's the staple obviously there. That's the thing that's been
missing last year. But now I think a jarro Vero's
got the pieces he needs to do that with all
those big guys you mentioned in the middle, and then
the special factor is having Derek Brown, who's a unique
player in this league, record setting player, and that makes
those edge guys that much better. I think, I guess
only like Pat Jones is gonna, you know, excel here
(15:28):
because they have that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
Jones had a career high seven sacks last year for Minnesota,
only had five in his first three seasons with the Vikings.
All right, when Panther Talk returns, we will hear from
head coach Dave Kanalis, Jim caught up with former Panthers
dB captain Munnolin, and we will hear from Max Chadwick
(15:49):
from Pro Football Focus with some interesting nuggets on the
Panthers outlook for twenty twenty five. You're listening to the
Carolina Panthers Radio network.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
This is Panther Talk.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
Ron.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Do you buy Bank of America? What would you like
the power to do?
Speaker 4 (16:08):
I really believe that we've captured the play style that
we're looking for on a daily basis. He always talk
about how important practices are, and I didn't have to
do it a lot honestly, you know, we've set the foundation,
but it was it was Derek and JC and Ashan
and Cuba and you know, Trey Merrick doesn't say a lot,
but he plays exactly how we want our guys to play,
(16:29):
you know. And you know Bryce being in there and
being able to keep the energy up and keep that
attacking mentality, you know, throughout this camp, it was just
it was really amazing to watch those guys come together,
to watch the staff all we all understand what it's
supposed to look like on a daily basis to give
us success on on game day.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
Panther Talk continues on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Back here on Panther Talk with head coach Dave Canalis,
this is a tough time of the season when you've
got a trim your roster to fifty three. How much
thought do you put into what you say and how
you say it? A lot?
Speaker 4 (17:06):
I think that my hope is that with each player
that we release, that I have some feedback, something that
I witnessed about something they do well and something that
I believe they can work on. And you know, the
truth of the matter is those conversations are ongoing, you know,
during camp, but like this there's a little bit more
(17:29):
finality to it. And you know, if I were a player,
I would always want to have that last conversation to
know what I did well and what I could be
working on that will help me as I continue to
pursue my career.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
What are in your eyes, the toughest decisions coming up here?
Speaker 4 (17:51):
I think in terms of just roster you know, decisions.
I think that there was an amazing battle at the
wide receiver position. I think there was an amazing battle
in the interior defensive line at corner. You know, there
were there were a lot of guys that really represented
themselves well and put them in the conversation that we
(18:13):
have to take all the way to the end of it,
you know, to to try to see what the best
move is, you know, for the Panthers for twenty twenty five.
I think those are probably you know, the critical ones.
Not that any of these decisions are easy, you know,
And and all these guys have have given so much
to create this team. It takes all ninety you know,
(18:34):
to throw a great camp and to practice the way
we want to practice and and play the way we
want to play. But I think you know specifically in
those positions. Those that has caused us to have a
lot of conversation, a lot of phone calls between Dan
and I, you know, just in the last couple of
days in the staff all getting together and having our
final comments on that.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
What is the feedback loop like between you, Dan Brant
as you put the pieces together for fifty three man
roster and also I would imagine the scouts when you're
monitoring who else might be available.
Speaker 6 (19:08):
Yeah, that's a big piece.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
That's a big part of it because as camp goes
on and as you have preseason games available, really the
only other information you have are the joint practices, you know.
So we we practiced against Cleveland and saw that their roster.
We saw the Houston Texans roster as well, and but
it's not really intigue into those games that you can
start studying the film of who all else is out there.
(19:31):
And that's what you know, these last couple of days
has been about, like let's now, let's challenge our roster
from the outside and let's see, you know, if there's
anyone that can help us, you know, on the fifty
three or on the practice squad and compare it to
the whole league. And I think that's the beauty of
the league and having so many great coaches out there
that trained players is we can we can look and see,
(19:52):
you know, the development and growth of players who may
have they may be in their second year, you know,
with the full year another belt, and to see the
growth of these guys. And then also just the whole
wave of rookies you know that may have come out
of nowhere, you know, from different schools, who came after
the draft process, you know, that are making a name
for themselves.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Well.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Dan Morgan was telling us last week that at this
point last year, you guys were scouring the waiver wire
and the free agents for potential starters. Now it's trying
to get guys on the fringes of your roster. What
does that say about how far the roster is coming here?
Speaker 4 (20:28):
Yeah, just that constant incremental growth and our commitment to
challenging our roster, you know, and knowing who you have,
knowing what we're looking for, and continue to try to
add players that fit those profiles, you know. And I
just can't give Dan enough credit, you know, and the
scouting staff for being committed to a process and being
(20:49):
committed to a type of player that we're looking for,
and with all the play style attributes that we talk about,
you know, all the time, and so I just love
the fact that they're continuing to build that and you know,
refine it, you know, and get these guys closer and
closer to what we're looking for and challenge our roster
that way.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
You get to the end of preseason. From your standpoint,
what are the biggest strengths on this team?
Speaker 4 (21:15):
You know, I think youth. I think that's one of
the things that I'm kind of blown away by, is
the tremendous youth. And with youth comes challenge. And the
challenge is how quickly can we play together as a unit.
How quickly can we advance our communication pre snap post
snap to see the guys start to feed off of
(21:37):
and play off of each other, trust each other, you know,
And I think, you know, to point out any one
particular group, you know, I think it's there's some strong
position groups on this team, but I think it's just
a matter of you know, coming together in a good
mix of veteran players, but with a lot of young
(21:58):
a lot of young, hungry players. So strength of the
team would be just a young and hungry team in.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Terms of where you have questions or you need to
see more in the regular season will reveal that what
are some areas that you know you may have questions
about going into the season.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
I love thinking in terms of possibilities and the possibilities
and potential that I have in my mind for where
this offense can go. We're not there yet. There's flashes
of brilliance, you know, and I see it, and I
can see what's what can come and what it can become.
And that's something that we're going to have to earn.
You know, that the group's going to have to earn together,
(22:37):
you know. Defensively, I see the pieces coming together. I
see strong veteran leadership, I see young talent. But I
want to see a group that just feeds off of
each other and they kind of just you know, communicate seamlessly.
And I kind of go back to that. It really
comes back to the chemistry of playing together that I
(22:59):
know is going to just be one week at a time,
one practice at a time, one game at a time.
But can we be locked into that mindset, that mentality
of constant growth, pursuing our best Let's go find the
best possible version of Panthers football this year.
Speaker 1 (23:16):
Dave, before we go, what do you do with the
last free weekend until early December?
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Yeah, just spend time with my family. Lizzie and I
will still away for a date here or there.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
You know, what's your spot? What's your spot in Charlotte?
Speaker 4 (23:32):
We got a few Red Rocks first and foremost, that's
our family spot. They're so good to us there. And
then you know, we've gone to Stake forty eight. I mean,
I don't know if you can get better quality food
than anywhere anywhere else in Stake forty eight. Super Chicks
has been a really hot one that's at Strawberry Hill
in that area. And then Los Streca is a restaurant
(23:53):
that does the small size, five course, ten course type
of meal, and that's been a place that's kind of
us away lately. So just to name a few.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
Here you go, Dave Canalis hashtag where to eat in Charlotte.
We're back after this on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
This is Panther Talk, brought to you by Atrium Health.
At Atrium Health, we do more to keep you moving, achieving,
striving at every age and stage. So you can live fully.
Speaker 7 (24:29):
Captain Munerland played not once, but twice two different stints
with the Panthers. He has five pick sixes in his
five year career with the Carolina Panthers overall, a team record,
of course. Played at the University of South Carolina. Now
a high school football coach here in Charlotte, we'll check
in with Captain Munterland.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Today Thirty Seasons of Panther Football, a celebration of the players, coaches,
and other key figures who've contributed to the organizational success.
Speaker 7 (24:59):
Do you think about your career and how many years
you played in this league? Double figure years. I mean,
that's to do those kind of things, to be in
the moment after a game. It's easy after a big win,
but after a loss, it's five it's ten minutes. The
coach has maybe said a few words.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
To you guys.
Speaker 7 (25:14):
That'd be hard because it's like you guys, the fans
take it so hard, Broadcasters nitpick it all, but you
guys live and breathe it, and physically, I mean you
delb your whole life. You leave your wife and kids
to go there all day to be you know, working
and out in the heat and preparing for this. It's
gotta be devastating when things don't go your way.
Speaker 8 (25:31):
Oh yeah, it's definitely is, especially when you had like
a heart fault game and you might be the part
of the reason why you lost the game, and to
have the that happened and you have to talk to
the media after, it's tough. It's definitely tough. I'm a
guy who always owned up today his mistakes. I've never
wanted to not talk to the media and get a
(25:53):
guy's insight on what happened in the game and different
things like that. So it was tough. But at the
same time, I went trade it for the world.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Man.
Speaker 8 (26:00):
I wanted to get them the insight and you know,
let him know what happened, you know, even though sometimes
I was on the wrong side you know of it.
So that part was definitely tough, But at the same time,
wasn't changing for the world. I kind of like kind
of missed those things. You know, you missed those things
when you're done and retired, you kind of missed talking
to the media, you know, being in the locker room
with your brothers, and like you said, man, it's something
(26:21):
that was built around here that was very special, you know.
I wasn't part of the twenty fifteen season when they
made the run to the Super Bowl, but I remember
in twenty thirteen when we started out one in three
and we went on a roll and Coach Rivera right
then and there. I think he ended up going in
and Coach of the Year that year. Louke Keighley was
(26:42):
a defensive Player of the Year that year. And it
was a lot of different things that change the makeup
of this organization. You know, we was back on top,
and to leave in free agency, it was tough.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
It was tough.
Speaker 8 (26:54):
I remember being in Minnesota man, being in Rick Spearman office,
and I had to sit there and look at my phone.
Coach Rivera was calling me. I had to act like
a kid that was in school. I raised my hand,
say hey, can I go use the restaurant right fast.
I was one of those guys because I didn't want
to be disrespectful in answer the phone right then. So
I like, I had to use the restaurant rich. I didn't,
but I wanted to answer the phone for Coach Rivera
(27:16):
and Sean McDermott before I signed up my contract. You know,
they was telling me, you know, a cap we want
you to hold off a little bit long as you can.
Speaker 6 (27:23):
It hurt.
Speaker 8 (27:24):
I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to leave
because I knew this place was going to be very special.
And fast forward a couple years later, they make it
to the Super Bowl and I actually went out there
to San Franz to watch those guys play because those
my teammates. I wanted them to win so bad. Man,
just for the guys like Thomas Davis, Ryan Khalil, you know,
the Charles Johnson's, the Cam Newton's, the Luke Keithley's, all
(27:47):
those guys that I put in to work with. I
wanted to see those guys successful. And you know, they
fell a little short. And I was kind of bilter
about it because I wanted them to win. I wanted
them to win. And I remember playing coming to the
playoff games. I actually said in Charles justin box doing
the playoff games when they played against Arizona, and I
was sitting there like man, and I went after the game,
(28:08):
those guys were celebrating. I was talking to Charles and
I was sitting there like man. I was like, you know,
y'all going to the Super Bowl, and you know, the
only thing y'all missing is me. He said, yeah, Cap,
but we went fifteen to one with out you and
I was like, yo, but you know it was just
all up.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
I'd have got sixteen to know with you that you
can only throw that back.
Speaker 8 (28:26):
So man, just to see those guys have success, man,
I was happy.
Speaker 2 (28:30):
For subscribed to thirty seasons of Panther football on the
iHeartRadio app, Panthers dot com, and Team Apple Apple podcast
or Spotify. This is Panther Talk. Coke. Dude deserves the
great taste of coca cola because fan work is thirsty.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Work back here on Panther Talk on the Carolina Panthers
Radio Network. And our next comes to us from PFF
the PFF NFL Show. You can follow him on exit CFB.
Max Chadwick. He is Max Chadwick. If you haven't seen it,
go on YouTube. They did a full segment on the
Panthers previewing the twenty twenty five season. We'll talk a
(29:17):
little bit about that and Max appreciate you coming on here.
Let's just start with this because a question that not
only I have, but a lot of folks have the
PFF grades, how does that work? Is that AI generated
is somebody watching every snap of every game. Can you
just take us behind the curtain a little bit and
(29:38):
explain how the PFF grades work.
Speaker 9 (29:41):
Yeah, I will. It's actually not AI generated at all.
We do have the impossible task of watching every single
player on every single play in every single game, both
in college football and the NFL, with a dedicated team
of analysts that have been trained up to the highest
level by former coach and former players kind of what
to look for a certain place, so kind of the
(30:02):
most accurate grades possible on those plays. So yeah, like
I said, there's a lot of people obviously need to
do that for both college football and the NFL and
the CFL too, So yeah, we do have a dedicated
team that is watching these games over and over and
over again, basically watching every single play eleven times over
to get a grade for every single player. So yeah,
(30:23):
it is a very long and intensive process, but it
does produce, in my opinion, one of the best stats
to kind of contextualize how good a player is.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
How much coffee is being consumed.
Speaker 9 (30:35):
Oh it's too much. I actually I never was involved
in that process, thankfully. I came from a different background
in the CFF, but my co host Dalton Washerman, he
actually did that full time before became more into content,
and I can tell you it is. It is a
grind for those guys. They definitely do a lot of
a lot of hours on the weekend.
Speaker 1 (30:53):
Yeah, no, that puts it into perspective. Let's shift to
the Panthers. So the easy narrative is, hey, the arrows
pointing up. After last season, Bryce Young finished strong. The
eye test bears that out, the surface level numbers bear
that out. But when you guys do the deep dive,
what was it about Bryce's play second half of the
(31:15):
season post benching that jumped out?
Speaker 9 (31:19):
I think it had to be a confidence right. I mean,
this is the guy who you look back at his
time at Alabama. He's not the biggest in the world, obviously,
thene of the biggest arm in the world, is not
the most most mobile quarterback in the world. How he
wins is with his mind right, with his processing, with
his timing and all that. And we are not confident,
and your whole game is centered around your your mental
(31:40):
you know your mental advantage. That's when you see Bryce
Young's struggles. So then he got benched last year, and
then when he came back in he looked a lot
more confident. His whole game is really centered around his
confidence because of how smart of a quarterback he is,
and I think there's something click for him after getting
benched last year, and honestly, the few weeks is found
on the bench behind Dalton was huge for his career
(32:02):
to kind of reset his career. So I think that's
what really sauded about Bryce Young is like, yes, he's
not the biggest or the strongest of the fastest in
the world, but his mind is up there in terms
of the best in the NFL. And you saw that
in the second half of the season last.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
Year when you looked at some of the quantitative numbers
that you guys have access to. Was there anything in
particular that jumped out when it came to Bryce.
Speaker 9 (32:25):
Yeah, he, Like I said, the confidence before. You can
see it by his willingness to make throws in the
tight windows. You know, I don't want to see he
was playing scared before, but you can see he wasn't
very confident, maybe in himself or even in his supporting cast.
But from Week nine through Week eighteen of last year's
really the second half of the season, get the second
most big time throws in our system in the entire
(32:46):
NFL with twenty four big time throws.
Speaker 1 (32:48):
Well, what constitutes a big time throw? How do you
define that?
Speaker 9 (32:52):
Yeah, So it's basically at PFF we grade every play
on zero or negative two to positive two scale and
zero point five increments. So basically, for a big time
throw for a quarterback, any throw that's grated about a one,
one and a half or two is a big time
throw in our system. Basically, any tight window throw where
(33:13):
you're going above and beyond your job requirement and making it,
like I said, like a really nice throw that constant
is really a big time and any thriller gets a one,
one and a half or two in our system is
a big time throw. He had twenty four of those
in the second half of the year, which, like I said,
was the second most in the NFL. In that stretch,
you just saw his confidence take over and his accuracy
take over too, and he started making some huge throws
(33:35):
on the stretch.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
The Panthers offense returns a ton of continuity up front
on the offensive line. Chewba Hubbard is back wide receivers
return plus the addition of Teteroa McMillan again, I test
calling all the games down the stretch, you watched an
offense that was growing leaps and bounds. I'm curious from
(34:00):
a number standpoint, from a PFF perspective, did you guys
look and say, hey, this Panthers offense was you know,
top ten, top fifteen offense in terms of how they
were grading out, Like, was there anything there that kind
of gives fans here some optimism about what this offense
can be in twenty twenty five if you're using the
(34:20):
end of twenty four as a jumping off point.
Speaker 9 (34:23):
Yeah, definitely. I think the offensive line it might be
the biggest strength of the entire team right now. You know,
they've had a couple of free agency additions and Damian
Lewis and Robert Hunt at guard. They were seventh in
the NFL last year and offensive line great, and really
that allowed Bright Young to be confident back there, to
have time back there to work with, and Taylor Moowen
(34:45):
obviously has been one of the best right tackles we've
got in the NFL in recent years. You're hoping that
a Chemikwan who can move up to the first round.
Hype that he had a few years ago too, But yeah,
I think the offensive line is the best part of
the entire team right now. Now you have some young
receivers like Tterer mcmill, hoping Xavier Laguette, as a fourth
first round pick last year, can have a big year
two jump. Jalen Cocher was awesome as an undrafted rookie
(35:08):
last year too, Maybe he could have a bigger role
this year. So you have used in the receiving corps
and then also an offensive line that I think is
right now the best part of the entire team.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Yeah, great stuff there. Defensively, last year, the defense, there's
no way to say that was historically bad. They gave
up three thousand plus rushing yards. With the reinforcements that
they have brought in, especially up front, how much does
that change the calculus on defense?
Speaker 9 (35:36):
Could be a big time you know, and I think
you know, Yes, the defensive line last year, I would
argue was the worst in the NFL. But people have
to remember Derek Brown barely played last year, and Derek
Brown is one of the best dtackles that we have
in football, and certainly one of the best run defenders
we have in football. So yeah, the Carolina's run defense
was a disaster last year, but a big part of
that was Derek Brown being absent all year. Bobby Brown,
(35:56):
the third comes in. He's been grading out really well
in the pre so far. Believe he's got like an
eighty nine grade so far as eighty nine point five,
so he's been really good. He's been a good run
defender his career to a nose tackle. And I love
the additions of Nick Scorton and Princely Montmeela. I know
scorts is kind of battling a collapsed lung right now,
but I thought he was a first round caliber prospect
(36:17):
out of Texas A and M. They got him on
Day two of the draft. Princely Mont Miellen could have
gone top fifty. He went later than that too. So
you got two guys and I think at edge that
I think was the biggest problem with their team last year,
and you got two really good prospects and on Day
two of the NFL Draft to help out in that area.
So I'm acpecting a little bit of a jump from
(36:38):
Carolina defensive line this year.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
We're talking to Max Chadwick. You can follow him at
CFB Max Chadwick. He hosts both the PFF, NFL and
College Football show Max before we let you go. When
you look at the overall forecast for Carolina in twenty
twenty five, what is the PFF projection for what this
team can be.
Speaker 9 (37:02):
I think expecting a jump is like a maybe like
a seven to ten type of year is certainly feasible,
maybe a little bit better than that. Maybe they compete
in what's wide open NFC South. Is maybe the second
best team NFTY South right now, because I think the
Buccaneers are pretty clear favor in that division. But I
think a jump but not enough to become a true
(37:23):
playoff team just and maybe they blow all expectations out
of the water, and maybe they do make the playoffs
this year. But I think expecting more of a you know,
five hundred record around seven to eight wins is probably
what I would say for Carolina this.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
Year in the NFC South. That puts you in the
mix for a division title. And again it means you're
playing meaningful games in December and January, and we know
how those can go. Sometimes you leave it up to chance,
good things can happen. Panther fans certainly think they're overdue
for a few breaks and they are Max Chadwick from
(37:57):
pff C NFL Show. You can check them out on
YouTube Tube. They do a tremendous job with their team breakdowns.
They've got one up on the Carolina Panthers. Give him
a follow at CFB Max Chadwick on AX. Max, appreciate
you coming on. Panther Talk continues after this on the
Carolina Panthers Radio networks.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Panther Talk continues on the Carolina Panthers Radio network and
we're back.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
In the shroth Eugene Robinson, Jim Zochi. One week from Sunday,
It's Week one Panthers at Jaguars. The ties that bind
are plenty. Both teams entered the league in nineteen ninety five,
couple of quarterbacks taken first overall two years apart. You
got the brothers et, and you got the coaching connection
(38:46):
to Eugene, where Dave Canalis left Tampa as the OC
to be the head coach of the Panthers. Tampa hires
Liam Cohen to be their offensive coordinator. Liam Cohen now
the head coach of the Jaguars. Listen, I'll be honest, huge,
and I think there's a lot of mystery as to
what version of the Panthers we get in Week one.
(39:08):
There's a lot to be excited about coming off of
last year, But how much better does the defense get?
Is there enough depth on the back end and in
the secondary, and does Bryce Young continue to build off
of what we saw at the tail end of last year.
Those are gonna be some of the questions that the
Panthers will need to answer in that Week one game
(39:28):
we set up before coming home with at least one
win this.
Speaker 6 (39:32):
Year is huge.
Speaker 5 (39:33):
This is a winnable game, this no doubt about that.
I guess the Jaguars, But the Jaguars I think the
exact same thing to go, hey, this is good the paths,
this is a winnable game. I think the third down
percentage is going to be key for both our offense
and our defense. We gotta get off the field on
third down, and on third down we gotta continue to
(39:54):
move the chains. And so I'm hoping that our third
downs are like third down and three minus right around
there from the offensive standpoint, and I'm hoping that the
third down on the defensive side is third down is
seven plus. Those things that you can go ahead and
win and that means you've got to be better on
first and second down. So this is going to be
(40:14):
really in the trenches. I think this game is won
in the trenches. Who offensive line does well and what
defense of line is able to put pressure on the
quarterback or put pressure on the offensive line, because I
think both teams are built based on the offensive line
and they able to run the ball and then a
lot of quarterbacks will throw the rock.
Speaker 7 (40:33):
I mean, it's a long season, but what a tone
setter if you go on the road and get that win.
Takes a lot of pressure off, I think, and it
kind of dedicates you know what you think about with
Bryce and the commitment to the running game you talked
about and what we'll see with that offensive line again.
And then defensively, I think, you know this has to
be the year, right there were the steps up and
they stopped the run. We saw got some pressure on
(40:54):
the quarterback last year, but you know, all these new
players coming in like that has to happen right away.
I want to get your thoughts to you on what you
think about Travis Hunter's ability to be a two way
player in this league, Like to what to what degree
can he be obviously it can't be like it was
in college, and he's gont have to pick his spots
on one side of the ball the other. But if
you spend a top five pick, I mean, doesn't have
to be more time at receiver to get your value
(41:15):
because a pass breakup versus catching a couple of passes
scoring touchdowns. If I feel like you're not gonna get
your bank for the buck if you just use him
more as defense and then a spot offensive player as
opposed to an offensive player that does some spot defense.
Speaker 5 (41:26):
You know exactly if he's an offensive player and it
can make that type of you know, have that type
of impact, you know, then you put him at receiver
where he's oh man, he's dominant.
Speaker 6 (41:35):
He's dominant. But I don't think he's a dominant receiver.
Speaker 5 (41:37):
He's better. I think he's better at defense. I think
he is one of a shut down corner. And from
that standpoint, I'm putting him on defense and I'm gonna
keep him on defense. I might give you some spot stuff,
but I want you to play defense solely because if
you can take away aside like a dreul Reeves, like
a d Al Sanders, then we can go ahead and
plan defensively accordingly. You know, and I don't care about
(42:01):
I can always find a Travis Hunter to catch the
ball on offense. I don't need a Travis un on offense,
but I do need a Travis on on defense. He's
that special on defense.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Yeah, listen, when he plays offense, He's still going to
be a challenge for this secondary, especially when you consider
Brian Thomas on the other side coming off a tremendous
rookie season. One thing I'm watching for this was a
Jaguars offensive line that was pretty bad last year. They
went and did some work there, did some surgery, They
signed for offensive linemen, they drafted another one. Can the
(42:30):
rebuilt Panthers defensive front. Yes, win some matchups. Dominate the
trenches or at least control the trenches to get the
ball back to the offense. Let Brice Cook and let
the season get off on a strong foot.
Speaker 2 (42:46):
This has been on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network, brought
to you by Atrium Health. At Atrium Health, we do
more to keep you moving, achieving, striving at every eight
stage so you can live fully. Bank of America, what
would you like the power to do? Coke Gandy deserves
(43:08):
the great taste of coca cola because fan work is
thirsty work.
Speaker 1 (43:12):
Pantherton, panthertoll, panther doll.
Speaker 2 (43:15):
This is the Carolina Panthers radio network.
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