November 10, 2025 • 42 mins
Dave Canales joins Anish Shroff, Jim Szoke and Eugene Robinson on "Panther Talk" to recap the Panther's home loss to the Saints, discuss T-Mac's development, talk about getting back to work, and so much more!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The following is an exclusive presentation of the Carolina Panthers
and the National Football League Panther Tell and their Tell,
and they're to This is Panther Talk on the Carolina
Panthers Radio network.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
It's consistency, consistency and the product that we're looking for,
and certainly starts with taking care of the ball.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Then it goes to eliminating.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Explosive plays and capitalizing when we get our red zone opportunities.
So I think for us as a group, you know,
just getting back to that balanced offense that we're used
to in defensively taking care of the you know, explosive
plays which we're getting used to hear a certain brand
of ball, right and we didn't capture that today.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And now, along with Jim Zochi and Eugene Robinson, here's
a Niche Shroff with Panther Talk live from the Panthers
broadcast facility at Bank of America Stadio.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
Welcome to Panther Talk, a Nie Shroff, Jim Zochie, Eugene Robinson,
coach of the Carolina Panthers, Dave Canalis. We are ten
weeks into the season, past the halfway point. Before we
move on, let's go back to Sunday, because I think
the one thing that jumped out there was you'd be
the first to admit and you said it, Hey, that
(01:17):
wasn't the best we've seen of the Panthers.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
That wasn't us.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
And yet this is a team now that has margin
for error, because despite all that, it still felt like
there were opportunities to win that game.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Absolutely, we were given opportunities a couple of times, and
the defense earned a few for us and gave us
a chance to get ourselves right back into the game,
and we didn't capitalize.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
And when I look back at this season and the
games that we've had success, we've played really good complete
football and it was offense, defense, and special teams and
we took care of the ball. And we did not
get that done on Sunday, you know, with the fumble,
an interception. Really had two of them, but one of
them was one of them didn't end up being an
interception because of a roughing the passer. But it was
(01:59):
certainly a day where we didn't capitalize on the opportunities
that were given. Even the block kick, you know, and
we recover the ball right there in the red zone,
and then a couple of plays later give it right
back to him. So and then defensively just given up
big plays, you know, And that's something that we've been
doing a really good job of, is is either winning
the explosive battle or just being you know, pretty even
with the opponent. And you know, we gave up eight explosives.
(02:22):
We only got two on offense. And you know, this
is a part of our football that we have to
continue to press in on and make sure that we
come alive, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Offensively speaking, coach.
Speaker 6 (02:31):
You've missing having a balance attack. And some of the
people with that I've talked to you say, what does
he mean? Does he mean like running inside outside? So
what do you mean by having a balance attack when
you see a loaded box?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Yeah, what we've seen is we've seen our run game
have success. While teams are aware of that and so
they're going to try to make you one dimensional and
force you to pass to throw the ball. And we
got to see more positive results come out of our
pass game. And that's what we're working on as a staff.
That's what we're working on with our group offensively, you know,
to try to make these guys come ala live and
create some explosives, you know, whatever that looks like, whether
(03:03):
it's throwing the ball down the field, getting into the
screen game, you know, and trying to scheme some different
things up. But it's something that we have to create
a little bit more variety for so that teams can't
just you know, hunker down and play us.
Speaker 5 (03:14):
Like that general question.
Speaker 7 (03:15):
But you know, obviously they take away the run and
then the first option they're going to know is tetro.
After that, the other receiving group of Jalen and the
rest of the guys, So getting them more involved is
that might maybe a priority moving forward, just having all
the different options more involved.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Absolutely, Jim. I mean that's a great point, right we'd
love to see these guys show up. And you know,
for a couple of weeks now, we've seen Jalen Cocher
make plays when he's gotten his opportunities, you know, and
I expect Exavier to make his plays as well, you know,
And so having the variety, making sure that we spread
it out and really you know, work on our formations,
work on the type of passes that we're throwing, you know,
two different guys. But you know, I'll tell you guys
(03:47):
this again, it's going to start with t Mac and
we're going to count on him. He's going to get
the toughest looks, you know, and so we have to
make a job. We have to make sure that we
put him in different situations to create access for him,
and to put him on stuff that you know isn't
always just the isolated X receiver and we've been mixing
some things up like that, but we can continue to
do that.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
For a rookie wide receiver. He's come into the league
and he's getting the team's number one corner most weeks.
How has he acquitted himself through the first ten games,
given that there's no real on ramp. It's not like,
you know, he gets to be the number two or
number three. He was the number one from week one.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Absolutely taking some good wins and some good losses and
learning lessons. And that's the part that I appreciate about
t Mac is just he takes in this lesson of
how how he got played on the play before, and
then he adjusts and he adjusts his feet, he adjusts
his hands, and it's this constant learning curve and growth
process for how they're going to try to play him
with different press techniques or soft catch techniques or inside
(04:45):
trail with the safety over top. He's getting the whole gamut.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
This is something that you know, Mike Evans got really
familiar with in Tampa, you know, and and the time
that I spent with him down there, you know, trying
to troubleshoot different ways, and we have to do a
good job of moving him around so that we don't
make it too easy on them to really zero in
on him. But at the same time, that means great
opportunities for everybody else, and let's let's make sure that
we take capitalize on those as well.
Speaker 6 (05:09):
Coach is was it a matter of technique? We saw
the play with jac Horn and live down the field.
Was that a matter of technique of turning not turning
his back to him or you.
Speaker 8 (05:22):
Know the way he was positioned.
Speaker 6 (05:23):
Yeah, well you could actually have to we have to
look up and now if he does bump into you,
it's easy to fall.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
I think, so it could be just a leverage thing.
And I know also as you can attest to it,
when you get a player who's as fast as Chrystal
Lavea and he's running at full tilt and you're moving
at the same rate and Jac is really fast and
we also understand that, but any little incremental movement, you know,
And they had kind of had their hands tied up
in jc's feet kind of slipped on him and went
down and Tyler shuck through an amazing pass on that
(05:50):
play as well, So, you know, to speak of the
whole play in general, like they picked up a really
good pressure and blocked it well, and then they had
the one on one opportunity made a throw and you know,
sometimes it's like that, you know, but it does. It
starts with you know, footwork, technique, leverage and all that.
JC to be the first one to tell you'd love
to have that one back.
Speaker 7 (06:08):
You guys both mentioned, you know, some some explosive plays
they were able to accomplish on offense. But when you
only give up seventeen points in the game defensively, pretty
scrappy performance to keep it at a low scoring game and
give you guys a chance.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Absolutely, And can't say enough about our defense for playing
hard all the way through it. And really they didn't
see a lot of success in the run game until
the very end. Well that's the war of attrition, you know,
and that's just a result of our offense not being
on the field long enough. We're putting our defense out
there over and over again. With the turnovers and with
the punts. We had a bunch of three and outs.
Those are the things that I take personally. I got
(06:40):
to do a better job putting our guys in situations
to have success. Move the ball down the field, whatever
that is, whether that's the quick game, pass game, whether
it's empty some of the things that we've used.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
In the past. We just try to use all of it,
you know.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
And right now we've been leaning on our run game
because that's what's worked for us, and I'm not one
to just ditch and go away from something that's been
effective for us. But at the same time, we got
to protect the best stuff we do, so we got
to continue to grow our processes that way.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
And to that point, copycat league. So people may look
at the Saints, Hey, let's load up the box stop Rico. Dwell,
see if Bryce and the receivers can beat you downfield.
Is that kind of what you're now expecting to see
going forward.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Absolutely, another great opportunity for us to take strides in
our past game. I have so much confidence in this group.
I know that we have talented players all across the board.
It starts upfront, making sure we take care of the
protections the right way, and then putting the ball in
Bryce's hand and distributing it to this young, talented group
that we have. I count on these guys just banking
on all the work they're doing. They're constantly talking, they're
on the side, they're working through concepts and all these things,
(07:39):
and I know it's going to break through because hard
work works over and over. I've seen it happen throughout
my career, and I have full confidence in this group
to get it done.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Yeah, and to that point when you were at Seattle,
right there was that consistency of Okay, no one want
to take care of business.
Speaker 5 (07:54):
In week to week.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
This is a young team and there's a lot of
guys are who've been here who haven't won on And
you're now in that process where you've had some of
the big wins and you've had some of those moments
even toward the end of last year. What does it
take to kind of unlock that next step? Like you
saw firsthand in Seattle.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
It's the constant hunger for growth and improvement it's owning
the lessons that we've learned when things happen in a
negative way, to fix those things and say, okay, guys,
we've resolved this issue. Let's go find new mistakes to make,
and then also to capture the process that works for you.
The positive things, the things that work for us, the
things that give us an identity. Let's replicate these things.
(08:37):
It's about identity, right, That's what this league is about.
And when you can find an identity for how you
play football, it becomes a powerful thing.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
It all starts in practice. It's about our processes.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
It's about respecting every opportunity we have today on a Monday,
having these opportunities to talk through the film, learn the lessons,
relearn some and look at the things that worked well.
And let's not lose the positives. Let's not lose how
hard we played, how physical we played, the effort we
play with. Let's not lose that inside of because of
what the result was. The result was what it was.
(09:07):
Because the Saints made more plays than we did. We
got to give those guys credit, but we also got
to make our plays and make sure that we own
this process so that it becomes us we know how
to do this thing. We know how what a Monday
looks like. We know what a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
looks like. Here's how it comes to life on Sunday.
We got to capture those things.
Speaker 6 (09:24):
Coach, what has ETN giving you? And also a second
question to this is might we see more shots down
the fields, those explosive go routes just to keep the
defense honest.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Absolutely, we got to have the explosive plays, Eugene. We
got to make sure that we come up with different
ways to attack, whether it's go balls, whether it's posts,
deep crossers and all that. Those are all the parts
of our system that we're counting on to come alive.
Things that we're talking about and working on. Trevory ten
has done an amazing job as our primary returner. You know,
with two really good backs, it's hard to kind of
get him going, you know, in the backfield there's just
(09:58):
not enough touches to go around. But he certainly is
showing us that he's ready to go.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Last week.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
I got to say he looked fantastic in practice on Thursday,
just running our scheme and pressing the runs, taking care
of the ball and seeing it with vision, so I
know at some point we'll need them and we'll be
counting them to be ready.
Speaker 7 (10:14):
Folks always want to know about the quarterback, and hear
about it here. You talk about it as well, and
de Bryce was a little more demonstrative in his postgame
and the anger after a few minutes after the game yesterday,
not asking for anything as far as you know, schematic
or any kind of competitive stuff, but the tone of
your conversations anything different as far as a game like that,
and try to get him in the right mindset moving
forward off a game like yesterday.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Let's just take the lessons and learn. Let's go through
the film just like we always do and look at
the grades and you know, see where we can be better,
and just evaluate how we're throwing to our guys. And
you know, there's always those little tweaks that happen of
like hey, in this situation, you could get hit him
on this leverage, different things like that, but just working
through the process, you know, and there's going to be emotions,
(10:56):
there's going to be frustration in games like that, and
it's important to make sure we take lessons, we move on,
and we go attack the next week.
Speaker 8 (11:03):
Coach.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
We saw Trevin Wallace go down during that game. What
can you tell us about Trevin?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, went down, couldn't get back in. You know, he's
been working through some stuff and getting himself back out there.
You know, really applaud Trevin for for being being able
to get out there and continue to help us. You know,
but we're gonna have to evaluate this one and and
see what is available. Availability looks like after we have
a full evaluation.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
If for some reason he's unavailable this week, would Rose
boom then go back to being the green dot.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Yeah, Christian will do that. Claude Cherlis, who actually played
really well in the game at the end, again talking
about not losing things just because of the outcome, but
Claude played downhill, he played physical, he was smacking lineman,
he was smacking ball carriers, and really felt like he
looked comfortable out there. So I'm excited for him to
have an opportunity if Trevin can go this week.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Luke brought up a great point.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
There was that fourth down play where chery List was
matched up on Kamara on the slot and his coverage
there allowed you guys to make the play.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Absolutely, he's a fantastic athlete. You know, he can really run.
He's been he's been amazing for us on special teams,
you know, covering kicks and all that. And you know
he's continuing to grow in our schemes, in our system,
and so you know, really counting on Cloud if he
has to go this week, you know so, and I
trust him.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
I trust him to do it. He's tough enough, he's
smart enough.
Speaker 6 (12:14):
So and coach, as you pivot to the Atlanta Falcons,
what's the message to the team. I mean, you can
easily think about a thirty point bow out win, but
this is a divisional rival. So what is the message
to the team as you move forward?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Other than the film that's valuable to us because it's
scheme on scheme, you can't even think about that that game.
I expect this to be a totally different Atlanta Falcons team.
I know what type of rhythm that Michael Pennix can
play with with the skilled players that he has, Drake
London starting with him, you know, and then of course
Bejon Robinson and the different ways that can employ him.
(12:45):
If you flip on the other side to this defense,
this is a this is a really fast, hungry defense.
They got ballhawks on the back half with Xavier Watson,
with Jesse Bates. These guys are fantastic players. Aj Terrell
somebody that I really respect, you know, and you talk
about their front seven.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
They got some.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Young young speed on the edge. And you know, Ellis
is one of my favorite players just to watch because
he plays the game the right way. So I really
respect this group, I respect their coach. I think this
is a great opportunity for us to get back on
track and to play a really good team, a division opponent,
division rival.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
They're gonna be ready to go.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
We got to be ready to go and make sure
that we prepare this week for this matchup.
Speaker 7 (13:22):
And last thing, you guys have shown resiliency this season
after New England, after buffle, immediately coming right back from
those kind of games. Really coachable team. It looks like
as far as what you guys are presenting that they
figure it out pretty quick.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
And you know, this game is about finding and owning
your identity and getting back to work and how quickly
can we learn the lessons and how quickly can we
move on, And that's what this week is going to
be about as well.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Let's get back to the basics.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Let's get back to our process and trust that it'll
lead to good results.
Speaker 5 (13:48):
On too, Atlanta, Thank you coach.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
All right, thanks guys.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
This is the Carolina Panthers Radio network.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
This is Panther Talk on do you buy the Bank
of America? What would you like the power to do?
Speaker 4 (14:04):
This is a Monday where you're trying to separate macro
from micro and the macro is ten weeks into the season.
Ten games into the season, the Panthers are a five
hundred team, five and five. They have the same amount
of wins as they did a year ago. They have
shown you that they can go on the road and
(14:25):
beat a team like Green Bay, a team with Super
Bowl and NFC Championship aspirations. Clearly, it's an improved roster.
It's a deeper roster. We've seen a team that has
a margin for error. Now, they didn't really have that
the last couple of years. Sunday in the Micro, there's
no way to sugarcoat it. That was just a bad
(14:46):
loss to a bad team, and the Panthers played down
to the level of the Saints. And we bring up
this margin for error, Eugene, because there have been games
where the Panthers have been able to overcome some mistakes
and some turnovers battle back against New Orleans. There were
a lot of mistakes, whether it was penalties, turnovers, not
capitalizing on field position. Even in the first half, forget
(15:09):
the turnovers and the block field goal. Late in the
first half, they had a couple of short fields. Started
at the thirty eight, started at the forty seven, couldn't score,
went three and out, Like those are things when you
let those continuously slip away. Not a lot of teams
have that kind of margin for error. And then they
got beat by the Saints of one and eighteen, but
(15:31):
they played down to their level. But I still do
think at the end of the day, if somebody said
five and five after ten games and tangible progress, yes,
if you look at a snapshot of one game, yeah,
it stings and it's painful because I think we all
saw the Saints as two wins on the schedule.
Speaker 6 (15:50):
You know, that's the frustration what you are describing as
the frustration that somebody Carolina Panthers fans feel because they
recognize that margin, recognize that they played down to an
opponent that they should have beat, and it's like, hey,
you got seventeen points on us, and we had chances
after chances after chances after chances to go.
Speaker 8 (16:10):
Ahead and win the game.
Speaker 6 (16:11):
We really did when we should have gotten blown out
basically by like thirty plus points, and that didn't happen.
That's the margin, and that's also the frustration that everybody's
feeling here as fans and also in the locker room
because they're sitting there going, dude, how.
Speaker 8 (16:27):
Do we how did we lose these guys? What do
we do? Why didn't we take advantage of this? We're
in the red zone?
Speaker 6 (16:33):
How many times? Why didn't we take advantage here? Why
wasn't there inter sept? Why didn't we put the quarterback
in the dirt on the ground? We had mistackles, we
had all that stuff. So when you talk about the
big macro, it's like, oh, now, I'm happy that we're
we're a lot, we're improved, we improved.
Speaker 8 (16:52):
But we look at the micro.
Speaker 6 (16:53):
I'm going like this, dude, we're taking our margin zone
and we're throwing it away.
Speaker 8 (16:58):
That's what we're doing with the margin, and that we have.
Speaker 7 (17:00):
The macro is that we're disappointed with a five and
five record and not a one and eight record, This
is what you want to make that kind of progress.
Speaker 9 (17:07):
So that's the big picture. That's good.
Speaker 7 (17:09):
But to Aniche's point, that was a rough game to watch,
and I will say this, if Tyler Shuck can play
like that, Wow, going forward, that's not a one in
eight team because they've got some talent on that roster
on both offense and defense. So I think we may
look back later by the end of the year and
go that was not the worst team in the NFL,
despite the fact of what the record was coming into
it right now, because he could be a difference maker
(17:30):
for them, having that piece right now for the Panthers,
we got to make sure that we're doing all the
right things because, as we talked about with coach, everybody's
recipe is now going to be blowed up the box,
try to beat us with the pass and until proven
otherwise and maybe several times otherwise, that's going to be
the formula. Because Rico Dowdle's one of the best running
backs in the league and this offensive line is done
a great job. But blocking form, we've got to take
(17:50):
advantage of those pass opportunities when they're out there and
recognize them and make good throws and have receivers run
the right rounds.
Speaker 6 (17:56):
And anisa I would love to see, really, I would
love to see more explosive plays. And the reason why
I'm saying this is that I want to see Jimmy
Horn Jr.
Speaker 8 (18:05):
Flying down the field.
Speaker 6 (18:06):
What it does, so if I'm just being a defensive back,
what it takes is you take the free safety, the
strong safety, who may be back, who up is in
the middle, in the corner, and now you're gonna have
two people running with one guy down the field.
Speaker 8 (18:18):
And you know that if something goes.
Speaker 6 (18:21):
Awry just a little bit, that's an easy touchdowns.
Speaker 8 (18:25):
It's a concern.
Speaker 6 (18:26):
So to have some explosive places, even if you don't
even do it, even if you just send them down
the field and keep the guys honest, you've gained something
because now you don't have a couple of guys in
the box. They have to plan for that mystery play
down the field. And what we've done, We've just thrown
the ball so short.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
And so why do you think that is?
Speaker 8 (18:48):
I think it is because.
Speaker 6 (18:49):
The fact that we were we couldn't run the ball,
and the fact that they were getting to the quarterback
that I bet you. The coaches are saying, let's get
this ball out your hand really quickly. Let's get out
your hand really quickly. We can't afford another sack, we
can't afford a quarterback. Get it out your hair quickly.
But the rouse didn't compliment that. And even you know,
because you think about how good McMillan is, he was
(19:10):
getting covered and then okay, I want to say this gently.
I want to see Legett use his big man size
and just dominate someone. I would love to see him
post people up like Greg Olsen would do, and put
him behind him and catch the bar in front. He's
a big man and he's going against the fist of
(19:31):
backs who are smaller, and I would love for him
to use the size that way. I would love to
see even more jaylen Kocher out there getting getting some
touches and getting some more eats. And so there's a
lot to go around, and I think in that wide
receiving room, I think there's a lot of discussion that
they're gonna have to have just to really up their play,
to bring it up to the level that needs to
(19:52):
be because right now I think that's somewhat.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Like and I think the way some of these games
of God. Listen, this is a young make no mistake.
It's a young team. It's growing, it's ascending. There's gonna
be growing pains, and you're gonna have maybe some outcomes
that leave you scratch in your head, like how do
you go and beat Green Bay at Lambeau and then
lose to a one and eight Saints team. But go
to the Buffalo game for example, Jim, It's a Buffalo
(20:17):
team that knows how to win, knows how to put
people away. When they saw that the Panthers were staggering,
this wasn't about getting a twelve round decision. They went
for the knockout, and they knocked the Panthers out. They
got the win. I thought this game was lost in
the first half, not the second half. You score on
the opening drive, right, you got the Saints in third
and twelve. You had Tyler shuck dead to rights three
(20:41):
times and then he's able to find Juwan Johnson for
fifty something yards. They end up with a field goal.
Then Sam Martin with an incredible coffin corner kick pins
New Orleans inside the five. You get the ball back
with a short field instead of even getting a field goal,
you go three and out. Then you get the ball
back short field again, just inside the forty you go
(21:01):
three and out. Like those are areas where you know,
again the Buffaloes of the world, the Kansas Cities of
the world, they kind of see that they may have
turned that into a two or three score game. By
that point it's twenty one to three at halftime, or
twenty one to ten, or you know, seventeen to three.
We're down ten seven, And I think those are some
(21:23):
of the growing pains. Yeah, we've we've shown we can
hang and we can kind of stay in this and
make it a four quarter fight. But outside of the
Atlanta game, you know, that kind of dominance that I
think some of us were hoping to see on Sunday,
you know, that's kind of the next piece in the
evolution of this thing.
Speaker 7 (21:40):
Yeah, and I think, you know, we were a little
bit of a victim of our own success with Rico Dawdle,
because when you have back to back two hundred yard
games and then you're you're off game is one hundred
and thirty yards and two touchdowns, You're thinking, all right,
we got something nobody can stop. And I'm not saying
they didn't have Plan B, but the Plan B wasn't
nearly as good as Plan A was. And so when
he runs at eighteen times yesterday, which is a good number,
(22:02):
and doesn't you know, crack three yards per carry in
the game, I think that's that's the difference, is like
what was next on the menu wasn't as good as that.
And I think now we know that teams are gonna
load up and really go after that, We're gonna have
to have other things that are just as attainable as.
Speaker 8 (22:17):
What we had with reco running the ball previously.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
And you mentioned the downfield passing game. So Tedo McMillan
has twice as many catches as any other Panther. He's
got forty six catches. No other Panther has more than twenty.
McMillan's got six hundred plus receiving yards. No other Panther
is even north of two hundred. We need to find
that number two target.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
Absolutely, and I want some speed down in the field.
Jimmy Horn and I would love to see Jaylen Coker.
I think he is. He's that guy dude. He can
catch the rock and he plays big, and so I
think Coach Canalis. I think moving forward is like, how
do I get these young guys involved?
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Still ahead On Panther Talk, Jim Keats, which is up
with our good pal Mick Mixon, former voice of the Panthers,
and we will go around to the NFL circuit with
the always entertaining of Mike Coolick Junior.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
You're listening to the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
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 (23:27):
Today we talk with the voice of the Carolina Panthers
for seventeen years, and the voice of that very important
season twenty fifteen when the Panthers nearly did the impossible
and still had one of the great.
Speaker 8 (23:40):
Seasons in the history of the NFL.
Speaker 7 (23:41):
We're gonna reflect on Super Bowl fifty, the twenty fifteen
season with our friend Mick Mixon.
Speaker 8 (23:45):
Today.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Thirty seasons of Panther football. A celebration of the players, coaches,
and other key figures who've contributed to the organizational success.
Speaker 7 (23:58):
All right, that's all the open you get at Mick.
It's your opal gym. Here and we think back to
ten years ago, the Super Bowl fifty season, and as
star as a broadcast team went, it was yourself and
Eugene and me and Jordan Gross and we had a
lot of fun, a lot of great road trips and
traveling together there. And little did we know when that
(24:19):
season began what we were getting into, because the year before,
of course, was when they rallied and won four to
a row and then won a playoff game and seven
eight and one was good enough to win the division.
We thought that was an accomplishment. And then this team
goes fifteen and one, starts out fourteen to zero on
their way to Super Bowl fifty. And we're certainly like
a game by game, but big picture, as you look back,
is it almost surreal that that team went seventeen and
(24:42):
one heading into that Super Bowl game? And just if
you go back again the year before, winning the last
four regular season games to get ready for that one,
I mean you think about how things have been buying
large since and that's an amazing accomplishment.
Speaker 9 (24:54):
Yeah, I think that team zoke had.
Speaker 10 (24:55):
That team won and I generally and it's great hearing
your voice, brother, I share start time together. Man, We
had so much fun, And one of the great joys
of working with you is when people would come up
to me and say, man, I cracked up when you
and Zochie said X y Z and I could not remember,
and I really thought that we had said that off air.
So I think for both of us, the line between
(25:18):
our on air and off air comfortability with each other
and what we said our filter became was a little gray.
So I think hopefully that was an okay thing for
the listeners and the people that were along with us
for those journeys. But Zoke, I remember when I first
started working with you guys in five I remember Marty
(25:40):
Hernie and John Fox saying in Foxy's office, you'd rather
not go to a super Bowl than you would go
and lose. And I thought, that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
It's still a great accomplishment to get there. You can't
win it if you don't go. I thought, these are
(26:02):
two guys, I respect their football pedigree, but they don't
know what they're talking about.
Speaker 9 (26:08):
Then comes the after party.
Speaker 10 (26:10):
After Super Bowl fifty and as you and I have
talked about over the years, a ten piece horn band
that doesn't really realize that the Panthers have lost that
nobody's wanting to hear cool in the gang and you know,
get up and boogie shrimp the size of bananas, this
ice sculpture, this huge hotel ballroom, and it was like
a durned death. And I reflected back to Coach Fox
(26:33):
and Marty Hernie, and I thought, you know what, I
kind of see now. I still think. I still think
it's fantastic to go. That team will be remembered as
one of the all time great teams in Panther history.
Even if the Panthers win five straight Super Bowls, that
fifteen team will have a special place in the Panthers,
Panther fans, hearts, and in the team's history.
Speaker 9 (26:56):
But dang man, it was.
Speaker 10 (27:00):
Had the Panthers won that game, now people would talk
about that twenty fifteen team as one of the greatest
teams in the history of the NFL, don't you think.
Speaker 7 (27:10):
I actually had that conversation recently with Brad Nortman, who
was the punter on that team, and he said he
remembers watching ESPN like it was either the morning of
the day before the game and he's just walking through,
you know, in the hotel. They always have the meal
rooms and all that kind of stuff, and the TV's playing,
and they literally said at one of those talk shows
on ESPN, if the Panthers win, are they the greatest
(27:33):
team ever? Because obviously the seventy two Dolphins would be
in that conversation, but kind of in a more modern
era of a more balanced competition, if you are the
way the league is set up, you know, would this
be the greatest team in the history of the NFL?
And that's what they were playing for. And you know, again,
you go seventeen and one heading into that game and
then you lose by two touchdowns.
Speaker 8 (27:55):
The game it wasn't a two touchdown game.
Speaker 7 (27:56):
I mean, people will also forget it was basically a
one score games most of the way. But I think
we all agree and talking with the players and coaches
and all the different people we've been talking to about
it this year, it just was flat and it was
just like a little.
Speaker 8 (28:09):
Bit of everything.
Speaker 7 (28:10):
It was a little bit of a miss kick on
special teams, fumble by a guy who doesn't normally fumble,
it drops pass by a receiver that you could argue
maybe caught the ball. Just those little Nixon bruises that
led to it being what it was, and in the
end just not quite good enough to win because if
you look at the numbers, the defense held Peyton Manning
(28:30):
to nothing. I mean I threw for I don't have
the stats it from me, but he threw for about
one hundred and thirty yards with no touchdowns and a pick.
That was Peyton Manning's last game, and they still won
the game because of course their defense played really well
at times.
Speaker 10 (28:43):
At the training camp the following summer, so summer of
twenty sixteen, training camp high hopes to go back to
the super Bowl. You still got a powerful team, rock
stars everywhere you look. But lunch one day after a
morning practice really hot, and about two weeks into training camp,
Luke Keighley sits down at the table where or I
(29:05):
happen to be sitting, and several others, and somebody brings
up the game and Keithley puts his salt shaker down
and looks at all of us and he said, I
will never forget. I had studied Peyton Manning for two weeks.
I knew every down, every distance, every substitution pattern, every
personnel grouping, every shift, every motion. And they come out
(29:28):
in middle of the third quarter, they come out in
exactly the formation I'm looking for. I know the play,
I know where Peyton Manning is going to go with
the ball. He cocks his arm. I jumped the route.
It's going to be a pick six, and we're going
to have the lead in Super Bowl fifty.
Speaker 9 (29:43):
Zoke.
Speaker 10 (29:44):
All of us listening to Luke Keighley. I mean, we're
just not even on the edge of our you know,
any cliche. We're just it was so we're just listening
to him tell the story.
Speaker 9 (29:54):
He says, I jumped rout.
Speaker 10 (29:55):
Manning's gonna throw it right to me, and in that instant,
KK Short comes around from behind and tips Manning's elbow
and the ball lands five yards off to the right incomplete.
It was a great play. But I was already I
(30:19):
had in my mind. I had already scored, we already
had the lead. I was playing my end zone celebration,
and oh gosh, it just hit all of us like
a just like a.
Speaker 9 (30:29):
Bank safe had been dropped on our heads. We just
went ugh. But it just shows you how.
Speaker 10 (30:36):
Thin the margins are in any any NFL game, but
in that game in particular.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Subscribe to thirty seasons of Panther Football on the iHeartRadio app,
Panthers dot com, and Team Apple, Apple podcast or Spotify.
Is Paanther Talk You Cokedy deserves the great taste of
(31:05):
Goca Cola because fan work is thirsty work.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
Panther Talk continues in a sharp Jim Zok Eugene Robinson.
Our next guest is one of the hosts of Golick
and Golic. I'll let you guess who know. It's Mike
Golick Junior does the show with his dad, Mike Golick.
Great show, check it out. Joins us now to kind
of go around the NFL, and I guess we got
to start with the news of the day, Mike, which
(31:29):
is Brian dable letting being let go by the New
York Giants. What was your immediate reaction in the aftermath
of that fourth quarter debacle against Chicago.
Speaker 11 (31:42):
Yeah, it seemed like kind of the last straw at
this point, right, And this is the paul hanging over
this entire season for the New York Giants, whether or
not this decision was going to come, and it likes
so many headquach coaches on the hot seat before him.
At Brian Davells saw the glimmer of hope that comes
with a rookie quarterback who showed the kind of promise
initially that we saw from Jackson Dart. But I think,
(32:05):
as you know, the Cam Scataboo injury kind of feels
like a tipping point of the season now where the
offense hasn't quite looked as instinct since then, And you
throw the Jackson Dart injury on top of the mismanagement
at the end of that game, and I think it
all adds up to the same question that ends up
damning a lot of these coaches who inherit these rookie
top picks, which is, hey, we've seen enough to know
(32:25):
we think we got a quarterback that we can do
something with. Now we want to figure out are you
the one that we want with the hands on the wheel?
And it appears in the New York Giants. Despite Brian
daboles history with that position, it saw enough this year
to kind of question that. And you know, I think
looking in the last few games, Brian Daveall did his
best to meet Jackson Dart where he was at coming
(32:46):
from the college level, But I did have some reservations
about how much they were working him into the design
run game, especially the way they did. And it's not
to say the injury made that ultimate decision, but it
was something that kind of felt inevitable given the play
style that we had seen so far from him and
now Jackson Dart Jones a laundry list of recent quarterbacks
who are going to be going into their second year
(33:06):
trying to make that jump with a new offensive voice
in their ear.
Speaker 6 (33:09):
Well, let's stay with the Bears and whatnot and just
talk about the quarterback because now everybody's singing the praise
of Caleb.
Speaker 11 (33:17):
Yeah, listen, it's been a steady improvement from Caleb Williams,
what feels like all season long to the point about
you know, young quarterbacks who lookten Kayla's first year had
three different voices in his year at play caller, and
then got to this year with Ben Johnson, who is
one of the most coveted prizes in the last few
coaching cycles. But finally made that move and it was
a little rocky out of the gate, but I think
(33:38):
he's someone that is finally starting to hit that middle
ground between hey, still busting out that fastball every once
in a while and showing people the gifts that made
the number one overall pick, but also playing more within
that structure of Ben Johnson's offense. You know, the continued
development of the relationship between him and Romadunza that I
thought towards the back end the last year really started
(34:00):
to show you flashes of what it can be. Colson
Loveland their top pick out of Michigan's come on some lately.
So I think you're starting to see exactly why Ben
Johnson was so covetive for them offensively, even if defensively,
I think they've still got plenty of work to do
in Chicago.
Speaker 5 (34:14):
Yeah, just give a little credit to Roman Dunesday's dad
that too.
Speaker 11 (34:18):
Yes, hey, listen, even Rome game in the shout like
as tough as that's gonna be, having your dad become
a story of the week in the media. Squeaker Wheel
gets the grief sometimes, you know.
Speaker 5 (34:28):
How that works?
Speaker 7 (34:30):
Like any it's like an aau paarad out there. No, hey, Mike,
Jim Zochi here. So the Panthers play the Falcons coming
up this week, and I'm actually stunned that Atlanta's three
and six. We beat them thirty to nothing earlier this year.
But you look at all that talent they have and
and you know all the names there, but what's missing.
They worked hard on their defense this offseason. Is it
Pennix just isn't quite there yet or what's the number
one reason why their record is what it is.
Speaker 11 (34:52):
Yeah? I think that there's a couple of things. You know,
One defensively, For as much as they overhauled and really
hit on the pass rushers on that group, and we've
seen some of those dividends paid already, it's a group
that still struggled some against the run. God, we saw
that to the umpteenth degree against one of the best
rushing teams in the NFL in Jonathan Taylor and the
Indianapolis Colts. But I think on the other side of
(35:13):
the ball, it's a very right now, it feels like
predictable offense. We know they're gonna lean heavy into the
outside zone stuff with the John Robinson and dare you
to stop him there? The offensive line when healthy can
be one of the better ones in the NFL when
it comes to run blocking. And yet right now, outside
of Drake London, I don't know if the passing game
(35:34):
has always felt very you know, creative or dynamic and
so you know, combine that with Michael Pennix junior, who
is still really in his first full year as a starter,
and should I think be allowed some room to grow.
I just think that group right now hasn't quite been
firing on all cylinders, quite honestly, in the way that
I expected going into this season, given the amount of
former first round talent they've got on that offense.
Speaker 8 (35:56):
Would that be.
Speaker 6 (35:57):
Also be your assessment of the Carolina path is wide
receiving group as you mentioned about London and.
Speaker 11 (36:05):
Pass Yeah, no, I think so. I mean, I think
for Carolina it's really interesting and we're kind of hitting
the crossroads of that conversation around the quarterback again too,
of Hey, you know, how much of not being able
to push the ball down the field or not suc
cecily pushing the ball down the field falls on Bryce
Young falls on you know, the receiving war that yeah
(36:26):
is young still and trying to get these guys to
step up. But it just seems like the consistency in
that element is going to be the thing that ultimately
decides this season. Because we saw that, I mean, the
game plan from New Orleans was pretty clear. Rico dwell
on this running game aren't going to beat us today.
You're going to have to put it over the top.
And you know, one side with the rookie quarterback and
(36:46):
Tyler Schuck on the other end, was able to do
that and hit on a couple of big plays that
made that happen. And unfortunately Bryce in this Panthers offense,
it was kind of the same deal.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
Mike.
Speaker 4 (36:55):
You live in Los Angeles. What travels further in January
the Chargers defense or the Rams offense.
Speaker 11 (37:04):
Oo, Man, I mean I going back to like the preseason,
and you guys know, I mean covering this far more
closely than I do. Like when you see the second third,
you know, multiple guys down in the roster spots going
out and executing at a high level. That's indicative of
the coaching you're getting. And my god, Jesse Minner has
(37:24):
had that whole group top to bottom pretty ready now Listen.
Having Khalil Mack come back and healthy after that elbow
injury in the season has certainly helped the production some there.
And that's a group when fully healthy and you've got
you know, Derwin James in the middle, and the way
that back ends connected, it's as good as any out there.
But man, call me biased as a guy that played
offense in college on the offensive line seeing what Sean
(37:48):
McVay and Matthew Stafford continue to do after all the
worry in the preseason that seems like a diftant memory
about Matthew Stafford's back and what was gonna happen there.
This is just a group that can morph into so
many You know, you go back a few games when
the Rams were over in London and you don't have
your top receiver and Pooking Nakua and so they go
three tight ends and they figure it out and they
(38:08):
get back to the downhill stuff that since Karen Williams
came over there has become more of a steady diet
for Sean in this iteration of his offense. And I
just feel like you combine what they've got personnel wise
with hey, Davonte Adams, who I got a little shaken
up with the back last night, but him Pooking Nakua
Kyron in the backfield and Matthew behind an offensive line
that seems a little bit more solid, And I'll take
(38:29):
the unit that's got the grizzled veteran quarterback who's been there,
done that, and still has the kind of arm talent
to push it anywhere.
Speaker 4 (38:36):
All right, Mike, before we let you go, I think
I'm contractually obliged to ask you this question. Michael Olick Junior,
you're the biggest Taylor Swift fan I know. So if
the Carolina Panthers are a Taylor Swift song, they would be.
Speaker 11 (38:52):
I think they would be out of the woods right
now trying to figure out where exactly they are in
the journey, especially when it comes to figuring out securing
the future at that all important position of quarterback. Thought
maybe after last year we're in the clear, avoided having
to be in the quarterback rat race this spring, but
I think still may be trying to find their way
out right now, out.
Speaker 5 (39:12):
Of the woods. Love it, Gojo, Appreciate you.
Speaker 11 (39:16):
Always a pleasure. Thank guys.
Speaker 4 (39:18):
Mike Golick Junior. You can listen to him on Golick
and golic you're listening to the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Panther Talk continues on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network and each.
Speaker 4 (39:37):
Jim Eugene week eleven Panthers head to Atlanta. We know
the Panthers can run the football. We know teams are
going to try to stop the run and be aggressive
the way the Saints were, but it's hard not to
have watched that Colts Falcons game Jim and say, wait
a minute, Indy ran for three hundred and twenty three yards,
(39:58):
Jonathan Taylor thirty two for two forty four. We've seen
Rico Dowdell put up some crazy numbers this season. I'm
sure you want to throw the ball downfield and you
want to get those explosive plays you can run on
the Falcons like that.
Speaker 9 (40:15):
I mean, we got a guy like that. Yeah, as
you said, Rico Dowdles.
Speaker 7 (40:19):
So I think I would say, though, if they if
they throw the kitchen sink at it, though, you do
have to have any another alternative to that. But you're right,
and maybe, Eugene, maybe you start by doing something a
little bit unpredictable when maybe you come out throwing to
set up the run like you come out throwing just
a little bit more. I'm not saying, like, you know,
change your whole culture of what you are, but maybe
not on first down and ten like necessarily do the
(40:41):
obvious thing there. But I think to Aniche's point, they
have trouble stopping the run. We're pretty good at running
the ball, but you have to pick your spots right.
You can't be always predictable when that's going to happen.
Speaker 11 (40:51):
You know.
Speaker 6 (40:51):
I would love to say the Saints had problems stopping
to run just as well too. And they come in
here in one and eight and they embarrass the paths.
They go ahead and eight man front. Expect the eight
man front and expect them to say that they're don't
have the same formula that the Saints did and try
to stop the Carolina Panthers. Is going to be imperative
that Bryce is able to throw the ball downfield and
(41:12):
have a battlest attack. If not, you're gonna be watching
the same thing you watch with the Saints.
Speaker 4 (41:17):
Yeah, and something to remember Week one last year, the
Saints beat the Panthers forty seven to ten. We saw
what happened the second time round, exactly what Dave Canalis
said earlier in the show, thirty to nothing don't mean nothing,
doesn't mean anything. Division game, a lot of pride at stake.
I will say this, the last time Bryce played in
that stadium, best game of his career. Bryce Young three
(41:38):
and one, all time against the Falcons.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
This has been on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network, brought
to you by Atrium Health. At Atrium Health, we do
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deserves the great taste of Coca Cola because fan work
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Speaker 8 (42:07):
Pantherton, panther Doll.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Panther Doll. This is the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
The following is an exclusive presentation of the Carolina Panthers
and the National Football League Panther Tell and their Tell,
and they're to This is Panther Talk on the Carolina
Panthers Radio network.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
It's consistency, consistency and the product that we're looking for,
and certainly starts with taking care of the ball.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Then it goes to eliminating.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Explosive plays and capitalizing when we get our red zone opportunities.
So I think for us as a group, you know,
just getting back to that balanced offense that we're used
to in defensively taking care of the you know, explosive
plays which we're getting used to hear a certain brand
of ball, right and we didn't capture that today.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
And now, along with Jim Zochi and Eugene Robinson, here's
a Niche Shroff with Panther Talk live from the Panthers
broadcast facility at Bank of America Stadio.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
Welcome to Panther Talk, a Nie Shroff, Jim Zochie, Eugene Robinson,
coach of the Carolina Panthers, Dave Canalis. We are ten
weeks into the season, past the halfway point. Before we
move on, let's go back to Sunday, because I think
the one thing that jumped out there was you'd be
the first to admit and you said it, Hey, that
(01:17):
wasn't the best we've seen of the Panthers.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
That wasn't us.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
And yet this is a team now that has margin
for error, because despite all that, it still felt like
there were opportunities to win that game.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Absolutely, we were given opportunities a couple of times, and
the defense earned a few for us and gave us
a chance to get ourselves right back into the game,
and we didn't capitalize.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
You know.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
And when I look back at this season and the
games that we've had success, we've played really good complete
football and it was offense, defense, and special teams and
we took care of the ball. And we did not
get that done on Sunday, you know, with the fumble,
an interception. Really had two of them, but one of
them was one of them didn't end up being an
interception because of a roughing the passer. But it was
(01:59):
certainly a day where we didn't capitalize on the opportunities
that were given. Even the block kick, you know, and
we recover the ball right there in the red zone,
and then a couple of plays later give it right
back to him. So and then defensively just given up
big plays, you know, And that's something that we've been
doing a really good job of, is is either winning
the explosive battle or just being you know, pretty even
with the opponent. And you know, we gave up eight explosives.
(02:22):
We only got two on offense. And you know, this
is a part of our football that we have to
continue to press in on and make sure that we
come alive, you know.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Offensively speaking, coach.
Speaker 6 (02:31):
You've missing having a balance attack. And some of the
people with that I've talked to you say, what does
he mean? Does he mean like running inside outside? So
what do you mean by having a balance attack when
you see a loaded box?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Yeah, what we've seen is we've seen our run game
have success. While teams are aware of that and so
they're going to try to make you one dimensional and
force you to pass to throw the ball. And we
got to see more positive results come out of our
pass game. And that's what we're working on as a staff.
That's what we're working on with our group offensively, you know,
to try to make these guys come ala live and
create some explosives, you know, whatever that looks like, whether
(03:03):
it's throwing the ball down the field, getting into the
screen game, you know, and trying to scheme some different
things up. But it's something that we have to create
a little bit more variety for so that teams can't
just you know, hunker down and play us.
Speaker 5 (03:14):
Like that general question.
Speaker 7 (03:15):
But you know, obviously they take away the run and
then the first option they're going to know is tetro.
After that, the other receiving group of Jalen and the
rest of the guys, So getting them more involved is
that might maybe a priority moving forward, just having all
the different options more involved.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Absolutely, Jim. I mean that's a great point, right we'd
love to see these guys show up. And you know,
for a couple of weeks now, we've seen Jalen Cocher
make plays when he's gotten his opportunities, you know, and
I expect Exavier to make his plays as well, you know,
And so having the variety, making sure that we spread
it out and really you know, work on our formations,
work on the type of passes that we're throwing, you know,
two different guys. But you know, I'll tell you guys
(03:47):
this again, it's going to start with t Mac and
we're going to count on him. He's going to get
the toughest looks, you know, and so we have to
make a job. We have to make sure that we
put him in different situations to create access for him,
and to put him on stuff that you know isn't
always just the isolated X receiver and we've been mixing
some things up like that, but we can continue to
do that.
Speaker 4 (04:06):
For a rookie wide receiver. He's come into the league
and he's getting the team's number one corner most weeks.
How has he acquitted himself through the first ten games,
given that there's no real on ramp. It's not like,
you know, he gets to be the number two or
number three. He was the number one from week one.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Absolutely taking some good wins and some good losses and
learning lessons. And that's the part that I appreciate about
t Mac is just he takes in this lesson of
how how he got played on the play before, and
then he adjusts and he adjusts his feet, he adjusts
his hands, and it's this constant learning curve and growth
process for how they're going to try to play him
with different press techniques or soft catch techniques or inside
(04:45):
trail with the safety over top. He's getting the whole gamut.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
You know.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
This is something that you know, Mike Evans got really
familiar with in Tampa, you know, and and the time
that I spent with him down there, you know, trying
to troubleshoot different ways, and we have to do a
good job of moving him around so that we don't
make it too easy on them to really zero in
on him. But at the same time, that means great
opportunities for everybody else, and let's let's make sure that
we take capitalize on those as well.
Speaker 6 (05:09):
Coach is was it a matter of technique? We saw
the play with jac Horn and live down the field.
Was that a matter of technique of turning not turning
his back to him or you.
Speaker 8 (05:22):
Know the way he was positioned.
Speaker 6 (05:23):
Yeah, well you could actually have to we have to
look up and now if he does bump into you,
it's easy to fall.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
I think, so it could be just a leverage thing.
And I know also as you can attest to it,
when you get a player who's as fast as Chrystal
Lavea and he's running at full tilt and you're moving
at the same rate and Jac is really fast and
we also understand that, but any little incremental movement, you know,
And they had kind of had their hands tied up
in jc's feet kind of slipped on him and went
down and Tyler shuck through an amazing pass on that
(05:50):
play as well, So, you know, to speak of the
whole play in general, like they picked up a really
good pressure and blocked it well, and then they had
the one on one opportunity made a throw and you know,
sometimes it's like that, you know, but it does. It
starts with you know, footwork, technique, leverage and all that.
JC to be the first one to tell you'd love
to have that one back.
Speaker 7 (06:08):
You guys both mentioned, you know, some some explosive plays
they were able to accomplish on offense. But when you
only give up seventeen points in the game defensively, pretty
scrappy performance to keep it at a low scoring game and
give you guys a chance.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Absolutely, And can't say enough about our defense for playing
hard all the way through it. And really they didn't
see a lot of success in the run game until
the very end. Well that's the war of attrition, you know,
and that's just a result of our offense not being
on the field long enough. We're putting our defense out
there over and over again. With the turnovers and with
the punts. We had a bunch of three and outs.
Those are the things that I take personally. I got
(06:40):
to do a better job putting our guys in situations
to have success. Move the ball down the field, whatever
that is, whether that's the quick game, pass game, whether
it's empty some of the things that we've used.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
In the past. We just try to use all of it,
you know.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
And right now we've been leaning on our run game
because that's what's worked for us, and I'm not one
to just ditch and go away from something that's been
effective for us. But at the same time, we got
to protect the best stuff we do, so we got
to continue to grow our processes that way.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
And to that point, copycat league. So people may look
at the Saints, Hey, let's load up the box stop Rico. Dwell,
see if Bryce and the receivers can beat you downfield.
Is that kind of what you're now expecting to see
going forward.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
Absolutely, another great opportunity for us to take strides in
our past game. I have so much confidence in this group.
I know that we have talented players all across the board.
It starts upfront, making sure we take care of the
protections the right way, and then putting the ball in
Bryce's hand and distributing it to this young, talented group
that we have. I count on these guys just banking
on all the work they're doing. They're constantly talking, they're
on the side, they're working through concepts and all these things,
(07:39):
and I know it's going to break through because hard
work works over and over. I've seen it happen throughout
my career, and I have full confidence in this group
to get it done.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Yeah, and to that point when you were at Seattle,
right there was that consistency of Okay, no one want
to take care of business.
Speaker 5 (07:54):
In week to week.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
This is a young team and there's a lot of
guys are who've been here who haven't won on And
you're now in that process where you've had some of
the big wins and you've had some of those moments
even toward the end of last year. What does it
take to kind of unlock that next step? Like you
saw firsthand in Seattle.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
It's the constant hunger for growth and improvement it's owning
the lessons that we've learned when things happen in a
negative way, to fix those things and say, okay, guys,
we've resolved this issue. Let's go find new mistakes to make,
and then also to capture the process that works for you.
The positive things, the things that work for us, the
things that give us an identity. Let's replicate these things.
(08:37):
It's about identity, right, That's what this league is about.
And when you can find an identity for how you
play football, it becomes a powerful thing.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
It all starts in practice. It's about our processes.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
It's about respecting every opportunity we have today on a Monday,
having these opportunities to talk through the film, learn the lessons,
relearn some and look at the things that worked well.
And let's not lose the positives. Let's not lose how
hard we played, how physical we played, the effort we
play with. Let's not lose that inside of because of
what the result was. The result was what it was.
(09:07):
Because the Saints made more plays than we did. We
got to give those guys credit, but we also got
to make our plays and make sure that we own
this process so that it becomes us we know how
to do this thing. We know how what a Monday
looks like. We know what a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
looks like. Here's how it comes to life on Sunday.
We got to capture those things.
Speaker 6 (09:24):
Coach, what has ETN giving you? And also a second
question to this is might we see more shots down
the fields, those explosive go routes just to keep the
defense honest.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Absolutely, we got to have the explosive plays, Eugene. We
got to make sure that we come up with different
ways to attack, whether it's go balls, whether it's posts,
deep crossers and all that. Those are all the parts
of our system that we're counting on to come alive.
Things that we're talking about and working on. Trevory ten
has done an amazing job as our primary returner. You know,
with two really good backs, it's hard to kind of
get him going, you know, in the backfield there's just
(09:58):
not enough touches to go around. But he certainly is
showing us that he's ready to go.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Last week.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
I got to say he looked fantastic in practice on Thursday,
just running our scheme and pressing the runs, taking care
of the ball and seeing it with vision, so I
know at some point we'll need them and we'll be
counting them to be ready.
Speaker 7 (10:14):
Folks always want to know about the quarterback, and hear
about it here. You talk about it as well, and
de Bryce was a little more demonstrative in his postgame
and the anger after a few minutes after the game yesterday,
not asking for anything as far as you know, schematic
or any kind of competitive stuff, but the tone of
your conversations anything different as far as a game like that,
and try to get him in the right mindset moving
forward off a game like yesterday.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Let's just take the lessons and learn. Let's go through
the film just like we always do and look at
the grades and you know, see where we can be better,
and just evaluate how we're throwing to our guys. And
you know, there's always those little tweaks that happen of
like hey, in this situation, you could get hit him
on this leverage, different things like that, but just working
through the process, you know, and there's going to be emotions,
(10:56):
there's going to be frustration in games like that, and
it's important to make sure we take lessons, we move on,
and we go attack the next week.
Speaker 8 (11:03):
Coach.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
We saw Trevin Wallace go down during that game. What
can you tell us about Trevin?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, went down, couldn't get back in. You know, he's
been working through some stuff and getting himself back out there.
You know, really applaud Trevin for for being being able
to get out there and continue to help us. You know,
but we're gonna have to evaluate this one and and
see what is available. Availability looks like after we have
a full evaluation.
Speaker 4 (11:25):
If for some reason he's unavailable this week, would Rose
boom then go back to being the green dot.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Yeah, Christian will do that. Claude Cherlis, who actually played
really well in the game at the end, again talking
about not losing things just because of the outcome, but
Claude played downhill, he played physical, he was smacking lineman,
he was smacking ball carriers, and really felt like he
looked comfortable out there. So I'm excited for him to
have an opportunity if Trevin can go this week.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Luke brought up a great point.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
There was that fourth down play where chery List was
matched up on Kamara on the slot and his coverage
there allowed you guys to make the play.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Absolutely, he's a fantastic athlete. You know, he can really run.
He's been he's been amazing for us on special teams,
you know, covering kicks and all that. And you know
he's continuing to grow in our schemes, in our system,
and so you know, really counting on Cloud if he
has to go this week, you know so, and I
trust him.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
I trust him to do it. He's tough enough, he's
smart enough.
Speaker 6 (12:14):
So and coach, as you pivot to the Atlanta Falcons,
what's the message to the team. I mean, you can
easily think about a thirty point bow out win, but
this is a divisional rival. So what is the message
to the team as you move forward?
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Other than the film that's valuable to us because it's
scheme on scheme, you can't even think about that that game.
I expect this to be a totally different Atlanta Falcons team.
I know what type of rhythm that Michael Pennix can
play with with the skilled players that he has, Drake
London starting with him, you know, and then of course
Bejon Robinson and the different ways that can employ him.
(12:45):
If you flip on the other side to this defense,
this is a this is a really fast, hungry defense.
They got ballhawks on the back half with Xavier Watson,
with Jesse Bates. These guys are fantastic players. Aj Terrell
somebody that I really respect, you know, and you talk
about their front seven.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
They got some.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Young young speed on the edge. And you know, Ellis
is one of my favorite players just to watch because
he plays the game the right way. So I really
respect this group, I respect their coach. I think this
is a great opportunity for us to get back on
track and to play a really good team, a division opponent,
division rival.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
They're gonna be ready to go.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
We got to be ready to go and make sure
that we prepare this week for this matchup.
Speaker 7 (13:22):
And last thing, you guys have shown resiliency this season
after New England, after buffle, immediately coming right back from
those kind of games. Really coachable team. It looks like
as far as what you guys are presenting that they
figure it out pretty quick.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
And you know, this game is about finding and owning
your identity and getting back to work and how quickly
can we learn the lessons and how quickly can we
move on, And that's what this week is going to
be about as well.
Speaker 3 (13:43):
Let's get back to the basics.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Let's get back to our process and trust that it'll
lead to good results.
Speaker 5 (13:48):
On too, Atlanta, Thank you coach.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
All right, thanks guys.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
This is the Carolina Panthers Radio network.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
This is Panther Talk on do you buy the Bank
of America? What would you like the power to do?
Speaker 4 (14:04):
This is a Monday where you're trying to separate macro
from micro and the macro is ten weeks into the season.
Ten games into the season, the Panthers are a five
hundred team, five and five. They have the same amount
of wins as they did a year ago. They have
shown you that they can go on the road and
(14:25):
beat a team like Green Bay, a team with Super
Bowl and NFC Championship aspirations. Clearly, it's an improved roster.
It's a deeper roster. We've seen a team that has
a margin for error. Now, they didn't really have that
the last couple of years. Sunday in the Micro, there's
no way to sugarcoat it. That was just a bad
(14:46):
loss to a bad team, and the Panthers played down
to the level of the Saints. And we bring up
this margin for error, Eugene, because there have been games
where the Panthers have been able to overcome some mistakes
and some turnovers battle back against New Orleans. There were
a lot of mistakes, whether it was penalties, turnovers, not
capitalizing on field position. Even in the first half, forget
(15:09):
the turnovers and the block field goal. Late in the
first half, they had a couple of short fields. Started
at the thirty eight, started at the forty seven, couldn't score,
went three and out, Like those are things when you
let those continuously slip away. Not a lot of teams
have that kind of margin for error. And then they
got beat by the Saints of one and eighteen, but
(15:31):
they played down to their level. But I still do
think at the end of the day, if somebody said
five and five after ten games and tangible progress, yes,
if you look at a snapshot of one game, yeah,
it stings and it's painful because I think we all
saw the Saints as two wins on the schedule.
Speaker 6 (15:50):
You know, that's the frustration what you are describing as
the frustration that somebody Carolina Panthers fans feel because they
recognize that margin, recognize that they played down to an
opponent that they should have beat, and it's like, hey,
you got seventeen points on us, and we had chances
after chances after chances after chances to go.
Speaker 8 (16:10):
Ahead and win the game.
Speaker 6 (16:11):
We really did when we should have gotten blown out
basically by like thirty plus points, and that didn't happen.
That's the margin, and that's also the frustration that everybody's
feeling here as fans and also in the locker room
because they're sitting there going, dude, how.
Speaker 8 (16:27):
Do we how did we lose these guys? What do
we do? Why didn't we take advantage of this? We're
in the red zone?
Speaker 6 (16:33):
How many times? Why didn't we take advantage here? Why
wasn't there inter sept? Why didn't we put the quarterback
in the dirt on the ground? We had mistackles, we
had all that stuff. So when you talk about the
big macro, it's like, oh, now, I'm happy that we're
we're a lot, we're improved, we improved.
Speaker 8 (16:52):
But we look at the micro.
Speaker 6 (16:53):
I'm going like this, dude, we're taking our margin zone
and we're throwing it away.
Speaker 8 (16:58):
That's what we're doing with the margin, and that we have.
Speaker 7 (17:00):
The macro is that we're disappointed with a five and
five record and not a one and eight record, This
is what you want to make that kind of progress.
Speaker 9 (17:07):
So that's the big picture. That's good.
Speaker 7 (17:09):
But to Aniche's point, that was a rough game to watch,
and I will say this, if Tyler Shuck can play
like that, Wow, going forward, that's not a one in
eight team because they've got some talent on that roster
on both offense and defense. So I think we may
look back later by the end of the year and
go that was not the worst team in the NFL,
despite the fact of what the record was coming into
it right now, because he could be a difference maker
(17:30):
for them, having that piece right now for the Panthers,
we got to make sure that we're doing all the
right things because, as we talked about with coach, everybody's
recipe is now going to be blowed up the box,
try to beat us with the pass and until proven
otherwise and maybe several times otherwise, that's going to be
the formula. Because Rico Dowdle's one of the best running
backs in the league and this offensive line is done
a great job. But blocking form, we've got to take
(17:50):
advantage of those pass opportunities when they're out there and
recognize them and make good throws and have receivers run
the right rounds.
Speaker 6 (17:56):
And anisa I would love to see, really, I would
love to see more explosive plays. And the reason why
I'm saying this is that I want to see Jimmy
Horn Jr.
Speaker 8 (18:05):
Flying down the field.
Speaker 6 (18:06):
What it does, so if I'm just being a defensive back,
what it takes is you take the free safety, the
strong safety, who may be back, who up is in
the middle, in the corner, and now you're gonna have
two people running with one guy down the field.
Speaker 8 (18:18):
And you know that if something goes.
Speaker 6 (18:21):
Awry just a little bit, that's an easy touchdowns.
Speaker 8 (18:25):
It's a concern.
Speaker 6 (18:26):
So to have some explosive places, even if you don't
even do it, even if you just send them down
the field and keep the guys honest, you've gained something
because now you don't have a couple of guys in
the box. They have to plan for that mystery play
down the field. And what we've done, We've just thrown
the ball so short.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
And so why do you think that is?
Speaker 8 (18:48):
I think it is because.
Speaker 6 (18:49):
The fact that we were we couldn't run the ball,
and the fact that they were getting to the quarterback
that I bet you. The coaches are saying, let's get
this ball out your hand really quickly. Let's get out
your hand really quickly. We can't afford another sack, we
can't afford a quarterback. Get it out your hair quickly.
But the rouse didn't compliment that. And even you know,
because you think about how good McMillan is, he was
(19:10):
getting covered and then okay, I want to say this gently.
I want to see Legett use his big man size
and just dominate someone. I would love to see him
post people up like Greg Olsen would do, and put
him behind him and catch the bar in front. He's
a big man and he's going against the fist of
(19:31):
backs who are smaller, and I would love for him
to use the size that way. I would love to
see even more jaylen Kocher out there getting getting some
touches and getting some more eats. And so there's a
lot to go around, and I think in that wide
receiving room, I think there's a lot of discussion that
they're gonna have to have just to really up their play,
to bring it up to the level that needs to
(19:52):
be because right now I think that's somewhat.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Like and I think the way some of these games
of God. Listen, this is a young make no mistake.
It's a young team. It's growing, it's ascending. There's gonna
be growing pains, and you're gonna have maybe some outcomes
that leave you scratch in your head, like how do
you go and beat Green Bay at Lambeau and then
lose to a one and eight Saints team. But go
to the Buffalo game for example, Jim, It's a Buffalo
(20:17):
team that knows how to win, knows how to put
people away. When they saw that the Panthers were staggering,
this wasn't about getting a twelve round decision. They went
for the knockout, and they knocked the Panthers out. They
got the win. I thought this game was lost in
the first half, not the second half. You score on
the opening drive, right, you got the Saints in third
and twelve. You had Tyler shuck dead to rights three
(20:41):
times and then he's able to find Juwan Johnson for
fifty something yards. They end up with a field goal.
Then Sam Martin with an incredible coffin corner kick pins
New Orleans inside the five. You get the ball back
with a short field instead of even getting a field goal,
you go three and out. Then you get the ball
back short field again, just inside the forty you go
(21:01):
three and out. Like those are areas where you know,
again the Buffaloes of the world, the Kansas Cities of
the world, they kind of see that they may have
turned that into a two or three score game. By
that point it's twenty one to three at halftime, or
twenty one to ten, or you know, seventeen to three.
We're down ten seven, And I think those are some
(21:23):
of the growing pains. Yeah, we've we've shown we can
hang and we can kind of stay in this and
make it a four quarter fight. But outside of the
Atlanta game, you know, that kind of dominance that I
think some of us were hoping to see on Sunday,
you know, that's kind of the next piece in the
evolution of this thing.
Speaker 7 (21:40):
Yeah, and I think, you know, we were a little
bit of a victim of our own success with Rico Dawdle,
because when you have back to back two hundred yard
games and then you're you're off game is one hundred
and thirty yards and two touchdowns, You're thinking, all right,
we got something nobody can stop. And I'm not saying
they didn't have Plan B, but the Plan B wasn't
nearly as good as Plan A was. And so when
he runs at eighteen times yesterday, which is a good number,
(22:02):
and doesn't you know, crack three yards per carry in
the game, I think that's that's the difference, is like
what was next on the menu wasn't as good as that.
And I think now we know that teams are gonna
load up and really go after that, We're gonna have
to have other things that are just as attainable as.
Speaker 8 (22:17):
What we had with reco running the ball previously.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
And you mentioned the downfield passing game. So Tedo McMillan
has twice as many catches as any other Panther. He's
got forty six catches. No other Panther has more than twenty.
McMillan's got six hundred plus receiving yards. No other Panther
is even north of two hundred. We need to find
that number two target.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
Absolutely, and I want some speed down in the field.
Jimmy Horn and I would love to see Jaylen Coker.
I think he is. He's that guy dude. He can
catch the rock and he plays big, and so I
think Coach Canalis. I think moving forward is like, how
do I get these young guys involved?
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Still ahead On Panther Talk, Jim Keats, which is up
with our good pal Mick Mixon, former voice of the Panthers,
and we will go around to the NFL circuit with
the always entertaining of Mike Coolick Junior.
Speaker 5 (23:09):
You're listening to the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
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 (23:27):
Today we talk with the voice of the Carolina Panthers
for seventeen years, and the voice of that very important
season twenty fifteen when the Panthers nearly did the impossible
and still had one of the great.
Speaker 8 (23:40):
Seasons in the history of the NFL.
Speaker 7 (23:41):
We're gonna reflect on Super Bowl fifty, the twenty fifteen
season with our friend Mick Mixon.
Speaker 8 (23:45):
Today.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
Thirty seasons of Panther football. A celebration of the players, coaches,
and other key figures who've contributed to the organizational success.
Speaker 7 (23:58):
All right, that's all the open you get at Mick.
It's your opal gym. Here and we think back to
ten years ago, the Super Bowl fifty season, and as
star as a broadcast team went, it was yourself and
Eugene and me and Jordan Gross and we had a
lot of fun, a lot of great road trips and
traveling together there. And little did we know when that
(24:19):
season began what we were getting into, because the year before,
of course, was when they rallied and won four to
a row and then won a playoff game and seven
eight and one was good enough to win the division.
We thought that was an accomplishment. And then this team
goes fifteen and one, starts out fourteen to zero on
their way to Super Bowl fifty. And we're certainly like
a game by game, but big picture, as you look back,
is it almost surreal that that team went seventeen and
(24:42):
one heading into that Super Bowl game? And just if
you go back again the year before, winning the last
four regular season games to get ready for that one,
I mean you think about how things have been buying
large since and that's an amazing accomplishment.
Speaker 9 (24:54):
Yeah, I think that team zoke had.
Speaker 10 (24:55):
That team won and I generally and it's great hearing
your voice, brother, I share start time together. Man, We
had so much fun, And one of the great joys
of working with you is when people would come up
to me and say, man, I cracked up when you
and Zochie said X y Z and I could not remember,
and I really thought that we had said that off air.
So I think for both of us, the line between
(25:18):
our on air and off air comfortability with each other
and what we said our filter became was a little gray.
So I think hopefully that was an okay thing for
the listeners and the people that were along with us
for those journeys. But Zoke, I remember when I first
started working with you guys in five I remember Marty
(25:40):
Hernie and John Fox saying in Foxy's office, you'd rather
not go to a super Bowl than you would go
and lose. And I thought, that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
It's still a great accomplishment to get there. You can't
win it if you don't go. I thought, these are
(26:02):
two guys, I respect their football pedigree, but they don't
know what they're talking about.
Speaker 9 (26:08):
Then comes the after party.
Speaker 10 (26:10):
After Super Bowl fifty and as you and I have
talked about over the years, a ten piece horn band
that doesn't really realize that the Panthers have lost that
nobody's wanting to hear cool in the gang and you know,
get up and boogie shrimp the size of bananas, this
ice sculpture, this huge hotel ballroom, and it was like
a durned death. And I reflected back to Coach Fox
(26:33):
and Marty Hernie, and I thought, you know what, I
kind of see now. I still think. I still think
it's fantastic to go. That team will be remembered as
one of the all time great teams in Panther history.
Even if the Panthers win five straight Super Bowls, that
fifteen team will have a special place in the Panthers,
Panther fans, hearts, and in the team's history.
Speaker 9 (26:56):
But dang man, it was.
Speaker 10 (27:00):
Had the Panthers won that game, now people would talk
about that twenty fifteen team as one of the greatest
teams in the history of the NFL, don't you think.
Speaker 7 (27:10):
I actually had that conversation recently with Brad Nortman, who
was the punter on that team, and he said he
remembers watching ESPN like it was either the morning of
the day before the game and he's just walking through,
you know, in the hotel. They always have the meal
rooms and all that kind of stuff, and the TV's playing,
and they literally said at one of those talk shows
on ESPN, if the Panthers win, are they the greatest
(27:33):
team ever? Because obviously the seventy two Dolphins would be
in that conversation, but kind of in a more modern
era of a more balanced competition, if you are the
way the league is set up, you know, would this
be the greatest team in the history of the NFL?
And that's what they were playing for. And you know, again,
you go seventeen and one heading into that game and
then you lose by two touchdowns.
Speaker 8 (27:55):
The game it wasn't a two touchdown game.
Speaker 7 (27:56):
I mean, people will also forget it was basically a
one score games most of the way. But I think
we all agree and talking with the players and coaches
and all the different people we've been talking to about
it this year, it just was flat and it was
just like a little.
Speaker 8 (28:09):
Bit of everything.
Speaker 7 (28:10):
It was a little bit of a miss kick on
special teams, fumble by a guy who doesn't normally fumble,
it drops pass by a receiver that you could argue
maybe caught the ball. Just those little Nixon bruises that
led to it being what it was, and in the
end just not quite good enough to win because if
you look at the numbers, the defense held Peyton Manning
(28:30):
to nothing. I mean I threw for I don't have
the stats it from me, but he threw for about
one hundred and thirty yards with no touchdowns and a pick.
That was Peyton Manning's last game, and they still won
the game because of course their defense played really well
at times.
Speaker 10 (28:43):
At the training camp the following summer, so summer of
twenty sixteen, training camp high hopes to go back to
the super Bowl. You still got a powerful team, rock
stars everywhere you look. But lunch one day after a
morning practice really hot, and about two weeks into training camp,
Luke Keighley sits down at the table where or I
(29:05):
happen to be sitting, and several others, and somebody brings
up the game and Keithley puts his salt shaker down
and looks at all of us and he said, I
will never forget. I had studied Peyton Manning for two weeks.
I knew every down, every distance, every substitution pattern, every
personnel grouping, every shift, every motion. And they come out
(29:28):
in middle of the third quarter, they come out in
exactly the formation I'm looking for. I know the play,
I know where Peyton Manning is going to go with
the ball. He cocks his arm. I jumped the route.
It's going to be a pick six, and we're going
to have the lead in Super Bowl fifty.
Speaker 9 (29:43):
Zoke.
Speaker 10 (29:44):
All of us listening to Luke Keighley. I mean, we're
just not even on the edge of our you know,
any cliche. We're just it was so we're just listening
to him tell the story.
Speaker 9 (29:54):
He says, I jumped rout.
Speaker 10 (29:55):
Manning's gonna throw it right to me, and in that instant,
KK Short comes around from behind and tips Manning's elbow
and the ball lands five yards off to the right incomplete.
It was a great play. But I was already I
(30:19):
had in my mind. I had already scored, we already
had the lead. I was playing my end zone celebration,
and oh gosh, it just hit all of us like
a just like a.
Speaker 9 (30:29):
Bank safe had been dropped on our heads. We just
went ugh. But it just shows you how.
Speaker 10 (30:36):
Thin the margins are in any any NFL game, but
in that game in particular.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Subscribe to thirty seasons of Panther Football on the iHeartRadio app,
Panthers dot com, and Team Apple, Apple podcast or Spotify.
Is Paanther Talk You Cokedy deserves the great taste of
(31:05):
Goca Cola because fan work is thirsty work.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
Panther Talk continues in a sharp Jim Zok Eugene Robinson.
Our next guest is one of the hosts of Golick
and Golic. I'll let you guess who know. It's Mike
Golick Junior does the show with his dad, Mike Golick.
Great show, check it out. Joins us now to kind
of go around the NFL, and I guess we got
to start with the news of the day, Mike, which
(31:29):
is Brian dable letting being let go by the New
York Giants. What was your immediate reaction in the aftermath
of that fourth quarter debacle against Chicago.
Speaker 11 (31:42):
Yeah, it seemed like kind of the last straw at
this point, right, And this is the paul hanging over
this entire season for the New York Giants, whether or
not this decision was going to come, and it likes
so many headquach coaches on the hot seat before him.
At Brian Davells saw the glimmer of hope that comes
with a rookie quarterback who showed the kind of promise
initially that we saw from Jackson Dart. But I think,
(32:05):
as you know, the Cam Scataboo injury kind of feels
like a tipping point of the season now where the
offense hasn't quite looked as instinct since then, And you
throw the Jackson Dart injury on top of the mismanagement
at the end of that game, and I think it
all adds up to the same question that ends up
damning a lot of these coaches who inherit these rookie
top picks, which is, hey, we've seen enough to know
(32:25):
we think we got a quarterback that we can do
something with. Now we want to figure out are you
the one that we want with the hands on the wheel?
And it appears in the New York Giants. Despite Brian
daboles history with that position, it saw enough this year
to kind of question that. And you know, I think
looking in the last few games, Brian Daveall did his
best to meet Jackson Dart where he was at coming
(32:46):
from the college level, But I did have some reservations
about how much they were working him into the design
run game, especially the way they did. And it's not
to say the injury made that ultimate decision, but it
was something that kind of felt inevitable given the play
style that we had seen so far from him and
now Jackson Dart Jones a laundry list of recent quarterbacks
who are going to be going into their second year
(33:06):
trying to make that jump with a new offensive voice
in their ear.
Speaker 6 (33:09):
Well, let's stay with the Bears and whatnot and just
talk about the quarterback because now everybody's singing the praise
of Caleb.
Speaker 11 (33:17):
Yeah, listen, it's been a steady improvement from Caleb Williams,
what feels like all season long to the point about
you know, young quarterbacks who lookten Kayla's first year had
three different voices in his year at play caller, and
then got to this year with Ben Johnson, who is
one of the most coveted prizes in the last few
coaching cycles. But finally made that move and it was
a little rocky out of the gate, but I think
(33:38):
he's someone that is finally starting to hit that middle
ground between hey, still busting out that fastball every once
in a while and showing people the gifts that made
the number one overall pick, but also playing more within
that structure of Ben Johnson's offense. You know, the continued
development of the relationship between him and Romadunza that I
thought towards the back end the last year really started
(34:00):
to show you flashes of what it can be. Colson
Loveland their top pick out of Michigan's come on some lately.
So I think you're starting to see exactly why Ben
Johnson was so covetive for them offensively, even if defensively,
I think they've still got plenty of work to do
in Chicago.
Speaker 5 (34:14):
Yeah, just give a little credit to Roman Dunesday's dad
that too.
Speaker 11 (34:18):
Yes, hey, listen, even Rome game in the shout like
as tough as that's gonna be, having your dad become
a story of the week in the media. Squeaker Wheel
gets the grief sometimes, you know.
Speaker 5 (34:28):
How that works?
Speaker 7 (34:30):
Like any it's like an aau paarad out there. No, hey, Mike,
Jim Zochi here. So the Panthers play the Falcons coming
up this week, and I'm actually stunned that Atlanta's three
and six. We beat them thirty to nothing earlier this year.
But you look at all that talent they have and
and you know all the names there, but what's missing.
They worked hard on their defense this offseason. Is it
Pennix just isn't quite there yet or what's the number
one reason why their record is what it is.
Speaker 11 (34:52):
Yeah? I think that there's a couple of things. You know,
One defensively, For as much as they overhauled and really
hit on the pass rushers on that group, and we've
seen some of those dividends paid already, it's a group
that still struggled some against the run. God, we saw
that to the umpteenth degree against one of the best
rushing teams in the NFL in Jonathan Taylor and the
Indianapolis Colts. But I think on the other side of
(35:13):
the ball, it's a very right now, it feels like
predictable offense. We know they're gonna lean heavy into the
outside zone stuff with the John Robinson and dare you
to stop him there? The offensive line when healthy can
be one of the better ones in the NFL when
it comes to run blocking. And yet right now, outside
of Drake London, I don't know if the passing game
(35:34):
has always felt very you know, creative or dynamic and
so you know, combine that with Michael Pennix junior, who
is still really in his first full year as a starter,
and should I think be allowed some room to grow.
I just think that group right now hasn't quite been
firing on all cylinders, quite honestly, in the way that
I expected going into this season, given the amount of
former first round talent they've got on that offense.
Speaker 8 (35:56):
Would that be.
Speaker 6 (35:57):
Also be your assessment of the Carolina path is wide
receiving group as you mentioned about London and.
Speaker 11 (36:05):
Pass Yeah, no, I think so. I mean, I think
for Carolina it's really interesting and we're kind of hitting
the crossroads of that conversation around the quarterback again too,
of Hey, you know, how much of not being able
to push the ball down the field or not suc
cecily pushing the ball down the field falls on Bryce
Young falls on you know, the receiving war that yeah
(36:26):
is young still and trying to get these guys to
step up. But it just seems like the consistency in
that element is going to be the thing that ultimately
decides this season. Because we saw that, I mean, the
game plan from New Orleans was pretty clear. Rico dwell
on this running game aren't going to beat us today.
You're going to have to put it over the top.
And you know, one side with the rookie quarterback and
(36:46):
Tyler Schuck on the other end, was able to do
that and hit on a couple of big plays that
made that happen. And unfortunately Bryce in this Panthers offense,
it was kind of the same deal.
Speaker 5 (36:55):
Mike.
Speaker 4 (36:55):
You live in Los Angeles. What travels further in January
the Chargers defense or the Rams offense.
Speaker 11 (37:04):
Oo, Man, I mean I going back to like the preseason,
and you guys know, I mean covering this far more
closely than I do. Like when you see the second third,
you know, multiple guys down in the roster spots going
out and executing at a high level. That's indicative of
the coaching you're getting. And my god, Jesse Minner has
(37:24):
had that whole group top to bottom pretty ready now Listen.
Having Khalil Mack come back and healthy after that elbow
injury in the season has certainly helped the production some there.
And that's a group when fully healthy and you've got
you know, Derwin James in the middle, and the way
that back ends connected, it's as good as any out there.
But man, call me biased as a guy that played
offense in college on the offensive line seeing what Sean
(37:48):
McVay and Matthew Stafford continue to do after all the
worry in the preseason that seems like a diftant memory
about Matthew Stafford's back and what was gonna happen there.
This is just a group that can morph into so
many You know, you go back a few games when
the Rams were over in London and you don't have
your top receiver and Pooking Nakua and so they go
three tight ends and they figure it out and they
(38:08):
get back to the downhill stuff that since Karen Williams
came over there has become more of a steady diet
for Sean in this iteration of his offense. And I
just feel like you combine what they've got personnel wise
with hey, Davonte Adams, who I got a little shaken
up with the back last night, but him Pooking Nakua
Kyron in the backfield and Matthew behind an offensive line
that seems a little bit more solid, And I'll take
(38:29):
the unit that's got the grizzled veteran quarterback who's been there,
done that, and still has the kind of arm talent
to push it anywhere.
Speaker 4 (38:36):
All right, Mike, before we let you go, I think
I'm contractually obliged to ask you this question. Michael Olick Junior,
you're the biggest Taylor Swift fan I know. So if
the Carolina Panthers are a Taylor Swift song, they would be.
Speaker 11 (38:52):
I think they would be out of the woods right
now trying to figure out where exactly they are in
the journey, especially when it comes to figuring out securing
the future at that all important position of quarterback. Thought
maybe after last year we're in the clear, avoided having
to be in the quarterback rat race this spring, but
I think still may be trying to find their way
out right now, out.
Speaker 5 (39:12):
Of the woods. Love it, Gojo, Appreciate you.
Speaker 11 (39:16):
Always a pleasure. Thank guys.
Speaker 4 (39:18):
Mike Golick Junior. You can listen to him on Golick
and golic you're listening to the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (39:32):
Panther Talk continues on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network and each.
Speaker 4 (39:37):
Jim Eugene week eleven Panthers head to Atlanta. We know
the Panthers can run the football. We know teams are
going to try to stop the run and be aggressive
the way the Saints were, but it's hard not to
have watched that Colts Falcons game Jim and say, wait
a minute, Indy ran for three hundred and twenty three yards,
(39:58):
Jonathan Taylor thirty two for two forty four. We've seen
Rico Dowdell put up some crazy numbers this season. I'm
sure you want to throw the ball downfield and you
want to get those explosive plays you can run on
the Falcons like that.
Speaker 9 (40:15):
I mean, we got a guy like that. Yeah, as
you said, Rico Dowdles.
Speaker 7 (40:19):
So I think I would say, though, if they if
they throw the kitchen sink at it, though, you do
have to have any another alternative to that. But you're right,
and maybe, Eugene, maybe you start by doing something a
little bit unpredictable when maybe you come out throwing to
set up the run like you come out throwing just
a little bit more. I'm not saying, like, you know,
change your whole culture of what you are, but maybe
not on first down and ten like necessarily do the
(40:41):
obvious thing there. But I think to Aniche's point, they
have trouble stopping the run. We're pretty good at running
the ball, but you have to pick your spots right.
You can't be always predictable when that's going to happen.
Speaker 11 (40:51):
You know.
Speaker 6 (40:51):
I would love to say the Saints had problems stopping
to run just as well too. And they come in
here in one and eight and they embarrass the paths.
They go ahead and eight man front. Expect the eight
man front and expect them to say that they're don't
have the same formula that the Saints did and try
to stop the Carolina Panthers. Is going to be imperative
that Bryce is able to throw the ball downfield and
(41:12):
have a battlest attack. If not, you're gonna be watching
the same thing you watch with the Saints.
Speaker 4 (41:17):
Yeah, and something to remember Week one last year, the
Saints beat the Panthers forty seven to ten. We saw
what happened the second time round, exactly what Dave Canalis
said earlier in the show, thirty to nothing don't mean nothing,
doesn't mean anything. Division game, a lot of pride at stake.
I will say this, the last time Bryce played in
that stadium, best game of his career. Bryce Young three
(41:38):
and one, all time against the Falcons.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
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 age
and stage so you can live fully. Bank of America.
What would you like the power to do? Coke Gandy
(42:02):
deserves the great taste of Coca Cola because fan work
is thirsty work.
Speaker 8 (42:07):
Pantherton, panther Doll.
Speaker 1 (42:09):
Panther Doll. This is the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
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