September 3, 2024 • 41 mins
This week on Panther Talk, Anish Shroff, Jim Szoke and Eugene Robinson talk with Dave Canales, Colin Thompson, JJ Jansen about the start of the 2024 regular season.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The following is an exclusive presentation of the Carolina Panthers
and the National Football League.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Time and They're Tall, and They're tell, and They're toll.
This is Panther Talk, presented by Bosh power Tools on
the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Of course, the challenge coming off of a break is
let's get back to work. And so it was a
great day of work. Guys flying around. We got quite
a few new places around, you know.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
The building.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
So just seeing those guys starting to get comfortable, hear
the calls, play faster and play to the you know
to what we saw on film.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
So a great day for that evaluation.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
And then again just a chance for us to keep
moving the ball forward as to get ready for Now
Orleans this week.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And now, along with Jim Zoki and Eugene Robinson, here's
a Niche Shruff with Panther Talk live from the Panthers
broadcast facility at Bank of America Stereo.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
It is Labor Day, it is game week. The thirty
season of Panther football commences in Earnest on Sunday. We
got a packed show for you today. We'll hear from
former Panthers tight end turned budding media star Colin Thompson.
We'll hear from the longest tenured Panther JJ Janssen. But
(01:18):
let's kick off the show by bringing in Dave Canalis,
Dave head coach of the Carolina Panthers first regular season
game on Sunday. Or are we at the point where
the totality of that moment has hit you?
Speaker 5 (01:35):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Every day, it's exciting.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
First of all, let me just say I was excited
before I heard the build up and then the way
that you just described this week, I'm stoked.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
If I can get you fired up, I did something.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
No, I'm really excited.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
I'm excited just for the process of this journey for
us to become us. And it's something that I'm just
committed to with this group of men that as we
we start to get these these regular season games coming
at us, to really really define who we are from
an exus and O standpoint, really define who we are
from a play style standpoint, to become the twenty twenty
four Panthers. So really exciting times around here.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
Well, coach, we're glad you stoked.
Speaker 6 (02:15):
We're stoked too, Jim Zoki here, I was wondering for you, obviously,
You've been around this league for a long time, a
lot of different roles, including offensive coordinator. But having gone
through off season, training camp, all of it now as
a head coach, did.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
Anything surprise you?
Speaker 6 (02:30):
Was there anything that you didn't know maybe with your
time or just putting things together kind of being the
guy in charge that maybe was less than you expected
or unexpected, you know.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
I think I had, of course a lot of a
lot of.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Mentors, a lot of people just kind of warning me,
but also just giving me a little insight to the
life of a head coach. Five things every day you
can't anticipate that are going to come up. I think
that it's the beautiful part of our profession and where
you know, when you have this many people collected, there
are the things that happen there. People are going through
(03:06):
different seasons of life, different challenges from a personal standpoint,
professional standpoint as far as football is concerned, and so
I just.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Love being a part of those stories. I love hearing
about you know.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
The challenges you know, and and some of them are
are harder to deal with than others. Some are are
exciting news adding family members, and some are some are
really just devastating with with family members going through hard things,
and I think, you know, that's the world that really
I don't I don't know if I'm surprised by it,
but I just I've become so aware of the dynamics,
(03:40):
which is why it's so important for us to just
approach every day with joy, every day with respect for
every person that comes in this building.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
That you never know what someone's going through.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
And it's always a great day to just pursue our best,
to do this thing together, and to really have grace
and patience with each other as we pursue greatness.
Speaker 7 (03:58):
And Coach Eugene Robinson here, I know that you you
have a desire to get the ball out very very
quickly on passing, and my question would be, is are
you going to adopt much more of a West Coast
offense where you get the waggles to boost, the sprints,
the dashes to go ahead to accommodate what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Absolutely, it's definitely something that we've been working on that
we plan on incorporating. And I think the beautiful part
of our system is that we have run game out
of all of those different looks, whether it's under center
in the pistol or and Gun.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
We have things.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
It's the run past marriage, you know, bur at Itzig
our offensive coordinator because of marriage counseling. So as we
go through like that, as we go through our game
plan early in the week Monday Tuesday, you know, there's
there's this meeting of the minds that says, okay, now
does it look like the different things that we're presenting
to the defense, Let's make it all look similar so
that we can have balance and be able to still
(04:53):
be aggressive when we want to attack Eugene, you know,
and to also have those you know, quick rhythm types
of plays that kind of tie it all in together.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
We're talking with Dave Canalis, head coach of the Carolina Panthers.
Dave some familiarity with New Orleans from seeing them twice
last year over in Tampa Bay. When does the true
game planning really begin or has that already started long ago?
Speaker 5 (05:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
That's that's been you know, ever since the schedule came out.
You know, we had to really you know, look at
our look at the opponents, and see where we can
incorporate you know, some you know, some Saints emphasis, you know,
throughout our time in camp, and then of course leading.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Up to this this week.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
So that's that's been in the works, especially because of
the respect that I have for Dennis Allen as a
play caller, Clint Kubiak, who's another fantastic play caller and
has a really good system of how to utilize different personnel.
So a lot of high level of respect for this team,
for the Saints in this building, and so it calls
for us to you know, to be on top of
(05:57):
our stuff and to really, you know, take a deep
dive into how they plan to attack us.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
I know it's early in the week, but don't have
all hands on deck one hundred percent anyway. He's at
the tight end position. But with the practice squads being
so much bigger these days than they used to be,
looks like you still have some good options and some
good depth depending on what happens during the course of
the week getting ready for this one.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Yep, we're still you know again, we had guys that
have been around with us for camp and that showed
a lot of consistency and allowed us to function in
our systems. And the beautiful part of our system is
it's flexible enough to accommodate different types of tight ends.
You know, in the past, we've had guys like Will
Disley who are in the two seventy range, you know,
Ian Thomas is you know, close to to sixty. And
(06:38):
then we've had our two hundred and thirty five pound
tight ends, our two hundred and fifty pound tight ends.
And the more versatile and athletic the guys are, the
more they allow us to do in different ways. So
we got a good group of guys with Jordan Matthews,
you know, of course, Jatavian Sanders who we added, you know,
and even a guy on practice squad like Felipe Franks
who was really versatile this camp for us and did
a fantastic job.
Speaker 7 (06:59):
And coach times when you come out of preseason is
that there's always an attitude or a character that starts
to develop on your office and defense of special teams.
So from what you've seen, what is the characters seeming
to develop that you guys are honing in on them
what your team is doing or appear to be doing.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Right yeah, and right now, what I know about our
group is this is a very focused group. They're more
on the serious side. They have a professionalism about.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
The way they go to work every day.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
And then I think the thing I appreciate the most
about this group in general is when there's a reason
and we challenge them as a coaching staff, whether it's
from me or from the coordinators, these guys respond.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
So there's a high value of respect in this building,
the locker room.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Included just the guys, the way that they treat each other,
the way that they treat people around the building. There's
a real culture that way that's built on that. And
I think that you know what I'm looking for is
as we hone in on our scheme, we have good
we have a good starting point and a good core offense,
defense and special teams x's and o's wise, and but
(08:08):
we will become specific parts of those schemes based on
our personnel and what guys show us that they can
do when we get into these games.
Speaker 7 (08:16):
Well, one thing I noticed about your defense particularly, I
thought they were very very fast in the preseason. They
were They seemed to get to the ball very very
quickly at all at all different positions. The secondary, everyone
seemed to be fast. It seemed to be the character
that was emerging as well as that focus.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Ye Jane, thanks for bringing that up too.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Is it's I attribute that to good coaching. We certainly
are looking for those those profile of athletes that play fast,
but I think that when we can teach things well
and our players understand what they're doing, they play fast.
And so I was really proud of just the way
that we were able to put our guys in good
(08:54):
positions and then the way that the players were able
to take it to the game and fly around like that.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
So I appreciate you bringing that up.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Coach before we let you go. This past weekend was
your last weekend without football for some time. What did
you do?
Speaker 4 (09:09):
I slept most Friday?
Speaker 5 (09:11):
Did it all?
Speaker 4 (09:14):
Definitely?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Uh, you know, just the the toll of camp, the conversations,
treating every day as it's the most important day that
we have. We pour a lot of ourselves into this room,
into this building, and I think that, you know, through
the course of camp, you know, I was feeling like
(09:36):
the players could sense the urgency, and then I think that,
you know, this weekend, I felt the urgency that we had.
Saturday was at football at my my son's football tackle
football game.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
That was a great day for us.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Sunday we went to church in the morning as a
family and then we just kind of hung out.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
I put some ribs on the smoker. We had an
dinner at.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
The house down Baby.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
I gotta be honest, though, I was getting a little
bit antsy, and and you know, Lizzie kind of looked
at me. He's like, you're pretty quiet right now. She
knows like, if I'm quiet, that's because I'm thinking about
what's coming. And I know how how critical these days are.
And we had a great practice today, but I was
ready to get back to work. And but it was
a great weekend of just spending time with the family
and really reconnecting.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
It's uh, the last weekend before it starts to get
crazy for everybody. Coach, appreciate your time and we're looking
forward to week one.
Speaker 5 (10:33):
Thank you. Thanks for having MEO coach.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Dave Canal as head coach of the Carolina Panthers.
Speaker 6 (10:38):
You didn't really jump on that you were invited to rips.
She kind of invited yourself and you just jumped into it.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Week one yet again, Panthers open with a divisional foe
in the Saints and Eugene. Still early in the week.
There there's a lot of moving parts. Jim, you brought up,
you know, the tight end situation, for example, Panthers are
going to try to figure out how the pieces fit
there with some bodies being hurt. But I look at
the Saints team, got a new offensive coordinator, got an
(11:13):
entirely new staff. Age starting to creep up. Cameron Jordan's
thirty five only had two sacks last year. To Mario
Davis is in his mid thirties. Tyron Matthews is what
thirty two to thirty three years old. Now they're getting
older in some spots the offensive line. I mean, James
Hurst retired Ryan Ramchick out for the season, right. You
(11:36):
know they drafted Tyler Penning a couple of years ago,
same draft where the Panthers got Ikey Aquanu to replace
toront Armstead who went to Miami. That has not worked out,
and my Penning is now probably going to start by default.
And this is one of these games, Jim, where if
the Panthers can get off to a good start, given
the anks that Saints fans have about their head coach
(11:58):
and the state of their franchise, you could turn that
into a road game for New Orleans pretty quickly.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Yeah. No, you made a lot of good points.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
And I've always thought, you know, Derek Carr like always
as well as guys like his stats look good, but
you know they're about a five hundred team. Last year
they did finish nine and eight, and they won four
of their last five that came on stronger at the end.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
So it's not that.
Speaker 6 (12:17):
He's not a good quarterback, but he's not a great.
Speaker 5 (12:20):
Quarterback in this league.
Speaker 6 (12:21):
So if he doesn't have that special talent around him,
a lave's very good obviously, but Kamar has been around
running back years and dog years. He's like one hundred.
That's a major injury. So he's not as a dynamic.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
As the same as he used to because.
Speaker 6 (12:34):
Like Ezekiel Elliott, like, they were very good, but then
they're not quite what they were healthwise.
Speaker 7 (12:38):
What I used to think of Kamarrow, he and McCaffrey
were the same guy.
Speaker 5 (12:43):
I don't.
Speaker 7 (12:43):
I don't have that same sense anymore about you know
about number forty one, I just don't.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
And here it is. I think that.
Speaker 7 (12:51):
I've always said, predicated upon what our offensive line is
able to do, that's how far we were able to go.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
I think we have a lot of good skilled people.
There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 7 (13:00):
But can you hold up with the blocking and pushing
people off the line, and can Brash be really strategic
if he gets the time. I think those questions will
be answered. I think that's a yes. So I agree
with you going down in the Saints. I mean, this
is not like you go down the Saints and get
blowed out. This is one of the games you can
sneak out, sneak out to win.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
And again, to me, this is also a game where
you can put Dave Canalis's vision to the test right away.
He wants to run the football. He wants to establish
the run to set up everything else. He talked to
you about that. We heard him say about that marriage,
that perfect marriage. The strength of the Saints' team is
their secondary. They're still very good back there, Marshall Lattimore, Paulson, adebo,
(13:42):
Alante Taylor. They go in draft kool Aid mckinstrey in
the second round, so you amplify a unit that was
already strong to begin with. You're gonna have to be
able to run the football to beat him.
Speaker 6 (13:53):
There's no doubt, and there's you know again, I think
it's not just one guy here. I think Chewbuck keeps
getting better every year, he gets more physical. Well, I
think Miles Sanders has a lot to prove this year.
So I think black sheer underrated, like he probably won't
see a lot of carries, but I think he's kind
of that dynamic, kind of almost scatback kind of a player.
So I think you've got enough back there as you
wait Jonathan Brooks down the road in a couple of
(14:14):
weeks to be not just okay, but to be, you know,
very good. I think Cuba is probably one of the
best probably kept secrets around the NFL that a lot
of fans don't know about about his Every year, how
hard he works puts a little bit more weight on that.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
Speed frame the area.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Is he on your fantasy team?
Speaker 6 (14:28):
I have a draft at seven point thirty, so when
we get done here at seven, I need to go
right away. I had one last night.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
But I did not Where did Cuba go?
Speaker 5 (14:37):
What round?
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Do you remember?
Speaker 5 (14:38):
It was late? Late? It was late, it was like
tenth probably.
Speaker 7 (14:41):
Well, I asked coach the question about the waggles, the
movement things, the boosts, the waggles, sprints, the dashes, that's
all part of the West Coast offense, and of all
those plays, you have a running game that won't quit
because you can after waggle, you can go ahead and
run the ruck boos, you can run rock the spress,
you can run the rock, you know. And I think
(15:04):
he said, he says something that is really important that
you can do so many things from these different looks which.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
Allow you to throw the ball or run the ball.
Speaker 7 (15:11):
And so I'm like, wow, you know, I want to
see Bryce in that really West Coast offense. I'll uh,
Mike Hongrin when we when we played in Green Bay
or San Francisco with Bill Walsh, that was that's the
offense that yields so much yards and also is so
dang quick. Hitting the ball comes out fast. A screen
(15:32):
is like a five yard six yard run. I mean
it's I love that offense, and so hopefully the elements
of it. I say, man, coach, I hope you adopt
a lot of that because that could be real keen
for us.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I don't know about you, guys. I'm more curious about
how this defense is going to look more so than
this offense I am. And then I know why, Well, listen,
I do think Bryce Young is gonna take that step
in your two. They have bolstered the offensive line. They
should be able to run the ball with lou and
hunted guard. Now there's more weapons on the outside. But
(16:04):
the defense, you lost Burns, you lost Chin, you lost Luvu.
There's some new faces, a lot of scheme fits. Questions
about who's gonna get to the passer, who's gonna be
that edge guy. Jadevion Clowney, great season last year. Two
of the last three years he's been productive. He has
the injury history. Who starts opposite Clowney. That's something that'll
(16:25):
be revealed probably later this week. That's a question up
front again. Derek Brown terrific season last year, and I
are adding Ashawn Robinson too that mix. Does that really
fortify their run defense. I'm curious to see how Coachovero
puts the puzzle pieces together on the defensive side of
the ball, because I think they got more guys that
fit with the scheme. But again, there was a loss
(16:49):
of significant talent as well. And you know what sort
of that flat line level that you're gonna get to
where okay, you know what you're losing with one. You
had some hard decisions to make What are you get
with guys that know the system?
Speaker 7 (17:01):
You're right, But one thing I will say in preseason,
what I saw was very very fast. Yeah, a fast defense,
which so that tells you they know the defense, right,
That's what it tells me. Yeah, we got more to
do here. On Panther Talk, we'll get into the Saints
matchup a little more. We're gonna talk with Colin Thompson,
who's launching his own media career. He was a tight
(17:22):
end here with the Panthers. He describes life on the
fringe in the NFL When you're that guy trying to
make a roster aro on the practice squad and the
cuts are coming, how do you make sure you don't
burn bridges? How do you make sure those opportunities stay?
And we'll hear from JJ Jansen, who is never at
a loss for words. All that on Panther Talk presented
by Bosh power Tools on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
This is Panther Talk presented by Bosh power Tools.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
The Carolina Panthers open up their thirtieth season of football
Sunday at the Caesar Superdome in New Orleans at e
Shrop Jimzokie, Eugene Robinson. Just so you know, Jim, you're
not gonna be there. But they did all these renovations
to the stadium, nine figure renovations. Right. Guess where the
press box is spose Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5 (18:17):
So near the roof.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
We're up in NASA, right right under the speaker, right underneath.
You can touch the roof from where we are.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
Huh four.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Everything looks like army ants.
Speaker 5 (18:25):
The roofs not on fire. Is lots of elbow room.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Opening up against a Saints team which had an oka
season last year. They finished strong five four and one
down the stretch Derek Carr last five games fourteen to
two touchdown interception ratio. But this was a team you
brought up the run game with Kamara, Kamara, Jamal Williams Miller.
Those three did not have a single run of twenty
(18:54):
or more yards last year. Their run game to me
is Taysom Hill.
Speaker 7 (18:58):
Here it is, and you can stop Taysom Hill. It's
not like it's hard to go ahead and stop Taysos Hill.
When he comes in the game, all right, and you
think about, all right, what he wants to do, He's
gonna be much more of a Cam Newton type guy.
He's gonna do that red run option type things that nature. Well,
you just play for it and make him a passer.
I say, make the guy throw the rock, all right,
So I'm gonna send guys at him and make him
(19:20):
throw the ball and tell my guys, okay, I need
you to hold up in the back end, because your
office is predicated on not the running game.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
It's predicated on a guy and a guy.
Speaker 7 (19:30):
If they lose that guy that spot, you lose thirty
forty percent of your office.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
You gotta go to something else.
Speaker 7 (19:35):
And that's what the problems that the Saints I think
are gonna have because it's always been heavily predicated on
Taysom Hill.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
I think their strength is a team heading in at
this point. Anyways, their defense, how long has Cameron Jordan
been there?
Speaker 1 (19:47):
I got, wow, thirty five years old. But he slowed
down last year.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
He did, But there's secondary.
Speaker 6 (19:53):
You mentioned a lot of the names, and obviously Latimore
is really good and Matthew probably not as dynamic as
he was, but tomorrow Davis is a line by has
always been a good one. So I mean they're they're
a team that I think, you know, their defense is
going to keep them in ball games a lot. And
then you know, Lobby's the one guy you have to
really worry about as far as kind of being the
big play receiver if you get you know, JC Horn
in that matchup or whatever it is there, He's just
(20:13):
got to win that matchup and kind of neutralize that.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
Yes, I like the batchup.
Speaker 7 (20:18):
I've always liked the rivalry anyway, and that's a very
good rivalry for us. But I think this year, moving forward,
I think that is maybe a little bit different because
I think that these Saints a little bit older in
the tooth, just a little bit.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Yeah, this division is interesting because you know, the hot
seat chat are about Dennis Allen that's been out there
all off season. Tampa Bay. Baker Mayfield had a great
season last year, but Dave Kanalis, who had a lot
to do with that, is now in Carolina. So Tampa Bay,
what does that offense look like. Mike Evans is another guy, right,
I mean, Jim, he's been doing this forever. At some
(20:53):
point he's got to slow down.
Speaker 6 (20:54):
I mean, one hand, he's had ten straight years of
one thousand yards, But on the other hand, he's had
ten years of a thousand yards. He only get so
many years as a dynamic player, so you can still
be productive. And you played great ball Eugene for sixteen years,
as you know. But it's it catches up and he
catches up with you. But I don't know, this seems
like that, dude. This is like he must be like
a vampire or something like that. He just seems to
(21:15):
keep coming back every single every single year. He's just
one of those guys that he knows he can run around,
he knows he can body you, he knows he can
catch the ball, and he's so confidence his ability.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
So yeah, you're right, Evans, no joke at all.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, the Falcons. I will say, this is the one
team in the division that that does scare me. And
I know there's some people and then I can be
Jean Robinson. He's very legitimate playmaker. Kyle Pitts. We saw
what he could do as a rookie. They didn't know
how to never use those guys the last couple of years,
Arthur Smith, they would not use them. Drake London.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
I mean they got skill, have weapons, and they needed
the trigger man and now they got him.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Like Desmond Ridder who I saw in college. A Ton
never struck me as something other than a good, very
good college quarterback.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
And he started for them last year at this time,
and he just got released last week by what Arizona
or Arizona.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Yeah, if Kirk Cousins is fifty percent of Youah, Kirk Cousins,
Kirk Cousins, I think you know they got a chance.
Speaker 7 (22:17):
Yeah, because Kirk Cousins always he's always been a guy,
and he's always been a guy who can run the offense.
And there's always been flashes of greatness with Kirk Cousins,
but there's also been flashes of Okay, he's just just okay.
And it depends on what Kirk Cousins shows up.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
In my opinion.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, the Falcons deservedly the favorite in the division going
in the rest of it, we'll see the first month
of the season always interesting, especially the way the modern
preseason plays out. When we come back, we will hear
from former Panthers tight end to Colin Thompson. Panther Talk
presented by Bosh power Tools, continues after this on the
(22:56):
Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
This is Panther Talk. Please end it by Bush power Tools.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Panther Talk continues, and we bring back an old friend.
You might know him from his days as a Carolina
Panthers tight end. He is now the host of the
Colin Thompson Show. You can hear him Tuesday nights on
Sirius XSEM. He hosts the Player's Point with former Miami
fullback alec Ingold Colin Thompson joining the program. Colin, great
(23:29):
to hear your voice again.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
A niche.
Speaker 8 (23:32):
It is great to be back on the show. I'm
usually hearing you calling lacrosse games in the spring, and
now it's football season when I get to hear your
voice in the fall. So excited to be here, my friend,
and I think Panthers fans have a lot to look
forward to this year. I know it's been doom and gloom.
I was a part of that toom and gloom, but
it's going to be a nice year for him.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
You've got a unique perspective, right, undrafted free agent and
you had to earn your way onto an NFL roster.
As you kind of get down to this point in
the season, you've just finished training camp, you've had the cuts.
Can you give us the perspective from your end, what's
that like for those guys trying to make a roster
(24:10):
or hold on to a roster spot when you get
down to the end of the preseason.
Speaker 5 (24:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (24:17):
So I'll tell you just a story because I think
that's the best way to paint the pictures. So it's
twenty twenty the Carolina Panthers, of course, and it was
my first year there, Matt Rules first year, and there's
only there's like five tight ends. Chris Maynard's GEO, RICHI, myself,
Ian Thomas, and one other guy, and they cut everybody
(24:39):
but Ian Thomas and Chris Manners. I'm like, no way,
there's no way we could have two tight ends on
the roster. Well, I wake up in the morning of
cut day, I'm super excited, thinking I'm going to make
this team, and my phone's ringing and it's the same
number you just called me on today. It's the Panthers
facility number. And the guy who calls me, of all people,
is Louke Keikley. Now, Luke Keikley. It was the first
(25:00):
person I met on a recruiting visit to Boston College
in two thousand and nine. Okay, I know Luke from then.
Now he's calling me when his career is over and
I'm trying to get my NFL career started, and Luke
gives me a call and says, hey, Colin, you got
to bring your playbook. Coach Rule and Marty Herney want
to meet with you. Okay, I'm getting cut, So I
get cut.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
I go back.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
I'm thinking, well, what am I doing now? I was
supposed to make this roster. Agent tells me I'm making it,
you know my tight end. Coach says you got a
great shot to make it, and I'm off the team.
Well what happened was a bunch of guys got put
on IR and they figured that I would clear waivers
because there was no preseason games in the year before that,
I was in the XFL. So long story short, Coach
(25:41):
Rule called me and said, hey, listen, I want to
make this crystal clear because I played for coaching college
and coach you know, a lot of people in Panthers
Land thought he just brought in his temple guys to
be you know, a part of his kind of culture,
which we were, but neither here nor there. Coach Roll
called and said, hey, listen, I'm gonna let you know
you earned your way out of the team. And we
had to put some guys on my r and now
you're back on the team. So I went through this
whole emotional roller coaster of getting cut, not only wow,
(26:05):
to wait for the practice squad and I'm at dinner,
I'm at lunch with Mike Schofield and Kendall Coinscowfield, who's
the top US women's hockey player in the world, with
my wife and we're at what's it flower Child there
right in Charlotte. And yeah, Marty heard he call me
and said, hey, Colin, we're going to sign you back
to the fifty three a man roster. So not that
(26:26):
long before I was in the XFL and COVID happened.
So it is a roller coaster ride. And then the
next year was the only year I made the active
roster in my entire seven year pro career, right out
of training camp. So for these big time guys, it's
normal thing. But for the other half of the roster,
it is an absolute roller coaster ride. The definition of it.
(26:48):
You don't know what's up, you don't know what's down.
You need to sign a least, you need to move
your family down, Are you bringing the dog? Are you
booking flights for the first game. Should your parents be
buying you know, Thompson custom Panthers, Bersey or a don't
buy them because I'm getting cut. So it's a million things.
But I was really fortunate to have a great support
system at home and with great agents and financial advisors
(27:09):
in my wife and whatever, because it takes a team
to support the craziness of the NFL.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Yeah, and part of that too, is for the guys
who end up on the practice squad. And you've been
in that position too, What is your advice on how
to handle an assignment to the practice squad? Well, maybe
inside everyone's got a little bit of that ego, right
you feel, hey, I should be on somebody's fifty three.
Speaker 8 (27:34):
Yeah, it's a great question. First off, off the field,
rent furnished rent, short term rent, week to week, because
you could be gone, you could be clean. Like you're
saying a niche, I believe I should be on a
fifty three man roster. Well, you could be in Carolina
one day, in Green Bay the next, Right, It's happened,
you see it all the time. My advice to the
(27:55):
players is this, do your best it being the best
team me. Don't worry about yourself because I've seen players
that are so focused on making plays and maybe it's
a practice that's not supposed to be so physical, but
you're pissed you're not on the active roster and you're
pushing around a starter to show that you're tough and physical.
That's not what the you know, the the front office
(28:17):
wants to see. They want to see you do your job,
take care of your teammates, be great in the weight room,
do all the things you're supposed to do, show up early,
state late, like, just be the best teammate you can be,
and you're gonna end up on that fifty three. I
was very fortunate to get that advice early on in
my life from a veteran in Trey Burton, and it's
stuck with me and I just really hated, like I'll
(28:38):
never forget. In practice, we had a practice squad linebacker
come out of nowhere and deplete Ian Thomas in practice
and I came look like I was a hockey fighter niche.
I came over the boards. I wanted to kill the kid,
and I just was like, dude, what are you doing?
Like Ian just played eighty reps first. Matthew Judah in
the New England Patriots and can barely get out of bed,
and here you are taking a cheap shot of our starters.
(29:00):
What are you doing? And that kid lasted a couple
of weeks and got cut.
Speaker 5 (29:03):
You can see it.
Speaker 8 (29:04):
All the time. So it's long winded, but be a
great teammate. Continue to do what you're doing, and act
and prepare like you're going to play in that game
when it comes to film, study your diet, your body work.
Don't just say oh, I'm on the team now. Now
I'm going to start acting like a pro. You got
to act like your a pro all the time so
when it does happen, you can jump right in and
it's business as usual when you're on the fifty three.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Before we let you go, Colin, just give us a
little glimpse into your life. What are you doing now?
I know you still have that itch to get back
into the NFL, but you've got a promising media career ahead.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
Of you too.
Speaker 8 (29:35):
Yeah, thanks, buddy, I appreciate having me on the You know,
to be no respect from you and with your career,
you've been a great mentor for me and you're just
a mainstay now in Carolina, which is awesome. Super excited
what you have going on there and good luck. I'm
the call this year. So for me serious XM show
this year, which I'm excited to do with alec Ingold
Stop its full back Colin Thompson show with my media company,
(29:56):
Not for Long Media, and our new whole kind of
travel food chat called Foudric's Football that's coming out in November.
And then yeah, I'm gonna try to play one more
year in the NFL. Feel great, ready to play. I'm
you know, still young in the real world, thirty years
old by Football World. Man, it's old, feel good. I'm
ready to go and ready for an opportunity when it comes.
(30:18):
I mean, like I said, man, take fan of your.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Work and thanks for having me on and we're always
rooting for you. Colin, Appreciate your pal.
Speaker 8 (30:23):
No Panthers keep pounting.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Colin Thompson, former Panthers tight end and budding media star.
This is Panther Talk presented by Bosh power Tools.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
This is Panther Talk. She's sending by Bush power Tools.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Seem record holder for games played JJ Jansen and then
you break that record every time you played another game.
How wild is that?
Speaker 9 (30:47):
It's It's so important to constantly be sitting in your
sits a little bit higher. And anytime I can break
a record, that's always a good thing. But maybe hopefully
at some point I'll break somebody else's record.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Not my own.
Speaker 10 (30:57):
But for now, we'll just keep adding games and helping
team win.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
You recently joined a Twitter or x whatever it's called now.
Speaker 9 (31:04):
Why Yeah, so fastest growing Twitter account and Charlotte even
though I just started, I'd done it when I was
when I first got to the team, and you know,
for years and years I did it. I did a
bunch of like Panthers trivia and giveaways and all this stuff,
and I had a lot of fun with it, and
then started having kids and just wasn't keeping up with it,
and so I was like, I'm gonna step away. And
(31:25):
now we're having so much fun and mess around with
like Hecker and Eddie, and obviously I kind of I
got the Checker stuff going on and want to be
able to support and promote them and obviously what we're
doing here with the Panthers and a couple of other
things I'm involved in. So I figured it's just a
good way to get kind of re engaged with fans.
In a little bit different way, and it's fun. I've
always used Twitter, I just never posted anything.
Speaker 10 (31:46):
I just kind of late. I had a burner that
didn't I didn't send anything.
Speaker 9 (31:49):
I was just reading what other people were putting out there.
So I'm certainly familiar with it. But but now I'll
hopefully be a little more engaged.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
You know, it's suc cesspool, right, Yeah, I've seen it.
Speaker 10 (31:59):
It's been it's been exciting. It's it's a wild wild
a lot of opinions. I love all of them.
Speaker 9 (32:05):
And a couple guys give me a hard time because
I stepped right into Twitter and just fired off some
hot takes about the Olympics.
Speaker 10 (32:10):
So I think I'm already getting the hang of it.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
How you do it? You say stuff? It's all hyperbole
all the time.
Speaker 9 (32:16):
Yeah, I hopefully I can just hit on all the
hot button issues Olympic events, you know, hot dogs or hamburgers,
all that really important stuff that people want to know about.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
It's an election, your toom that might be one you
want to stay away from.
Speaker 7 (32:29):
Is it?
Speaker 10 (32:29):
Is it an election?
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (32:30):
That's what I hear.
Speaker 9 (32:30):
Oh oh boy, I guess you're supposed to say go vote,
but but I don't want to.
Speaker 10 (32:36):
I don't want to wait too close. I don't know
if that offends anybody.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
As somebody who's been in this organization for a long time,
have you now come across guys who say, hey, when
you started playing, I was back in preschool or kindergarten.
Has that happened?
Speaker 10 (32:50):
Sadly?
Speaker 9 (32:50):
We're getting we're getting closer. First grade, second grade. I'm
sure there's someone I think I think uh, I think
Jonathan Brooks was. I think he's twenty two one, So
we're like right on that kindergarten preschool age here in
year seventeen. For me, so as I as I've told
you many many times, I think of myself as their
(33:11):
contemporaries and they think of me as grandpa. So we're
still trying to balance that. But it's fun to be
out here. It's a kid's game. I get to be
a kid, and you realize the kids are all grown
up and they're really fast and strong.
Speaker 10 (33:22):
So I'm just kind of hanging there as long as
I can.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Any other nicknames besides Grandpa?
Speaker 10 (33:27):
Uh no, Double J. Jamie Robinson always calls me old man?
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Does that make you feel?
Speaker 9 (33:37):
I usually just find him for doing something stupid because
even though he's going into year two, he's still a rookie,
and you know that that's kind of that's the biggest thing,
because guys are just having a blast for.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
You with this new coaching staff. What has been your
first impression of this staff?
Speaker 9 (33:52):
I think I think the biggest first impression is just
the energy that coach Canal Springs and the whole staff.
You know, it's a really really organized group, which is
really important for football. But there's a lot of energy
they're they're asking and demanding a lot of us, but
it's done with a temperament of kind of catching you
doing the right thing, not looking to critique as much
(34:13):
as hey, here's an example of Chuba finishing Irun.
Speaker 10 (34:16):
We expect all the running backs to run like this.
Speaker 9 (34:18):
Here's a here's a picture of Xavier Woods, ten year vet,
running someone.
Speaker 10 (34:23):
Down and punching at the ball. This is what we
want to see you do.
Speaker 9 (34:25):
So as opposed to finding guys making mistakes or not hustling,
it's finding examples of young players, veteran players doing the
right things.
Speaker 10 (34:33):
Playing panther football.
Speaker 9 (34:34):
All the things that we hustle, the energy, the intelligence
that we emphasize, and we just spend a lot of
time praising those guys.
Speaker 10 (34:41):
And what I've seen is guys want to be caught
doing well.
Speaker 9 (34:44):
So every day we have a film study and guys
are hoping they're up on that on that film playing
Panther football.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
And last thing, JJ, for you know there's some continuity
within your position group. How important is that?
Speaker 10 (34:56):
So much of special teams and especially field goal kicking
is about.
Speaker 9 (35:00):
The rhythm and routine that the three of us have,
so continuity, growing together, building, encouraging one another.
Speaker 10 (35:07):
It can be a little bit lonely on a game
winning kick.
Speaker 9 (35:10):
You kind of feel like we're out there alone, especially
a kicker, so you try to create a little bit
of unity amongst the group.
Speaker 5 (35:15):
JJ, thanks appreciating.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Panther Talk presented by Bosh power Tools continues after this
on the Carolina Panthers or Radio Network.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
This is Panther Talk. Please send it by Bosh power Tools.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Any Shruf, Jim Zochi, Eugene Robinson. Jim's got his fantasy
draft in about a half hour, so I thought this
would be a good way to end if you had
a fantasy draft. Amongst the Panthers players, who are your
top three picks Fantasy production?
Speaker 6 (35:50):
Oh good, I would say as far as we're picking today,
not down the road like to begin week one. Well, yeah,
like if you're drafting night, but you know Jonathan Brooks
is hurt right now, so I would Brooks would be
my guy. Like if it's like a called a keeper league,
we get to keep a guy for two years, probably
Jonathan Brooks would be the guy I would take if
it was like a two year keeper league. I think
Deontay Johnson set up for a big year. Yeah, I
(36:11):
think he took a lot of targets. Adam Thield got
so many last year. I think Feeling Still could be
obviously right up there with him, But they used to
be like.
Speaker 5 (36:19):
More of an even split.
Speaker 6 (36:20):
Whereas I think, what do you had like sixty more
catches than Mingo last year because stealing like one hundred
and three and Mingo had forty three. That's absurd now
when you when you step back and look at that,
I mean this, I think Deontay Johnson and Adam Field,
I think their numbers could be pretty similar. So I
think Deontay would probably set up as one of my
top guys.
Speaker 7 (36:35):
No, I'm thinking of some tuba. One thing, I just
like him. If you're looking at a running back, yes,
and I think I have to go with Bryce. Bryce
is that guy who you know. I think he's his
softball season. I think he's gonna have a breakout year.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
There have been a lot of signs pointing to that.
The joint practice with the Jets, the drive against Buffalo
and the priests, right, that was good drive. And then
whatever is hear and see internally just about how he's
handled the offense, how you know this new offense seems
to fit him. The one thing, and again I'm not
(37:11):
trying to make too much of one joint practice in
one preseason drive, but the one thing that stood out
to me he has time. He's had time to the
point where there were moments last year he didn't have
a chance. He drops back, the pockets already collapsed. Now
he has time to make plays. And there was even
(37:34):
a couple of moments against Buffalo where it almost looked
like he got happy feet, like, wait a minute, I
have more time than I should.
Speaker 6 (37:42):
I want to ask you Geene's opinion on this too.
I felt like last year, I don't know this, but
it felt like early in the season. He wasn't given
permission to go run like he didn't run like the
first couple of games. Now you saw likening even that drive.
He kept plays alive with his feet. I think you
know that part of getting him was that he is
able to be agile. He can run with the football. Again,
not to take big shots, but you'll go out of bounds,
(38:02):
go slide, all that kind of stuff. Did you get
that sense, laic ug Like, Hey, we're not taking the
training wheels off yet, you're not out there to go run.
You throw it into the ground if you don't see
somebody else.
Speaker 5 (38:11):
It does seem like he was just hampered a little bit,
like he's just restricted just a little bit.
Speaker 7 (38:15):
And also the fact that the offensive line could not
protect him, I think it only exacerbated things. But I
think you're absolutely right the fact that he can move
out of the pocket and make things happen.
Speaker 5 (38:24):
But to speak, that's when you're dangerous.
Speaker 7 (38:26):
Allah Wilson when he Russell Wilson when he was in Seattle.
Guys like that are very very dangerous because you have
to plaster as a secondary. You just can't come off
and run and chase the quarterback. People have to be
designated to chase the quarterback to go ahead and put
them on the ground. Well, he has that element too,
And I always thought he has a really good arm
able to throw people open, and so I think he's
(38:49):
just a sleeper just waiting to be awake. And I
think this is this would be his season, his swall
so song coming out. And the best thing that happened
in preseason for him in that Buffalo game was the
fact that they blocked for him.
Speaker 5 (39:01):
That was the best thing. They gave them time to
go ahead and eat and he showed up.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Yeah, and I get it. Both floatedn't play at starters,
but the Jets did care. But the Jets did in
that joint practice. And the Jets are a team that
had one of the best defenses in the NFL two
years running.
Speaker 7 (39:16):
Absolutely, and I don't care if you say that they're
one of their best, because the guys still got to
perform even if they're not their best. I want to
see my guys dominate, then not their best. And I
thought that the offense, I thought they did a great
job of dominating and moving the ball at least on
that first series. If you don't left them in for
a couple of series. I thought they would easily move
the ball down there and score six and still the
eyeball test too. It's not always about you know, ones
(39:38):
versus Two's like you looked out.
Speaker 5 (39:39):
There, what you saw.
Speaker 6 (39:40):
You watch enough football, you go, that's got a rhythm
to it, that's got composure to it. You said, throwing
guys open. There were some mature plays, decisions, throws, the
running component of that drive. There were a lot of
things that were all put in that one drive.
Speaker 7 (39:53):
And Aquanto easily stepped back with that, not chasing that
nine out the nine and getting that little paces of
at him to get his block on.
Speaker 5 (40:01):
I thought that was actually a.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
Wonderful Troy Aikman did not win a single game as
a rookie. John Elways rookie year numbers.
Speaker 5 (40:10):
You know that, right, bad?
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Joe Montana's rookieyear numbers. Man Peyton Manning set a rookie
record for interceptions. All four have a bust in canton
and a gold jacket.
Speaker 5 (40:25):
You no, that'th right.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
I'm not trying to make any predictions here, but we're
in the age where we want to make bold proclamations
off of small sample sizes, because that's what goes viral,
that's what cuts through, that's what elicits a reaction. Time
and patience works too. Bryce Young goes into year two.
I think big things are ahead.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
This has been placently by Bosh Power Tools on the
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Speaker 2 (00:06):
Time and They're Tall, and They're tell, and They're toll.
This is Panther Talk, presented by Bosh power Tools on
the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Of course, the challenge coming off of a break is
let's get back to work. And so it was a
great day of work. Guys flying around. We got quite
a few new places around, you know.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
The building.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
So just seeing those guys starting to get comfortable, hear
the calls, play faster and play to the you know
to what we saw on film.
Speaker 4 (00:34):
So a great day for that evaluation.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
And then again just a chance for us to keep
moving the ball forward as to get ready for Now
Orleans this week.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
And now, along with Jim Zoki and Eugene Robinson, here's
a Niche Shruff with Panther Talk live from the Panthers
broadcast facility at Bank of America Stereo.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
It is Labor Day, it is game week. The thirty
season of Panther football commences in Earnest on Sunday. We
got a packed show for you today. We'll hear from
former Panthers tight end turned budding media star Colin Thompson.
We'll hear from the longest tenured Panther JJ Janssen. But
(01:18):
let's kick off the show by bringing in Dave Canalis,
Dave head coach of the Carolina Panthers first regular season
game on Sunday. Or are we at the point where
the totality of that moment has hit you?
Speaker 5 (01:35):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Every day, it's exciting.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
First of all, let me just say I was excited
before I heard the build up and then the way
that you just described this week, I'm stoked.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
If I can get you fired up, I did something.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
No, I'm really excited.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
I'm excited just for the process of this journey for
us to become us. And it's something that I'm just
committed to with this group of men that as we
we start to get these these regular season games coming
at us, to really really define who we are from
an exus and O standpoint, really define who we are
from a play style standpoint, to become the twenty twenty
four Panthers. So really exciting times around here.
Speaker 5 (02:13):
Well, coach, we're glad you stoked.
Speaker 6 (02:15):
We're stoked too, Jim Zoki here, I was wondering for you, obviously,
You've been around this league for a long time, a
lot of different roles, including offensive coordinator. But having gone
through off season, training camp, all of it now as
a head coach, did.
Speaker 5 (02:29):
Anything surprise you?
Speaker 6 (02:30):
Was there anything that you didn't know maybe with your
time or just putting things together kind of being the
guy in charge that maybe was less than you expected
or unexpected, you know.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
I think I had, of course a lot of a
lot of.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Mentors, a lot of people just kind of warning me,
but also just giving me a little insight to the
life of a head coach. Five things every day you
can't anticipate that are going to come up. I think
that it's the beautiful part of our profession and where
you know, when you have this many people collected, there
are the things that happen there. People are going through
(03:06):
different seasons of life, different challenges from a personal standpoint,
professional standpoint as far as football is concerned, and so
I just.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Love being a part of those stories. I love hearing
about you know.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
The challenges you know, and and some of them are
are harder to deal with than others. Some are are
exciting news adding family members, and some are some are
really just devastating with with family members going through hard things,
and I think, you know, that's the world that really
I don't I don't know if I'm surprised by it,
but I just I've become so aware of the dynamics,
(03:40):
which is why it's so important for us to just
approach every day with joy, every day with respect for
every person that comes in this building.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
That you never know what someone's going through.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
And it's always a great day to just pursue our best,
to do this thing together, and to really have grace
and patience with each other as we pursue greatness.
Speaker 7 (03:58):
And Coach Eugene Robinson here, I know that you you
have a desire to get the ball out very very
quickly on passing, and my question would be, is are
you going to adopt much more of a West Coast
offense where you get the waggles to boost, the sprints,
the dashes to go ahead to accommodate what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Absolutely, it's definitely something that we've been working on that
we plan on incorporating. And I think the beautiful part
of our system is that we have run game out
of all of those different looks, whether it's under center
in the pistol or and Gun.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
We have things.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
It's the run past marriage, you know, bur at Itzig
our offensive coordinator because of marriage counseling. So as we
go through like that, as we go through our game
plan early in the week Monday Tuesday, you know, there's
there's this meeting of the minds that says, okay, now
does it look like the different things that we're presenting
to the defense, Let's make it all look similar so
that we can have balance and be able to still
(04:53):
be aggressive when we want to attack Eugene, you know,
and to also have those you know, quick rhythm types
of plays that kind of tie it all in together.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
We're talking with Dave Canalis, head coach of the Carolina Panthers.
Dave some familiarity with New Orleans from seeing them twice
last year over in Tampa Bay. When does the true
game planning really begin or has that already started long ago?
Speaker 5 (05:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
That's that's been you know, ever since the schedule came out.
You know, we had to really you know, look at
our look at the opponents, and see where we can
incorporate you know, some you know, some Saints emphasis, you know,
throughout our time in camp, and then of course leading.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Up to this this week.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
So that's that's been in the works, especially because of
the respect that I have for Dennis Allen as a
play caller, Clint Kubiak, who's another fantastic play caller and
has a really good system of how to utilize different personnel.
So a lot of high level of respect for this team,
for the Saints in this building, and so it calls
for us to you know, to be on top of
(05:57):
our stuff and to really, you know, take a deep
dive into how they plan to attack us.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
I know it's early in the week, but don't have
all hands on deck one hundred percent anyway. He's at
the tight end position. But with the practice squads being
so much bigger these days than they used to be,
looks like you still have some good options and some
good depth depending on what happens during the course of
the week getting ready for this one.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Yep, we're still you know again, we had guys that
have been around with us for camp and that showed
a lot of consistency and allowed us to function in
our systems. And the beautiful part of our system is
it's flexible enough to accommodate different types of tight ends.
You know, in the past, we've had guys like Will
Disley who are in the two seventy range, you know,
Ian Thomas is you know, close to to sixty. And
(06:38):
then we've had our two hundred and thirty five pound
tight ends, our two hundred and fifty pound tight ends.
And the more versatile and athletic the guys are, the
more they allow us to do in different ways. So
we got a good group of guys with Jordan Matthews,
you know, of course, Jatavian Sanders who we added, you know,
and even a guy on practice squad like Felipe Franks
who was really versatile this camp for us and did
a fantastic job.
Speaker 7 (06:59):
And coach times when you come out of preseason is
that there's always an attitude or a character that starts
to develop on your office and defense of special teams.
So from what you've seen, what is the characters seeming
to develop that you guys are honing in on them
what your team is doing or appear to be doing.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Right yeah, and right now, what I know about our
group is this is a very focused group. They're more
on the serious side. They have a professionalism about.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
The way they go to work every day.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
And then I think the thing I appreciate the most
about this group in general is when there's a reason
and we challenge them as a coaching staff, whether it's
from me or from the coordinators, these guys respond.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
So there's a high value of respect in this building,
the locker room.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Included just the guys, the way that they treat each other,
the way that they treat people around the building. There's
a real culture that way that's built on that. And
I think that you know what I'm looking for is
as we hone in on our scheme, we have good
we have a good starting point and a good core offense,
defense and special teams x's and o's wise, and but
(08:08):
we will become specific parts of those schemes based on
our personnel and what guys show us that they can
do when we get into these games.
Speaker 7 (08:16):
Well, one thing I noticed about your defense particularly, I
thought they were very very fast in the preseason. They
were They seemed to get to the ball very very
quickly at all at all different positions. The secondary, everyone
seemed to be fast. It seemed to be the character
that was emerging as well as that focus.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Ye Jane, thanks for bringing that up too.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Is it's I attribute that to good coaching. We certainly
are looking for those those profile of athletes that play fast,
but I think that when we can teach things well
and our players understand what they're doing, they play fast.
And so I was really proud of just the way
that we were able to put our guys in good
(08:54):
positions and then the way that the players were able
to take it to the game and fly around like that.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
So I appreciate you bringing that up.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Coach before we let you go. This past weekend was
your last weekend without football for some time. What did
you do?
Speaker 4 (09:09):
I slept most Friday?
Speaker 5 (09:11):
Did it all?
Speaker 4 (09:14):
Definitely?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Uh, you know, just the the toll of camp, the conversations,
treating every day as it's the most important day that
we have. We pour a lot of ourselves into this room,
into this building, and I think that, you know, through
the course of camp, you know, I was feeling like
(09:36):
the players could sense the urgency, and then I think that,
you know, this weekend, I felt the urgency that we had.
Saturday was at football at my my son's football tackle
football game.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
That was a great day for us.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
Sunday we went to church in the morning as a
family and then we just kind of hung out.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
I put some ribs on the smoker. We had an
dinner at.
Speaker 5 (10:00):
The house down Baby.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
I gotta be honest, though, I was getting a little
bit antsy, and and you know, Lizzie kind of looked
at me. He's like, you're pretty quiet right now. She
knows like, if I'm quiet, that's because I'm thinking about
what's coming. And I know how how critical these days are.
And we had a great practice today, but I was
ready to get back to work. And but it was
a great weekend of just spending time with the family
and really reconnecting.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
It's uh, the last weekend before it starts to get
crazy for everybody. Coach, appreciate your time and we're looking
forward to week one.
Speaker 5 (10:33):
Thank you. Thanks for having MEO coach.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Dave Canal as head coach of the Carolina Panthers.
Speaker 6 (10:38):
You didn't really jump on that you were invited to rips.
She kind of invited yourself and you just jumped into it.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Week one yet again, Panthers open with a divisional foe
in the Saints and Eugene. Still early in the week.
There there's a lot of moving parts. Jim, you brought up,
you know, the tight end situation, for example, Panthers are
going to try to figure out how the pieces fit
there with some bodies being hurt. But I look at
the Saints team, got a new offensive coordinator, got an
(11:13):
entirely new staff. Age starting to creep up. Cameron Jordan's
thirty five only had two sacks last year. To Mario
Davis is in his mid thirties. Tyron Matthews is what
thirty two to thirty three years old. Now they're getting
older in some spots the offensive line. I mean, James
Hurst retired Ryan Ramchick out for the season, right. You
(11:36):
know they drafted Tyler Penning a couple of years ago,
same draft where the Panthers got Ikey Aquanu to replace
toront Armstead who went to Miami. That has not worked out,
and my Penning is now probably going to start by default.
And this is one of these games, Jim, where if
the Panthers can get off to a good start, given
the anks that Saints fans have about their head coach
(11:58):
and the state of their franchise, you could turn that
into a road game for New Orleans pretty quickly.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Yeah. No, you made a lot of good points.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
And I've always thought, you know, Derek Carr like always
as well as guys like his stats look good, but
you know they're about a five hundred team. Last year
they did finish nine and eight, and they won four
of their last five that came on stronger at the end.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
So it's not that.
Speaker 6 (12:17):
He's not a good quarterback, but he's not a great.
Speaker 5 (12:20):
Quarterback in this league.
Speaker 6 (12:21):
So if he doesn't have that special talent around him,
a lave's very good obviously, but Kamar has been around
running back years and dog years. He's like one hundred.
That's a major injury. So he's not as a dynamic.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
As the same as he used to because.
Speaker 6 (12:34):
Like Ezekiel Elliott, like, they were very good, but then
they're not quite what they were healthwise.
Speaker 7 (12:38):
What I used to think of Kamarrow, he and McCaffrey
were the same guy.
Speaker 5 (12:43):
I don't.
Speaker 7 (12:43):
I don't have that same sense anymore about you know
about number forty one, I just don't.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
And here it is. I think that.
Speaker 7 (12:51):
I've always said, predicated upon what our offensive line is
able to do, that's how far we were able to go.
Speaker 5 (12:57):
I think we have a lot of good skilled people.
There's no doubt about that.
Speaker 7 (13:00):
But can you hold up with the blocking and pushing
people off the line, and can Brash be really strategic
if he gets the time. I think those questions will
be answered. I think that's a yes. So I agree
with you going down in the Saints. I mean, this
is not like you go down the Saints and get
blowed out. This is one of the games you can
sneak out, sneak out to win.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
And again, to me, this is also a game where
you can put Dave Canalis's vision to the test right away.
He wants to run the football. He wants to establish
the run to set up everything else. He talked to
you about that. We heard him say about that marriage,
that perfect marriage. The strength of the Saints' team is
their secondary. They're still very good back there, Marshall Lattimore, Paulson, adebo,
(13:42):
Alante Taylor. They go in draft kool Aid mckinstrey in
the second round, so you amplify a unit that was
already strong to begin with. You're gonna have to be
able to run the football to beat him.
Speaker 6 (13:53):
There's no doubt, and there's you know again, I think
it's not just one guy here. I think Chewbuck keeps
getting better every year, he gets more physical. Well, I
think Miles Sanders has a lot to prove this year.
So I think black sheer underrated, like he probably won't
see a lot of carries, but I think he's kind
of that dynamic, kind of almost scatback kind of a player.
So I think you've got enough back there as you
wait Jonathan Brooks down the road in a couple of
(14:14):
weeks to be not just okay, but to be, you know,
very good. I think Cuba is probably one of the
best probably kept secrets around the NFL that a lot
of fans don't know about about his Every year, how
hard he works puts a little bit more weight on that.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
Speed frame the area.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Is he on your fantasy team?
Speaker 6 (14:28):
I have a draft at seven point thirty, so when
we get done here at seven, I need to go
right away. I had one last night.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
But I did not Where did Cuba go?
Speaker 5 (14:37):
What round?
Speaker 1 (14:37):
Do you remember?
Speaker 5 (14:38):
It was late? Late? It was late, it was like
tenth probably.
Speaker 7 (14:41):
Well, I asked coach the question about the waggles, the
movement things, the boosts, the waggles, sprints, the dashes, that's
all part of the West Coast offense, and of all
those plays, you have a running game that won't quit
because you can after waggle, you can go ahead and
run the ruck boos, you can run rock the spress,
you can run the rock, you know. And I think
(15:04):
he said, he says something that is really important that
you can do so many things from these different looks which.
Speaker 5 (15:09):
Allow you to throw the ball or run the ball.
Speaker 7 (15:11):
And so I'm like, wow, you know, I want to
see Bryce in that really West Coast offense. I'll uh,
Mike Hongrin when we when we played in Green Bay
or San Francisco with Bill Walsh, that was that's the
offense that yields so much yards and also is so
dang quick. Hitting the ball comes out fast. A screen
(15:32):
is like a five yard six yard run. I mean
it's I love that offense, and so hopefully the elements
of it. I say, man, coach, I hope you adopt
a lot of that because that could be real keen
for us.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
I don't know about you, guys. I'm more curious about
how this defense is going to look more so than
this offense I am. And then I know why, Well, listen,
I do think Bryce Young is gonna take that step
in your two. They have bolstered the offensive line. They
should be able to run the ball with lou and
hunted guard. Now there's more weapons on the outside. But
(16:04):
the defense, you lost Burns, you lost Chin, you lost Luvu.
There's some new faces, a lot of scheme fits. Questions
about who's gonna get to the passer, who's gonna be
that edge guy. Jadevion Clowney, great season last year. Two
of the last three years he's been productive. He has
the injury history. Who starts opposite Clowney. That's something that'll
(16:25):
be revealed probably later this week. That's a question up
front again. Derek Brown terrific season last year, and I
are adding Ashawn Robinson too that mix. Does that really
fortify their run defense. I'm curious to see how Coachovero
puts the puzzle pieces together on the defensive side of
the ball, because I think they got more guys that
fit with the scheme. But again, there was a loss
(16:49):
of significant talent as well. And you know what sort
of that flat line level that you're gonna get to
where okay, you know what you're losing with one. You
had some hard decisions to make What are you get
with guys that know the system?
Speaker 7 (17:01):
You're right, But one thing I will say in preseason,
what I saw was very very fast. Yeah, a fast defense,
which so that tells you they know the defense, right,
That's what it tells me. Yeah, we got more to
do here. On Panther Talk, we'll get into the Saints
matchup a little more. We're gonna talk with Colin Thompson,
who's launching his own media career. He was a tight
(17:22):
end here with the Panthers. He describes life on the
fringe in the NFL When you're that guy trying to
make a roster aro on the practice squad and the
cuts are coming, how do you make sure you don't
burn bridges? How do you make sure those opportunities stay?
And we'll hear from JJ Jansen, who is never at
a loss for words. All that on Panther Talk presented
by Bosh power Tools on the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
This is Panther Talk presented by Bosh power Tools.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
The Carolina Panthers open up their thirtieth season of football
Sunday at the Caesar Superdome in New Orleans at e
Shrop Jimzokie, Eugene Robinson. Just so you know, Jim, you're
not gonna be there. But they did all these renovations
to the stadium, nine figure renovations. Right. Guess where the
press box is spose Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5 (18:17):
So near the roof.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
We're up in NASA, right right under the speaker, right underneath.
You can touch the roof from where we are.
Speaker 5 (18:23):
Huh four.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Everything looks like army ants.
Speaker 5 (18:25):
The roofs not on fire. Is lots of elbow room.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Opening up against a Saints team which had an oka
season last year. They finished strong five four and one
down the stretch Derek Carr last five games fourteen to
two touchdown interception ratio. But this was a team you
brought up the run game with Kamara, Kamara, Jamal Williams Miller.
Those three did not have a single run of twenty
(18:54):
or more yards last year. Their run game to me
is Taysom Hill.
Speaker 7 (18:58):
Here it is, and you can stop Taysom Hill. It's
not like it's hard to go ahead and stop Taysos Hill.
When he comes in the game, all right, and you
think about, all right, what he wants to do, He's
gonna be much more of a Cam Newton type guy.
He's gonna do that red run option type things that nature. Well,
you just play for it and make him a passer.
I say, make the guy throw the rock, all right,
So I'm gonna send guys at him and make him
(19:20):
throw the ball and tell my guys, okay, I need
you to hold up in the back end, because your
office is predicated on not the running game.
Speaker 5 (19:27):
It's predicated on a guy and a guy.
Speaker 7 (19:30):
If they lose that guy that spot, you lose thirty
forty percent of your office.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
You gotta go to something else.
Speaker 7 (19:35):
And that's what the problems that the Saints I think
are gonna have because it's always been heavily predicated on
Taysom Hill.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
I think their strength is a team heading in at
this point. Anyways, their defense, how long has Cameron Jordan
been there?
Speaker 1 (19:47):
I got, wow, thirty five years old. But he slowed
down last year.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
He did, But there's secondary.
Speaker 6 (19:53):
You mentioned a lot of the names, and obviously Latimore
is really good and Matthew probably not as dynamic as
he was, but tomorrow Davis is a line by has
always been a good one. So I mean they're they're
a team that I think, you know, their defense is
going to keep them in ball games a lot. And
then you know, Lobby's the one guy you have to
really worry about as far as kind of being the
big play receiver if you get you know, JC Horn
in that matchup or whatever it is there, He's just
(20:13):
got to win that matchup and kind of neutralize that.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
Yes, I like the batchup.
Speaker 7 (20:18):
I've always liked the rivalry anyway, and that's a very
good rivalry for us. But I think this year, moving forward,
I think that is maybe a little bit different because
I think that these Saints a little bit older in
the tooth, just a little bit.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Yeah, this division is interesting because you know, the hot
seat chat are about Dennis Allen that's been out there
all off season. Tampa Bay. Baker Mayfield had a great
season last year, but Dave Kanalis, who had a lot
to do with that, is now in Carolina. So Tampa Bay,
what does that offense look like. Mike Evans is another guy, right,
I mean, Jim, he's been doing this forever. At some
(20:53):
point he's got to slow down.
Speaker 6 (20:54):
I mean, one hand, he's had ten straight years of
one thousand yards, But on the other hand, he's had
ten years of a thousand yards. He only get so
many years as a dynamic player, so you can still
be productive. And you played great ball Eugene for sixteen years,
as you know. But it's it catches up and he
catches up with you. But I don't know, this seems
like that, dude. This is like he must be like
a vampire or something like that. He just seems to
(21:15):
keep coming back every single every single year. He's just
one of those guys that he knows he can run around,
he knows he can body you, he knows he can
catch the ball, and he's so confidence his ability.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
So yeah, you're right, Evans, no joke at all.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, the Falcons. I will say, this is the one
team in the division that that does scare me. And
I know there's some people and then I can be
Jean Robinson. He's very legitimate playmaker. Kyle Pitts. We saw
what he could do as a rookie. They didn't know
how to never use those guys the last couple of years,
Arthur Smith, they would not use them. Drake London.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
I mean they got skill, have weapons, and they needed
the trigger man and now they got him.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
Like Desmond Ridder who I saw in college. A Ton
never struck me as something other than a good, very
good college quarterback.
Speaker 6 (22:04):
And he started for them last year at this time,
and he just got released last week by what Arizona
or Arizona.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Yeah, if Kirk Cousins is fifty percent of Youah, Kirk Cousins,
Kirk Cousins, I think you know they got a chance.
Speaker 7 (22:17):
Yeah, because Kirk Cousins always he's always been a guy,
and he's always been a guy who can run the offense.
And there's always been flashes of greatness with Kirk Cousins,
but there's also been flashes of Okay, he's just just okay.
And it depends on what Kirk Cousins shows up.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
In my opinion.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, the Falcons deservedly the favorite in the division going
in the rest of it, we'll see the first month
of the season always interesting, especially the way the modern
preseason plays out. When we come back, we will hear
from former Panthers tight end to Colin Thompson. Panther Talk
presented by Bosh power Tools, continues after this on the
(22:56):
Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
This is Panther Talk. Please end it by Bush power Tools.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Panther Talk continues, and we bring back an old friend.
You might know him from his days as a Carolina
Panthers tight end. He is now the host of the
Colin Thompson Show. You can hear him Tuesday nights on
Sirius XSEM. He hosts the Player's Point with former Miami
fullback alec Ingold Colin Thompson joining the program. Colin, great
(23:29):
to hear your voice again.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
A niche.
Speaker 8 (23:32):
It is great to be back on the show. I'm
usually hearing you calling lacrosse games in the spring, and
now it's football season when I get to hear your
voice in the fall. So excited to be here, my friend,
and I think Panthers fans have a lot to look
forward to this year. I know it's been doom and gloom.
I was a part of that toom and gloom, but
it's going to be a nice year for him.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
You've got a unique perspective, right, undrafted free agent and
you had to earn your way onto an NFL roster.
As you kind of get down to this point in
the season, you've just finished training camp, you've had the cuts.
Can you give us the perspective from your end, what's
that like for those guys trying to make a roster
(24:10):
or hold on to a roster spot when you get
down to the end of the preseason.
Speaker 5 (24:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (24:17):
So I'll tell you just a story because I think
that's the best way to paint the pictures. So it's
twenty twenty the Carolina Panthers, of course, and it was
my first year there, Matt Rules first year, and there's
only there's like five tight ends. Chris Maynard's GEO, RICHI, myself,
Ian Thomas, and one other guy, and they cut everybody
(24:39):
but Ian Thomas and Chris Manners. I'm like, no way,
there's no way we could have two tight ends on
the roster. Well, I wake up in the morning of
cut day, I'm super excited, thinking I'm going to make
this team, and my phone's ringing and it's the same
number you just called me on today. It's the Panthers
facility number. And the guy who calls me, of all people,
is Louke Keikley. Now, Luke Keikley. It was the first
(25:00):
person I met on a recruiting visit to Boston College
in two thousand and nine. Okay, I know Luke from then.
Now he's calling me when his career is over and
I'm trying to get my NFL career started, and Luke
gives me a call and says, hey, Colin, you got
to bring your playbook. Coach Rule and Marty Herney want
to meet with you. Okay, I'm getting cut, So I
get cut.
Speaker 4 (25:19):
I go back.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
I'm thinking, well, what am I doing now? I was
supposed to make this roster. Agent tells me I'm making it,
you know my tight end. Coach says you got a
great shot to make it, and I'm off the team.
Well what happened was a bunch of guys got put
on IR and they figured that I would clear waivers
because there was no preseason games in the year before that,
I was in the XFL. So long story short, Coach
(25:41):
Rule called me and said, hey, listen, I want to
make this crystal clear because I played for coaching college
and coach you know, a lot of people in Panthers
Land thought he just brought in his temple guys to
be you know, a part of his kind of culture,
which we were, but neither here nor there. Coach Roll
called and said, hey, listen, I'm gonna let you know
you earned your way out of the team. And we
had to put some guys on my r and now
you're back on the team. So I went through this
whole emotional roller coaster of getting cut, not only wow,
(26:05):
to wait for the practice squad and I'm at dinner,
I'm at lunch with Mike Schofield and Kendall Coinscowfield, who's
the top US women's hockey player in the world, with
my wife and we're at what's it flower Child there
right in Charlotte. And yeah, Marty heard he call me
and said, hey, Colin, we're going to sign you back
to the fifty three a man roster. So not that
(26:26):
long before I was in the XFL and COVID happened.
So it is a roller coaster ride. And then the
next year was the only year I made the active
roster in my entire seven year pro career, right out
of training camp. So for these big time guys, it's
normal thing. But for the other half of the roster,
it is an absolute roller coaster ride. The definition of it.
(26:48):
You don't know what's up, you don't know what's down.
You need to sign a least, you need to move
your family down, Are you bringing the dog? Are you
booking flights for the first game. Should your parents be
buying you know, Thompson custom Panthers, Bersey or a don't
buy them because I'm getting cut. So it's a million things.
But I was really fortunate to have a great support
system at home and with great agents and financial advisors
(27:09):
in my wife and whatever, because it takes a team
to support the craziness of the NFL.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Yeah, and part of that too, is for the guys
who end up on the practice squad. And you've been
in that position too, What is your advice on how
to handle an assignment to the practice squad? Well, maybe
inside everyone's got a little bit of that ego, right
you feel, hey, I should be on somebody's fifty three.
Speaker 8 (27:34):
Yeah, it's a great question. First off, off the field,
rent furnished rent, short term rent, week to week, because
you could be gone, you could be clean. Like you're
saying a niche, I believe I should be on a
fifty three man roster. Well, you could be in Carolina
one day, in Green Bay the next, Right, It's happened,
you see it all the time. My advice to the
(27:55):
players is this, do your best it being the best
team me. Don't worry about yourself because I've seen players
that are so focused on making plays and maybe it's
a practice that's not supposed to be so physical, but
you're pissed you're not on the active roster and you're
pushing around a starter to show that you're tough and physical.
That's not what the you know, the the front office
(28:17):
wants to see. They want to see you do your job,
take care of your teammates, be great in the weight room,
do all the things you're supposed to do, show up early,
state late, like, just be the best teammate you can be,
and you're gonna end up on that fifty three. I
was very fortunate to get that advice early on in
my life from a veteran in Trey Burton, and it's
stuck with me and I just really hated, like I'll
(28:38):
never forget. In practice, we had a practice squad linebacker
come out of nowhere and deplete Ian Thomas in practice
and I came look like I was a hockey fighter niche.
I came over the boards. I wanted to kill the kid,
and I just was like, dude, what are you doing?
Like Ian just played eighty reps first. Matthew Judah in
the New England Patriots and can barely get out of bed,
and here you are taking a cheap shot of our starters.
(29:00):
What are you doing? And that kid lasted a couple
of weeks and got cut.
Speaker 5 (29:03):
You can see it.
Speaker 8 (29:04):
All the time. So it's long winded, but be a
great teammate. Continue to do what you're doing, and act
and prepare like you're going to play in that game
when it comes to film, study your diet, your body work.
Don't just say oh, I'm on the team now. Now
I'm going to start acting like a pro. You got
to act like your a pro all the time so
when it does happen, you can jump right in and
it's business as usual when you're on the fifty three.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Before we let you go, Colin, just give us a
little glimpse into your life. What are you doing now?
I know you still have that itch to get back
into the NFL, but you've got a promising media career ahead.
Speaker 4 (29:34):
Of you too.
Speaker 8 (29:35):
Yeah, thanks, buddy, I appreciate having me on the You know,
to be no respect from you and with your career,
you've been a great mentor for me and you're just
a mainstay now in Carolina, which is awesome. Super excited
what you have going on there and good luck. I'm
the call this year. So for me serious XM show
this year, which I'm excited to do with alec Ingold
Stop its full back Colin Thompson show with my media company,
(29:56):
Not for Long Media, and our new whole kind of
travel food chat called Foudric's Football that's coming out in November.
And then yeah, I'm gonna try to play one more
year in the NFL. Feel great, ready to play. I'm
you know, still young in the real world, thirty years
old by Football World. Man, it's old, feel good. I'm
ready to go and ready for an opportunity when it comes.
(30:18):
I mean, like I said, man, take fan of your.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
Work and thanks for having me on and we're always
rooting for you. Colin, Appreciate your pal.
Speaker 8 (30:23):
No Panthers keep pounting.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Colin Thompson, former Panthers tight end and budding media star.
This is Panther Talk presented by Bosh power Tools.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
This is Panther Talk. She's sending by Bush power Tools.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Seem record holder for games played JJ Jansen and then
you break that record every time you played another game.
How wild is that?
Speaker 9 (30:47):
It's It's so important to constantly be sitting in your
sits a little bit higher. And anytime I can break
a record, that's always a good thing. But maybe hopefully
at some point I'll break somebody else's record.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Not my own.
Speaker 10 (30:57):
But for now, we'll just keep adding games and helping
team win.
Speaker 1 (31:01):
You recently joined a Twitter or x whatever it's called now.
Speaker 9 (31:04):
Why Yeah, so fastest growing Twitter account and Charlotte even
though I just started, I'd done it when I was
when I first got to the team, and you know,
for years and years I did it. I did a
bunch of like Panthers trivia and giveaways and all this stuff,
and I had a lot of fun with it, and
then started having kids and just wasn't keeping up with it,
and so I was like, I'm gonna step away. And
(31:25):
now we're having so much fun and mess around with
like Hecker and Eddie, and obviously I kind of I
got the Checker stuff going on and want to be
able to support and promote them and obviously what we're
doing here with the Panthers and a couple of other
things I'm involved in. So I figured it's just a
good way to get kind of re engaged with fans.
In a little bit different way, and it's fun. I've
always used Twitter, I just never posted anything.
Speaker 10 (31:46):
I just kind of late. I had a burner that
didn't I didn't send anything.
Speaker 9 (31:49):
I was just reading what other people were putting out there.
So I'm certainly familiar with it. But but now I'll
hopefully be a little more engaged.
Speaker 1 (31:57):
You know, it's suc cesspool, right, Yeah, I've seen it.
Speaker 10 (31:59):
It's been it's been exciting. It's it's a wild wild
a lot of opinions. I love all of them.
Speaker 9 (32:05):
And a couple guys give me a hard time because
I stepped right into Twitter and just fired off some
hot takes about the Olympics.
Speaker 10 (32:10):
So I think I'm already getting the hang of it.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
How you do it? You say stuff? It's all hyperbole
all the time.
Speaker 9 (32:16):
Yeah, I hopefully I can just hit on all the
hot button issues Olympic events, you know, hot dogs or hamburgers,
all that really important stuff that people want to know about.
Speaker 1 (32:26):
It's an election, your toom that might be one you
want to stay away from.
Speaker 7 (32:29):
Is it?
Speaker 10 (32:29):
Is it an election?
Speaker 2 (32:30):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (32:30):
That's what I hear.
Speaker 9 (32:30):
Oh oh boy, I guess you're supposed to say go vote,
but but I don't want to.
Speaker 10 (32:36):
I don't want to wait too close. I don't know
if that offends anybody.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
As somebody who's been in this organization for a long time,
have you now come across guys who say, hey, when
you started playing, I was back in preschool or kindergarten.
Has that happened?
Speaker 10 (32:50):
Sadly?
Speaker 9 (32:50):
We're getting we're getting closer. First grade, second grade. I'm
sure there's someone I think I think uh, I think
Jonathan Brooks was. I think he's twenty two one, So
we're like right on that kindergarten preschool age here in
year seventeen. For me, so as I as I've told
you many many times, I think of myself as their
(33:11):
contemporaries and they think of me as grandpa. So we're
still trying to balance that. But it's fun to be
out here. It's a kid's game. I get to be
a kid, and you realize the kids are all grown
up and they're really fast and strong.
Speaker 10 (33:22):
So I'm just kind of hanging there as long as
I can.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Any other nicknames besides Grandpa?
Speaker 10 (33:27):
Uh no, Double J. Jamie Robinson always calls me old man?
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Does that make you feel?
Speaker 9 (33:37):
I usually just find him for doing something stupid because
even though he's going into year two, he's still a rookie,
and you know that that's kind of that's the biggest thing,
because guys are just having a blast for.
Speaker 1 (33:47):
You with this new coaching staff. What has been your
first impression of this staff?
Speaker 9 (33:52):
I think I think the biggest first impression is just
the energy that coach Canal Springs and the whole staff.
You know, it's a really really organized group, which is
really important for football. But there's a lot of energy
they're they're asking and demanding a lot of us, but
it's done with a temperament of kind of catching you
doing the right thing, not looking to critique as much
(34:13):
as hey, here's an example of Chuba finishing Irun.
Speaker 10 (34:16):
We expect all the running backs to run like this.
Speaker 9 (34:18):
Here's a here's a picture of Xavier Woods, ten year vet,
running someone.
Speaker 10 (34:23):
Down and punching at the ball. This is what we
want to see you do.
Speaker 9 (34:25):
So as opposed to finding guys making mistakes or not hustling,
it's finding examples of young players, veteran players doing the
right things.
Speaker 10 (34:33):
Playing panther football.
Speaker 9 (34:34):
All the things that we hustle, the energy, the intelligence
that we emphasize, and we just spend a lot of
time praising those guys.
Speaker 10 (34:41):
And what I've seen is guys want to be caught
doing well.
Speaker 9 (34:44):
So every day we have a film study and guys
are hoping they're up on that on that film playing
Panther football.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
And last thing, JJ, for you know there's some continuity
within your position group. How important is that?
Speaker 10 (34:56):
So much of special teams and especially field goal kicking
is about.
Speaker 9 (35:00):
The rhythm and routine that the three of us have,
so continuity, growing together, building, encouraging one another.
Speaker 10 (35:07):
It can be a little bit lonely on a game
winning kick.
Speaker 9 (35:10):
You kind of feel like we're out there alone, especially
a kicker, so you try to create a little bit
of unity amongst the group.
Speaker 5 (35:15):
JJ, thanks appreciating.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
Panther Talk presented by Bosh power Tools continues after this
on the Carolina Panthers or Radio Network.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
This is Panther Talk. Please send it by Bosh power Tools.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
Any Shruf, Jim Zochi, Eugene Robinson. Jim's got his fantasy
draft in about a half hour, so I thought this
would be a good way to end if you had
a fantasy draft. Amongst the Panthers players, who are your
top three picks Fantasy production?
Speaker 6 (35:50):
Oh good, I would say as far as we're picking today,
not down the road like to begin week one. Well, yeah,
like if you're drafting night, but you know Jonathan Brooks
is hurt right now, so I would Brooks would be
my guy. Like if it's like a called a keeper league,
we get to keep a guy for two years, probably
Jonathan Brooks would be the guy I would take if
it was like a two year keeper league. I think
Deontay Johnson set up for a big year. Yeah, I
(36:11):
think he took a lot of targets. Adam Thield got
so many last year. I think Feeling Still could be
obviously right up there with him, But they used to
be like.
Speaker 5 (36:19):
More of an even split.
Speaker 6 (36:20):
Whereas I think, what do you had like sixty more
catches than Mingo last year because stealing like one hundred
and three and Mingo had forty three. That's absurd now
when you when you step back and look at that,
I mean this, I think Deontay Johnson and Adam Field,
I think their numbers could be pretty similar. So I
think Deontay would probably set up as one of my
top guys.
Speaker 7 (36:35):
No, I'm thinking of some tuba. One thing, I just
like him. If you're looking at a running back, yes,
and I think I have to go with Bryce. Bryce
is that guy who you know. I think he's his
softball season. I think he's gonna have a breakout year.
Speaker 1 (36:50):
There have been a lot of signs pointing to that.
The joint practice with the Jets, the drive against Buffalo
and the priests, right, that was good drive. And then
whatever is hear and see internally just about how he's
handled the offense, how you know this new offense seems
to fit him. The one thing, and again I'm not
(37:11):
trying to make too much of one joint practice in
one preseason drive, but the one thing that stood out
to me he has time. He's had time to the
point where there were moments last year he didn't have
a chance. He drops back, the pockets already collapsed. Now
he has time to make plays. And there was even
(37:34):
a couple of moments against Buffalo where it almost looked
like he got happy feet, like, wait a minute, I
have more time than I should.
Speaker 6 (37:42):
I want to ask you Geene's opinion on this too.
I felt like last year, I don't know this, but
it felt like early in the season. He wasn't given
permission to go run like he didn't run like the
first couple of games. Now you saw likening even that drive.
He kept plays alive with his feet. I think you
know that part of getting him was that he is
able to be agile. He can run with the football. Again,
not to take big shots, but you'll go out of bounds,
(38:02):
go slide, all that kind of stuff. Did you get
that sense, laic ug Like, Hey, we're not taking the
training wheels off yet, you're not out there to go run.
You throw it into the ground if you don't see
somebody else.
Speaker 5 (38:11):
It does seem like he was just hampered a little bit,
like he's just restricted just a little bit.
Speaker 7 (38:15):
And also the fact that the offensive line could not
protect him, I think it only exacerbated things. But I
think you're absolutely right the fact that he can move
out of the pocket and make things happen.
Speaker 5 (38:24):
But to speak, that's when you're dangerous.
Speaker 7 (38:26):
Allah Wilson when he Russell Wilson when he was in Seattle.
Guys like that are very very dangerous because you have
to plaster as a secondary. You just can't come off
and run and chase the quarterback. People have to be
designated to chase the quarterback to go ahead and put
them on the ground. Well, he has that element too,
And I always thought he has a really good arm
able to throw people open, and so I think he's
(38:49):
just a sleeper just waiting to be awake. And I
think this is this would be his season, his swall
so song coming out. And the best thing that happened
in preseason for him in that Buffalo game was the
fact that they blocked for him.
Speaker 5 (39:01):
That was the best thing. They gave them time to
go ahead and eat and he showed up.
Speaker 1 (39:05):
Yeah, and I get it. Both floatedn't play at starters,
but the Jets did care. But the Jets did in
that joint practice. And the Jets are a team that
had one of the best defenses in the NFL two
years running.
Speaker 7 (39:16):
Absolutely, and I don't care if you say that they're
one of their best, because the guys still got to
perform even if they're not their best. I want to
see my guys dominate, then not their best. And I
thought that the offense, I thought they did a great
job of dominating and moving the ball at least on
that first series. If you don't left them in for
a couple of series. I thought they would easily move
the ball down there and score six and still the
eyeball test too. It's not always about you know, ones
(39:38):
versus Two's like you looked out.
Speaker 5 (39:39):
There, what you saw.
Speaker 6 (39:40):
You watch enough football, you go, that's got a rhythm
to it, that's got composure to it. You said, throwing
guys open. There were some mature plays, decisions, throws, the
running component of that drive. There were a lot of
things that were all put in that one drive.
Speaker 7 (39:53):
And Aquanto easily stepped back with that, not chasing that
nine out the nine and getting that little paces of
at him to get his block on.
Speaker 5 (40:01):
I thought that was actually a.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
Wonderful Troy Aikman did not win a single game as
a rookie. John Elways rookie year numbers.
Speaker 5 (40:10):
You know that, right, bad?
Speaker 1 (40:12):
Joe Montana's rookieyear numbers. Man Peyton Manning set a rookie
record for interceptions. All four have a bust in canton
and a gold jacket.
Speaker 5 (40:25):
You no, that'th right.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
I'm not trying to make any predictions here, but we're
in the age where we want to make bold proclamations
off of small sample sizes, because that's what goes viral,
that's what cuts through, that's what elicits a reaction. Time
and patience works too. Bryce Young goes into year two.
I think big things are ahead.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
This has been placently by Bosh Power Tools on the
Carolina Panthers Radio Network. Brought to you by Atrium Health
because you deserve to live your best life and we're
here to help. Bank of America Official Bank of the
Carolina Panthers. Coke They say Coke zero is irresistibly tasty.
(41:10):
Does that make it the best coke ever? Find out
for yours panthertoon Panthertoll Panthertoll. This is the Carolina Panthers
Radio Network.
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