October 21, 2025 • 35 mins
This week on Stew and the Crew, J-Stew is joined by Panther legend, Jake Delhomme, to discuss the running back tandem in Carolina, discuss what Andy Dalton brings to the table, wonder if the Panthers locker room is starting to build a special connection, and so much more!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're the thirteenth pick in the two thousand and eight
NFL draft. Carol Landon Panther select. Jonathan Stewart gets to Stewart,
he leaves touched down.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Stewart oh rough tough right, angry man out at elbows, knees,
Wart hesitates, accelerates.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
That's what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Fit the spast moll football. Let's Stuart cat running a round.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Stewart jump over a tackler at the tenth flows up,
Laura's his shoulder, keeps running. No one will touch him.
Jonathan Stewart house is up. You talk about explosive plays
in the run game. It's like the fourth of July
round here right now.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
You are listening to Stu and the crew.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Stu and the Crew.
I'm your host, Jonathan Stewart. Today we have the legend,
the one and only Jake the loan de lla homie.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
What's al homie?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
What's good man?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
It's all good man, it's uh. Panthers got four wins
compared to three losses. It's uh. It feels like it's
been a long time, but it it feels good man.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Yeah, it has been a long time, Jake, You know,
the time that we get to spend in the booth
watching you and Luke call the games on Sundays on
game days. It's been really fun hearing you guys being
able to talk about what's actually happening that's going right
for the Carolina Panthers.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, it's been a while, you know, stud you sit
right behind us, and and I think our fandom, my loyalty,
our blood, it's it's deep, it's Carolina blue, and that's
what we feel, and it's been frustrating me. It's been hard.
And that's why I think I knew how much I
enjoyed doing the radio because we've had some tough times
and I've still still enjoyed it. But you can just
(01:44):
kind of start to feel and see going into this
season that I think things are starting to turn a
little bit right. And we never knew where the quarterback
situation was gonna go. We've gone through many of them
ever since Ron Rivera when I started doing this in
twenty nineteen and Cam was still here, and so it's
(02:05):
been kind of up and down a bunch of different
quarterbacks and we don't need to go through all of them,
but that's just kind of the way it went. Then
we made a commitment, a big commitment to go up
to get and get Bryce, and there was some questions
early on and the way he played last year, and
you're just looking forward to, Okay, what can another round
of free agent signings and another draft that Dan Morgan's
(02:28):
kind of put his stamp on the team. And so
that was optimism. And certainly it started out rough right
in Jacksonville. That's a game that you left there saying
not again, it's just kind of what it felt like.
And then go to Arizona and then spot them ten
points and you just see us we didn't know who
we were as a team because we're down by twenty
(02:49):
points at half. And then just get that Lanta win.
Everybody felt good and you land Egg in New England
and then now starting to see yet we beat Miami,
ran the boxxtremely well, we'd beat Dallas, ran the ball
extremely well, made plays defense, showing up run defense, things
like that, and then you went to New York a
game which I don't know, I don't understand points breads
(03:14):
a lot, but I think we were an underdog. That
kind of blows my mind. Anyway, so we go up there.
In essence, it was kind of like a we played
keep away or make it, take it whenever you want
to say, like, hey, we got to lead defense is
rolling offense. And give the Jets credit. They have some
salty players on defense, some really good quality players.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Yeah, Quentin Williams was a bit of a problem for us.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
He's a problem for everybody. It's not just us, he's
a problem for everybody. But yeah, and they have a
lot of other good players, some first round picks on
that d line. And so I thought we did We
did a decent job, and we probably left a couple
of points out in the field. I think we'd all
say that. But we got the win. And now we
come back home and it's the Buffalo Bills. And so
(03:57):
when the season first started, I never forget I was
doing something. And with the schedule release, and that's the
first thing I noticed our first playoff team this year
is not until late October against Buffalo. So the schedule
to me was like, Okay, let's get some momentum, let's
get some wins, because we know this is a this
is a beast coming in and they're coming off of
an embarrassing loss to Atlanta on Monday night. They had
(04:19):
to buy they're gonna start to get some fresh bodies back,
and yeah, they have a quarterback who might be okay.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
In case you didn't know, Josh Allen is a havoc,
but he seems like he's going through some struggles.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
I just it's like maybe a little bit. I just
he's just so soartalented and good. And yeah, I know
that Atlanta game was they lost to New England at home,
which who's proven to be New England's a quality football team.
That is a good football team with a young quarterback
who is not taking the next step, he's taking the
(04:55):
next leap, right.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Yeah, trajectory is out there, haven't even been touched yet.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Correct. And then Atlanta they did a great job of
running John Robinson that they they played really well against Buffalo,
and Buffalo had it just goes to show you the
first play of that game. They're lined up in the
neutral zone, which really and truly had no effect on
the play, and they make him fumble and Buffalo recovers
in Atlanta territory, but it's null and void because of
(05:25):
the neutral zone in fraction and no telling how that
game would have changed if it could have, if it
would have been that way. So this game is very funny, man,
very funny.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Yeah, they you know, I always wonder what other guys
just takes were you know, division games, conference games, you
know the Bills coming in town their AFC. And as
a competitor, you want to win every single game, right,
And that's the player's job. That's the player's mindset that
keeps him elevated.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Right.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
But as a coach, as a GM, you have management
to do, right, you got guys that are banged up.
You got to figure out which games are that you're
going to push him to come back. You know, Bryce
Young just you know how it just came out that
he had a high ankle sprain. You know, as a quarterback,
what is your mindset? You know when you are dealing with,
(06:15):
you know, an injury, knowing that you're you kind of
have to have a bit of a responsibility mindset, uh,
as a as a GM, as a coach because you
are the leader of the team, right, So what is
your mindset as a quarterback dealing with the high ankle sprain? Like,
how how impactful is that as far as your position play?
(06:36):
Looking at Bryce Young.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
I think the biggest thing is this, if you can play,
if you can go, you're going. I mean, that's the
mindset that there's this. I think all positions, but I
think especially quarterback positions. If you can go, you're going.
And listen, it's still so early in the week we
were waiting to see exactly how it plays out. You
hear reports of a hind. I mean, who knows, Yeah,
(07:03):
it's a I had one towards the latter part of
my career that was it was difficult and and it
reoccurred along with something else, and so that is difficult.
And I think a lot of it depends on what
leg it is. Is it your drive leg or that
that you push off of, or is it you kind
of your your landing leg. So I think a lot
depends on mobility wise too. You want to make sure
(07:25):
you're not putting your team at harm. I think that's
that's what you have to do. And so that's gonna
be up to the coaches in Bryce. I mean, I
think that's one thing that we've seen with Bryce. He's
he's tough. Uh he got sacked his rookie year. Gosh,
if I'm not mistaken like sixty six times, and no
tell him how many he got out of He took
a ton of sacks. We've seen him. He's very tob
(07:47):
he takes hits and you know he's tough when he
when he walked off the field, Okay, there's probably an
issue there because that's that's just not him. So yeah,
it's gonna be interesting to see how that all plays out, uh,
during the course of the week. But if you can go,
you go. I mean it's very simple. If you can go,
you go. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I've had my share of high ankles, brains and you go.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
You've had You've had no foot or ankle issues. I
don't ever recall that. Oh man.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yeah, practice was not part of the plan for me.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
You know, I laugh. I am one of my favorite
players ever in Carolina, Stephen Davis, right, And I saw
him a couple of weeks ago for the Legends weekend
and he just puts a smile on my face. Everyone's
face makes us laugh, and I just laugh. I'm like,
you know, you got Stephen Davis who never wanted to practice,
but if you needed to give him, give give him
(08:39):
the ball thirty two to thirty six times on Sunday
and run power. For twenty of those times he wasn't
coming out and he was just going to get stronger
as the game went on. Then you have Jonathan Stewart
who wanted to practice and Tribe he just couldn't because
he physically couldn't. He couldn't he couldn't practice.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I used to be out there limping through plays and
basically slowing practice up and timing up and all kind
of stuff. I mean, eventually coach Skipp was like, Hey,
we need to work something out here RV. Let's just
sait that way out until Friday.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Exactly, right, exactly. You have to know what you have
to know what works. Some people can't do some people
can't do that. Some people have to practice. I mean,
that's the difference. And you learned that as a coach.
Some guys it's not that they don't want to practice,
it's just physically it's hard and and they can do
the mental reps and that translates in the game, whereas
other guys they have to have the physical reps.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah, I agree. You know, we saw Andy Dalton just
you know, buckled up his chin strap and just went
into the game. Right That happens often for the quarterback,
and I always wanted to I'm sure the fans want
to listen and here, what is that mindset? What is
that mind shift to get yourself up for you know,
(09:53):
going into mid game and the game has high stakes
or it's you know, thirteen to six. I think it
was the thirteen to three, and you have to go
in there and manage the game and not screw it up.
But you also have to meet everyone else where they
(10:14):
are as far as their intensity level, like how do
you get yourself to that point as a backup.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Well, so I know for me when I look at it,
and this is where I'm going with this, just bear
with me. So like my first six years in the league,
I was practice squad, third string and then back up
right so I never played. I never had that experience
of playing. So I did get thrown in there a
couple of times in the two thousand and two season,
my final year in New Orleans, and I was able
(10:43):
to have success late in the year in big games
and big moments. But it was huge for me because
I went in We played Tampa on a Sunday night,
and that's the year they want it all and we
were able to beat them, and I was able to
make a throw late in the game too, so we
can kneel it out. You just you prepare like crazy
during the week, and that's something that I think I
(11:04):
always did. I learned from a veteran quarterback and how
to prepare, be ready to play, and I went but no, no,
we were teammates in NFL Europe. It was Billy Joe
Tolliver and I just and Mike McCarthy was always of coordinator,
so we had a set structure on how we prepared
during the week. And that's what I learned and that
carried with me the rest of my career. But you
just you always stay ready. And I always I like
(11:27):
to wear a helmet the backup quarterback and kind of
call the play in my head. What's my heart, what's
my protector, what's my adjustments to? What on me to read?
And things like that. So you just you got to
stay mentally sharp, right, It's not chewing sunflower seeds and
kind of lollygagging on the sidelines. And so that was
always the mindset. Whereas Andy, he was drafted in the
(11:48):
second round, he became a starter. He started for a
decade he won the division how many times in Cincinnati playoffs.
He has so much experience, right, and he had he's
had experience in coming into games here in Carolina. He
knows the system, knows the players, the coaches trust, and
the players trust and they believe in him. So he's
done that. That's like old hat to him, right. So
(12:09):
it's in Andy's nature and getting to know him. He's
a smart guy and he prepares. It's not like this
is just collecting a check. I mean he loves it.
He truly loves it. And I think having that youth
in the room with Bryce, I mean Bryce is young
and they're young guys, and and he doesn't feel like
an old Grizzly veteran, which he is, but he doesn't
(12:30):
feel that way. He still looks young and moves young.
So I think that's like old hat to him, Like yep,
all right, going in, all right, boys, here we go.
It's what we're gonna do. And so that's just a
confidence level I think the team has with him and
he has within the offense, like I know where the
pitfalls are, I know where the traps are, but I
(12:51):
can get out of it. That's what a veteran quarterback
does it's I think those are just invaluable to have
on a team. That's just my opinion, man. But he
just he has all that experience and he knows what
it takes. And look he went in the other day
and what happens. The ball comes out his hands just
boom bom boom boo boom, you know, real fast, and
you know the young guys, they're gonna have to speed up.
(13:12):
Honestly a little bit. JT Sanders he hit him. I
think he surprised him. You know, that's a catch that
JT is gonna say.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Man, he's kind of thumbed it around right there, trying
to run before he caught it right.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Right, and I think he's gonna be like, oh my gosh.
And that's one thing that's that's what Andy does. Like
a veteran, they see things just a little quicker and
Bryce sees them fast. But it's going to continue to
get faster for Bryce. So yeah, it's a you know,
those guys, it's a comfort level having that, having that
that veteran.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
He's speaking of comfort level, you know, because I best
basically you just explained confidence, right, you know, having the
experiences having the opportunities to play in real life games
and being a starter in Andy Dalton's situation and does
give him the confidence, Uh you know comfort? You have
(14:07):
two running backs, Tuba Hubbard and Rico Daddle. You know,
I have my take on it because I've lived it,
and I feel like you have a special take on
it because you've also lived it multiple times. You've had
you've had the opportunity to play with a backfield that
(14:27):
had two starters and one in one depth room, you know,
one depth chart. So give me what you know that
that comfort feels like from a quarterbacks perspective, especially Andy Dalton. Right,
we have a veteran coming into a different situation than
(14:48):
he has the last couple of years, where the running
game is sharp. I think the play calling is is
getting in rhythm and in syinc it's it's night, It's
gonna be night and day for him. As far as
what it was like last year when he played the Raiders,
Uh so with Rico Dada and all the people talking
about you know, trying to make this a beef thing
(15:10):
of a pick either or can you please help people
realize the blessing and disguise that we have, right now, well, you're.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
The perfect one to explain it, and you know it's
I talked to you about this right after the Dallas
game in the booth, like I wish people could understand,
you know, Tuba's gonna We had an idea he'd come
back against the Jets. How beneficial it is to have
two of them, two battering rams because I saw Cuba,
(15:41):
I saw Rico cramp up against Miami, and I saw
him cramp up against Dallas because of the volume of carriers,
and but it never slowed him up, but he was
able to miss it. He had to miss a few
plays because he's given everything he has. And I think
Canal has said a great last week, empty the tank
on every run, and last week we ran the ball fine,
(16:02):
not as much success, but I think that's something to
do with the Jets defense. We played some poor run
defense in the previous two weeks. We really did in
Miami in Dallas, so I think we need to address that.
But I think they both did some great things last week.
And Tuba's coming off of a couple of calfs, right,
that's that's your explosion, right to me, That's that's difficult.
(16:24):
Whereas Rico he's seeing it and he's exploding it and
he looked great. And I thought Tuba looked fine too.
And I think you saw it on that screen pass
down the sideline when he out ran all of his blockers,
all the all the linement. He just wants to make
sure he caught it, uh first. But yeah, I think
it's that's such a blessing because we want to run
(16:47):
the football. That's that's what Dave Canalis, his DNA says
that let's be let's run the football controller because ultimately
that's how you win consistently in the National Football League.
So it's such a blessing. And both guys no Tube
and I don't know Rico that well at all, but
it's a no Tuba and what he's been about. Fourth
round pick who just worked, work, worked, and when he's
(17:08):
got a chance, he just took full advantage of it.
But to hear the other players, coaches, trainers, equipment managers
talk about him, he's a guy who sometimes sleeps at
the facility. The way he takes care of his body
and practice is and such a leader. And you hear
the stories about him and Tremble stay up to practice
for hour. You know, just catching jugs, like continuing to
(17:30):
get better. So there's just a respect and it sounds
like Rico's the same way. There's no animosity and you
can speak to it. You save your body. I mean
with seventeen games, we're not even halfway. I mean, did
you get beat in the National Football League physically? So
just to have those two And I asked you about
(17:51):
it and you said, listen, I know it was my series.
I'd run, run, run, But if you knew I need
a blow, I just DeAngelo and go in.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
And you don't feel bad about coming out right, you
feel you actually feel the actual true relief of the
reason why you're coming out of the game is because
you're tired and you're going to have the you have
the ability and the opportunity to help the team because if.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
They're not what I'm saying, you're doing what's best for
the team. That's the ultimate goal, right, that's what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Yes, that's it. That's it wholeheartedly. And when I know
if I broke a forty yard run after I just
had like two carries that were like five eight, ten
and and and and they're not just coasting through the
line of scrimmage type runs. They're bruising, running load power,
getting hit boom coming off of guys, and I break
(18:44):
a long run and vice versa. DiAngelo did the same.
I need a break so that way we can continue
the momentum. Right, That's what I think people are missing
out on here is you know, don't count the reps.
Make the reps count, you know, and and and that's
a large part of what this is gonna take in
(19:06):
that in that running back room is Yeah, you know,
as long as you're playing from especially if you're playing
from a lead, you know you're gonna get your carries,
you're gonna get your tech.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
That's the thing you play from a lead, right, And
so you know, I can talk about experience playing having
you and D'Angelo in the same backfield, but I can
go back to my times with the Saints. We had
Ricky Williams and Duce McCallister both in their prime. Oh
maybe I can't remember if it was one or two
years together. That's a long time ago. But like you
(19:39):
had those two, and then I get to Carolina and
you had Steven and then you had to Shaun who
Stephen you knew he was toward you know, toward the
end of the career, but he's just still had gas
in the tank. And the Shawn was that the young
up and comer who no one knew how good he
could be because he had the micro fracture surgery and
I'm dating myself, no one news you could come back
(19:59):
from Michael fracture. And so we had those two and
just but they were friends. There were such good friends
off the field, it was never an issue. I don't
know if that has something to do with it, And
I don't know what Tuba and Rico's relationship off the field,
but I do know this when I see the clips
on from Panthers dot Com of the locker room speech
(20:20):
after the game when Tuba did not dress out and
Rico had those two massive games and can Allis is
reading the stats. If you look in the background, there's
Tuba's smiling face, so happy and excited for his teammates.
And that's not fake. That's not fake. So that that that,
I don't know. I think that just that means something,
you know, I think it just it means something because
(20:43):
he gets it, he understands, he sees the bigger picture.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
When do you know that a team has reached the
emotional connection needed with each other to start this new
chemistry that is long lasting. You know what I'm saying.
The culture. You know, we talk about culture, but really
(21:07):
it's just connection to one another. When when do you
start realizing that? And what does it look like in
the locker room?
Speaker 1 (21:14):
You know, Stu. I think when a team starts to grow,
I think it happens you kind of get a baseline
in training camp, and then it kind of during the season.
There's got to be a point in time during the
season where you just realize it just starts to happen.
All right, And I can only draw from my past experiences, right,
so I go back to or the whole three season. Okay,
(21:38):
our Super Bowl year. Well, I get thrown in at halftime,
we win the first game. Yeah, that's awesome, Right, that
was great. We won. Well, the next week we're going
to play Tampa in Tampa Super Bowl Champs. Defense dominant.
We were awful on offense. Our eye was awful. We
couldn't run it. It was like I think that we
went to overtime because it was like ten ten now,
(21:59):
it was something. Our defense just kept us in the
game and Smitty ran a punt back that put us
in field goal range for John to kick, because it
wasn't anything we did offensively. So we had one week
where offensively we win the game. Then the next week
defense does and so we're rolling a little bit. We're
making some plays and you know, we win the third game.
They were in the fourth game, and then we win
(22:20):
the fifth game in overtime, and so it's like, okay,
who are We're kind of starting to sense who we are.
And then we played Tampa again, were like seven and
two or six and two. At the time, Stephen Davis
couldn't play, and he was the bell cow. He was
leading the league in rushing, and everybody knew that's who
(22:42):
we were. Mean defense, tough defense, run the ball, run
the ball. So he couldn't play against the defending Super
Bowl champs, and sure enough we were able to beat him.
I was able to throw a touchdown past the Steve
on a two minute drive, and I just think that
we proved that we, Hey, we didn't need our stud
(23:03):
to win the game. Somebody found a way and that
was the great thing you got in the huddle, and
it was eyes of I can make the play instead
of who's gonna make the play, right, And so that's
what it starts to happen. So our defense would watch
us like, Yep, we're gonna win it. We're gonna throw
a touchdown or run a touchdown then, or John seeking
a field goal, and vice versa. When that happened, if
(23:24):
we took a lead and defense needed to close it out, yep,
go ahead, Julius, go make a sad.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Yeah, you know all right that it's that expectation of
guys rising to the occasion, right. I remember with Cam
being in a huddle. With Cam, it's like, oh, we're
gonna win this game. And we can be down by twenty, right,
and it can be fourth quarter, but for whatever reason,
we're gonna win the game because I see, I see
(23:50):
guys in this huddle that I believe in. And then
even when the defenses out there, the expectation that they're
gonna get a stop, they're gonna get a pick, a
strip something, right, And it goes to show you the
belief comes from proof you see it happen. Once you
start seeing it happen, it's like, oh, we can do this.
(24:13):
And and I think the Jets game is one of
those games where you have to win the ugly games.
That was an ugly game and it was gritty, and
the expectation was for someone to make a play. And
j C Horn to your interceptions. The first one he
(24:35):
went and got that, the second one he ran the route.
And again it comes from the preparation. It comes from
all these things. But the expectations are starting to change
around here, and that's what I'm the When you start
expecting guys to do certain things, it's because you start
to know them. You have this connection for whatever reason,
(25:00):
your locker room, time, your bus rides, your airplane rides,
you start to really understand guys and you actually start
to pump confidence into them, right because you're around them
all day. Because I remember times where you know, I'd
be like Mike Tober, right, that's my guy, and I'd
(25:25):
come in I'm injured, banged up or whatever, and Tobert
be like, hey, man, don't worry dout, we got you
at practice this week, right right. But that gave me
confidence and knowing that he understood where I was at,
and I also knew, man, I need to make sure
that I can like bring it on Sunday, because.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
An expectation you couldn't let him down exactly, you couldn't
let it and that. But that starts, and you know
you talk about but and I think it builds in practice.
We would have panther on panther every day and what
I mean by that. During the season it was first
zero versus first d and even though we're playing just
(26:05):
pick a team, our defense is not the same. It
didn't matter. We're gonna run whatever plays we're putting in
that week against whatever our defense is putting in. But
you go back to your base, answer your base rules.
You got to play, and we do good on good
panther versus panther. We do it on Wednesday, we do
it on Thursday. And on Friday, we'd finish a two
minute drill and it was either we needed a touchdown
or our field goal and they'd give the scenario and
(26:27):
it wasn't what the other team did defensively on a
two minute drive is what we did. But you stayed sharp.
I was either so mad when I came off the
field on Friday or so happy it was one of
the two. There was no in between, because that's exactly
it was an expectation, a confident and we went and
we competed and so and I think that's just you
(26:49):
develop it. And you talked about Tobert don't worry, I'll
take care of you. We had a friday when we
did short yardage and goal line and Brad Hoover ran
something in the flat real quick and somebody grabbed him
from behind. A practice squad guy liked to cover him
and he kind of yanked his hamstring and there was
a hush over the practice field because you knew we
(27:10):
had one fullback right and he and that's what we did.
I mean a full back. I don't know if fullbacks
get enough credit for how important they are on the
football team. And it was like, wow, okay, that's our
starting fullback. Without missing a beat, Chris mangum are starting
tight end, looks at Dan Henning and it was quiet,
and he goes, hey, Dan, don't worry about it. Start
(27:32):
make Wiggans started tight end. I'll start at fullback. And
that was it. Nothing else was said because everybody knew
Chris new fullback just as well as the new tight end.
And we went right back in the huddle and Chris
went to the starting fullback and Wiggins just went started time.
I mean there was no questions asked. But that's that's
(27:53):
a team. You're right, that's those are those that's that's
when you start to those guys that put in the
work right and they're ready, always.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Ready, stay ready, stay ready, so you don't have to
get ready the okay, Well, with everything that the Carolina
Panthers have gone through the last seven eight years, I'm
a big hindsight guy.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
Now, Like I like to getting older.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
I'm getting older, so I always think back, like, man,
what did I learn during that time? You know, for
the fans that are listening, if there's a player that
runs into this this podcast and here's anything, I believe
that Jake, you've gone through something during your time of testing,
(28:44):
of test of losing seasons, injuries. The Carolina Panthers have
gone through a lot of that the last seven years.
And we're starting to see a little bit of light.
But I think it's so important to remember the lessons
right and for you specifically, if there's one thing that
(29:05):
you can go back to and point to, you know,
hindsight looking back, you know, this is what made me
the player that I was and the man that I
am today, Like what would that have been?
Speaker 1 (29:21):
And that's a good question. You're getting deep on me.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Yeah, man, I want to get deep. We got to
pull this out, man.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yeah. I think for me, I always I love the practice.
I loved practice. I love playing a game. I love practice,
I love sports.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Right.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
I just I always enjoyed. It was never a chore
for me, to be quite honest. I just I enjoyed it.
And so, yeah, start four years in high school, start
four years in college. You get to the NFL. Okay,
I'm trying to make a practice squad, you know what
I mean. So it's like, so it took a little while,
right to get it to speed. The NFL is so different,
and I think, like for me, it was always about preparation, right.
(30:06):
I can still hear Mike McCarthy the knowledge's power. I
can still hear that ringing in my ear constantly. And
we had something called Quarterback School, and that was I
can't do it anymore because of the off season rules now,
but we were seven to five Monday through Thursday, all
in the off season, and it was it was fabulous.
(30:26):
I mean it was because it helped open my eyes
in the National Football League and you feel ready in
any situation, and so I know for me, I got
challenged by Mike in two thousand, I was going to
be the third string. It was Aaron Brooks and Jeff
Blakelin started Aaron Brooks and myself. I was going to
be the three and Mike. I knew him. I knew
(30:49):
Mike right, But I wasn't their guy, right, I was
an incompany. I was already with the Saints. You know,
these other two guys. They signed to have Blake in
the off season to a big deal, so he was
their pick. They traded for Aaron came up a second
round pick. He was their guy. So I had to
win a job through the preseason and I did just
shut my mouth and working. So but Mike was like, hey,
I want you to do a quarterback tip sheet every week,
(31:12):
So okay, you know absolutely, and what do you wanted
to consist of? And he said, look, we'll start on Wednesday,
and whatever we put in every day, so base run
checks anything new that week? Check with me the base blitzes.
What do they like to bring out of certain looks,
you know, the highlights and then next thing you know,
was the subpackage, so the third down and then all
(31:34):
the red zone tips and then Friday was a short
ordered goal line, two minute reminders and things like that.
So that was something that I did every week, and
I got handed to the secretary before we walked out
the practice on Friday, and it's something I took pride in.
And it was two to three pages long, you know,
and but it was just it highlighted whatever was new
(31:57):
or whatever it was. And that was something that I
took great amount of pride in and I've never I
never slacked on it because I always had that constant
fear of man, what what if you just what if
you don't do any costs us a game? That's always
something that just kind of ring and and and and
I stayed with that. I stayed with that, and I
always did it, and it happened the first year, well,
(32:21):
we ended up we're in the playoffs and we're playing
the Rams and the playoffs, and we would try to
steal signals from the other team. And that was you know,
back then, the coach quarterback communication system was not in
the helmet as it is now, and so you just
try to watch signals during the course of the game
(32:42):
and get something and you just try to pair it
together in between series Okay, he did something at the
DC did something abnormal. They ran this certain coverage, this
certain pressure, and so we picked up on something he
did a certain He had a hand gesture to the
side on the right and it was the same strong
safety blitz and it happened twice in the game, and
(33:03):
both times he did that signal, it happened, and sure enough,
big play in the game. We need a first down
to close out the game, and sure enough he gave
the signal and I alerted it to Mike McCarthy to
tell Aaron and the helmet hey Sam strong safety, and
sure enough a timeout gets called. So we go back.
We go back out on the field and it's loud
(33:23):
in the super Dome and I can see the linebacker.
They're waiting to get the call back in again. When
he gives it again. I looked at Mike. I said,
he gave it again. So he tells Aaron, hey be alert,
and so sure enough they brought it and we gashed
him right where they came from. Aaron was able to
hold on a little longer because he made a check knowing,
and that was just validation. It's like the preparation and
(33:45):
knowledge is power. Everything we did during the week to
get us ready, and that just always just kind of
stuck with me. When you when you give you give
yourself a chance and you give you give your team
a chance on Sunday because it's the smallest of margins,
you know.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Yeah, and too, that just speaks to everyone has a job, right,
Everyone has a job, and no matter what you think
your job is, it is very It requires you to
do it because it can be very impactful. And you
never know when your time is called, right, You never
(34:21):
know when when your work is going to be put
to proof. Uh So, yeah, ladies and gentlemen, Jake Delone
dropping that knowledge and thank you for your time.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Bro.
Speaker 3 (34:33):
I won't keep you long. I know you got house
things to attend to, house lifestyle. No, but but thank
you man. This is week eight. Hopefully come away with
a five and three record against the Bills and I'll
see you this weekend. You'll be there this week. You're
calling the game this weekend.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
Be a great opportunity, man.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
It'll be nice enough if you come in town early
and I can meet you for a drink.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Hey, you never know that kid, that can maybe happened,
but hey, think about it. We're playing Carolina North, right,
you know Brandon Bean, you know McDermott, a bunch of
other guys. So yeah, but it's a true match er.
We're going to We're going to play our first playoff
team from last year.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
So let's see how we Let's see how, yes see
how we stack up against the playoff contender. Ladies and gentlemen,
thank you for listening to stew and the Crew podcast.
We are out.
We're the thirteenth pick in the two thousand and eight
NFL draft. Carol Landon Panther select. Jonathan Stewart gets to Stewart,
he leaves touched down.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Stewart oh rough tough right, angry man out at elbows, knees,
Wart hesitates, accelerates.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
That's what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Fit the spast moll football. Let's Stuart cat running a round.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Stewart jump over a tackler at the tenth flows up,
Laura's his shoulder, keeps running. No one will touch him.
Jonathan Stewart house is up. You talk about explosive plays
in the run game. It's like the fourth of July
round here right now.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
You are listening to Stu and the crew.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Stu and the Crew.
I'm your host, Jonathan Stewart. Today we have the legend,
the one and only Jake the loan de lla homie.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
What's al homie?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
What's good man?
Speaker 1 (00:50):
It's all good man, it's uh. Panthers got four wins
compared to three losses. It's uh. It feels like it's
been a long time, but it it feels good man.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Yeah, it has been a long time, Jake, You know,
the time that we get to spend in the booth
watching you and Luke call the games on Sundays on
game days. It's been really fun hearing you guys being
able to talk about what's actually happening that's going right
for the Carolina Panthers.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, it's been a while, you know, stud you sit
right behind us, and and I think our fandom, my loyalty,
our blood, it's it's deep, it's Carolina blue, and that's
what we feel, and it's been frustrating me. It's been hard.
And that's why I think I knew how much I
enjoyed doing the radio because we've had some tough times
and I've still still enjoyed it. But you can just
(01:44):
kind of start to feel and see going into this
season that I think things are starting to turn a
little bit right. And we never knew where the quarterback
situation was gonna go. We've gone through many of them
ever since Ron Rivera when I started doing this in
twenty nineteen and Cam was still here, and so it's
(02:05):
been kind of up and down a bunch of different
quarterbacks and we don't need to go through all of them,
but that's just kind of the way it went. Then
we made a commitment, a big commitment to go up
to get and get Bryce, and there was some questions
early on and the way he played last year, and
you're just looking forward to, Okay, what can another round
of free agent signings and another draft that Dan Morgan's
(02:28):
kind of put his stamp on the team. And so
that was optimism. And certainly it started out rough right
in Jacksonville. That's a game that you left there saying
not again, it's just kind of what it felt like.
And then go to Arizona and then spot them ten
points and you just see us we didn't know who
we were as a team because we're down by twenty
(02:49):
points at half. And then just get that Lanta win.
Everybody felt good and you land Egg in New England
and then now starting to see yet we beat Miami,
ran the boxxtremely well, we'd beat Dallas, ran the ball
extremely well, made plays defense, showing up run defense, things
like that, and then you went to New York a
game which I don't know, I don't understand points breads
(03:14):
a lot, but I think we were an underdog. That
kind of blows my mind. Anyway, so we go up there.
In essence, it was kind of like a we played
keep away or make it, take it whenever you want
to say, like, hey, we got to lead defense is
rolling offense. And give the Jets credit. They have some
salty players on defense, some really good quality players.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Yeah, Quentin Williams was a bit of a problem for us.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
He's a problem for everybody. It's not just us, he's
a problem for everybody. But yeah, and they have a
lot of other good players, some first round picks on
that d line. And so I thought we did We
did a decent job, and we probably left a couple
of points out in the field. I think we'd all
say that. But we got the win. And now we
come back home and it's the Buffalo Bills. And so
(03:57):
when the season first started, I never forget I was
doing something. And with the schedule release, and that's the
first thing I noticed our first playoff team this year
is not until late October against Buffalo. So the schedule
to me was like, Okay, let's get some momentum, let's
get some wins, because we know this is a this
is a beast coming in and they're coming off of
an embarrassing loss to Atlanta on Monday night. They had
(04:19):
to buy they're gonna start to get some fresh bodies back,
and yeah, they have a quarterback who might be okay.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
In case you didn't know, Josh Allen is a havoc,
but he seems like he's going through some struggles.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
I just it's like maybe a little bit. I just
he's just so soartalented and good. And yeah, I know
that Atlanta game was they lost to New England at home,
which who's proven to be New England's a quality football team.
That is a good football team with a young quarterback
who is not taking the next step, he's taking the
(04:55):
next leap, right.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Yeah, trajectory is out there, haven't even been touched yet.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Correct. And then Atlanta they did a great job of
running John Robinson that they they played really well against Buffalo,
and Buffalo had it just goes to show you the
first play of that game. They're lined up in the
neutral zone, which really and truly had no effect on
the play, and they make him fumble and Buffalo recovers
in Atlanta territory, but it's null and void because of
(05:25):
the neutral zone in fraction and no telling how that
game would have changed if it could have, if it
would have been that way. So this game is very funny, man,
very funny.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Yeah, they you know, I always wonder what other guys
just takes were you know, division games, conference games, you
know the Bills coming in town their AFC. And as
a competitor, you want to win every single game, right,
And that's the player's job. That's the player's mindset that
keeps him elevated.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Right.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
But as a coach, as a GM, you have management
to do, right, you got guys that are banged up.
You got to figure out which games are that you're
going to push him to come back. You know, Bryce
Young just you know how it just came out that
he had a high ankle sprain. You know, as a quarterback,
what is your mindset? You know when you are dealing with,
(06:15):
you know, an injury, knowing that you're you kind of
have to have a bit of a responsibility mindset, uh,
as a as a GM, as a coach because you
are the leader of the team, right, So what is
your mindset as a quarterback dealing with the high ankle sprain? Like,
how how impactful is that as far as your position play?
(06:36):
Looking at Bryce Young.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
I think the biggest thing is this, if you can play,
if you can go, you're going. I mean, that's the
mindset that there's this. I think all positions, but I
think especially quarterback positions. If you can go, you're going.
And listen, it's still so early in the week we
were waiting to see exactly how it plays out. You
hear reports of a hind. I mean, who knows, Yeah,
(07:03):
it's a I had one towards the latter part of
my career that was it was difficult and and it
reoccurred along with something else, and so that is difficult.
And I think a lot of it depends on what
leg it is. Is it your drive leg or that
that you push off of, or is it you kind
of your your landing leg. So I think a lot
depends on mobility wise too. You want to make sure
(07:25):
you're not putting your team at harm. I think that's
that's what you have to do. And so that's gonna
be up to the coaches in Bryce. I mean, I
think that's one thing that we've seen with Bryce. He's
he's tough. Uh he got sacked his rookie year. Gosh,
if I'm not mistaken like sixty six times, and no
tell him how many he got out of He took
a ton of sacks. We've seen him. He's very tob
(07:47):
he takes hits and you know he's tough when he
when he walked off the field, Okay, there's probably an
issue there because that's that's just not him. So yeah,
it's gonna be interesting to see how that all plays out, uh,
during the course of the week. But if you can go,
you go. I mean it's very simple. If you can go,
you go. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I've had my share of high ankles, brains and you go.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
You've had You've had no foot or ankle issues. I
don't ever recall that. Oh man.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
Yeah, practice was not part of the plan for me.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
You know, I laugh. I am one of my favorite
players ever in Carolina, Stephen Davis, right, And I saw
him a couple of weeks ago for the Legends weekend
and he just puts a smile on my face. Everyone's
face makes us laugh, and I just laugh. I'm like,
you know, you got Stephen Davis who never wanted to practice,
but if you needed to give him, give give him
(08:39):
the ball thirty two to thirty six times on Sunday
and run power. For twenty of those times he wasn't
coming out and he was just going to get stronger
as the game went on. Then you have Jonathan Stewart
who wanted to practice and Tribe he just couldn't because
he physically couldn't. He couldn't he couldn't practice.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I used to be out there limping through plays and
basically slowing practice up and timing up and all kind
of stuff. I mean, eventually coach Skipp was like, Hey,
we need to work something out here RV. Let's just
sait that way out until Friday.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Exactly, right, exactly. You have to know what you have
to know what works. Some people can't do some people
can't do that. Some people have to practice. I mean,
that's the difference. And you learned that as a coach.
Some guys it's not that they don't want to practice,
it's just physically it's hard and and they can do
the mental reps and that translates in the game, whereas
other guys they have to have the physical reps.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah, I agree. You know, we saw Andy Dalton just
you know, buckled up his chin strap and just went
into the game. Right That happens often for the quarterback,
and I always wanted to I'm sure the fans want
to listen and here, what is that mindset? What is
that mind shift to get yourself up for you know,
(09:53):
going into mid game and the game has high stakes
or it's you know, thirteen to six. I think it
was the thirteen to three, and you have to go
in there and manage the game and not screw it up.
But you also have to meet everyone else where they
(10:14):
are as far as their intensity level, like how do
you get yourself to that point as a backup.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Well, so I know for me when I look at it,
and this is where I'm going with this, just bear
with me. So like my first six years in the league,
I was practice squad, third string and then back up
right so I never played. I never had that experience
of playing. So I did get thrown in there a
couple of times in the two thousand and two season,
my final year in New Orleans, and I was able
(10:43):
to have success late in the year in big games
and big moments. But it was huge for me because
I went in We played Tampa on a Sunday night,
and that's the year they want it all and we
were able to beat them, and I was able to
make a throw late in the game too, so we
can kneel it out. You just you prepare like crazy
during the week, and that's something that I think I
(11:04):
always did. I learned from a veteran quarterback and how
to prepare, be ready to play, and I went but no, no,
we were teammates in NFL Europe. It was Billy Joe
Tolliver and I just and Mike McCarthy was always of coordinator,
so we had a set structure on how we prepared
during the week. And that's what I learned and that
carried with me the rest of my career. But you
just you always stay ready. And I always I like
(11:27):
to wear a helmet the backup quarterback and kind of
call the play in my head. What's my heart, what's
my protector, what's my adjustments to? What on me to read?
And things like that. So you just you got to
stay mentally sharp, right, It's not chewing sunflower seeds and
kind of lollygagging on the sidelines. And so that was
always the mindset. Whereas Andy, he was drafted in the
(11:48):
second round, he became a starter. He started for a
decade he won the division how many times in Cincinnati playoffs.
He has so much experience, right, and he had he's
had experience in coming into games here in Carolina. He
knows the system, knows the players, the coaches trust, and
the players trust and they believe in him. So he's
done that. That's like old hat to him, right. So
(12:09):
it's in Andy's nature and getting to know him. He's
a smart guy and he prepares. It's not like this
is just collecting a check. I mean he loves it.
He truly loves it. And I think having that youth
in the room with Bryce, I mean Bryce is young
and they're young guys, and and he doesn't feel like
an old Grizzly veteran, which he is, but he doesn't
(12:30):
feel that way. He still looks young and moves young.
So I think that's like old hat to him, Like yep,
all right, going in, all right, boys, here we go.
It's what we're gonna do. And so that's just a
confidence level I think the team has with him and
he has within the offense, like I know where the
pitfalls are, I know where the traps are, but I
(12:51):
can get out of it. That's what a veteran quarterback
does it's I think those are just invaluable to have
on a team. That's just my opinion, man. But he
just he has all that experience and he knows what
it takes. And look he went in the other day
and what happens. The ball comes out his hands just
boom bom boom boo boom, you know, real fast, and
you know the young guys, they're gonna have to speed up.
(13:12):
Honestly a little bit. JT Sanders he hit him. I
think he surprised him. You know, that's a catch that
JT is gonna say.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Man, he's kind of thumbed it around right there, trying
to run before he caught it right.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Right, and I think he's gonna be like, oh my gosh.
And that's one thing that's that's what Andy does. Like
a veteran, they see things just a little quicker and
Bryce sees them fast. But it's going to continue to
get faster for Bryce. So yeah, it's a you know,
those guys, it's a comfort level having that, having that
that veteran.
Speaker 3 (13:45):
He's speaking of comfort level, you know, because I best
basically you just explained confidence, right, you know, having the
experiences having the opportunities to play in real life games
and being a starter in Andy Dalton's situation and does
give him the confidence, Uh you know comfort? You have
(14:07):
two running backs, Tuba Hubbard and Rico Daddle. You know,
I have my take on it because I've lived it,
and I feel like you have a special take on
it because you've also lived it multiple times. You've had
you've had the opportunity to play with a backfield that
(14:27):
had two starters and one in one depth room, you know,
one depth chart. So give me what you know that
that comfort feels like from a quarterbacks perspective, especially Andy Dalton. Right,
we have a veteran coming into a different situation than
(14:48):
he has the last couple of years, where the running
game is sharp. I think the play calling is is
getting in rhythm and in syinc it's it's night, It's
gonna be night and day for him. As far as
what it was like last year when he played the Raiders,
Uh so with Rico Dada and all the people talking
about you know, trying to make this a beef thing
(15:10):
of a pick either or can you please help people
realize the blessing and disguise that we have, right now, well, you're.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
The perfect one to explain it, and you know it's
I talked to you about this right after the Dallas
game in the booth, like I wish people could understand,
you know, Tuba's gonna We had an idea he'd come
back against the Jets. How beneficial it is to have
two of them, two battering rams because I saw Cuba,
(15:41):
I saw Rico cramp up against Miami, and I saw
him cramp up against Dallas because of the volume of carriers,
and but it never slowed him up, but he was
able to miss it. He had to miss a few
plays because he's given everything he has. And I think
Canal has said a great last week, empty the tank
on every run, and last week we ran the ball fine,
(16:02):
not as much success, but I think that's something to
do with the Jets defense. We played some poor run
defense in the previous two weeks. We really did in
Miami in Dallas, so I think we need to address that.
But I think they both did some great things last week.
And Tuba's coming off of a couple of calfs, right,
that's that's your explosion, right to me, That's that's difficult.
(16:24):
Whereas Rico he's seeing it and he's exploding it and
he looked great. And I thought Tuba looked fine too.
And I think you saw it on that screen pass
down the sideline when he out ran all of his blockers,
all the all the linement. He just wants to make
sure he caught it, uh first. But yeah, I think
it's that's such a blessing because we want to run
(16:47):
the football. That's that's what Dave Canalis, his DNA says
that let's be let's run the football controller because ultimately
that's how you win consistently in the National Football League.
So it's such a blessing. And both guys no Tube
and I don't know Rico that well at all, but
it's a no Tuba and what he's been about. Fourth
round pick who just worked, work, worked, and when he's
(17:08):
got a chance, he just took full advantage of it.
But to hear the other players, coaches, trainers, equipment managers
talk about him, he's a guy who sometimes sleeps at
the facility. The way he takes care of his body
and practice is and such a leader. And you hear
the stories about him and Tremble stay up to practice
for hour. You know, just catching jugs, like continuing to
(17:30):
get better. So there's just a respect and it sounds
like Rico's the same way. There's no animosity and you
can speak to it. You save your body. I mean
with seventeen games, we're not even halfway. I mean, did
you get beat in the National Football League physically? So
just to have those two And I asked you about
(17:51):
it and you said, listen, I know it was my series.
I'd run, run, run, But if you knew I need
a blow, I just DeAngelo and go in.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
And you don't feel bad about coming out right, you
feel you actually feel the actual true relief of the
reason why you're coming out of the game is because
you're tired and you're going to have the you have
the ability and the opportunity to help the team because if.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
They're not what I'm saying, you're doing what's best for
the team. That's the ultimate goal, right, that's what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Yes, that's it. That's it wholeheartedly. And when I know
if I broke a forty yard run after I just
had like two carries that were like five eight, ten
and and and and they're not just coasting through the
line of scrimmage type runs. They're bruising, running load power,
getting hit boom coming off of guys, and I break
(18:44):
a long run and vice versa. DiAngelo did the same.
I need a break so that way we can continue
the momentum. Right, That's what I think people are missing
out on here is you know, don't count the reps.
Make the reps count, you know, and and and that's
a large part of what this is gonna take in
(19:06):
that in that running back room is Yeah, you know,
as long as you're playing from especially if you're playing
from a lead, you know you're gonna get your carries,
you're gonna get your tech.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
That's the thing you play from a lead, right, And
so you know, I can talk about experience playing having
you and D'Angelo in the same backfield, but I can
go back to my times with the Saints. We had
Ricky Williams and Duce McCallister both in their prime. Oh
maybe I can't remember if it was one or two
years together. That's a long time ago. But like you
(19:39):
had those two, and then I get to Carolina and
you had Steven and then you had to Shaun who
Stephen you knew he was toward you know, toward the
end of the career, but he's just still had gas
in the tank. And the Shawn was that the young
up and comer who no one knew how good he
could be because he had the micro fracture surgery and
I'm dating myself, no one news you could come back
(19:59):
from Michael fracture. And so we had those two and
just but they were friends. There were such good friends
off the field, it was never an issue. I don't
know if that has something to do with it, And
I don't know what Tuba and Rico's relationship off the field,
but I do know this when I see the clips
on from Panthers dot Com of the locker room speech
(20:20):
after the game when Tuba did not dress out and
Rico had those two massive games and can Allis is
reading the stats. If you look in the background, there's
Tuba's smiling face, so happy and excited for his teammates.
And that's not fake. That's not fake. So that that that,
I don't know. I think that just that means something,
you know, I think it just it means something because
(20:43):
he gets it, he understands, he sees the bigger picture.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
When do you know that a team has reached the
emotional connection needed with each other to start this new
chemistry that is long lasting. You know what I'm saying.
The culture. You know, we talk about culture, but really
(21:07):
it's just connection to one another. When when do you
start realizing that? And what does it look like in
the locker room?
Speaker 1 (21:14):
You know, Stu. I think when a team starts to grow,
I think it happens you kind of get a baseline
in training camp, and then it kind of during the season.
There's got to be a point in time during the
season where you just realize it just starts to happen.
All right, And I can only draw from my past experiences, right,
so I go back to or the whole three season. Okay,
(21:38):
our Super Bowl year. Well, I get thrown in at halftime,
we win the first game. Yeah, that's awesome, Right, that
was great. We won. Well, the next week we're going
to play Tampa in Tampa Super Bowl Champs. Defense dominant.
We were awful on offense. Our eye was awful. We
couldn't run it. It was like I think that we
went to overtime because it was like ten ten now,
(21:59):
it was something. Our defense just kept us in the
game and Smitty ran a punt back that put us
in field goal range for John to kick, because it
wasn't anything we did offensively. So we had one week
where offensively we win the game. Then the next week
defense does and so we're rolling a little bit. We're
making some plays and you know, we win the third game.
They were in the fourth game, and then we win
(22:20):
the fifth game in overtime, and so it's like, okay,
who are We're kind of starting to sense who we are.
And then we played Tampa again, were like seven and
two or six and two. At the time, Stephen Davis
couldn't play, and he was the bell cow. He was
leading the league in rushing, and everybody knew that's who
(22:42):
we were. Mean defense, tough defense, run the ball, run
the ball. So he couldn't play against the defending Super
Bowl champs, and sure enough we were able to beat him.
I was able to throw a touchdown past the Steve
on a two minute drive, and I just think that
we proved that we, Hey, we didn't need our stud
(23:03):
to win the game. Somebody found a way and that
was the great thing you got in the huddle, and
it was eyes of I can make the play instead
of who's gonna make the play, right, And so that's
what it starts to happen. So our defense would watch
us like, Yep, we're gonna win it. We're gonna throw
a touchdown or run a touchdown then, or John seeking
a field goal, and vice versa. When that happened, if
(23:24):
we took a lead and defense needed to close it out, yep,
go ahead, Julius, go make a sad.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Yeah, you know all right that it's that expectation of
guys rising to the occasion, right. I remember with Cam
being in a huddle. With Cam, it's like, oh, we're
gonna win this game. And we can be down by twenty, right,
and it can be fourth quarter, but for whatever reason,
we're gonna win the game because I see, I see
(23:50):
guys in this huddle that I believe in. And then
even when the defenses out there, the expectation that they're
gonna get a stop, they're gonna get a pick, a
strip something, right, And it goes to show you the
belief comes from proof you see it happen. Once you
start seeing it happen, it's like, oh, we can do this.
(24:13):
And and I think the Jets game is one of
those games where you have to win the ugly games.
That was an ugly game and it was gritty, and
the expectation was for someone to make a play. And
j C Horn to your interceptions. The first one he
(24:35):
went and got that, the second one he ran the route.
And again it comes from the preparation. It comes from
all these things. But the expectations are starting to change
around here, and that's what I'm the When you start
expecting guys to do certain things, it's because you start
to know them. You have this connection for whatever reason,
(25:00):
your locker room, time, your bus rides, your airplane rides,
you start to really understand guys and you actually start
to pump confidence into them, right because you're around them
all day. Because I remember times where you know, I'd
be like Mike Tober, right, that's my guy, and I'd
(25:25):
come in I'm injured, banged up or whatever, and Tobert
be like, hey, man, don't worry dout, we got you
at practice this week, right right. But that gave me
confidence and knowing that he understood where I was at,
and I also knew, man, I need to make sure
that I can like bring it on Sunday, because.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
An expectation you couldn't let him down exactly, you couldn't
let it and that. But that starts, and you know
you talk about but and I think it builds in practice.
We would have panther on panther every day and what
I mean by that. During the season it was first
zero versus first d and even though we're playing just
(26:05):
pick a team, our defense is not the same. It
didn't matter. We're gonna run whatever plays we're putting in
that week against whatever our defense is putting in. But
you go back to your base, answer your base rules.
You got to play, and we do good on good
panther versus panther. We do it on Wednesday, we do
it on Thursday. And on Friday, we'd finish a two
minute drill and it was either we needed a touchdown
or our field goal and they'd give the scenario and
(26:27):
it wasn't what the other team did defensively on a
two minute drive is what we did. But you stayed sharp.
I was either so mad when I came off the
field on Friday or so happy it was one of
the two. There was no in between, because that's exactly
it was an expectation, a confident and we went and
we competed and so and I think that's just you
(26:49):
develop it. And you talked about Tobert don't worry, I'll
take care of you. We had a friday when we
did short yardage and goal line and Brad Hoover ran
something in the flat real quick and somebody grabbed him
from behind. A practice squad guy liked to cover him
and he kind of yanked his hamstring and there was
a hush over the practice field because you knew we
(27:10):
had one fullback right and he and that's what we did.
I mean a full back. I don't know if fullbacks
get enough credit for how important they are on the
football team. And it was like, wow, okay, that's our
starting fullback. Without missing a beat, Chris mangum are starting
tight end, looks at Dan Henning and it was quiet,
and he goes, hey, Dan, don't worry about it. Start
(27:32):
make Wiggans started tight end. I'll start at fullback. And
that was it. Nothing else was said because everybody knew
Chris new fullback just as well as the new tight end.
And we went right back in the huddle and Chris
went to the starting fullback and Wiggins just went started time.
I mean there was no questions asked. But that's that's
(27:53):
a team. You're right, that's those are those that's that's
when you start to those guys that put in the
work right and they're ready, always.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Ready, stay ready, stay ready, so you don't have to
get ready the okay, Well, with everything that the Carolina
Panthers have gone through the last seven eight years, I'm
a big hindsight guy.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
Now, Like I like to getting older.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
I'm getting older, so I always think back, like, man,
what did I learn during that time? You know, for
the fans that are listening, if there's a player that
runs into this this podcast and here's anything, I believe
that Jake, you've gone through something during your time of testing,
(28:44):
of test of losing seasons, injuries. The Carolina Panthers have
gone through a lot of that the last seven years.
And we're starting to see a little bit of light.
But I think it's so important to remember the lessons
right and for you specifically, if there's one thing that
(29:05):
you can go back to and point to, you know,
hindsight looking back, you know, this is what made me
the player that I was and the man that I
am today, Like what would that have been?
Speaker 1 (29:21):
And that's a good question. You're getting deep on me.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Yeah, man, I want to get deep. We got to
pull this out, man.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
Yeah. I think for me, I always I love the practice.
I loved practice. I love playing a game. I love practice,
I love sports.
Speaker 3 (29:40):
Right.
Speaker 1 (29:41):
I just I always enjoyed. It was never a chore
for me, to be quite honest. I just I enjoyed it.
And so, yeah, start four years in high school, start
four years in college. You get to the NFL. Okay,
I'm trying to make a practice squad, you know what
I mean. So it's like, so it took a little while,
right to get it to speed. The NFL is so different,
and I think, like for me, it was always about preparation, right.
(30:06):
I can still hear Mike McCarthy the knowledge's power. I
can still hear that ringing in my ear constantly. And
we had something called Quarterback School, and that was I
can't do it anymore because of the off season rules now,
but we were seven to five Monday through Thursday, all
in the off season, and it was it was fabulous.
(30:26):
I mean it was because it helped open my eyes
in the National Football League and you feel ready in
any situation, and so I know for me, I got
challenged by Mike in two thousand, I was going to
be the third string. It was Aaron Brooks and Jeff
Blakelin started Aaron Brooks and myself. I was going to
be the three and Mike. I knew him. I knew
(30:49):
Mike right, But I wasn't their guy, right, I was
an incompany. I was already with the Saints. You know,
these other two guys. They signed to have Blake in
the off season to a big deal, so he was
their pick. They traded for Aaron came up a second
round pick. He was their guy. So I had to
win a job through the preseason and I did just
shut my mouth and working. So but Mike was like, hey,
I want you to do a quarterback tip sheet every week,
(31:12):
So okay, you know absolutely, and what do you wanted
to consist of? And he said, look, we'll start on Wednesday,
and whatever we put in every day, so base run
checks anything new that week? Check with me the base blitzes.
What do they like to bring out of certain looks,
you know, the highlights and then next thing you know,
was the subpackage, so the third down and then all
(31:34):
the red zone tips and then Friday was a short
ordered goal line, two minute reminders and things like that.
So that was something that I did every week, and
I got handed to the secretary before we walked out
the practice on Friday, and it's something I took pride in.
And it was two to three pages long, you know,
and but it was just it highlighted whatever was new
(31:57):
or whatever it was. And that was something that I
took great amount of pride in and I've never I
never slacked on it because I always had that constant
fear of man, what what if you just what if
you don't do any costs us a game? That's always
something that just kind of ring and and and and
I stayed with that. I stayed with that, and I
always did it, and it happened the first year, well,
(32:21):
we ended up we're in the playoffs and we're playing
the Rams and the playoffs, and we would try to
steal signals from the other team. And that was you know,
back then, the coach quarterback communication system was not in
the helmet as it is now, and so you just
try to watch signals during the course of the game
(32:42):
and get something and you just try to pair it
together in between series Okay, he did something at the
DC did something abnormal. They ran this certain coverage, this
certain pressure, and so we picked up on something he
did a certain He had a hand gesture to the
side on the right and it was the same strong
safety blitz and it happened twice in the game, and
(33:03):
both times he did that signal, it happened, and sure enough,
big play in the game. We need a first down
to close out the game, and sure enough he gave
the signal and I alerted it to Mike McCarthy to
tell Aaron and the helmet hey Sam strong safety, and
sure enough a timeout gets called. So we go back.
We go back out on the field and it's loud
(33:23):
in the super Dome and I can see the linebacker.
They're waiting to get the call back in again. When
he gives it again. I looked at Mike. I said,
he gave it again. So he tells Aaron, hey be alert,
and so sure enough they brought it and we gashed
him right where they came from. Aaron was able to
hold on a little longer because he made a check knowing,
and that was just validation. It's like the preparation and
(33:45):
knowledge is power. Everything we did during the week to
get us ready, and that just always just kind of
stuck with me. When you when you give you give
yourself a chance and you give you give your team
a chance on Sunday because it's the smallest of margins,
you know.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Yeah, and too, that just speaks to everyone has a job, right,
Everyone has a job, and no matter what you think
your job is, it is very It requires you to
do it because it can be very impactful. And you
never know when your time is called, right, You never
(34:21):
know when when your work is going to be put
to proof. Uh So, yeah, ladies and gentlemen, Jake Delone
dropping that knowledge and thank you for your time.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
Bro.
Speaker 3 (34:33):
I won't keep you long. I know you got house
things to attend to, house lifestyle. No, but but thank
you man. This is week eight. Hopefully come away with
a five and three record against the Bills and I'll
see you this weekend. You'll be there this week. You're
calling the game this weekend.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
Be a great opportunity, man.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
It'll be nice enough if you come in town early
and I can meet you for a drink.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
Hey, you never know that kid, that can maybe happened,
but hey, think about it. We're playing Carolina North, right,
you know Brandon Bean, you know McDermott, a bunch of
other guys. So yeah, but it's a true match er.
We're going to We're going to play our first playoff
team from last year.
Speaker 3 (35:12):
So let's see how we Let's see how, yes see
how we stack up against the playoff contender. Ladies and gentlemen,
thank you for listening to stew and the Crew podcast.
We are out.
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