October 16, 2024 • 20 mins
"Stew and the Crew" is hosted by Jonathan Stewart, the Carolina Panthers' all-time leading rusher, and Jeremy Kelley, Director of Legends Affairs. Together, they invite legendary guests to delve into the intricacies of the game and life after football. Panther legend, Wesley Walls, sits down with J-Stew to discuss how fortunate he feels to have played the game of football and to have made the relationships that he has over the years through playing football.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're the thirteenth pick in the two thousand and eight
NFL Draft. Carolina half the collect Jonathan Stewart.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Gives to Stewart, he leaves touchdown. Stewart oh rough tough right,
angry man out at all those knees.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Stuart hesitates, accelerates. That's what I'm talking about.
Speaker 4 (00:15):
It's the spass Moll football.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Coatham, Stuart Kyt running round. Stuart jump over a tackler
at the tenth flows jump, Laura's his shoulder, keeps running.
No one will touch him. Jonathan Stewart house is it
you talk about explosive plays in the run game. It's
like the fourth of July around here. Right now you
are listening to Stu and the Crew. Now to Jonathan
Stewart's and Jeremy.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Kelly Welcome back for another episode of Stu and the Crew.
I am your co host and Carolina Panthers Director of
Legends Affairs Jeremy Kelly, and is my pleasure today to
provide this intro and spotlightening a very special Panthers legend.
As we know, this year we're celebrating thirty seasons of
(00:59):
Panthers football. In my role, I naturally love that we
could to celebrate the anniversaries of the team and it
really provides a time for reflection, celebration, and reunion. And
all year we've had the opportunity to revisit this greatness
within the Carolina Panthers organization, from the inception of the
team in nineteen ninety five to Julius Pepper's most recent
Hall of Fame induction, digging into the team history and
(01:22):
stories and experiences that make up the great years and
the challenging ones, most of all, celebrating the men who
made it possible. And recently we've had the opportunity to
bring a cohort of thirty plus former Panthers legends in
for a production day to shoot and amplify our thirty seasons.
So with this photos, videos, interviews, podcast, all the stories,
(01:44):
you can imagine the energy in the room was at
an all time high. We had players and teammates seeing
each other for the first time in twenty plus years.
It was special, really a recreation at a locker room.
And many of you who don't know to our former
players as Panthers legends, a term coined by NFL Commissioner
(02:04):
Roger Goodell to recognize and amplify the contributions of our
former NFL players. In one hundred and four years of football,
there's only been roughly thirty thousand to play at the
highest level, and Commissioner wanted to recognize that, whether at
high school, college, or pro, you're likely referred to as legendary.
(02:24):
At this production day, Jonathan Stewart, my lovely co host,
the one and only Carolina Panthers all time leading Russia,
had a chance to sit down with one of our
most prized Panthers legends, an Ole miss Rebel nineteen eighty
nine second round draft pick, had a fifteen year NFL career,
taking the field with some of the game's greatest, a
Super Bowl champion, three time All Pro, five time Pro Bowler,
(02:50):
and a Carolina Panthers Hall of Fame inductee in twenty nineteen.
One heck of a golfer. I might add a true
Southern gentleman, ladies and gentlemen, Wesley Wall.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
All right, we got Wesley Walls, legendary Wesley Walls that.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Is, and Johns and Stewart. I'm so glad to be
sitting in the same room.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
You man, yeah, man, two times two times in one week.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
I know it.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
I know it's been it's been a good week.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
I think I heard you're playing golf tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
I am.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I'm going to come to practice and we'll go head
out and play with some buddies and Steve bordlines in town.
So it's kind of like, you know, I got a
car payment coming up and I'm on try to get
it all in one day.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Oh man. So Steve actually spoke a lot about you,
if you don't know, he cherishes your got your guys's
bond and relationship and obviously, you know, having so many
instances where you grow in this game amongst men and
(03:55):
and guys that are of good standard. Right, just talk
to me a little bit. How you know, blessed it
is to actually play this game, but even more blessed
to be able to create these types of relationships and
bonds at this in this phase of being a man too. Right,
you're developing from a college kid and you grow into
(04:20):
an adult having family and kids. But being able to
do this at a level where you're connected every day
to a guy, yea, And how it's different for so
many other you know jobs, right, you know they don't
have these types of bonds. They're like, I can't wait
to leave this place because of this person, right, So
(04:41):
just explain to me, like how you know awesome of
an opportunity is to be able to play sports and
have those types of relationships.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, I mean, Jonathan, we are so blessed to be
able to play a great game with great people that
we all have different stories how we got here, and
is you know, flashy or not the best athlete or whatever.
You just keep playing, You keep persevering and keep fighting
and believing in your ability, and then you meet folks
(05:11):
on your team that are like you. And that's kind
of what Steve was to me. Man. He he watching
him prepare, and Steve came here as a backup quarterback
in ninety six behind Carry Collins, and Carry got hurt
in the second game and Steve stepped right in totally prepared.
Now I knew Steve. I've watched him in the league.
(05:32):
He'd been in the Cowboys and the Cardinals. But when
I got to spend time with him, we hit it
off right off the bat. And not just golf course,
I make fun of that Steve's a better golfer than me,
but we in training camp Jonathan. We would we'd go
to training camp and we had curfew at eleven o'clock.
We'd played gen till like one thirty in the morning,
(05:54):
Wow every night and just share stories. One of my
best favorites Steve, and I was telling him back in
the day when I was with the forty nine ers
he was with the Raiders, that these all season basketball
games and we'd play each other and it filled the stadium.
I mean, people are Colisee and whatever. We're playing in
the basketball arena. And we played the Raiders. Uh and
(06:17):
Tim Brown and Jared Rice were going at it, and
I was a good basket decent basketball player.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
And we.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Lost that game against the Raiders, and I was telling Steve.
I said, Steve, Man, we had Tim Brown, Jeris going
after each other, but there's one guy we couldn't stop.
Some of them white dude doing set shots out of
there on the three point line. And Steve goes, that's me,
and I said, you're kidding me? Is no way he
(06:46):
said that was me. He said some of them good
basketball player. So I was like, we just hit it
off on that, and then he started finding out that
Steve was a good diver. He dove in college or
high school somewhere, and it was a you know, he won,
he won something as a diver. But but those times
and moments were doing that. We're building a bond because
(07:10):
that guy prepared. He came to play. He's one of
the toughest guys I ever played with. And I mean
that too. I mean Kevin Green was a beast, tough
couy on Sunday and and Steve Berline, uh, I put
him in that same category. He came to play, he'd fight.
I've actually, uh watched him get his teeth knocked out
(07:33):
or chipped and his nose busted and bleeding, and he
wouldn't go out of the game. And you see a
guy do that and fight so hard to win, I'm
gonna fight a little harder for him too.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
You know.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Great, it was a great relationship.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
That's awesome, man. So what are you doing now?
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Well, I'm in the real estate business a little. I
know you are too, Jonathan, and I think we're in
a good, good city here.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I've been.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I've been doing this for I guess some about eighteen years.
When it took a couple of years after football and
I got in real estate business. And I'm in the
construction business as well, a company here, a local company
called shell COO. That's where I spend most of my
time these days. And I'm just a business developer. But
one of the things that draws it drew me to
real estate and especially to Shelco is the culture of
(08:21):
the team culture, just being part of an organization that
we build something together, you know. And a lot of
people think of real estate as individual or you build something,
but it takes a whole team. And these these both
Shelco has been around for forty years and I'm just
glad to be a part of their team. I spent
(08:41):
a lot of time doing that. Now we have five
grandkids are full there are three of them, three boys
over at the house tonight, and I was so happy
to get out of that chaos to come over here
and talk to you.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Yeah, that's a blessing though many Yeah, that's interesting. The
development like that is what you're drawn to because it's
team oriented. It's something that you understand not a lot
of people really like. There's strength in numbers, right, And
(09:18):
like I was talking to Steve about his team in
ninety nine, the team in ninety nine where he threw
for four thousand yards plus in an era where it
was like, how'd you do that?
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Right?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
What was so special about that team? Because I feel
like there's moments in every team's history where it's like
a moment that I feel like that's a moment in
time that propels this organization. Right, what about that team
stood out the most?
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Wow, that's a great question because there's so many things came.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Let me fix you up. Yeah, I ain't gonna.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
Let you just be. I got that's better everywhere.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Yeah, we probably hear me better now, all right, great, Yeah,
thank you for that. The headset, I need a helmet
correct and everyone's.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Well.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
That nineteen ninety nine team, we had a guy Pat
Jeffers that was a free agent from Dallas, Steve Steve
Berline was our quarterback, tim By Akabatuca myself at tight end,
and we really we we barely missed it. I'm gonna
start out at the end of the season. We barely
missed the playoffs and it was a fluke that we
(10:33):
didn't get in. But that team got better every year.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
I think it was.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
George Seafer's first or second year here, and we the offense.
What Steve was. He was incredible. That here probably the
most accurate passer I've ever played with. And we were
running our West Coast offense. I mean we're running the
two jet all gold anchor drive, basic cross ye corners,
(10:57):
why stick, and it was that was a big part.
And mix it with the running game, we looked like
the chiefs. Well, I really believed.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
I'm gonna stop you running game thirteen carries A game
is where I told that you guys were running on
ninety nine teen.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
I know it's gonna hurt you feeling thirteen touches, man,
it did. I mean we were scoring a lot of
points and our defense was hanging in there. We you
know it was uh, I mean just I had twelve touchdowns,
so did Sody Pat Jeffers. I mean that's that's a
lot of production out of receiver in the tight end
(11:31):
in one season. And really Steve was the you know,
he was the main man there that was reading and
making the right calls and the and the throws and
Seaford kind of coach. Seafford I had spent five years
with him in San Francisco. I was actually part of
his first draft class there, so I knew that coach Seaford.
(11:54):
He really loved locker room leadership. And that's what we
had that year. We had great leadership and Steve Carrie was,
Carrie was gone, Carrie Stevens backed up Carrie. Carrie left
and going to New Orleans and or and and so
it's his it was his job and he just performed perfectly,
and that made it special that we had just I
(12:18):
was probably inlet see, I was probably thirty three years old,
running around trying to keep helping these young guys. Pat
Jeffers was had had some successful seasons but had a
breakout season that year that really opened up the whole offense.
And Moose and Muhammad. I think Moose was there. Yeah,
I'm pretty sure I know.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Yeah, that's what Steve said.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Yeah Moose, I won't tell you.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Man.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
When Moose came into the ninety six as a rookie,
I believe and uh, I knew he was gonna be
a great player.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Tough.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
I mean, in fact, Moose is so tough that they
would take me out of some of the running blocking.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
Going in block.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Moose could block. Man. I just remember my y year
we watched film. It was just practice film, but I
remember watching him coming off the line of scrimmage and
he had his hands up like claws, and I'm like,
what is he doing? And I asked him the next day.
I'm like, hey, like, why do you come off the
(13:17):
line with your hands up like you're about to grab someone.
He's like, still, I do that every time, so that
way I can get open because he would do it
sometimes and he would just, you know, fake like he's blocking,
coming off the line of scrimmage, running screaming at a
guy and then just go right past him with his
hand up, one hand up, and Jake would throw him
(13:39):
the ball. I was like, oh man, that's some savviness
right there.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
He is a savvy player.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
And I'm going to tell you what if if the
moose is blocking you, I can see that defensive back
he was in a bind because he would he would
take you to the ground. Yeah, he finished some of
the blocks. And but that that was such a fun
year because I mean, we just I'll tell you a story.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
So we had to play to.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Wi stick nod down in the goal line every time
we got inside the ten yard line, maybe about the
eight it was too close it to five. So between
the eight and the five yard line and we'd run
wi stick nod, and it's basically a little five yard
out trying to look get the linebacker to bite, and
then you cut inside the safety. If it's too deep
or if it's three deep, you kind of keep it
(14:24):
up vertical, keep away from the middle safety and away from.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
The corner back.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
And I was good at running at it, and Steve
was good at reading what I was gonna do. And
we would get down on the goal line and the
team would call their defense. Eugene Robinson was at Atlanta Falcons.
He said, Washington, watch the wire stick nod. Watch the
wire stick nod. He's a safety. We'd run it and score, yeah,
and stop it. Couldn't stop it, and uh so we
(14:50):
used to. I got a great photo in my I
Love Me room and it's me and Steve. I got
my arms around him his back, and he's got his
arms around me, and we're looking at each other and
we're both can you believe that came?
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Stuff?
Speaker 3 (15:01):
That's pretty magical right there. I mean, I feel like
that was the same connection that Cam and Greg Olsen had.
They couldn't stop that connection.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
No doubt. I love watching that.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
I loved well, just that that year we went to
the Super Bowl. You know, we got to we once
we got to the Super Bowl, the Denver Broncos did
a good job of actually like containing that. And that's
what drives me crazy is we kind of got, you know,
put ourselves in a box. And we could have figured
(15:41):
out a way to just say, hey Greg, we need
Greg out here in space, put him in the route somehow.
But we're so concerned about you know, blocking and obviously
you have Von Miller coming off the edge and you
have to figure out to block him. But uh, but yeah,
that tied endntion these days, it's pivotal to success.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Absolutely, And I went to that game in person to
my wife and we went down and I agree one
hundred percent. I mean, it was just when you disrupt
the quarterback when he reads and its confidence of getting
the ball out on time to his receivers. It changes
your whole passing game. And then you can't rely on
the run all the time. You have to get behind,
(16:25):
you got to score. It was, uh, you guys had
the best team in the league that year out.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
It was a shame. The best tied end in the league.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Right now, Wow, I should be ready for that question.
The first name it pops out is Travis Kelsey.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
I mean he's been so consistent, and.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Now what's so special about him.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
He's got a mentality of a quarterback. Now I think
he played quarterback. But because my Homes has so much capability,
he's not just a rigid drop back five. And I'm
gonna re this and read that. He moves around in
a pocket, he's able to adjust his routes when he's covered.
He catches probably sixty percent of his passes on a
(17:08):
not on his route, just breaking, making something out of nothing.
He's covered, and it says you just can't cover a
guy like that for three or four seconds. I mean, now,
if my Homes has that kind of time moving around,
Jason Kelsey's gonna find or not Jason Travis. Jason's gonna
find somebody to block. Travis is gonna find a way
to catch the ball. And he's fun to watch now
(17:29):
over all, tight end. I a couple of my buddies
we argue about this all the time. It played tiny
and Dean's May is a friend of mine here in
North Carolina, Charlotte, and he.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
Loves great George Kettle. I gotta get these names fright.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
I love Greg Olsen, he loves George Kettle and but
George can block me. He is a beast on the
running game. He can catch, he's run, he's a lot
faster than I thought he was. Those two guys are
very good, and there's several across the league right now.
The tight end position. To me, and I really believe
Jade novicheck On if you remember him way back in
(18:01):
the early nineties and mid nineties with the eight with
the Cowboys, and when they went to the Super Bowls,
he was Troy Eitman's kind of safety blanket and people
then you had a lot of people before it, Tony Gonzales,
and it started opening up the tight end and Greg Olsen, myself,
Shanny Sharp remember those guys, and now the tight end.
(18:22):
They're tall, they're athletic, they're big, they can run, uh
and run after the catch. That's one thing I wish
if I if I had to go back to my career.
Steve and I were laughing about it. I can remember
a pass he hit me on a crossing route down
in New Orleans one time, and I really didn't you know,
as a running back, you know where everybody's at right,
you know where the hits coming from.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
And I, whatever the route.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
I could not figure out where the safety was in
my mind. Hit me right in the numbers, and I
mean I just went right to the ground and I thought,
I thought the safety was. They were waiting on me
and come back to huddling and Steve goes, hey, man,
that was what was that? A little lower? Some usaid, no,
it was a good pass, but I thought.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
That safety was there.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
So and as you get older, you ghosts get in
your head a couple of times. Man. We laughed about
that today playing golf. But but those guys now that
these guys without that fear of that safety taking your
head off like I had. I'm not trying to say
that it's easier now. It's hard. Every every route ever
(19:27):
plays hard. But these guys seem to be a lot
more comfortable going across that middle than we were back
about fifteen to twenty years.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Ago from rules now, a lot more protection coming coming
across that middle. Yes, sir, well, thanks for your time.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Man.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
I hope you enjoy the rest of the day. All
the fellas in town been catching up. I'm Freddy sure.
This was also really special to me. Just being able
to actually do this intentionally and hear some stories from me.
I look forward to it more.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
This is this was perfect, Jonathan. I mean, you're heir
of my air. Steve's here, and all the current era
and and the lone, all all the guys coming back,
being a piece of the thirty year history of the
Carolina Panthers. It just makes me proud to be a Panther.
It does makes me proud to put my community fans.
It's uh, it's we're gonna get it back, get it
(20:18):
all going again.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
I like that.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
It's good scene thing too.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Man,
We're the thirteenth pick in the two thousand and eight
NFL Draft. Carolina half the collect Jonathan Stewart.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Gives to Stewart, he leaves touchdown. Stewart oh rough tough right,
angry man out at all those knees.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Stuart hesitates, accelerates. That's what I'm talking about.
Speaker 4 (00:15):
It's the spass Moll football.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Coatham, Stuart Kyt running round. Stuart jump over a tackler
at the tenth flows jump, Laura's his shoulder, keeps running.
No one will touch him. Jonathan Stewart house is it
you talk about explosive plays in the run game. It's
like the fourth of July around here. Right now you
are listening to Stu and the Crew. Now to Jonathan
Stewart's and Jeremy.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Kelly Welcome back for another episode of Stu and the Crew.
I am your co host and Carolina Panthers Director of
Legends Affairs Jeremy Kelly, and is my pleasure today to
provide this intro and spotlightening a very special Panthers legend.
As we know, this year we're celebrating thirty seasons of
(00:59):
Panthers football. In my role, I naturally love that we
could to celebrate the anniversaries of the team and it
really provides a time for reflection, celebration, and reunion. And
all year we've had the opportunity to revisit this greatness
within the Carolina Panthers organization, from the inception of the
team in nineteen ninety five to Julius Pepper's most recent
Hall of Fame induction, digging into the team history and
(01:22):
stories and experiences that make up the great years and
the challenging ones, most of all, celebrating the men who
made it possible. And recently we've had the opportunity to
bring a cohort of thirty plus former Panthers legends in
for a production day to shoot and amplify our thirty seasons.
So with this photos, videos, interviews, podcast, all the stories,
(01:44):
you can imagine the energy in the room was at
an all time high. We had players and teammates seeing
each other for the first time in twenty plus years.
It was special, really a recreation at a locker room.
And many of you who don't know to our former
players as Panthers legends, a term coined by NFL Commissioner
(02:04):
Roger Goodell to recognize and amplify the contributions of our
former NFL players. In one hundred and four years of football,
there's only been roughly thirty thousand to play at the
highest level, and Commissioner wanted to recognize that, whether at
high school, college, or pro, you're likely referred to as legendary.
(02:24):
At this production day, Jonathan Stewart, my lovely co host,
the one and only Carolina Panthers all time leading Russia,
had a chance to sit down with one of our
most prized Panthers legends, an Ole miss Rebel nineteen eighty
nine second round draft pick, had a fifteen year NFL career,
taking the field with some of the game's greatest, a
Super Bowl champion, three time All Pro, five time Pro Bowler,
(02:50):
and a Carolina Panthers Hall of Fame inductee in twenty nineteen.
One heck of a golfer. I might add a true
Southern gentleman, ladies and gentlemen, Wesley Wall.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
All right, we got Wesley Walls, legendary Wesley Walls that.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Is, and Johns and Stewart. I'm so glad to be
sitting in the same room.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
You man, yeah, man, two times two times in one week.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
I know it.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
I know it's been it's been a good week.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
I think I heard you're playing golf tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
I am.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I'm going to come to practice and we'll go head
out and play with some buddies and Steve bordlines in town.
So it's kind of like, you know, I got a
car payment coming up and I'm on try to get
it all in one day.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Oh man. So Steve actually spoke a lot about you,
if you don't know, he cherishes your got your guys's
bond and relationship and obviously, you know, having so many
instances where you grow in this game amongst men and
(03:55):
and guys that are of good standard. Right, just talk
to me a little bit. How you know, blessed it
is to actually play this game, but even more blessed
to be able to create these types of relationships and
bonds at this in this phase of being a man too. Right,
you're developing from a college kid and you grow into
(04:20):
an adult having family and kids. But being able to
do this at a level where you're connected every day
to a guy, yea, And how it's different for so
many other you know jobs, right, you know they don't
have these types of bonds. They're like, I can't wait
to leave this place because of this person, right, So
(04:41):
just explain to me, like how you know awesome of
an opportunity is to be able to play sports and
have those types of relationships.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yeah, I mean, Jonathan, we are so blessed to be
able to play a great game with great people that
we all have different stories how we got here, and
is you know, flashy or not the best athlete or whatever.
You just keep playing, You keep persevering and keep fighting
and believing in your ability, and then you meet folks
(05:11):
on your team that are like you. And that's kind
of what Steve was to me. Man. He he watching
him prepare, and Steve came here as a backup quarterback
in ninety six behind Carry Collins, and Carry got hurt
in the second game and Steve stepped right in totally prepared.
Now I knew Steve. I've watched him in the league.
(05:32):
He'd been in the Cowboys and the Cardinals. But when
I got to spend time with him, we hit it
off right off the bat. And not just golf course,
I make fun of that Steve's a better golfer than me,
but we in training camp Jonathan. We would we'd go
to training camp and we had curfew at eleven o'clock.
We'd played gen till like one thirty in the morning,
(05:54):
Wow every night and just share stories. One of my
best favorites Steve, and I was telling him back in
the day when I was with the forty nine ers
he was with the Raiders, that these all season basketball
games and we'd play each other and it filled the stadium.
I mean, people are Colisee and whatever. We're playing in
the basketball arena. And we played the Raiders. Uh and
(06:17):
Tim Brown and Jared Rice were going at it, and
I was a good basket decent basketball player.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
And we.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Lost that game against the Raiders, and I was telling Steve.
I said, Steve, Man, we had Tim Brown, Jeris going
after each other, but there's one guy we couldn't stop.
Some of them white dude doing set shots out of
there on the three point line. And Steve goes, that's me,
and I said, you're kidding me? Is no way he
(06:46):
said that was me. He said some of them good
basketball player. So I was like, we just hit it
off on that, and then he started finding out that
Steve was a good diver. He dove in college or
high school somewhere, and it was a you know, he won,
he won something as a diver. But but those times
and moments were doing that. We're building a bond because
(07:10):
that guy prepared. He came to play. He's one of
the toughest guys I ever played with. And I mean
that too. I mean Kevin Green was a beast, tough
couy on Sunday and and Steve Berline, uh, I put
him in that same category. He came to play, he'd fight.
I've actually, uh watched him get his teeth knocked out
(07:33):
or chipped and his nose busted and bleeding, and he
wouldn't go out of the game. And you see a
guy do that and fight so hard to win, I'm
gonna fight a little harder for him too.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
You know.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
Great, it was a great relationship.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
That's awesome, man. So what are you doing now?
Speaker 2 (07:51):
Well, I'm in the real estate business a little. I
know you are too, Jonathan, and I think we're in
a good, good city here.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I've been.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I've been doing this for I guess some about eighteen years.
When it took a couple of years after football and
I got in real estate business. And I'm in the
construction business as well, a company here, a local company
called shell COO. That's where I spend most of my
time these days. And I'm just a business developer. But
one of the things that draws it drew me to
real estate and especially to Shelco is the culture of
(08:21):
the team culture, just being part of an organization that
we build something together, you know. And a lot of
people think of real estate as individual or you build something,
but it takes a whole team. And these these both
Shelco has been around for forty years and I'm just
glad to be a part of their team. I spent
(08:41):
a lot of time doing that. Now we have five
grandkids are full there are three of them, three boys
over at the house tonight, and I was so happy
to get out of that chaos to come over here
and talk to you.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Yeah, that's a blessing though many Yeah, that's interesting. The
development like that is what you're drawn to because it's
team oriented. It's something that you understand not a lot
of people really like. There's strength in numbers, right, And
(09:18):
like I was talking to Steve about his team in
ninety nine, the team in ninety nine where he threw
for four thousand yards plus in an era where it
was like, how'd you do that?
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Right?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
What was so special about that team? Because I feel
like there's moments in every team's history where it's like
a moment that I feel like that's a moment in
time that propels this organization. Right, what about that team
stood out the most?
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Wow, that's a great question because there's so many things came.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Let me fix you up. Yeah, I ain't gonna.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
Let you just be. I got that's better everywhere.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Yeah, we probably hear me better now, all right, great, Yeah,
thank you for that. The headset, I need a helmet
correct and everyone's.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Well.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
That nineteen ninety nine team, we had a guy Pat
Jeffers that was a free agent from Dallas, Steve Steve
Berline was our quarterback, tim By Akabatuca myself at tight end,
and we really we we barely missed it. I'm gonna
start out at the end of the season. We barely
missed the playoffs and it was a fluke that we
(10:33):
didn't get in. But that team got better every year.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
I think it was.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
George Seafer's first or second year here, and we the offense.
What Steve was. He was incredible. That here probably the
most accurate passer I've ever played with. And we were
running our West Coast offense. I mean we're running the
two jet all gold anchor drive, basic cross ye corners,
(10:57):
why stick, and it was that was a big part.
And mix it with the running game, we looked like
the chiefs. Well, I really believed.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
I'm gonna stop you running game thirteen carries A game
is where I told that you guys were running on
ninety nine teen.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
I know it's gonna hurt you feeling thirteen touches, man,
it did. I mean we were scoring a lot of
points and our defense was hanging in there. We you
know it was uh, I mean just I had twelve touchdowns,
so did Sody Pat Jeffers. I mean that's that's a
lot of production out of receiver in the tight end
(11:31):
in one season. And really Steve was the you know,
he was the main man there that was reading and
making the right calls and the and the throws and
Seaford kind of coach. Seafford I had spent five years
with him in San Francisco. I was actually part of
his first draft class there, so I knew that coach Seaford.
(11:54):
He really loved locker room leadership. And that's what we
had that year. We had great leadership and Steve Carrie was,
Carrie was gone, Carrie Stevens backed up Carrie. Carrie left
and going to New Orleans and or and and so
it's his it was his job and he just performed perfectly,
and that made it special that we had just I
(12:18):
was probably inlet see, I was probably thirty three years old,
running around trying to keep helping these young guys. Pat
Jeffers was had had some successful seasons but had a
breakout season that year that really opened up the whole offense.
And Moose and Muhammad. I think Moose was there. Yeah,
I'm pretty sure I know.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Yeah, that's what Steve said.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Yeah Moose, I won't tell you.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Man.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
When Moose came into the ninety six as a rookie,
I believe and uh, I knew he was gonna be
a great player.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Tough.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
I mean, in fact, Moose is so tough that they
would take me out of some of the running blocking.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
Going in block.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Moose could block. Man. I just remember my y year
we watched film. It was just practice film, but I
remember watching him coming off the line of scrimmage and
he had his hands up like claws, and I'm like,
what is he doing? And I asked him the next day.
I'm like, hey, like, why do you come off the
(13:17):
line with your hands up like you're about to grab someone.
He's like, still, I do that every time, so that
way I can get open because he would do it
sometimes and he would just, you know, fake like he's blocking,
coming off the line of scrimmage, running screaming at a
guy and then just go right past him with his
hand up, one hand up, and Jake would throw him
(13:39):
the ball. I was like, oh man, that's some savviness
right there.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
He is a savvy player.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
And I'm going to tell you what if if the
moose is blocking you, I can see that defensive back
he was in a bind because he would he would
take you to the ground. Yeah, he finished some of
the blocks. And but that that was such a fun
year because I mean, we just I'll tell you a story.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
So we had to play to.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Wi stick nod down in the goal line every time
we got inside the ten yard line, maybe about the
eight it was too close it to five. So between
the eight and the five yard line and we'd run
wi stick nod, and it's basically a little five yard
out trying to look get the linebacker to bite, and
then you cut inside the safety. If it's too deep
or if it's three deep, you kind of keep it
(14:24):
up vertical, keep away from the middle safety and away from.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
The corner back.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
And I was good at running at it, and Steve
was good at reading what I was gonna do. And
we would get down on the goal line and the
team would call their defense. Eugene Robinson was at Atlanta Falcons.
He said, Washington, watch the wire stick nod. Watch the
wire stick nod. He's a safety. We'd run it and score, yeah,
and stop it. Couldn't stop it, and uh so we
(14:50):
used to. I got a great photo in my I
Love Me room and it's me and Steve. I got
my arms around him his back, and he's got his
arms around me, and we're looking at each other and
we're both can you believe that came?
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Stuff?
Speaker 3 (15:01):
That's pretty magical right there. I mean, I feel like
that was the same connection that Cam and Greg Olsen had.
They couldn't stop that connection.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
No doubt. I love watching that.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
I loved well, just that that year we went to
the Super Bowl. You know, we got to we once
we got to the Super Bowl, the Denver Broncos did
a good job of actually like containing that. And that's
what drives me crazy is we kind of got, you know,
put ourselves in a box. And we could have figured
(15:41):
out a way to just say, hey Greg, we need
Greg out here in space, put him in the route somehow.
But we're so concerned about you know, blocking and obviously
you have Von Miller coming off the edge and you
have to figure out to block him. But uh, but yeah,
that tied endntion these days, it's pivotal to success.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Absolutely, And I went to that game in person to
my wife and we went down and I agree one
hundred percent. I mean, it was just when you disrupt
the quarterback when he reads and its confidence of getting
the ball out on time to his receivers. It changes
your whole passing game. And then you can't rely on
the run all the time. You have to get behind,
(16:25):
you got to score. It was, uh, you guys had
the best team in the league that year out.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
It was a shame. The best tied end in the league.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Right now, Wow, I should be ready for that question.
The first name it pops out is Travis Kelsey.
Speaker 4 (16:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
I mean he's been so consistent, and.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
Now what's so special about him.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
He's got a mentality of a quarterback. Now I think
he played quarterback. But because my Homes has so much capability,
he's not just a rigid drop back five. And I'm
gonna re this and read that. He moves around in
a pocket, he's able to adjust his routes when he's covered.
He catches probably sixty percent of his passes on a
(17:08):
not on his route, just breaking, making something out of nothing.
He's covered, and it says you just can't cover a
guy like that for three or four seconds. I mean, now,
if my Homes has that kind of time moving around,
Jason Kelsey's gonna find or not Jason Travis. Jason's gonna
find somebody to block. Travis is gonna find a way
to catch the ball. And he's fun to watch now
(17:29):
over all, tight end. I a couple of my buddies
we argue about this all the time. It played tiny
and Dean's May is a friend of mine here in
North Carolina, Charlotte, and he.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
Loves great George Kettle. I gotta get these names fright.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
I love Greg Olsen, he loves George Kettle and but
George can block me. He is a beast on the
running game. He can catch, he's run, he's a lot
faster than I thought he was. Those two guys are
very good, and there's several across the league right now.
The tight end position. To me, and I really believe
Jade novicheck On if you remember him way back in
(18:01):
the early nineties and mid nineties with the eight with
the Cowboys, and when they went to the Super Bowls,
he was Troy Eitman's kind of safety blanket and people
then you had a lot of people before it, Tony Gonzales,
and it started opening up the tight end and Greg Olsen, myself,
Shanny Sharp remember those guys, and now the tight end.
(18:22):
They're tall, they're athletic, they're big, they can run, uh
and run after the catch. That's one thing I wish
if I if I had to go back to my career.
Steve and I were laughing about it. I can remember
a pass he hit me on a crossing route down
in New Orleans one time, and I really didn't you know,
as a running back, you know where everybody's at right,
you know where the hits coming from.
Speaker 4 (18:44):
And I, whatever the route.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
I could not figure out where the safety was in
my mind. Hit me right in the numbers, and I
mean I just went right to the ground and I thought,
I thought the safety was. They were waiting on me
and come back to huddling and Steve goes, hey, man,
that was what was that? A little lower? Some usaid, no,
it was a good pass, but I thought.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
That safety was there.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
So and as you get older, you ghosts get in
your head a couple of times. Man. We laughed about
that today playing golf. But but those guys now that
these guys without that fear of that safety taking your
head off like I had. I'm not trying to say
that it's easier now. It's hard. Every every route ever
(19:27):
plays hard. But these guys seem to be a lot
more comfortable going across that middle than we were back
about fifteen to twenty years.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
Ago from rules now, a lot more protection coming coming
across that middle. Yes, sir, well, thanks for your time.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Man.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
I hope you enjoy the rest of the day. All
the fellas in town been catching up. I'm Freddy sure.
This was also really special to me. Just being able
to actually do this intentionally and hear some stories from me.
I look forward to it more.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
This is this was perfect, Jonathan. I mean, you're heir
of my air. Steve's here, and all the current era
and and the lone, all all the guys coming back,
being a piece of the thirty year history of the
Carolina Panthers. It just makes me proud to be a Panther.
It does makes me proud to put my community fans.
It's uh, it's we're gonna get it back, get it
(20:18):
all going again.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
I like that.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
It's good scene thing too.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Man,
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