Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
As we take a look back at thirty years of
Carolina Panthers football, talk to a player who only played
one year with the Carolina Panthers, but he happened to
pick the best of the thirty years, the team that
went seventeen and one heading into Super Bowl fifty back
in twenty fifteen, Peanut Tilman, the great defensive back famous
for the peanut punch, played twelve years for the Bears
before finishing his career with the Carolina Panthers. Talking about
(00:21):
his career, his legacy in the NFL, and also what
happened in Super Bowl fifty with the great Peanut Tillman,
as we take a look back at three decades of
Panthers football.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thirty seasons of Panther football a celebration of the players, coaches,
and other key figures have contributed to the organizational success.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Peanut Tilman, he was only here one season, but man,
what a season twenty fifteen one of the all time grades.
We'll get into the way it ended later, but when
you look back at that now heading into the Super
Bowl seventeen and one, what do you think about when
you think back? He played some great Chicago teams too. Obviously,
we'll talk about that. But to take that season twenty fifteen,
how did that all come together?
Speaker 3 (01:02):
The locker room? I think that.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
So I have a podcast, NFL Player Segments podcast, and
we do it with fellow teammate Roman Harper, who was
also here in that twenty fifteen season, and we had TD,
we had Luke Talbot was on Josh Norman and collectively
everyone really, somehow, some way, we keep talking about that
(01:26):
twenty fifteen season, and the one thing that we all
said that made that season special was our locker room.
It was it was man, we were selfless. It really
was a brotherhood of fifty three guys who cared about
all fifty three guys. Nobody was clicky. There are no clicks,
(01:50):
there were no individual cells. It was just fifty three
men who cared about each other and we wanted to win.
And as a result of that, we went seven team
in one just before obviously losing Super Bowl fifty. But
it was I mean, it was a very special season.
And I can't thank Ron Rivera enough for the way
(02:10):
he led that team. I don't think he gets enough credit,
and not just him, but the entire coaching staff. Like
we had some we had some great coaches.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
We really did. It was just an amazing season.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
It's great culture and little sideline of courses back that
you spent twelve years being a Chicago Bear, he won
a Super Bowl, played a lot of years in Chicago,
lived a lot of his years in Chicago. Did did
that kind of create maybe an immediate bond between the
two of you.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Not only that I think it did, but I think
it created a bond with the rest of the team.
You got to think Josh Storrman is a character, Cam
Newton is a character, TD is a character.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
I'm my own character.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
We're all so different and if you look back at
that eighty five Bears team, there were a lot of
personalities on that team, and I'm sure Mike Ditka let
those players be them.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
You know.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
Coach Rivera never wanted us to be the you know,
he didn't want us to all be the same because
we weren't. And the one thing that he used to
always say that I really appreciate it. He used to
always say, I love you are for who you are
to me, and just be you. Cam Newton wasn't like
(03:22):
a Tom Brady. Cam Newton wasn't like Peyton Manning, or
Eli Manning or Aaron Rodgers. He like that just that
wasn't his style and that's okay. And Ron promoted that
Josh Norman might go a little off script.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
Sometimes, that was okay.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Ron promoted, as long as you know you're not getting
penalties and you're you know, you're not hurting the team,
I want you to do you and that's why I
love you and that's why you're on this team.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
And we all accepted that.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
That's what again, I think that's what made us so
that's what made that team so special, and it was
just it was just man, I'm so disappointed that with
what we had and how close we were and the
bonds that we created and forged, the biggest disappointment is
we couldn't finish that one game, you know, and that
(04:11):
still stinks to this day.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
That still stings to this day.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
And then for you as well, I mean, you you
got the team there with what you did, you're part
of it there. But that last regular season game with
the knee injury, I mean, how frustrating was that to
you know, you cheer on your teammates, but to not
be able to participate after that, Oh.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
You know that was the last snap I ever played,
and to this day, I've never seen that play.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
I need to watch it. I think I'm ready to.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
I mean twenty fifteen, I think it's was it twenty
twenty four.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
I think I'm finally ready to watch that play.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And I was telling I was telling Stewie just now,
I was on his podcast. I've only been in the
city in one other time, but today I walked out
to the I walked out to the field and.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
It kind of got a little emotion.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
I was like, dang, this is the last time I
ever played a snap, and I remember where it happened
at that far end, and I just I literally I
sat there for a minute, was just like damn, and
it just it took me back and it was, you know,
I had I had a little moment, but it was
just like, damn.
Speaker 5 (05:09):
I can't believe Yeah, this this is the last time
I'd ever played it, played it down and it was
it was sad for a minute, and then I just
kind of like, all right, yeah, I can't get that back.
But it was yeah, I don't know where I'm going
with that, but it just was a little surreal to
kind of.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Come back and see it. It was. It was kind
of a triggering in a sense.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
But I am glad to be back though. I'm glad
to be back to see all my teammates.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
And just to I was only here one.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
Year, but I think I made an impact for that
one year with that team, and we all tell, you know,
great stories. And truly my role coming in my thirteenth season,
I was just the mood.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
I lightened the mood all the.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Time, like Roman was the He was the calm, quiet leader.
He could get everyone to comm It's like, hey, we're good.
We get guys, calm down.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
We good.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
My TD obviously is TD, It's his team. He was
like the Leonidas leader on defense. Cam was that on offense. Defensively,
my job was just to keep everyone like in a
loose mood when we all got tight and too serious
to start yelling each other.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
My job, my role.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
I gotta tell a joke. I gotta make us laugh.
I gotta make us remember why are we here. I
gotta make us remember like yo, we're fifteen and one,
Like let's calm down, guys.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Like my job was was.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
The entertainment, keep every keep the mood, like let's not
get too serious. But when we need to be serious,
we'll be serious.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
But in the interim, yo, let's just take it easy.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Guyst's and I was that was like, that was my role,
and I embraced it and it worked out. Coaches loved
it because coaches would get tight and they would get
all too series and then I just had to I
was really good at just timing up like jokes or
saying certain things at the right time, and then everyone would.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Laugh and it's say.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Yeah, okay, okay, and it was just yeah, man, we
had something very special.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
We really did.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
You've got the personality to pull that off. You mentioned,
of course, that you haven't gone back yet to look
nine years later at the acl play with the injury
you suffered there. How long did it take or have
you gone back to ever watch Super Bowl fifty and
part two? What happened to you? Just a couple of things.
What happened in that game that you guys weren't able
to finish it out?
Speaker 4 (07:34):
Nine years later, I still haven't watched the entire game.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
It is painful.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
I I've lost two Super Bowls, and both Super Bowls
to this day, I have yet to watch the game
all the way through I've seen, you know, a highlight
here and there, but for the most part, I have
yet to watch the game all the way through. Defensively,
I really thought we played a really good game Offensively,
(07:59):
we just we just kind of fell short, you know,
in some areas and we turned the ball over. I
kicked myself in the ass all the time because I
always say that, man, if I could have just played now,
I'm not saying I'm the difference maker, but I think
I could have at least.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Gave us a shot. I could have gave us a
better shot at play.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Turnovers were a big part of that game. I mean,
the two giveaways were difficult for the offense, but you
might have gotten one of those back on the other side.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Yeah, And it killed me that Thomas Davis broke his
arm and then he had to get that surgery and
he put a plate in his arm and he still played.
And I admire him for that, and I tip my
hat to him. I even told him that today, and
I was I was hurt the fact that.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
I couldn't be out there with him, like it was just,
oh my god.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
It was just probably one of the most painful things
just being in this massive brace from my quad all
the way to my ankle with a torn aca, and
I'm just I'm just sitting there just like this can't
be happening.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
I'm want to be out there with them.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
I would have did I would have did anything to
have gone out there with them, just to play for
a quarter. I would have done anything just to be
out there with my brothers. And it just oh man,
it killed me. And then when we lost, like it
just double damn. You know, I didn't play and we lose,
and I'm retired, like I know, I'm not coming back
from this torn acl. So yeah, man, that was that
(09:23):
was definitely one of those things that it took it.
It took a while to get over that, Like that
was some that was some real stress.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
So twelve years in Chicago, you live in Chicago. Now
you're raising your family there, Obviously it means a ton
to you talk about the kids and the family. What's
going on there now?
Speaker 4 (09:37):
So I have four girl, excuse me, I have three girls,
one son. My oldest just graduated high school. She's in
college or she's about to be in college. She got
a basketball scholarship. Really excited about her and where she's
going in life.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Right now.
Speaker 4 (09:50):
My second daughter, she's my shot put thor you know, crazy,
freakously strong, you know, can launch.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
The shot put.
Speaker 4 (09:59):
Really excited about where she's going and how her shot
put discus careers going in high school.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Right now.
Speaker 4 (10:06):
My son just started playing tennis, so been taking lessons
for about a year. He's got some high school tryouts.
He's a sophomore in high school. Really excited about where
he's going. And my youngest she's the run of the
litter and by far the best athlete out of all
four of my kids, the most competitive, the toughest, the strongest.
(10:29):
Where she is at, where she's at out of twelve
compared to where my other kids are, she blows him
out of the water.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
Basketball, soccer player.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
So I'm really excited just about where she is at,
just in youth sports and her attitude and just she's
got that toughness. She's super highly competitive, always loses to
her older siblings, but I think that fuels her to
be better and that's why she's so dominant when she
plays kids her own age.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
All right, last thing, and going back to Chicago again
on this one. The term the Moniker peanut punch. When
when did that actually become a thing, you know, a name.
As far as that play of you being able to
force fumbles, I.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Don't know when it became a play.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
I started doing it in college and then literally my
very first game in Chicago two thousand and three, first
game of the season, we played San Francisco in the
old Candlestick Park. I was the gunner on a punt,
ran down guys, you know, careless with the ball, punched
it out, and then I just kept I just did
it over and over, and slowly.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
People started to take notice.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
The crazy part is I had done it in Chicago
for years. All my teammates know about it. Everyone talked
about it. Everyone's like, hey, when you're around the ball
and if peanuts run the ball, like run to it
because it's he gonna get it out. And then maybe
like two thousand and ten, maybe twenty eleven, the entire
the rest of the NFL started to pick it up. Now,
(12:00):
players will tell you they used to come as like, man,
we knew he was gonna punch it out. We all
week long, our coaches like, hey, what this guy. I'm
telling you, if you see him, just go down because
he's gonna punch the ball.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
Out, just go down. And I had the respect.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Amongst the players and coaches, but the media itself they
never really picked it up till like later in my career.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
So at some.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Point they started to call the Peanut Punch.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
What year? What game? I couldn't tell you, I couldn't
tell you.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Sounds like life is good in Chicago, Peanut. Great to
catch up with you.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Thank you so much, man, Thanks for having me. I
appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Thirty seasons of Panther football