December 14, 2024 • 26 mins
In this episode we catch up on the last few weeks, and see the growth from 2nd year QB Bryce Young. We look forward to our matchup with Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys. Keep Pounding!!!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Carolina Panthers football in my mind podcast.
I'm your host Luke Farber.
And what is in my mind today?
Well, first I want to apologize.
I've missed the last couple of weeks with podcasts.
Uh, I've had some minor health issues this year and while they are minor,
sometimes they do throw me off.
So I apologize for that and I'm happy to be back talking Panthers football,
(00:23):
especially after the last few weeks.
I mean, you know, we haven't gotten a win in the last few weeks,
but we've seen a lot of progress, especially from our young quarterback,
Bryce Young, which is exactly what we wanted to see.
Yes, we want to be winning games, obviously, but just knowing that he is
(00:47):
starting to play better and if he can build off this and create even more
consistency and if we can help him out in the off season via free agency and
the draft that this is our guy, you know, it was really hard to see obviously
last year and the beginning of this year, because honestly he looked as bad as
(01:09):
any young quarterback has looked in a long time.
I mean, last year I went over this in the first episode of this season.
In the two games we won last year, we only scored a total of 24 points.
Obviously our offense isn't still lighting up the scoreboard, but we
have to take a look at the personnel that we actually have around Bryce Young.
(01:33):
Obviously we didn't have much last year either, but he couldn't do a damn thing.
In fact, earlier this year, he couldn't do a damn thing.
I mean, he looked confused, scared.
He was late on every throw, just not decisive, not confident.
And that is the main difference that we've seen from Bryce Young since
(01:58):
he's come back off the bench since Andy Dalton hurt his thumb.
And like Adam Thielen told him when he got benched, hey man, just cut it loose.
You're good enough.
Trust in yourself, believe your eyes and let it rip.
And that's what we're seeing right now.
And that's wonderful to see.
Anyway, last I left you folks, it was right before the Kansas City game.
(02:20):
So I kind of want to go back over the last few games and touch on
some key points that I saw.
And then we can just move forward and, and, you know, build on our
recaps and our previews and all that kind of stuff.
So anyway, Kansas City, obviously they've won two Super Bowls in a row.
So them coming into our house, you know, we're going to be
(02:44):
able to get a little bit of a boost.
But, you know, it was a big test for us.
And I think we surprised everybody by taking them down to the wire.
I know that everybody has taken Kansas City down to the wire this year,
but obviously we've been a kick around of the league for a few years.
In fact, we're favored versus Dallas, according to Vegas this week for
(03:09):
the first time in over two seasons that we're favored in a game.
We have shown enough improvement that we aren't looking like a
laughing stock like we have.
So that's wonderful.
So the, one of the things that I love about Bryce Young and I have loved
(03:32):
since he's come back off the bench and played really solid quarterback is the
fact that he is not doing it with very much talent or experience at the skill positions.
You know, we look at CJ Stroud from last year and this year, and he's got Tank
Dell, Nico Collins, Dalton Schultz, Stefan Diggs for the beginning of this year.
(03:58):
I mean, he's got a ton of receiving talent around him.
Well, what has Bryce Young had?
Well, since we treated away Deontay Johnson, which is fine, obviously,
since he refused to go into the game against the Ravens, that guy might have
some work ethic or, or, or whatever issues, you know, I don't want to call anybody out
(04:23):
for playing a violent game like football where you can literally lose your life
and lose your limbs.
You know, it's, it's, it's not for the squeamish, but obviously when you
got players like Deon, Devondre Campbell for the Niners, just saying that they
aren't going to play when you got 52 other guys on the roster who are putting
(04:44):
their life and limb on the line, that just doesn't really work.
And, you know, I'm glad at the very least these guys are getting paid millions
of dollars to put their bodies on the line for our entertainment.
So, and just like every other workforce, I mean, you can complain about athletes
(05:06):
getting paid more than the regular person, but honestly, if you look at the ownership
and all that sorts of stuff, they're still just like all of the regular
employees around the States, they're getting paid a fraction of what their
bosses make for doing all the work.
So anyway, I digress.
(05:27):
So where was I?
Bryce Young, doing it with less inexperienced talent.
Obviously our number one wide receiver until Adam Thielen came back two weeks
ago was Xavier LeGette, a first round rookie, the 32nd pick overall.
Our number two wide receiver was Jalen Coker, an undrafted rookie free agent.
(05:53):
And obviously he's been out for the last three, four weeks.
So who's taken his place?
David Moore, a very, a seasoned veteran that is getting towards the end of his
career and just doesn't have top-notch physical skills, but is an excellent
receiver and who's our starting tight end been a fourth round rookie, you know?
(06:19):
So before Adam Thielen came back to session, like Bryce Young, if you want to
compare to the other teams in the league, what team has less experience and less
skill at the receiver positions than we do?
I can't think of another team.
So just the fact that he is making all these great decisions.
(06:42):
He's not turning the ball over.
He's getting on time and using his receivers and converting third down.
Converting fourth downs.
It's wildly impressive to me.
So I think he is showing right now that he is absolutely 100% capability
(07:07):
of being a franchise quarterback.
Obviously he still needs to grow.
He still needs to work on a lot of things.
I would say the one thing that I've seen in this game stretch that he really does
need to work on probably more than anything is deep ball accuracy on the
sideline.
You know, he's dropped some really good throws into the bucket, but he's
(07:30):
sailed a lot more, you know, which on one hand is fine.
If you sail the ball on the sideline, you're probably going to throw it out of
bounds.
It's not going to be intercepted.
So, you know, he's not putting balls in harm's way in that way.
However, you're also not giving your receiver a chance to catch the ball.
(07:51):
And if you under throw balls or, you know, a lot of time under thrown balls
on the sidelines or back shoulder throws, and if the DB doesn't get his head
around, there's a huge potential for pass interference calls.
So I would love to see him get a little bit more accurate, a little bit better
at those deep sideline balls.
(08:11):
So we can add even more chunk plays into our offense.
Anyway, going back to the Kansas City game, man, it was great to see the
defense step up.
EJ is proving once again his worth as the defensive coordinator.
The young guys are stepping up.
Trevin Wallace has developed nicely.
(08:33):
It's great to see Amari Barno back.
DJ Wanham has made a heck of an impact since he's come back.
In fact, each of the last three games, we've had five sacks, four sacks, and four sacks.
I mean, in the beginning of the year, we couldn't get pressure on anybody.
So that is huge for us.
(08:53):
We also ended up turning Baker Mayfield over twice in the Bucks game, which is
great because we have been lacking in turnovers.
We're getting more pressure, but we need to turn the ball over more.
So one of my gripes in the Kansas City game, and I actually tweeted at Coach
Kanellis at halftime that literally in the first half, we only called three
(09:16):
running plays.
Now, Bryce Young had a couple of scrambles, but those aren't running plays.
And honestly, our offensive line is the best part of our offense and Chuba
Hubbard is the best skill position.
Player that we have.
So, and especially against high powered offenses like Kansas City, Tampa Bay,
(09:40):
Philadelphia, keeping those offenses on the sideline and controlling the clock
with a young and experienced team is vitally necessary.
Now, obviously we still came down to the wire in both the Kansas City and the
Tampa Bay game.
But if we run the ball, keep the clock running a bit more, tire out the
(10:03):
opposing defenses, maybe we don't have to work as hard at the end of the game to
score, or maybe we're already ahead in the fourth quarter instead of having to
come back to tie or take the lead.
Now in that Kansas City game, we only had 21 rushes.
I guess that would be a good start for us.
We only had 21 rushes, I guess that would be 18 minus Bryce's
(10:29):
scrambles and 35 passes.
In the Bucks game, it was even more lopsided.
The, uh, let me pull this up real quick.
Yeah.
We had 46 passes and 18 runs.
I mean, I love old school football.
(10:50):
I love ground and pound.
I love three yards in a cloud of dust.
I think physicality wins in every level of football.
And those are the best teams that we have had as a franchise.
And that's what I want to see.
And we have the personnel, we have the offensive line, we have
Chuba Hubbard pound the ball.
(11:10):
You know, it was great to see the evolution of that on the road in
Philadelphia, because we really needed it.
The awesome thing about that is we had terrific balance.
We had 34 rushes and 34 passes.
Now, some of those were Bryce scrambles, which he has become so much more
(11:33):
confident at and so much more decisive, not only in, excuse me, growing the
ball, but moving around inside and outside of the pocket to get whatever
yards he can or to toss the ball down the field.
It's wonderful to see that was part of the reason why we picked him was his
(11:54):
escape ability, his playmaking ability, and his clutch gene, which all three
seemed to go together for him in college.
And we didn't see that in the first year and a half of his career, but
now we're seeing it and it's fantastic to see, you know, he had that rushing
touchdown against Tampa Bay.
He had really key runs against Kansas City, the escapes that he made last
(12:17):
week against Philadelphia, especially on third and 11 in his own end zone to
escape three tackles that would have been safeties and then to launch the
ball 30 yards downfield to Lee get ultra impressive, ultra impressive.
So, and all of these, you know, come from behind situations that were in
(12:41):
obviously, I think it's funny that every time an announcer talks about
Bryce Young in the fourth quarter and his career and victories, every single
one of his victories has been a fourth quarter comeback because obviously
we're always behind right now.
But, you know, just the fact that he's been able to do that has been great.
(13:05):
I mean, you know, we tie the game with Kansas City with under two minutes to
go, obviously there was way too much time for my homes and he scrambles his
way to victory, which he does so often.
You know, what are you going to do about that?
It was great to see us.
You know, I really wanted that.
I was pissed off after we lost that game.
(13:26):
I really wanted it, but to see the improvement and to know that we are
gaining valuable experience because unfortunately to learn how to win,
sometimes you got to go through some heartbreak and we're going through
some heartbreak right now, but it's only going to serve us in the long term.
(13:48):
So it's fantastic to see the next game.
Obviously we come back and we score the go ahead touchdown under two minutes.
And then, you know, we let Tampa Bay tie the game up and man, we're
going to get the game up and man, I feel bad for Chuba, but you know, his OT
(14:10):
fumble cost us the game, you know, you don't want to say one play ever cost
you the game, but obviously if you turn the ball over in overtime, when you're
already in field goal range, and then the other team goes down and scores,
it's a, it's kind of hard to escape that reality.
So, but I mean, Chuba has obviously been the offensive MVP of this team.
(14:34):
And, you know, we're going to ride him till the wheels fall off, especially
now that Jonathan Brooks tour another ACL, which man, I feel bad about, you
know, it's like our, our first, you know, three of our first four picks, right?
Ligette, Trevin Wallace and Jutavian Sanders have all shown capability of
(14:58):
making big time plays.
They're all young.
And I think, especially in Ligette's case, he looks like he's hit the
rookie wall that people talk about.
He just looks tired out there.
He definitely did last game, especially in the second half when he had those
drops and then dropped the potential game winning touchdown.
(15:21):
He's going to be fine, but he's, he's going through his rookie struggles right now.
So I get it.
And then Trevin Wallace has stepped in for Shaq Thompson and made a bunch of
plays and gaining valuable experience at the linebacker position.
JT Sanders has made some big time plays.
It was great to see that that neck injury he has sustained against Tampa Bay.
(15:45):
Wasn't too bad.
It was good to see him back last week.
I think he's going to be a stud moving forward.
So that's wonderful to see.
And then obviously we got Jalen Coker, the free agent, wide receiver, who's
made some really nice plays.
Obviously he's been out for the last three, four weeks.
I believe he'll be back this Sunday.
(16:06):
So that should be really nice for Bryce and company.
But this rookie class has been solid.
Obviously nobody's going to be talked about as defensive or offensive
rookie of the year this year.
But they have shown solid potential to be playmakers as they progress
(16:27):
and learn and grow.
So that's wonderful to see.
And then of course, you know, I, I wasn't thrilled about us taking a running back
in the second round, you know, especially since I felt like we needed more wide
receiver help or offensive line help or defensive line help corner, whatever.
But, and he was the first running back in the draft taken and he was coming off
(16:52):
an ACL tear, so he wasn't even going to play the first half of the year.
So I was definitely interested to see what he looked like when he started
playing and he came back, excuse me, a few weeks ago and didn't get the many
touches at first, but then that Tampa Bay game came around and he got a few more
(17:14):
touches and you know, I love Chuba and I'm, part of me is glad that they extended
him because he is the type of runner that we want.
He is the type of locker room guy we want, but in a way, you know, we drafted
this young running back for what I thought was maybe to take his place next
(17:38):
year, maybe the year after, and, and it still could happen that way.
But then you signed Chuba as the number one, but seeing Brooks bust through
tackles and be able to be shifty and catch the ball naturally, you can just
tell that he has physical gifts that Chuba doesn't.
(18:00):
Chuba is a tough runner.
He is fast.
He is quick.
He is great at the one cut and dodging people in the backhand.
He is great at the one cut and dodging people in the backfield, but he's not,
he doesn't have the athleticism of the top backs as far as the shifty-ness,
(18:23):
the catching the ball capability.
You know, he's good at those things, but he's not great at them.
So to see Brooks come in there and man, he was impressive.
He was just in a half a dozen carries and a couple catches or something.
And so I saw immediately what they saw when they drafted this guy.
(18:44):
And it was impressive.
Now, unfortunately, he comes out last week and 13 months after he
tore his ACL, he tears the ACL in his other knee.
And, you know, was really looking forward to seeing him come into next year healthy
(19:05):
and see what the two of them could do in the backfield together.
Well, now he'll be out about the same amount of time as he was last year, right?
He'll come back second half, last third of the season and want to get worked back
in and probably not be a full, full go until the next year, which is unfortunate.
(19:32):
Man, I feel so bad for Brooks after going through a year plus of rehab to get back
on the field, you get to play in three games and then you got to do it all over again.
Oh man, rehab is such a long and excruciating process.
I, as a young athlete, had a rash of injuries from eighth to 11th grade that
(19:58):
basically derailed almost everything.
You know, it's like every time I got a little bit better and reached that next
plateau, I'd break something, I'd tear something, you know, and, and I never
really got to see my full potential because I couldn't stay healthy.
And, you know, we've seen that in the, with pro athletes too, Dan Morgan was
(20:19):
one of those TD, you know, until he finally got health later in his career.
But, uh, I mean, it happens.
So Jonathan, we're, we're, we're wishing the best for you.
Good luck with your rehab, man.
Keep, keep pounding.
I'm glad you got the support of a good organization and your teammates.
(20:41):
And we look forward to seeing you back on the field next year.
Anyway, last week, you know, we had that chance to win in Philadelphia.
And like I said, Lee get dropped the potential go ahead touchdown.
And then we couldn't convert, convert on our second fourth down of the drive
and ended up just running out of time.
So, but the really impressive thing about that is holding the Eagles
(21:07):
defense and being in the game on the road.
You know, so far, even in this season, when Bryce had, had come back
and Dalton was playing, we were definitely not nearly as competitive
on the road as we were at home.
And for us to take the Eagles down basically to the last 30 seconds of
(21:30):
the game on the road, an 11 and two team that had just been blowing people out
and, and, and really smacked Baltimore around in Baltimore, it's, it's a great
sign that means we're being physical.
That means we're bringing the heat every week and we got faith.
(21:52):
Now that's the thing.
When you see CJ shroud and you see Patrick Mahomes, you see all of these
big time quarterbacks, everybody on the team plays a big part in the team.
Everybody on the team plays harder.
How, when you've got the guy and you like, Oh, we got him.
(22:14):
We got a chance.
Don't take any plays off, you know, and you get players that make better
plays because they have hope.
They have motivation.
They have, they have a reason to say, Hey, we're going to win this game and
we're going to make it to the playoffs because we got this guy throwing us the
(22:35):
ball.
So that is wonderful to see.
And I believe even more so as Bryce can hopefully continue to progress and grow
as a player that we're going to see more and more and more of that.
And hopefully next year we're going to have obviously these young guys with
(22:56):
more experience around him, but with a lot of money and free agency.
And probably some decent draft picks.
We're going to be able to help him out with some better skill position players.
And hopefully, you know, our offensive line will still be in solid shape.
Like it has been all year.
Awesome.
Hey, great to catch up on all of that.
(23:19):
Now let's look to this week and the Dallas Cowboys, we got Jerry world
coming into town.
It's great to be back at the bank.
Like I said, this is the first time we've been favored in maybe over two
seasons in a game.
It definitely helps that, uh, excuse me.
Dallas has their backup quarterback playing, but they still present a lot of
(23:43):
problems.
They've got some really good skill position players on both sides of the
ball.
CD lamb is a top five NFL wide receiver and we've, we've had problems in the
secondary all year with communication and losing guys and whatnot.
And we're going to have to make sure that we got sticky coverage, especially
(24:06):
on lamb number 88.
Now going back to over there, defensive side of the ball, Mike Parsons is the
guy you got to watch out for.
Obviously we're going to have to give whoever some help, whether it be
Ick or Timo on the outside.
The great thing about our backs this year, especially Chuba, as he has
(24:28):
stoned so many blitzes and done so well in past protection that, you know, I'm
pretty confident that we can find a way to manage Mike Parsons and, and I
think of Parsons and Bryce has, like I said, been doing so much better moving
(24:49):
inside and outside of the pocket decisively and evading pressure that.
It just have a whole lot more faith in him.
And let's also be honest.
He threw an interception this last week.
He overthrew Adam Thielen.
It was a bad pass and it got picked off, but that was the first interception
(25:09):
he'd had in five games since he'd been back.
The only other one he threw was another sideline ball to Lee get.
If you guys remember that, you know, he dropped it in the bucket,
Lee get catches the ball.
And then all of a sudden the DB just swipes at it and takes it away.
And, and in my mind, that's a fumble.
Like he caught the ball and then the dude took it away.
(25:32):
It's not an interception.
Let's be honest.
So Bryce has been making so many great decisions, whether he's throwing
the ball or running the ball, it, it's come to the point where I don't expect
him to throw an interception now, you know, obviously he will.
And I should be prepared for that, but it's been great to see.
(25:56):
So, uh, you know, what are the keys for this game?
Again, that's the same as they've always been.
We want to be balanced on offense.
We want to run the ball.
Chubas our best offensive skill position player, feed him, let the
offensive line do their thing, lean on the Cowboys and hopefully in the
second half, they can really wear down.
(26:17):
And we can hopefully take a lead into the fourth quarter instead of having
to come from behind and take it back.
You know, we'll see.
It's great to be back at home.
It'll be a fun one.
It's on local TV for me, which is awesome.
You know, it's better than having to watch it on my laptop, but.
Hey, great to be back.
(26:39):
Keep pounding.
I can't wait to watch the game this weekend.
Yeah, we're going to bring home the victory.
2720 Panthers win.
Let's go get them.
Hello and welcome to the Carolina Panthers football in my mind podcast.
I'm your host Luke Farber.
And what is in my mind today?
Well, first I want to apologize.
I've missed the last couple of weeks with podcasts.
Uh, I've had some minor health issues this year and while they are minor,
sometimes they do throw me off.
So I apologize for that and I'm happy to be back talking Panthers football,
(00:23):
especially after the last few weeks.
I mean, you know, we haven't gotten a win in the last few weeks,
but we've seen a lot of progress, especially from our young quarterback,
Bryce Young, which is exactly what we wanted to see.
Yes, we want to be winning games, obviously, but just knowing that he is
(00:47):
starting to play better and if he can build off this and create even more
consistency and if we can help him out in the off season via free agency and
the draft that this is our guy, you know, it was really hard to see obviously
last year and the beginning of this year, because honestly he looked as bad as
(01:09):
any young quarterback has looked in a long time.
I mean, last year I went over this in the first episode of this season.
In the two games we won last year, we only scored a total of 24 points.
Obviously our offense isn't still lighting up the scoreboard, but we
have to take a look at the personnel that we actually have around Bryce Young.
(01:33):
Obviously we didn't have much last year either, but he couldn't do a damn thing.
In fact, earlier this year, he couldn't do a damn thing.
I mean, he looked confused, scared.
He was late on every throw, just not decisive, not confident.
And that is the main difference that we've seen from Bryce Young since
(01:58):
he's come back off the bench since Andy Dalton hurt his thumb.
And like Adam Thielen told him when he got benched, hey man, just cut it loose.
You're good enough.
Trust in yourself, believe your eyes and let it rip.
And that's what we're seeing right now.
And that's wonderful to see.
Anyway, last I left you folks, it was right before the Kansas City game.
(02:20):
So I kind of want to go back over the last few games and touch on
some key points that I saw.
And then we can just move forward and, and, you know, build on our
recaps and our previews and all that kind of stuff.
So anyway, Kansas City, obviously they've won two Super Bowls in a row.
So them coming into our house, you know, we're going to be
(02:44):
able to get a little bit of a boost.
But, you know, it was a big test for us.
And I think we surprised everybody by taking them down to the wire.
I know that everybody has taken Kansas City down to the wire this year,
but obviously we've been a kick around of the league for a few years.
In fact, we're favored versus Dallas, according to Vegas this week for
(03:09):
the first time in over two seasons that we're favored in a game.
We have shown enough improvement that we aren't looking like a
laughing stock like we have.
So that's wonderful.
So the, one of the things that I love about Bryce Young and I have loved
(03:32):
since he's come back off the bench and played really solid quarterback is the
fact that he is not doing it with very much talent or experience at the skill positions.
You know, we look at CJ Stroud from last year and this year, and he's got Tank
Dell, Nico Collins, Dalton Schultz, Stefan Diggs for the beginning of this year.
(03:58):
I mean, he's got a ton of receiving talent around him.
Well, what has Bryce Young had?
Well, since we treated away Deontay Johnson, which is fine, obviously,
since he refused to go into the game against the Ravens, that guy might have
some work ethic or, or, or whatever issues, you know, I don't want to call anybody out
(04:23):
for playing a violent game like football where you can literally lose your life
and lose your limbs.
You know, it's, it's, it's not for the squeamish, but obviously when you
got players like Deon, Devondre Campbell for the Niners, just saying that they
aren't going to play when you got 52 other guys on the roster who are putting
(04:44):
their life and limb on the line, that just doesn't really work.
And, you know, I'm glad at the very least these guys are getting paid millions
of dollars to put their bodies on the line for our entertainment.
So, and just like every other workforce, I mean, you can complain about athletes
(05:06):
getting paid more than the regular person, but honestly, if you look at the ownership
and all that sorts of stuff, they're still just like all of the regular
employees around the States, they're getting paid a fraction of what their
bosses make for doing all the work.
So anyway, I digress.
(05:27):
So where was I?
Bryce Young, doing it with less inexperienced talent.
Obviously our number one wide receiver until Adam Thielen came back two weeks
ago was Xavier LeGette, a first round rookie, the 32nd pick overall.
Our number two wide receiver was Jalen Coker, an undrafted rookie free agent.
(05:53):
And obviously he's been out for the last three, four weeks.
So who's taken his place?
David Moore, a very, a seasoned veteran that is getting towards the end of his
career and just doesn't have top-notch physical skills, but is an excellent
receiver and who's our starting tight end been a fourth round rookie, you know?
(06:19):
So before Adam Thielen came back to session, like Bryce Young, if you want to
compare to the other teams in the league, what team has less experience and less
skill at the receiver positions than we do?
I can't think of another team.
So just the fact that he is making all these great decisions.
(06:42):
He's not turning the ball over.
He's getting on time and using his receivers and converting third down.
Converting fourth downs.
It's wildly impressive to me.
So I think he is showing right now that he is absolutely 100% capability
(07:07):
of being a franchise quarterback.
Obviously he still needs to grow.
He still needs to work on a lot of things.
I would say the one thing that I've seen in this game stretch that he really does
need to work on probably more than anything is deep ball accuracy on the
sideline.
You know, he's dropped some really good throws into the bucket, but he's
(07:30):
sailed a lot more, you know, which on one hand is fine.
If you sail the ball on the sideline, you're probably going to throw it out of
bounds.
It's not going to be intercepted.
So, you know, he's not putting balls in harm's way in that way.
However, you're also not giving your receiver a chance to catch the ball.
(07:51):
And if you under throw balls or, you know, a lot of time under thrown balls
on the sidelines or back shoulder throws, and if the DB doesn't get his head
around, there's a huge potential for pass interference calls.
So I would love to see him get a little bit more accurate, a little bit better
at those deep sideline balls.
(08:11):
So we can add even more chunk plays into our offense.
Anyway, going back to the Kansas City game, man, it was great to see the
defense step up.
EJ is proving once again his worth as the defensive coordinator.
The young guys are stepping up.
Trevin Wallace has developed nicely.
(08:33):
It's great to see Amari Barno back.
DJ Wanham has made a heck of an impact since he's come back.
In fact, each of the last three games, we've had five sacks, four sacks, and four sacks.
I mean, in the beginning of the year, we couldn't get pressure on anybody.
So that is huge for us.
(08:53):
We also ended up turning Baker Mayfield over twice in the Bucks game, which is
great because we have been lacking in turnovers.
We're getting more pressure, but we need to turn the ball over more.
So one of my gripes in the Kansas City game, and I actually tweeted at Coach
Kanellis at halftime that literally in the first half, we only called three
(09:16):
running plays.
Now, Bryce Young had a couple of scrambles, but those aren't running plays.
And honestly, our offensive line is the best part of our offense and Chuba
Hubbard is the best skill position.
Player that we have.
So, and especially against high powered offenses like Kansas City, Tampa Bay,
(09:40):
Philadelphia, keeping those offenses on the sideline and controlling the clock
with a young and experienced team is vitally necessary.
Now, obviously we still came down to the wire in both the Kansas City and the
Tampa Bay game.
But if we run the ball, keep the clock running a bit more, tire out the
(10:03):
opposing defenses, maybe we don't have to work as hard at the end of the game to
score, or maybe we're already ahead in the fourth quarter instead of having to
come back to tie or take the lead.
Now in that Kansas City game, we only had 21 rushes.
I guess that would be a good start for us.
We only had 21 rushes, I guess that would be 18 minus Bryce's
(10:29):
scrambles and 35 passes.
In the Bucks game, it was even more lopsided.
The, uh, let me pull this up real quick.
Yeah.
We had 46 passes and 18 runs.
I mean, I love old school football.
(10:50):
I love ground and pound.
I love three yards in a cloud of dust.
I think physicality wins in every level of football.
And those are the best teams that we have had as a franchise.
And that's what I want to see.
And we have the personnel, we have the offensive line, we have
Chuba Hubbard pound the ball.
(11:10):
You know, it was great to see the evolution of that on the road in
Philadelphia, because we really needed it.
The awesome thing about that is we had terrific balance.
We had 34 rushes and 34 passes.
Now, some of those were Bryce scrambles, which he has become so much more
(11:33):
confident at and so much more decisive, not only in, excuse me, growing the
ball, but moving around inside and outside of the pocket to get whatever
yards he can or to toss the ball down the field.
It's wonderful to see that was part of the reason why we picked him was his
(11:54):
escape ability, his playmaking ability, and his clutch gene, which all three
seemed to go together for him in college.
And we didn't see that in the first year and a half of his career, but
now we're seeing it and it's fantastic to see, you know, he had that rushing
touchdown against Tampa Bay.
He had really key runs against Kansas City, the escapes that he made last
(12:17):
week against Philadelphia, especially on third and 11 in his own end zone to
escape three tackles that would have been safeties and then to launch the
ball 30 yards downfield to Lee get ultra impressive, ultra impressive.
So, and all of these, you know, come from behind situations that were in
(12:41):
obviously, I think it's funny that every time an announcer talks about
Bryce Young in the fourth quarter and his career and victories, every single
one of his victories has been a fourth quarter comeback because obviously
we're always behind right now.
But, you know, just the fact that he's been able to do that has been great.
(13:05):
I mean, you know, we tie the game with Kansas City with under two minutes to
go, obviously there was way too much time for my homes and he scrambles his
way to victory, which he does so often.
You know, what are you going to do about that?
It was great to see us.
You know, I really wanted that.
I was pissed off after we lost that game.
(13:26):
I really wanted it, but to see the improvement and to know that we are
gaining valuable experience because unfortunately to learn how to win,
sometimes you got to go through some heartbreak and we're going through
some heartbreak right now, but it's only going to serve us in the long term.
(13:48):
So it's fantastic to see the next game.
Obviously we come back and we score the go ahead touchdown under two minutes.
And then, you know, we let Tampa Bay tie the game up and man, we're
going to get the game up and man, I feel bad for Chuba, but you know, his OT
(14:10):
fumble cost us the game, you know, you don't want to say one play ever cost
you the game, but obviously if you turn the ball over in overtime, when you're
already in field goal range, and then the other team goes down and scores,
it's a, it's kind of hard to escape that reality.
So, but I mean, Chuba has obviously been the offensive MVP of this team.
(14:34):
And, you know, we're going to ride him till the wheels fall off, especially
now that Jonathan Brooks tour another ACL, which man, I feel bad about, you
know, it's like our, our first, you know, three of our first four picks, right?
Ligette, Trevin Wallace and Jutavian Sanders have all shown capability of
(14:58):
making big time plays.
They're all young.
And I think, especially in Ligette's case, he looks like he's hit the
rookie wall that people talk about.
He just looks tired out there.
He definitely did last game, especially in the second half when he had those
drops and then dropped the potential game winning touchdown.
(15:21):
He's going to be fine, but he's, he's going through his rookie struggles right now.
So I get it.
And then Trevin Wallace has stepped in for Shaq Thompson and made a bunch of
plays and gaining valuable experience at the linebacker position.
JT Sanders has made some big time plays.
It was great to see that that neck injury he has sustained against Tampa Bay.
(15:45):
Wasn't too bad.
It was good to see him back last week.
I think he's going to be a stud moving forward.
So that's wonderful to see.
And then obviously we got Jalen Coker, the free agent, wide receiver, who's
made some really nice plays.
Obviously he's been out for the last three, four weeks.
I believe he'll be back this Sunday.
(16:06):
So that should be really nice for Bryce and company.
But this rookie class has been solid.
Obviously nobody's going to be talked about as defensive or offensive
rookie of the year this year.
But they have shown solid potential to be playmakers as they progress
(16:27):
and learn and grow.
So that's wonderful to see.
And then of course, you know, I, I wasn't thrilled about us taking a running back
in the second round, you know, especially since I felt like we needed more wide
receiver help or offensive line help or defensive line help corner, whatever.
But, and he was the first running back in the draft taken and he was coming off
(16:52):
an ACL tear, so he wasn't even going to play the first half of the year.
So I was definitely interested to see what he looked like when he started
playing and he came back, excuse me, a few weeks ago and didn't get the many
touches at first, but then that Tampa Bay game came around and he got a few more
(17:14):
touches and you know, I love Chuba and I'm, part of me is glad that they extended
him because he is the type of runner that we want.
He is the type of locker room guy we want, but in a way, you know, we drafted
this young running back for what I thought was maybe to take his place next
(17:38):
year, maybe the year after, and, and it still could happen that way.
But then you signed Chuba as the number one, but seeing Brooks bust through
tackles and be able to be shifty and catch the ball naturally, you can just
tell that he has physical gifts that Chuba doesn't.
(18:00):
Chuba is a tough runner.
He is fast.
He is quick.
He is great at the one cut and dodging people in the backhand.
He is great at the one cut and dodging people in the backfield, but he's not,
he doesn't have the athleticism of the top backs as far as the shifty-ness,
(18:23):
the catching the ball capability.
You know, he's good at those things, but he's not great at them.
So to see Brooks come in there and man, he was impressive.
He was just in a half a dozen carries and a couple catches or something.
And so I saw immediately what they saw when they drafted this guy.
(18:44):
And it was impressive.
Now, unfortunately, he comes out last week and 13 months after he
tore his ACL, he tears the ACL in his other knee.
And, you know, was really looking forward to seeing him come into next year healthy
(19:05):
and see what the two of them could do in the backfield together.
Well, now he'll be out about the same amount of time as he was last year, right?
He'll come back second half, last third of the season and want to get worked back
in and probably not be a full, full go until the next year, which is unfortunate.
(19:32):
Man, I feel so bad for Brooks after going through a year plus of rehab to get back
on the field, you get to play in three games and then you got to do it all over again.
Oh man, rehab is such a long and excruciating process.
I, as a young athlete, had a rash of injuries from eighth to 11th grade that
(19:58):
basically derailed almost everything.
You know, it's like every time I got a little bit better and reached that next
plateau, I'd break something, I'd tear something, you know, and, and I never
really got to see my full potential because I couldn't stay healthy.
And, you know, we've seen that in the, with pro athletes too, Dan Morgan was
(20:19):
one of those TD, you know, until he finally got health later in his career.
But, uh, I mean, it happens.
So Jonathan, we're, we're, we're wishing the best for you.
Good luck with your rehab, man.
Keep, keep pounding.
I'm glad you got the support of a good organization and your teammates.
(20:41):
And we look forward to seeing you back on the field next year.
Anyway, last week, you know, we had that chance to win in Philadelphia.
And like I said, Lee get dropped the potential go ahead touchdown.
And then we couldn't convert, convert on our second fourth down of the drive
and ended up just running out of time.
So, but the really impressive thing about that is holding the Eagles
(21:07):
defense and being in the game on the road.
You know, so far, even in this season, when Bryce had, had come back
and Dalton was playing, we were definitely not nearly as competitive
on the road as we were at home.
And for us to take the Eagles down basically to the last 30 seconds of
(21:30):
the game on the road, an 11 and two team that had just been blowing people out
and, and, and really smacked Baltimore around in Baltimore, it's, it's a great
sign that means we're being physical.
That means we're bringing the heat every week and we got faith.
(21:52):
Now that's the thing.
When you see CJ shroud and you see Patrick Mahomes, you see all of these
big time quarterbacks, everybody on the team plays a big part in the team.
Everybody on the team plays harder.
How, when you've got the guy and you like, Oh, we got him.
(22:14):
We got a chance.
Don't take any plays off, you know, and you get players that make better
plays because they have hope.
They have motivation.
They have, they have a reason to say, Hey, we're going to win this game and
we're going to make it to the playoffs because we got this guy throwing us the
(22:35):
ball.
So that is wonderful to see.
And I believe even more so as Bryce can hopefully continue to progress and grow
as a player that we're going to see more and more and more of that.
And hopefully next year we're going to have obviously these young guys with
(22:56):
more experience around him, but with a lot of money and free agency.
And probably some decent draft picks.
We're going to be able to help him out with some better skill position players.
And hopefully, you know, our offensive line will still be in solid shape.
Like it has been all year.
Awesome.
Hey, great to catch up on all of that.
(23:19):
Now let's look to this week and the Dallas Cowboys, we got Jerry world
coming into town.
It's great to be back at the bank.
Like I said, this is the first time we've been favored in maybe over two
seasons in a game.
It definitely helps that, uh, excuse me.
Dallas has their backup quarterback playing, but they still present a lot of
(23:43):
problems.
They've got some really good skill position players on both sides of the
ball.
CD lamb is a top five NFL wide receiver and we've, we've had problems in the
secondary all year with communication and losing guys and whatnot.
And we're going to have to make sure that we got sticky coverage, especially
(24:06):
on lamb number 88.
Now going back to over there, defensive side of the ball, Mike Parsons is the
guy you got to watch out for.
Obviously we're going to have to give whoever some help, whether it be
Ick or Timo on the outside.
The great thing about our backs this year, especially Chuba, as he has
(24:28):
stoned so many blitzes and done so well in past protection that, you know, I'm
pretty confident that we can find a way to manage Mike Parsons and, and I
think of Parsons and Bryce has, like I said, been doing so much better moving
(24:49):
inside and outside of the pocket decisively and evading pressure that.
It just have a whole lot more faith in him.
And let's also be honest.
He threw an interception this last week.
He overthrew Adam Thielen.
It was a bad pass and it got picked off, but that was the first interception
(25:09):
he'd had in five games since he'd been back.
The only other one he threw was another sideline ball to Lee get.
If you guys remember that, you know, he dropped it in the bucket,
Lee get catches the ball.
And then all of a sudden the DB just swipes at it and takes it away.
And, and in my mind, that's a fumble.
Like he caught the ball and then the dude took it away.
(25:32):
It's not an interception.
Let's be honest.
So Bryce has been making so many great decisions, whether he's throwing
the ball or running the ball, it, it's come to the point where I don't expect
him to throw an interception now, you know, obviously he will.
And I should be prepared for that, but it's been great to see.
(25:56):
So, uh, you know, what are the keys for this game?
Again, that's the same as they've always been.
We want to be balanced on offense.
We want to run the ball.
Chubas our best offensive skill position player, feed him, let the
offensive line do their thing, lean on the Cowboys and hopefully in the
second half, they can really wear down.
(26:17):
And we can hopefully take a lead into the fourth quarter instead of having
to come from behind and take it back.
You know, we'll see.
It's great to be back at home.
It'll be a fun one.
It's on local TV for me, which is awesome.
You know, it's better than having to watch it on my laptop, but.
Hey, great to be back.
(26:39):
Keep pounding.
I can't wait to watch the game this weekend.
Yeah, we're going to bring home the victory.
2720 Panthers win.
Let's go get them.
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