December 11, 2024 • 28 mins
Get a front-row seat to Carolina Panthers football with Sideline Pass! This week Kristen and Sharon recap the Panthers' Week 14 loss to the Eagles, preview this weeks matchup with the Cowboys, and speak with Cade Mays about playing different positions along the offensive line and so much more!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Jeers, Kristen Balboni, and Sharon Thorsland with your Sideline Pass.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Everyone.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Welcome to Sideline Pass with your sideline reporter Sharon and Kristen. Sharon,
how we feeling today?
Speaker 4 (00:17):
Very very good. It was a tough loss over the weekend,
but I'm really excited about the way this team played
and was able to hang with one of the best
teams in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Yes, I completely agree.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
So you were there, obviously, with it being a road game,
I was watching and listening at home and my husband
and I, you know, my husband's been a Panthers fan
since the start of the franchise, and I certainly have
since I would say high school, And so we were talking,
you know, we talked about it from a fan perspective,
not just from me being an employee. And three heartbreakers,
(00:49):
there's no doubt about that. But I agree with you.
It is exciting to see this come together and to
see these these three games against three very good teams.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Sharon.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I think at the start of the year this stretch
looked like a gauntlet, you know, right after the bye,
and while the results haven't showed it, I have to
imagine that other Panthers fans and people in the building,
and this team feels the way we do, which is, hey,
we're one step away, right.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Absolutely. I think they definitely feel that way that the players,
obviously and the coaches are you know, wishing that they
could have had a couple of ws to show for it,
and they always say no moral victories, but you know,
they're trending in the right direction. Toobohabb was saying, we're
just you know, we're just about their offensive. We were
just starting to click. Things are starting to come together.
We're showing what we're capable of, and they just have
(01:38):
to be able to put it all together. Yeah, to
I think every week it's like the Chiefs gamer r.
I thought it was a backbreaker with that late kick.
You feel like you should have won that Bucks game,
you had that one in the bag. And then you
certainly feel like at the end there, I mean, I
was watching this unfold and I was like, oh my gosh,
we're gonna win this game, you know, when they get
comes down with that ball and I'm like, oh my gosh,
it's a catch.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
We win.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
But then of course it was not okay. But it's
like you feel like those are games not only did
you hang with them and you had them, you had
them won. You should have won those games, really, and
so it's really exciting to see the direction this team
is going there, just trending up. And that's still with
some key injuries that they're still dealing with to this team.
So you imagine this team, you know, with Derek Brown
in the middle of that defensive line, you know, with
(02:19):
Shack Thompson back out there, with guys out there that
are injured right now that can make such a huge
impact on this team too. So you got to got
to be real excited about the way this team is trending.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I agree, and you know, I think you could look
at this one of two ways with these close losses
is that there's not a unit that is failing to
get it done right. Everyone is playing overall, the offense,
the defense, special teams for the most part, are are
really have become consistent and have really managed to accomplish
(02:50):
some things. It's just been these little things that of
course you want to clean up. But well I shouldn't
say little things because because they're you know, deciding games.
But there's you know, Chuba Hubber doesn't normally fumble the ball.
Eddie Piniro doesn't normally miskicks. Your in deference has has
shown up. But even though they've they've failed to stop
some some late game drives by the opposing team and
(03:13):
Xavier League, He's going to get there, Sharon. You know,
I know there was a lot of frustration both from
him and from the fans about this drop. But I mean,
he's to my eye and tell me what you think
about this. He's a first round pick for a reason.
He the reason we know Dolla Bill his horse is
because he was scoring touchdowns at the beginning of the season.
(03:34):
You know, we do the games with Jake Delome. Of course,
you know Panther's legend, and he has talked about the
fact that he catches passes with his chest.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Not always. You know, that's something he noticed very early on.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Not always with those hands, although we've seen some great
hands catches from him too, and that is something that
you know, talking to Thomas Davis, that is something that
can be learned with time and repetitions. And you know,
TD said, look, he just needs to spend more time
on the jugs machine, not only just catching these balls,
but also having people in his face, you know, doing
all those things that he knows, he knows what to do,
(04:07):
and talking with Dave Canalis yesterday, he said, look, he's
got to make that catch and he knows that and
he's down about it. He's really taken this one to
heart and he cares. And so that's my perspective on everything.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
No, I agree with you. These are and that's a
catch that I mean, it was there. You know, it
was right there in his chest and that's a catch
that you got to make, and it was it would
have been clearly a game changing catch. So yeah, nobody
feels worse about it than we get obviously. I mean,
he's the one that made the mistake and wanted to
have it fixed, and you know, but everybody head his
back and like they always do, those guys rally together,
(04:42):
they know. I mean, he's a rookie, he's still learning.
Like you said, he's going to have to make some
adjustments and maybe how he catches the ball and fix
that because this is the NFL, not the SEC. It's
a it's a totally different ballgame. So and I'm sure
that you're going to see him doing just that. He's
going to get out there, he's going to work even harder.
And he's been doing great things all season long. He's
a big, huge, tough receiver who goes up and gets
(05:04):
the football, and you know, he's a guy that they're
gonna he's gonna play an integral part of this offense
for years to come. So that was a crucial mistake.
It was a tough one, but he's gonna learn from
it and he's gonna move on and I bet he'll
make that next one.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
And speaking of that play, you know, our producers will
task us for the TV show. They'll say, like, let
us know your favorite play, right or what play do
you want to talk about with coach Canalis? And you know,
I wanted to pick up Bryce's play because of the
way he's playing. And I said, good, guys, I think
that the best play. You know, the one that I
(05:37):
thought was the most impressive was that throw to Xavier
Legette at the end of the game, and I just,
you know, do we talk about that one because it
wasn't a catch. And so we get into the studio
and I asked Dave Canalis, I say, okay, what was
the play? You know, Bryce is getting more comfortable in
the system, that is what you say, it's all kind
of coming together. What was the play that you thought
(05:57):
was the best example of Bryce Bryce, and also, you know,
it's showing up in your system and what you want
to do. And he said, Sharon, you can guess which
play he said. He said, I thought it was that
throw to Xavier Lega. He said, that's the he said,
that is Unfortunately it wasn't a catch, but that is
the play that we are going to point to you
as the textbook for Bryce and this system.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And so you know, as you said, double edged Sword, there.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Is that we're seeing Bryce just really shine and make
some incredible, incredible plays and show those you know, show
what he's capable of. But you know, sometimes we just
all got to get on the same page. Well, well,
what did he look like in person?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
To you?
Speaker 4 (06:39):
He looked great, And that's it's every single week he's
just looks better and better and better. You know, they
were going against a phenomenal, phenomenal Eagles defense and I was,
you know, I was really curious, and I was like, how
is he going to handle this kind of pressure because
that's what they're known for and they've just been outstanding
all season. But he just looks so confident. That's the
thing that really sticks out to me. On the field,
(07:01):
but also on the sidelines. I mean, he's just confident,
and you know he's he's gotten more vocal on the sidelines.
He goes up and down and talks to the guys
more and even uses a little more choice language than
maybe he has in the past. Yeah, I've heard a
little bit of it too, so much is sort of
funny because he never used to do that. So he's
just getting more so a little more edgy, you know,
which I think is great. So he's getting a little
(07:22):
more he just seems to be in control. And as
the more and the more plays he makes, the better
he does out there, the more it's helping his confidence,
and the more confident he is, the better he plays.
Because he's just going out there and making plays. He's
not worried about, oh my gosh, am I gonna do
this right? Or you know, I got to do this
to make this happen. He's he's reacting instead of thinking
(07:43):
so much. He's just going out there reacting, which you
saw on some of those plays where he's just creating
something out of nothing when the coverage is broken down
or he can't get an open guy and he's just
making something happen, which has been really fun to see
the past couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
It sure has it sure has its great.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Like you said, confidence breeds confidence, and it breeds you know,
more confident play. So that's great.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Now we do need to talk about a very sad
turn of events with Jonathan Brooks.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yes, I know, I know, and you know you certainly
were there. And when you see those those non contact injuries,
you see a guy cutting, it's tough because and Sharon,
you've talked about this. You know your daughter has dealt
with two ACL tears and has been in this rehab process.
Is still just you know, a little bit away right
(08:31):
a few weeks if you.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Are an about a month and a half, about a
month and a half away. February eighth. February eighth is
d Day.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
That's my birthday. So hopefully that's a great day for her.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Yes, we get cleared to a hopefully we're both celebrating.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
I just know that she will.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
But you know, we just a couple of weeks ago
we were talking about him coming back and you were
sharing your perspective on what it's like you know that
rehab that your daughter has been doing and the fact
that it you know, it takes year or fourteen months,
like you said. And so now we're having that conversation again,
and I talked to TD about it yesterday. He's famously
(09:09):
the first player to have three torn acls and to
come back and play and play at a high level.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
And so I think that I know that it.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Has given guys in the league confidence before when they've
had these multiple ACL tears, that hey, it's a long road,
but it is possible.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
You know, your career is far from done.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
And if you can just get through this and attack
this rehab the same way that you would attack playing.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
That's how you get to the NFL.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Is that consistency battling through hard things. And of course
it's easier said than done. But I think we know
that Jonathan Brooks can do it. And you know, TD
told me that I've already reached out to him. He's
in good spirits and that I told him I'll be there.
You know, if it's eleven o'clock in the morning, it's
eleven o'clock at night, call me. I'm here, and I'm
here to you know, be your biggest cheerleader. I'm here
(09:59):
to be your mentor. And then talking with Dave Kanalis,
you know, we had a really good conversation with me
and him and TD and Sharon.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
I think I'm okay. In seeing this.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
He got a little emotional and you could just tell
how much he cares about these players beyond just of
course how they do on the field, but just you know,
you feel for the young kid, and you know, I'm
wondering what it was like to be there for you.
And then also to kind of hear all of this
(10:30):
as the information has rolled out.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Yeah, it's as soon as it happened, Like he said,
I was like, oh no, please. At first, I was hoping, oh,
maybe it's just a meniscus, you know, because I didn't
like Austin Corport did that last year coming off the
AC and then tour the meniscus when he came back,
So I was hoping that it was nothing major. But
then when he was in the injury tent for a
long time and then they brought the card out and
I was like, oh jeez. And when he got in
(10:53):
the cart, he did not get on the back like
they would normally get on the back. You know, with
the platform and have their legs stuck out in a
trainer next to him or a doctor next to him.
He got in the front seat, you know, with his
just walking almost normally, and got in the front seat
and just sat there with his head hanging down, and
then I knew it. Then I was like, oh no,
he's torn it again. And so I was like, oh no,
it's just such a sucker punch. And I clearly I'm
(11:14):
not an NFL football player and my daughter is just
a high school soccer player. But the first time is horrible.
The second time it is just like the world has
just come to a stop. That the second time was
so awful because you know what you just went through
the first time, and it's like, oh my gosh, I
cannot believe this has happened to me again. So I'm
sure the initial reaction was, you know, something like that.
(11:36):
It's just brutal. It's just brutal to have to go
through that twice, and especially with the same leg. My
daughter was a different leg and a different sport tour
it in basketball the second time. But it's just so
devastating and people just don't realize it because you think, okay,
you're injured. Oh you got a hamstring and you're at
for a few weeks. It's a year. I mean it's
a full year. It's so hard. But like you said,
(11:58):
the good thing is he's young. He's at the very
beginning of his career. This is not high school or
college where you only have a certain amount of time
to get something done. He's got a long career ahead
of him. And you look at Thomas Davis. He played
seven years after that third torn ACL that's huge to
come back in and if I'm playing at an extremely
high level. You know, went to a Super Bowl. I mean,
he was amazing coming back from that. So we are
(12:20):
so lucky as within this Panthers organization to have Thomas
Davis be here, to be so involved and to be
able to be that guy for Jonathan Brooks to look
to him and say, all right, he's done it, I
can do it. And then to be able to have
him in house where Jonathan can reach out to him
at any point and you know he can hold his
hand and get him through this rehab because the first
six weeks are tough, that's the toughest, and then things
(12:42):
start to improve. So I'm just I'm so thankful that
Jonathan has a guy like Thomas Davis who has walked
in his shoes who can be there to help him.
And he'll be back out there before too long. He'll
be looking back at it and be like, oh my gosh,
that was brutal. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
And I think he's going to come back even stronger
when he's back out on the field.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
And the last thing I'll say about this is that,
you know, when you're talking about Thomas, it reminded me.
You know, Thomas is part of that story is that
he went to mister Richardson as everyone called him at
the time, and you know, he said, if my memory
(13:21):
serves correctly, you know, we want you to come back,
and you have this position. Now you've got to work
your way back right and you have this position if
and when you're able to come back. And yesterday Dave
Canel's I said, what did you tell Jonathan? And he said, look,
he said, I sat him down and said, we're going
(13:41):
to be here for you and when you are ready, you.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Have a spot.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
And as tough as this is, that just takes one
thing off your plate.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Sharon Oh heck.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Yeah. I mean that's huge because I mean not every
organization would do that. You know, some of them might say,
you know, injury and wave you you know, so yeah,
to have an organization stand behind you'd have a coach
be there for you and say, worried about you as
a person, we want to be able to have you
come back. We want to give you an opportunity to
be back on this football field, be a part of
this team. I'm sure that just means the world to
(14:11):
Jonathan and his family. I mean, so that that's huge
that that that coach Canal was and this organization was
able to say that for him and give him the
opportunity to come back if and when he is ready
to go, which I'm sure he will be, probably not
next year, but by twenty twenty six he'll be out
there again, I'm sure, and be at full strength and
be ready to roll.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Yeah. Absolutely. So let's talk about the Cowboys. So, Sharon,
they are favored. The Panthers are favored in this game
for the first time in a while, you know that.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
And so that's you know, they've been playing the plucky
underdog and now there are I think their expectation favored
or not. Their expectations on this team. As we said,
they want to win and this Cowboys team is hurting
right now.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Yeah, they've very similar to this Panthers team in the
amount of injuries that they've had. I mean, clearly they
have a more high profile. One of the fact that
their starting quarterback is act Dat Prescott went out in
Week nine, but they were having issues before he got injured.
So they've only got five wins on the season, which
is you know, after being twelve and five last year
in the regular season, you expected certainly bigger things. But
they've had some key, key injuries. Dexter Lawrence, you know,
(15:17):
they're big guy up front defensive line. He's out, Michael
Parsons was out for a while. Trevon Diggs, they're a
star cornerback, just came back last week. Brandon Cooks, one
of their receivers, was out for seven weeks. So they've
had a ton of guys out and they just had
a guy too, oh, one of their line backers. Yes, Oh,
horrible knee injury. He had the ACL and a PCL
and mcld go along with it. He's going to be
a two year project too, So brutal injuries. So they're
(15:40):
in this similar situation where they've had key injuries to
guys that are very impactful players for them. So they
have not played up to Dallas's expectations, that's for sure,
and all those Cowboys fans out there that were expecting
great things. And they're only twentieth in the league in
total offense, twenty first in points. I mean, they just
can't get a whole lot done there running and they're
(16:00):
rushing attacks only twenty eighth in the league. They're only
averaging ninety one yards a game on the ground. When
you've got Ezekiel Elling on the team, you'd think that
they would be a lot better running the ball than that.
He's not even the starter jout ale is, So they're
having some struggles on offense, and then with all those
injuries they have on defense, they're thirty first in the
league in points slide. They're giving up over twenty eight
points a game. So there's plenty of opportunity for this
(16:22):
Panthers team to go out there and make some noise
on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
But as you know, they had that weird ending to
the game on Monday night.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Right, it was Monday night nine.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
And as you said, this Cowboys team was twelve and
five last year, so they're going to come in with
some motivation, and certainly the Panthers have plenty of motivation,
but you know, they know those numbers. So it'll be
interesting to see how it all plays out at Bank
of America Stadium, I tell you what. And you were
there at the last home game, then you're there obviously
(16:56):
at all the games, but that place is rocking. You know,
it's I'm excited to see it on Sunday because the
last few home games, with the way this team is playing,
wins are not that fan base is. Our fan base
is really digging what they're seeing, and you know, we're
in these close games. Sharing at the fifty last home game,
(17:18):
there was a guy in a.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Horse head and a shirt that said.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Dolla Bill right, and you're hearing when there's false starts
on the opposing team, you're hearing you can't do that.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
You know, we're seeing some stuff. These fans are really engaged.
We're hearing them on third down.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
And not to say that we weren't before, but there
is an energy, you know, the energy from this team
and being in these close games and showing these these
really positive improvements has energized this crowd, which, as we know,
energizes this team. So I'm excited to get back out there.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
Absolutely, it was so much fun that last game. It
was so much fun against Tampa Bay. So I'm sure
they're going to carry that over to this game, especially
because we all know how the Cowboys fans travel, and
I'm sure that these Panthers fans do not want a
bunch of Cowboys fans coming in there and trying to
ruin their party. So I think that you're going to
see a really loud fan base. I think people are
going to show up early. I think they're going to
be loud, and they're going to do all they can
(18:13):
to try to get this team over the hump and
come away with the W this time. So and that
makes a big difference. I mean, the guys, they can
feel it, they feel that energy, and you know, needless
to say, the noise certainly helps when you're out there
on defense and trying to rattle the other team's offense.
But I think they feel that energy and they feel
that support, and it makes a difference to them and
they notice it, and I think that's really cool. So
I'm sure it's going to be that same type of
(18:36):
atmosphere here on Sunday. It's going to be.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Fun, completely agree. I am really looking forward to this game.
And Sharon, this is great as always. Like I said,
it's so nice for us to catch up in trade
notes and then we get to have microphones, you know,
we get to.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Call it work, so exactly, this is awesome.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
I always, you know, I always get a lot out
of these conversations.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
And thank you so much as always.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Thanks a lot, Kristin.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Okay, now we are joined by Caid May's kid. Thank
you so much. It's good to see you.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Thank you for having me likewise.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Okay, so maybe the most important question I will ask
On your Wikipedia page, it shows your middle name, which
is awesome. Is there any truth to the fact that
your middle name is Montgomery?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
It is it is?
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Where does that? Where does that come from?
Speaker 2 (19:23):
I don't really know, so I've never really asked my
mom this. I mean, obviously would makes sense, like out
the like city in Alabama, so my family's originally from Alabama,
so it makes sense. But I've never really asked her.
Maybe when we get out of here, I'll call her
and ask her.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
Yeah, should that's funny that you.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
I've always loved my middle name, like no one's no
one's really ever known it, but like I've always loved it.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
It is awesome. Have you ever thought about going by Montgomery?
Speaker 2 (19:52):
No, it's just too long that it doesn't roll off
the tongue as well as my first name. So it's
a little too long.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
And it's a little too late, right like you, Yeah,
like you've already established your career.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
You can't just be like, hey, by the way, yeah,
guys call me Montgomery.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Also, like you said, nobody knows it, how does it
even get on Wikipedia?
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I'm not sure. That's another great question?
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Is is it wild to think that, like someone is
editing your Wikipedia page.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
I'm not trying to freak you out.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
It just says like you're playing career and all that,
but like someone is in there being like, no, his
mom name's Montgomery.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yeah, I mean the Internet and stuff, you know, no telling, Yeah,
it probably is my mom. I'm just kidding.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
She's proud. She's proud.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Okay, I want you to take us to offensive line
school right now, so you famously Panthers fan certainly knows
that you can play any position. That's something that you
came into the Panthers with. Did that's did you do
that in high school first of all, or did it
become a thing in college?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
I did it a little bit in high school. I
mostly just played left and right tackle, and then I
got to college and started playing all five and kind
of my rookie year is kind of my role was
to be the sixth man, and then or freshman year,
I was the sixth man and then kind of got
just put in different spots and so that's where I
kind of ended up hanging my hat early in my career.
And then obviously when I got to the NFL, fell
(21:20):
back on that. And you know, position flexibility is huge
in the league.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
What's the biggest jump from college doing that in college
to doing that in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
I would just say, you know, you got to focus
that much more on your technique. Obviously, everybody in the
NFL is, you know, the top of college football, so
the dudes you're playing against in the league are a
little different than college. So you just got to hone
in and focus on your techniques a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Okay, I want to go through each position, and I
want you to give me one word to describe it. Okay,
So we're gonna start from from left to right. Left
tackle hard.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
That makes sense, That makes sense. A lot of responsibility there.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
A lot of responsibility, especially for me. Left tackles like
my hardest posician to play. So you know, some people
that it might come easy, but for me, that was
always my hardest position.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
It makes total sense to me. All right, left guard.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Powerful like both of the both the guard positions. You
gotta play big, you gotta play powerful. You got to
be strong obviously maintained in the middle of the pocket
and stuff.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Yeah, okay, center where you are right now.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Brains, gotta be smart, got to get everybody, got to
communicate everybody, get everybody on the same page, and uh,
you know, make the ship sail.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Yeah, hey, look tune your own horn there. And I
like it. I like it. You're like, hey, look I'm smart.
Look what I can do.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Yeah, I want to go back to that because Austin
Corbett told me very similar things. So we're going to
go back to there. But right now, let's get to
right guard. And you can't say powerful natural.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
That was like my my natural position. I feel natural
at a right guard. It was, you know, where I've
probably taken the majority of my snaps in my career,
like college and NFL, so I always just felt natural there.
So yeah, that's the first word that comes to mind.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
Do you miss it?
Speaker 2 (23:20):
No, I don't, I don't. I love, I love playing center.
I just said natural because that's where, you know, I
where most coaches have put me, so like, that's where
I guess they saw I was more natural a right
guard on the right side of the line, so kind
of just where I played the majority of my ball.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Okay, right tackle.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Two words. Senior year, my senior year of college, I
was slated to be the starting right guard and the
second first or second day of camp or right tackle.
Tears is bicep out for the year, and we didn't
really have a plan for a backup tackle. So my
coach basically said, hey, we don't really have anybody else
(24:00):
they can play right tackle. Can you do it? So
I ended up playing right tackle my senior year of
college and enjoyed it. You know, it was a it
was a huge challenge, just you know, training my whole
summer to play guard and then having to move out,
you know, and learn right tackle. And you know, obviously
playing in the SEC, it was a tall task, but
it was a great challenge for me. I feel like
(24:21):
I'm matured a lot that year, understood the game more
that year, and uh, I feel like it really was
a good jump start to my NFL career.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Is it ever like a job interview where your coach
is like, hey, can you play right tackle? And you're like, yeah,
for sure, for sure, like I've done that before, and
then like maybe you haven't, and so you're like, I
gotta I gotta cram for this.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Yeah, I mean, I mean he basically asked me, will
you play right tackle? But we both knew that I
didn't really have a choice, Like, yeah, it was what
it was. But he did a great job, you know,
being patient with me and me being patient with him
and us kind of you know, learning together how to
attack that thing and just figure it out and stack
(25:01):
a week on top of another week and ended up
playing really good.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
So so I want to talk to you about center.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
I asked Austin Corbett at the beginning of the year
before he was injured.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
I was like, what's your favorite position to play?
Speaker 1 (25:13):
So obviously he's moved around to guard to center, and
he was like, no, no, no, I love center.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
He was like, I like having control.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
He was like, my wife can tell you that I
like to have control, and therefore, like that is my
my position. And he's very you know, he's very cerebral too.
So do you feel that way about the control as well?
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Is it more of a.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Well, I imagine it's more of a mental challenge, just
based on all the stuff that you're doing out there.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yeah. Absolutely. I mean you're just like the balls in
your hand. You've got to get the play started, you know, mentally, physically,
like you got to get everybody on the same page.
Everybody's got to understand the way you communicate, you know,
and obviously you got to get the ball in the
quarterback's hands and get the play started. So I really
like that. I never played too much center. I played
(25:59):
it in college little bit sparingly, but when I got
to the NFL, when I got here, started playing it
a lot and really enjoyed it. My little brother is
a center, so we get to bond over that and
uh and kind of you know, bounce bounce ideas off
of each other and you know, just talk ball since
we're both snapping snapping up.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
I was gonna say, Cooper, right yes on your Wikipedia
page too. When I found out about Montgomery, he I
was going to ask, like, are you calling him for
advice or are you guys like chopping it up about
the center position.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Not really advice. We just kind of just kind of
bounce things back and forth. But shout out to Cooper.
He's a finalist for the Remmington this year, so huge
shout out to him. Super proud of him and his
growth and the way he played this year.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
And of course you're the older brother, You're like, no, no, no,
not really advice, right, Like, I'm not asking my younger
brother for advice, Like I'm just picking his brain about
sm definitely, and then tell me about like the chemistry
with Bryce.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
It seems like it's great, it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Bryce is you know, he's just he's a great guy
to behind you, a great guy to have the locker
room and uh, you know, just it's been awesome this
year to see him grow and seize the opportunity that
he's had. And you know, he's been smiling a lot
more around the locker room and it's just been you
know that Bryce is you know, just a great guy
(27:17):
to have around and super proud of them.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
And then lastly, I just want to talk about the
chemistry with this O line. So, so you have been
here with the Panthers in previous seasons and last year
especially like the team is just decimated or the O
line is just decimated by injuries.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
And which is incredibly hard.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
But but this year, you know, there have also been
some some injuries and guys not being able to play.
And of course we talked about Austin Corbett, we saw
Brady Christensen at center. So why has this unit, I mean,
just an incredible strength.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
For this team, no pun intended.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
I know you guys are all very strong, but why
has the chemistry been there? It just feels like there
was there was never a beat missed.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
That's you know, that's a great question. I feel like
we just we just all clicked and you know, we
all understand what we're trying to do, trying to get done,
and we just play well together, like we've all got
the same mindset and we just we play well together.
We play as one, we play as the unit, and
you know, just try to protect the guys with.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
The ball, all right, Caid Montgomery mays, thank you so
much for the time.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
I appreciate it. This was great.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
All Right, that is going to do it for this
edition of Sideline Pass. We will see you after the
Cowboys game next Wednesday.
Wow.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Jeers, Kristen Balboni, and Sharon Thorsland with your Sideline Pass.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Everyone.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Welcome to Sideline Pass with your sideline reporter Sharon and Kristen. Sharon,
how we feeling today?
Speaker 4 (00:17):
Very very good. It was a tough loss over the weekend,
but I'm really excited about the way this team played
and was able to hang with one of the best
teams in the NFL.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Yes, I completely agree.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
So you were there, obviously, with it being a road game,
I was watching and listening at home and my husband
and I, you know, my husband's been a Panthers fan
since the start of the franchise, and I certainly have
since I would say high school, And so we were talking,
you know, we talked about it from a fan perspective,
not just from me being an employee. And three heartbreakers,
(00:49):
there's no doubt about that. But I agree with you.
It is exciting to see this come together and to
see these these three games against three very good teams.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Sharon.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
I think at the start of the year this stretch
looked like a gauntlet, you know, right after the bye,
and while the results haven't showed it, I have to
imagine that other Panthers fans and people in the building,
and this team feels the way we do, which is, hey,
we're one step away, right.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Absolutely. I think they definitely feel that way that the players,
obviously and the coaches are you know, wishing that they
could have had a couple of ws to show for it,
and they always say no moral victories, but you know,
they're trending in the right direction. Toobohabb was saying, we're
just you know, we're just about their offensive. We were
just starting to click. Things are starting to come together.
We're showing what we're capable of, and they just have
(01:38):
to be able to put it all together. Yeah, to
I think every week it's like the Chiefs gamer r.
I thought it was a backbreaker with that late kick.
You feel like you should have won that Bucks game,
you had that one in the bag. And then you
certainly feel like at the end there, I mean, I
was watching this unfold and I was like, oh my gosh,
we're gonna win this game, you know, when they get
comes down with that ball and I'm like, oh my gosh,
it's a catch.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
We win.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
But then of course it was not okay. But it's
like you feel like those are games not only did
you hang with them and you had them, you had
them won. You should have won those games, really, and
so it's really exciting to see the direction this team
is going there, just trending up. And that's still with
some key injuries that they're still dealing with to this team.
So you imagine this team, you know, with Derek Brown
in the middle of that defensive line, you know, with
(02:19):
Shack Thompson back out there, with guys out there that
are injured right now that can make such a huge
impact on this team too. So you got to got
to be real excited about the way this team is trending.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I agree, and you know, I think you could look
at this one of two ways with these close losses
is that there's not a unit that is failing to
get it done right. Everyone is playing overall, the offense,
the defense, special teams for the most part, are are
really have become consistent and have really managed to accomplish
(02:50):
some things. It's just been these little things that of
course you want to clean up. But well I shouldn't
say little things because because they're you know, deciding games.
But there's you know, Chuba Hubber doesn't normally fumble the ball.
Eddie Piniro doesn't normally miskicks. Your in deference has has
shown up. But even though they've they've failed to stop
some some late game drives by the opposing team and
(03:13):
Xavier League, He's going to get there, Sharon. You know,
I know there was a lot of frustration both from
him and from the fans about this drop. But I mean,
he's to my eye and tell me what you think
about this. He's a first round pick for a reason.
He the reason we know Dolla Bill his horse is
because he was scoring touchdowns at the beginning of the season.
(03:34):
You know, we do the games with Jake Delome. Of course,
you know Panther's legend, and he has talked about the
fact that he catches passes with his chest.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Not always. You know, that's something he noticed very early on.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Not always with those hands, although we've seen some great
hands catches from him too, and that is something that
you know, talking to Thomas Davis, that is something that
can be learned with time and repetitions. And you know,
TD said, look, he just needs to spend more time
on the jugs machine, not only just catching these balls,
but also having people in his face, you know, doing
all those things that he knows, he knows what to do,
(04:07):
and talking with Dave Canalis yesterday, he said, look, he's
got to make that catch and he knows that and
he's down about it. He's really taken this one to
heart and he cares. And so that's my perspective on everything.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
No, I agree with you. These are and that's a
catch that I mean, it was there. You know, it
was right there in his chest and that's a catch
that you got to make, and it was it would
have been clearly a game changing catch. So yeah, nobody
feels worse about it than we get obviously. I mean,
he's the one that made the mistake and wanted to
have it fixed, and you know, but everybody head his
back and like they always do, those guys rally together,
(04:42):
they know. I mean, he's a rookie, he's still learning.
Like you said, he's going to have to make some
adjustments and maybe how he catches the ball and fix
that because this is the NFL, not the SEC. It's
a it's a totally different ballgame. So and I'm sure
that you're going to see him doing just that. He's
going to get out there, he's going to work even harder.
And he's been doing great things all season long. He's
a big, huge, tough receiver who goes up and gets
(05:04):
the football, and you know, he's a guy that they're
gonna he's gonna play an integral part of this offense
for years to come. So that was a crucial mistake.
It was a tough one, but he's gonna learn from
it and he's gonna move on and I bet he'll
make that next one.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
And speaking of that play, you know, our producers will
task us for the TV show. They'll say, like, let
us know your favorite play, right or what play do
you want to talk about with coach Canalis? And you know,
I wanted to pick up Bryce's play because of the
way he's playing. And I said, good, guys, I think
that the best play. You know, the one that I
(05:37):
thought was the most impressive was that throw to Xavier
Legette at the end of the game, and I just,
you know, do we talk about that one because it
wasn't a catch. And so we get into the studio
and I asked Dave Canalis, I say, okay, what was
the play? You know, Bryce is getting more comfortable in
the system, that is what you say, it's all kind
of coming together. What was the play that you thought
(05:57):
was the best example of Bryce Bryce, and also, you know,
it's showing up in your system and what you want
to do. And he said, Sharon, you can guess which
play he said. He said, I thought it was that
throw to Xavier Lega. He said, that's the he said,
that is Unfortunately it wasn't a catch, but that is
the play that we are going to point to you
as the textbook for Bryce and this system.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
And so you know, as you said, double edged Sword, there.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Is that we're seeing Bryce just really shine and make
some incredible, incredible plays and show those you know, show
what he's capable of. But you know, sometimes we just
all got to get on the same page. Well, well,
what did he look like in person?
Speaker 2 (06:39):
To you?
Speaker 4 (06:39):
He looked great, And that's it's every single week he's
just looks better and better and better. You know, they
were going against a phenomenal, phenomenal Eagles defense and I was,
you know, I was really curious, and I was like, how
is he going to handle this kind of pressure because
that's what they're known for and they've just been outstanding
all season. But he just looks so confident. That's the
thing that really sticks out to me. On the field,
(07:01):
but also on the sidelines. I mean, he's just confident,
and you know he's he's gotten more vocal on the sidelines.
He goes up and down and talks to the guys
more and even uses a little more choice language than
maybe he has in the past. Yeah, I've heard a
little bit of it too, so much is sort of
funny because he never used to do that. So he's
just getting more so a little more edgy, you know,
which I think is great. So he's getting a little
(07:22):
more he just seems to be in control. And as
the more and the more plays he makes, the better
he does out there, the more it's helping his confidence,
and the more confident he is, the better he plays.
Because he's just going out there and making plays. He's
not worried about, oh my gosh, am I gonna do
this right? Or you know, I got to do this
to make this happen. He's he's reacting instead of thinking
(07:43):
so much. He's just going out there reacting, which you
saw on some of those plays where he's just creating
something out of nothing when the coverage is broken down
or he can't get an open guy and he's just
making something happen, which has been really fun to see
the past couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
It sure has it sure has its great.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Like you said, confidence breeds confidence, and it breeds you know,
more confident play. So that's great.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Now we do need to talk about a very sad
turn of events with Jonathan Brooks.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yes, I know, I know, and you know you certainly
were there. And when you see those those non contact injuries,
you see a guy cutting, it's tough because and Sharon,
you've talked about this. You know your daughter has dealt
with two ACL tears and has been in this rehab process.
Is still just you know, a little bit away right
(08:31):
a few weeks if you.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Are an about a month and a half, about a
month and a half away. February eighth. February eighth is
d Day.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
That's my birthday. So hopefully that's a great day for her.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
Yes, we get cleared to a hopefully we're both celebrating.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
I just know that she will.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
But you know, we just a couple of weeks ago
we were talking about him coming back and you were
sharing your perspective on what it's like you know that
rehab that your daughter has been doing and the fact
that it you know, it takes year or fourteen months,
like you said. And so now we're having that conversation again,
and I talked to TD about it yesterday. He's famously
(09:09):
the first player to have three torn acls and to
come back and play and play at a high level.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
And so I think that I know that it.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Has given guys in the league confidence before when they've
had these multiple ACL tears, that hey, it's a long road,
but it is possible.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
You know, your career is far from done.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
And if you can just get through this and attack
this rehab the same way that you would attack playing.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
That's how you get to the NFL.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Is that consistency battling through hard things. And of course
it's easier said than done. But I think we know
that Jonathan Brooks can do it. And you know, TD
told me that I've already reached out to him. He's
in good spirits and that I told him I'll be there.
You know, if it's eleven o'clock in the morning, it's
eleven o'clock at night, call me. I'm here, and I'm
here to you know, be your biggest cheerleader. I'm here
(09:59):
to be your mentor. And then talking with Dave Kanalis,
you know, we had a really good conversation with me
and him and TD and Sharon.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
I think I'm okay. In seeing this.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
He got a little emotional and you could just tell
how much he cares about these players beyond just of
course how they do on the field, but just you know,
you feel for the young kid, and you know, I'm
wondering what it was like to be there for you.
And then also to kind of hear all of this
(10:30):
as the information has rolled out.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Yeah, it's as soon as it happened, Like he said,
I was like, oh no, please. At first, I was hoping, oh,
maybe it's just a meniscus, you know, because I didn't
like Austin Corport did that last year coming off the
AC and then tour the meniscus when he came back,
So I was hoping that it was nothing major. But
then when he was in the injury tent for a
long time and then they brought the card out and
I was like, oh jeez. And when he got in
(10:53):
the cart, he did not get on the back like
they would normally get on the back. You know, with
the platform and have their legs stuck out in a
trainer next to him or a doctor next to him.
He got in the front seat, you know, with his
just walking almost normally, and got in the front seat
and just sat there with his head hanging down, and
then I knew it. Then I was like, oh no,
he's torn it again. And so I was like, oh no,
it's just such a sucker punch. And I clearly I'm
(11:14):
not an NFL football player and my daughter is just
a high school soccer player. But the first time is horrible.
The second time it is just like the world has
just come to a stop. That the second time was
so awful because you know what you just went through
the first time, and it's like, oh my gosh, I
cannot believe this has happened to me again. So I'm
sure the initial reaction was, you know, something like that.
(11:36):
It's just brutal. It's just brutal to have to go
through that twice, and especially with the same leg. My
daughter was a different leg and a different sport tour
it in basketball the second time. But it's just so
devastating and people just don't realize it because you think, okay,
you're injured. Oh you got a hamstring and you're at
for a few weeks. It's a year. I mean it's
a full year. It's so hard. But like you said,
(11:58):
the good thing is he's young. He's at the very
beginning of his career. This is not high school or
college where you only have a certain amount of time
to get something done. He's got a long career ahead
of him. And you look at Thomas Davis. He played
seven years after that third torn ACL that's huge to
come back in and if I'm playing at an extremely
high level. You know, went to a Super Bowl. I mean,
he was amazing coming back from that. So we are
(12:20):
so lucky as within this Panthers organization to have Thomas
Davis be here, to be so involved and to be
able to be that guy for Jonathan Brooks to look
to him and say, all right, he's done it, I
can do it. And then to be able to have
him in house where Jonathan can reach out to him
at any point and you know he can hold his
hand and get him through this rehab because the first
six weeks are tough, that's the toughest, and then things
(12:42):
start to improve. So I'm just I'm so thankful that
Jonathan has a guy like Thomas Davis who has walked
in his shoes who can be there to help him.
And he'll be back out there before too long. He'll
be looking back at it and be like, oh my gosh,
that was brutal. But what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
And I think he's going to come back even stronger
when he's back out on the field.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
And the last thing I'll say about this is that,
you know, when you're talking about Thomas, it reminded me.
You know, Thomas is part of that story is that
he went to mister Richardson as everyone called him at
the time, and you know, he said, if my memory
(13:21):
serves correctly, you know, we want you to come back,
and you have this position. Now you've got to work
your way back right and you have this position if
and when you're able to come back. And yesterday Dave
Canel's I said, what did you tell Jonathan? And he said, look,
he said, I sat him down and said, we're going
(13:41):
to be here for you and when you are ready, you.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Have a spot.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
And as tough as this is, that just takes one
thing off your plate.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Sharon Oh heck.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Yeah. I mean that's huge because I mean not every
organization would do that. You know, some of them might say,
you know, injury and wave you you know, so yeah,
to have an organization stand behind you'd have a coach
be there for you and say, worried about you as
a person, we want to be able to have you
come back. We want to give you an opportunity to
be back on this football field, be a part of
this team. I'm sure that just means the world to
(14:11):
Jonathan and his family. I mean, so that that's huge
that that that coach Canal was and this organization was
able to say that for him and give him the
opportunity to come back if and when he is ready
to go, which I'm sure he will be, probably not
next year, but by twenty twenty six he'll be out
there again, I'm sure, and be at full strength and
be ready to roll.
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Yeah. Absolutely. So let's talk about the Cowboys. So, Sharon,
they are favored. The Panthers are favored in this game
for the first time in a while, you know that.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
And so that's you know, they've been playing the plucky
underdog and now there are I think their expectation favored
or not. Their expectations on this team. As we said,
they want to win and this Cowboys team is hurting
right now.
Speaker 4 (14:56):
Yeah, they've very similar to this Panthers team in the
amount of injuries that they've had. I mean, clearly they
have a more high profile. One of the fact that
their starting quarterback is act Dat Prescott went out in
Week nine, but they were having issues before he got injured.
So they've only got five wins on the season, which
is you know, after being twelve and five last year
in the regular season, you expected certainly bigger things. But
they've had some key, key injuries. Dexter Lawrence, you know,
(15:17):
they're big guy up front defensive line. He's out, Michael
Parsons was out for a while. Trevon Diggs, they're a
star cornerback, just came back last week. Brandon Cooks, one
of their receivers, was out for seven weeks. So they've
had a ton of guys out and they just had
a guy too, oh, one of their line backers. Yes, Oh,
horrible knee injury. He had the ACL and a PCL
and mcld go along with it. He's going to be
a two year project too, So brutal injuries. So they're
(15:40):
in this similar situation where they've had key injuries to
guys that are very impactful players for them. So they
have not played up to Dallas's expectations, that's for sure,
and all those Cowboys fans out there that were expecting
great things. And they're only twentieth in the league in
total offense, twenty first in points. I mean, they just
can't get a whole lot done there running and they're
(16:00):
rushing attacks only twenty eighth in the league. They're only
averaging ninety one yards a game on the ground. When
you've got Ezekiel Elling on the team, you'd think that
they would be a lot better running the ball than that.
He's not even the starter jout ale is, So they're
having some struggles on offense, and then with all those
injuries they have on defense, they're thirty first in the
league in points slide. They're giving up over twenty eight
points a game. So there's plenty of opportunity for this
(16:22):
Panthers team to go out there and make some noise
on Sunday.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
But as you know, they had that weird ending to
the game on Monday night.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Right, it was Monday night nine.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
And as you said, this Cowboys team was twelve and
five last year, so they're going to come in with
some motivation, and certainly the Panthers have plenty of motivation,
but you know, they know those numbers. So it'll be
interesting to see how it all plays out at Bank
of America Stadium, I tell you what. And you were
there at the last home game, then you're there obviously
(16:56):
at all the games, but that place is rocking. You know,
it's I'm excited to see it on Sunday because the
last few home games, with the way this team is playing,
wins are not that fan base is. Our fan base
is really digging what they're seeing, and you know, we're
in these close games. Sharing at the fifty last home game,
(17:18):
there was a guy in a.
Speaker 3 (17:19):
Horse head and a shirt that said.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Dolla Bill right, and you're hearing when there's false starts
on the opposing team, you're hearing you can't do that.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
You know, we're seeing some stuff. These fans are really engaged.
We're hearing them on third down.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
And not to say that we weren't before, but there
is an energy, you know, the energy from this team
and being in these close games and showing these these
really positive improvements has energized this crowd, which, as we know,
energizes this team. So I'm excited to get back out there.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
Absolutely, it was so much fun that last game. It
was so much fun against Tampa Bay. So I'm sure
they're going to carry that over to this game, especially
because we all know how the Cowboys fans travel, and
I'm sure that these Panthers fans do not want a
bunch of Cowboys fans coming in there and trying to
ruin their party. So I think that you're going to
see a really loud fan base. I think people are
going to show up early. I think they're going to
be loud, and they're going to do all they can
(18:13):
to try to get this team over the hump and
come away with the W this time. So and that
makes a big difference. I mean, the guys, they can
feel it, they feel that energy, and you know, needless
to say, the noise certainly helps when you're out there
on defense and trying to rattle the other team's offense.
But I think they feel that energy and they feel
that support, and it makes a difference to them and
they notice it, and I think that's really cool. So
I'm sure it's going to be that same type of
(18:36):
atmosphere here on Sunday. It's going to be.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Fun, completely agree. I am really looking forward to this game.
And Sharon, this is great as always. Like I said,
it's so nice for us to catch up in trade
notes and then we get to have microphones, you know,
we get to.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
Call it work, so exactly, this is awesome.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
I always, you know, I always get a lot out
of these conversations.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
And thank you so much as always.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
Thanks a lot, Kristin.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Okay, now we are joined by Caid May's kid. Thank
you so much. It's good to see you.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Thank you for having me likewise.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Okay, so maybe the most important question I will ask
On your Wikipedia page, it shows your middle name, which
is awesome. Is there any truth to the fact that
your middle name is Montgomery?
Speaker 2 (19:19):
It is it is?
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Where does that? Where does that come from?
Speaker 2 (19:23):
I don't really know, so I've never really asked my
mom this. I mean, obviously would makes sense, like out
the like city in Alabama, so my family's originally from Alabama,
so it makes sense. But I've never really asked her.
Maybe when we get out of here, I'll call her
and ask her.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
Yeah, should that's funny that you.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
I've always loved my middle name, like no one's no
one's really ever known it, but like I've always loved it.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
It is awesome. Have you ever thought about going by Montgomery?
Speaker 2 (19:52):
No, it's just too long that it doesn't roll off
the tongue as well as my first name. So it's
a little too long.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
And it's a little too late, right like you, Yeah,
like you've already established your career.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
You can't just be like, hey, by the way, yeah,
guys call me Montgomery.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Also, like you said, nobody knows it, how does it
even get on Wikipedia?
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I'm not sure. That's another great question?
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Is is it wild to think that, like someone is
editing your Wikipedia page.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
I'm not trying to freak you out.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
It just says like you're playing career and all that,
but like someone is in there being like, no, his
mom name's Montgomery.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yeah, I mean the Internet and stuff, you know, no telling, Yeah,
it probably is my mom. I'm just kidding.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
She's proud. She's proud.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Okay, I want you to take us to offensive line
school right now, so you famously Panthers fan certainly knows
that you can play any position. That's something that you
came into the Panthers with. Did that's did you do
that in high school first of all, or did it
become a thing in college?
Speaker 2 (20:57):
I did it a little bit in high school. I
mostly just played left and right tackle, and then I
got to college and started playing all five and kind
of my rookie year is kind of my role was
to be the sixth man, and then or freshman year,
I was the sixth man and then kind of got
just put in different spots and so that's where I
kind of ended up hanging my hat early in my career.
And then obviously when I got to the NFL, fell
(21:20):
back on that. And you know, position flexibility is huge
in the league.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
What's the biggest jump from college doing that in college
to doing that in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
I would just say, you know, you got to focus
that much more on your technique. Obviously, everybody in the
NFL is, you know, the top of college football, so
the dudes you're playing against in the league are a
little different than college. So you just got to hone
in and focus on your techniques a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Okay, I want to go through each position, and I
want you to give me one word to describe it. Okay,
So we're gonna start from from left to right. Left
tackle hard.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
That makes sense, That makes sense. A lot of responsibility there.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
A lot of responsibility, especially for me. Left tackles like
my hardest posician to play. So you know, some people
that it might come easy, but for me, that was
always my hardest position.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
It makes total sense to me. All right, left guard.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Powerful like both of the both the guard positions. You
gotta play big, you gotta play powerful. You got to
be strong obviously maintained in the middle of the pocket
and stuff.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Yeah, okay, center where you are right now.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Brains, gotta be smart, got to get everybody, got to
communicate everybody, get everybody on the same page, and uh,
you know, make the ship sail.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
Yeah, hey, look tune your own horn there. And I
like it. I like it. You're like, hey, look I'm smart.
Look what I can do.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Yeah, I want to go back to that because Austin
Corbett told me very similar things. So we're going to
go back to there. But right now, let's get to
right guard. And you can't say powerful natural.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
That was like my my natural position. I feel natural
at a right guard. It was, you know, where I've
probably taken the majority of my snaps in my career,
like college and NFL, so I always just felt natural there.
So yeah, that's the first word that comes to mind.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
Do you miss it?
Speaker 2 (23:20):
No, I don't, I don't. I love, I love playing center.
I just said natural because that's where, you know, I
where most coaches have put me, so like, that's where
I guess they saw I was more natural a right
guard on the right side of the line, so kind
of just where I played the majority of my ball.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Okay, right tackle.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Two words. Senior year, my senior year of college, I
was slated to be the starting right guard and the
second first or second day of camp or right tackle.
Tears is bicep out for the year, and we didn't
really have a plan for a backup tackle. So my
coach basically said, hey, we don't really have anybody else
(24:00):
they can play right tackle. Can you do it? So
I ended up playing right tackle my senior year of
college and enjoyed it. You know, it was a it
was a huge challenge, just you know, training my whole
summer to play guard and then having to move out,
you know, and learn right tackle. And you know, obviously
playing in the SEC, it was a tall task, but
it was a great challenge for me. I feel like
(24:21):
I'm matured a lot that year, understood the game more
that year, and uh, I feel like it really was
a good jump start to my NFL career.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Is it ever like a job interview where your coach
is like, hey, can you play right tackle? And you're like, yeah,
for sure, for sure, like I've done that before, and
then like maybe you haven't, and so you're like, I
gotta I gotta cram for this.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Yeah, I mean, I mean he basically asked me, will
you play right tackle? But we both knew that I
didn't really have a choice, Like, yeah, it was what
it was. But he did a great job, you know,
being patient with me and me being patient with him
and us kind of you know, learning together how to
attack that thing and just figure it out and stack
(25:01):
a week on top of another week and ended up
playing really good.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
So so I want to talk to you about center.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
I asked Austin Corbett at the beginning of the year
before he was injured.
Speaker 3 (25:11):
I was like, what's your favorite position to play?
Speaker 1 (25:13):
So obviously he's moved around to guard to center, and
he was like, no, no, no, I love center.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
He was like, I like having control.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
He was like, my wife can tell you that I
like to have control, and therefore, like that is my
my position. And he's very you know, he's very cerebral too.
So do you feel that way about the control as well?
Speaker 3 (25:32):
Is it more of a.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Well, I imagine it's more of a mental challenge, just
based on all the stuff that you're doing out there.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Yeah. Absolutely. I mean you're just like the balls in
your hand. You've got to get the play started, you know, mentally, physically,
like you got to get everybody on the same page.
Everybody's got to understand the way you communicate, you know,
and obviously you got to get the ball in the
quarterback's hands and get the play started. So I really
like that. I never played too much center. I played
(25:59):
it in college little bit sparingly, but when I got
to the NFL, when I got here, started playing it
a lot and really enjoyed it. My little brother is
a center, so we get to bond over that and
uh and kind of you know, bounce bounce ideas off
of each other and you know, just talk ball since
we're both snapping snapping up.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
I was gonna say, Cooper, right yes on your Wikipedia
page too. When I found out about Montgomery, he I
was going to ask, like, are you calling him for
advice or are you guys like chopping it up about
the center position.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Not really advice. We just kind of just kind of
bounce things back and forth. But shout out to Cooper.
He's a finalist for the Remmington this year, so huge
shout out to him. Super proud of him and his
growth and the way he played this year.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
That's amazing.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
And of course you're the older brother, You're like, no, no, no,
not really advice, right, Like, I'm not asking my younger
brother for advice, Like I'm just picking his brain about
sm definitely, and then tell me about like the chemistry
with Bryce.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
It seems like it's great, it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Bryce is you know, he's just he's a great guy
to behind you, a great guy to have the locker
room and uh, you know, just it's been awesome this
year to see him grow and seize the opportunity that
he's had. And you know, he's been smiling a lot
more around the locker room and it's just been you
know that Bryce is you know, just a great guy
(27:17):
to have around and super proud of them.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
And then lastly, I just want to talk about the
chemistry with this O line. So, so you have been
here with the Panthers in previous seasons and last year
especially like the team is just decimated or the O
line is just decimated by injuries.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
And which is incredibly hard.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
But but this year, you know, there have also been
some some injuries and guys not being able to play.
And of course we talked about Austin Corbett, we saw
Brady Christensen at center. So why has this unit, I mean,
just an incredible strength.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
For this team, no pun intended.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
I know you guys are all very strong, but why
has the chemistry been there? It just feels like there
was there was never a beat missed.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
That's you know, that's a great question. I feel like
we just we just all clicked and you know, we
all understand what we're trying to do, trying to get done,
and we just play well together, like we've all got
the same mindset and we just we play well together.
We play as one, we play as the unit, and
you know, just try to protect the guys with.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
The ball, all right, Caid Montgomery mays, thank you so
much for the time.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
I appreciate it. This was great.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
All Right, that is going to do it for this
edition of Sideline Pass. We will see you after the
Cowboys game next Wednesday.
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