January 3, 2025 • 27 mins
Get a front-row seat to Carolina Panthers football with Sideline Pass! This week Kristen and Sharon recap the Panthers' Week 17 loss to the Bucs, preview the Panther's final game of the season against the Falcons, and speak with Feleipe Franks.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wow, Jeers, Kristin Balboni and Sharon Thorps loved with your
sideline pass.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
That's right, it is your sideline pass with Kristin and Sharon. Sharon,
Happy New Year.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Happy New Year to you too.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Let's talk about this game. We're going to get straight
into it. You were on the sideline for this one
forty eight to fourteen in Tampa Bay against the Bucks,
and the big thing that stuck out to me, Sharon
was I mean, of course the score, but how many
typical starters we did not have in this game. And
I'm just wondering what stood out to you and then
(00:37):
also how did that reflect in the sideline in the
game up close?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Well, I mean, yeah, it was walking wounded there down
in Tampa Bay. Starting with Chuba Hubbard. That was killer
on the offense, not to have him in there just
from what he brings on the field, but also on
the sidelines. I mean, he was still there and was
trying to be involved. But I mean it started out
just strange at the day, you know, at ten o'clock
in the morning, when Tube is normally out there on
the field with the Jugs machine catch passed after pass,
(01:02):
and instead he was sitting there with the hoodie and
like moping on the sidelines on the bench, and I
was talking to him, like, it's really weird not having you.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
He's like he was not happy with it.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
So that it was tough not having him on the
field because the running game just couldn't get anything going.
But then on the sidelines too, he was still trying
to be involved and was trying to, you know, talk
guys up a little bit, but just not the same.
It just wasn't the same not having him be that
vocal leader on the sidelines and stuff like that. So
and then on the defensive side, it was just, you know,
it was crazy with all the guys that were out
in that one, starting with j C. Horn because we
(01:32):
saw what Mike Evans did and Jac normally does a
pretty good job trying to keep him intact. So it
was tough on the field with all those guys, and
then on the sidelines just the you know, the mood
of the sidelines. It's hard to overcome that, especially when
you start going down early like they did after that
initial touchdown and then things just spiraled out of control,
and when you're without the guys who are normally out
(01:53):
there on the field and most of them were sitting
on the sidelines instead. It just, you know, sort of deflating.
It's tough, it's hard, and you know, guys, they tried
step up obviously, and that's what that's what this is.
You know, next man up and next man mentality, and
that's what they try to do. But when you're down
to your fifth and sixth string linebackers started inside and
calling the defense, that's tough.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
That's that was one of the stats that really stuck
out to me. Gosh, fifth and sixth starting inside linebackers
this year. And I mean just in terms of practice reps,
in terms of being able to connect with these guys,
and also, as you said, calling the defense, I mean, gosh,
(02:32):
what a what a tough task. And you know, I
know this team, and Dave Canalis would be the first
to tell you. In fact, he did say this when
I talked to him on Tuesday. None of those things
are an excuse, but I mean, that is something that
really really stood out to me. Jaron. One thing I
want to ask you about, so I watched the game
with Jonathan Stewart and Thomas Davis, and one thing that
(02:52):
both both of them were were very big on and
really wanted to know the conditions ahead of time. Was
was the field slow?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
It was? It was.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
I noticed it as soon as I set foot on
the field at ten o'clock in the morning, and I
was like, Wow, it's really wet down here. It had
rained that night overnight, and I think it had rained
some a little bit the days prior so the field
and they had also already had a bull game there,
and so the field was it was quite slick, and
you could see that throughout the game. Guys were slipping,
but it was just wet in the It's a grass field,
not artificial turf, and it was wet, and the sidelines
(03:23):
were wet. It was just very damp down there, starting
when we just first got out there early in the morning,
and then it progressively got a little more chopped up
as the game went on. But you could see a
lot of guys slipping and slidding in the game.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, And so TD was telling us that he was
a big advocate of changing your cleats at halftime, and
he could tell out there, you know, which guys did
and which guys didn't, And of course that's personal preference,
but you know, again and not that any of this
is an excuse. I just find it really interesting from
a sideline perspective. These are the things that we like
to bring to people who are listening. And I said, well,
(03:55):
what is that process?
Speaker 4 (03:56):
Like?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Do you know to change your cleats? Is that is
that something that the equipment staff tells you do they
say you need to do it? Is it a recommendation?
And he said, he said yes. You know Don Toner
who has been there for forever. He is just this
incredible equipment manager. He runs everything and he has for
what you're in twenty five years.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Got ever since I've been here.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
You go, yes, And they said, yep, he would typically,
you know, give give an update on the field. Of course,
those guys know it and suggest it. Hey, we recommend
changing your cleats. But of course that is personal preference.
And that's not to say that that's the reason that
guys were slipping and sliding. But I just find that
kind of thing so interesting. What do you think is
the advantage staying with your cleats or or if you're
(04:41):
a player, you know, changing them. And Sharon, I don't
know about you, but I like to break in a
pair of shoes. I've always wondered about that kind of thing,
you know, or if you play with sleeves on for
the first time and you usually don't wear sleeves like,
I don't know, I'm funny about that kind of stuff.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
You know.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It's funny though, if you look in these guys' lockers,
I mean, they've got like twenty pairs of shoes. They
have so many different pairs of cleats in there, and
so I think they do rotate through shoes on a
regular basis. And you know, I know that, like, like
you said, a good pair of shoes, you want to
sort of wear them in a little bit with thinking.
Maybe cleats a little more ready to go straight out
of the box kind of thing for these guys, just
because the amount of shoes they have and how many
(05:18):
they do wear. So I'm guessing that for most of
them is just like all right, no, here's another pair
of shoes, and they don't have any break in period,
and maybe they're actually more supportive and have more grip
and things like that. On the newer ones too, who knows,
but I know they have lockers full of cleats, like
tons of them, and then they travel they have these big, huge,
like mobile closets, these big, these big traveling closet things
(05:40):
that they open them up and just full of cleats,
you know, so they can change them right there on
the sidelines that they did too. They're just full of cleats.
All these shoes that they travel with too. So I
think they mix and match their their cleats pretty easily.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
And you know, we have an incredible equipment staff, and
so I'm sure if one guy likes his cleats a
certain way, likes to have them broken in. You know, Piniero,
where's two different klesa white and a black. We see
kickers do that kind of thing. So it is amazing.
One day we'll have to dive into the equipment staff
and just all they do. I just want to know
how many I'm getting off on a tangent, but how
(06:13):
many loads of laundry are they doing? And the way
in which they pack everything. I just find that stuff
so so interesting. Okay, but I'll get off of that.
We'll go back to the game. You know, talking to
Dave Knalis and I know that you're going to be
talking to him very shortly, and you've already talked to
him this week. I said, well, how do you want
to finish this season out because we know this team,
(06:36):
sharre and is on this upward trajectory. We can see it.
We expect guys to get healthy at the start of
next season. But of course they want to finish this
game out. Really, I mean, excuse me. They want to
finish this season out very very strongly, to leave with
you know, a good taste in their mouths, all of
that kind of thing. And you know, he told us,
(06:58):
he said, I just want to I just want to
leave this season playing Panthers football. We want to be
proud of the end of the season. And I asked him,
my son, you know, is playing spoiler to a division rival,
the Falcons. Does that have any motivation for you? And
he said, look, not for me. He said, I think
if you have to get up for a game, then
that means that there are games that you're going to
(07:18):
be down for. And I thought that was really interesting
because we hear these these answers from coaches all over
the board that say, you know, we've got to do this,
We've got to do this. We're only focused on ourselves,
not our opponents. But I really like the way he
put that, Sharon, No, that.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Is a good way to say yeah, like, Okay, I'm
going to get up for this one, but this one
who cares because we don't play them regularly, or oh
they're not in the playoffs, that kind of thing. I
do think that from a players standpoint, that's certainly not
something they're focusing on because they want to go out play,
like you said, panther football. They want to finish this season.
They want to be able to go out on a
high note and have some momentum going into the offseason
(07:55):
and do what they're capable of doing. What they've been
doing for so many games. Out of these past you know, six, seven,
eight games, they've been playing really well in most of them.
So I think they want to go and do that
more than anything else. And that's why you're going to
see these starters plan they were not They're not sitting anybody.
I mean, everybody who's available to play is going to
play because they want to go out and put their
brand of football out on the field and finish the
season on a high note, be it a win or not.
(08:16):
They want to go out there and play their brand
of football. And I do think after the fact, you'll
hear from guys and say, yeah, you know, it was
pretty cool to take them down, you know, and play
spoiler again. I mean, like a lot of guys didn't
even know, like after the Arizona game, didn't even realize
that they knocked him out of the playoffs, and they
knew going into Tampa Bay that it was a winner,
go home kind of thing for them too. But I
don't think that that is certainly part of their motivation.
(08:38):
It might be sort of like the cherry on top
kind of thing, but not That's not what they're aiming
to go do is just to take out their division rival.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
And sharing this division rival is going to look very
different with Michael Pennix Junior and their starting this game.
He was of course not the starter Kirk Cousins was
in the last game. And the interesting thing about him,
in addition to the way he's looked right and he
has really impressed for the most part, but also he's
a lefty and that is so interesting because there are
(09:11):
ways in which this team is going to have to
adjust and they don't see left handed quarterbacks very often.
They saw Tua last season, but it's not something that
you see sometimes even a whole season.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Absolutely, and the guys were talking about that all week.
Mike Jackson in particular, he's never played against the lefty quarterback.
He wasn't here last year at the Panthers when we
played the Dolphins, and he's never played a lefty quarterback
and he's really looking forward to it because he thinks
it's just going to be pretty different. He said, you know,
everything is going to be the opposite of what you
expect out of a right handed quarterback. And while that
might seem like, hey, you know, how does that impact
(09:44):
a DBA, you know, a cornerback or a safety, why
of their care which hand it comes out of. But
I guess I guess it really does. And that's that's
one thing that's definitely on their mind, is how to
attack him and how to prepare for him with it,
you know, the ball coming out of the left hands
and out of the right hand, and just how all
of that plays out. I I think that's going to
be pretty cool to watch too, because I never really
thought about it, Like last year when we played the
Dolphins that you know, I was like, okay, I didn't
(10:06):
even think about that with the lefty quarterback. But when
Mike Jackson was the first one to bring that up
this week, and it was interesting hearing his perspective on it.
And like you said, Pennis, he's been playing pretty solid
and he's only started two games one one then lost
the other one here against the Commanders last week on
Sunday at Phone that great game that they played in overtime.
So but he's he's doing wlly. He's thrown for over
four hundred yards in those two games, one touchdown, two interceptions.
(10:30):
But he's a guy that they don't have a lot
of tape on either, which is one thing that makes
him a little harder to here for. They've got those
two games, and then of course the coaching staff has him,
you know, from the NFL, come from the Combine and
from their scouting days when he was coming out in
the draft, so they've got that kind of information on him,
but from a pure watching tape in the NFL stand
But they don't have a lot to go on except
for those two games, so which makes it a little
(10:50):
harder to prepare for him as well. But for the
most part, it seems like they're running the same kind
of play as, the same kind of scheme that they
were doing before. Maybe have a few things particularly set
up for him him and what he likes to do.
But I don't think their offensive scheme has changed too
much with him in there.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, And Dave Canalis would certainly agree with you. That's
what he said. He said, their offense is their offense,
and as you said, there's certainly some wrinkles. I think
those are the two big hurdles, and being left handed
and not having a lot of tape on them as
you said, on him, as you said, Sharon, But Dave
Canally seems very confident in that. You know, we do
know what they do for the most part, and therefore
(11:25):
we feel ready. And you know you mentioned the cornerbacks
and safeties. So of course, as you know, and as
I talk about a lot, I do the our TV
show Panthers Huddle with Thomas Davis, and we got him
to do a demonstration of how it affects linebackers and
he said, you know, on the left handed side, and
he said for them, he said, in some ways it's
(11:47):
not different, right, you just have to be prepared for it.
And a lot of the guys haven't seen it, but
he said, if they're in zone, then what happens is
that the quarterback's eyes are just slightly different, and his
throwing lan are slightly different, and of course that affects
the secondary a lot more. But he said, you know,
even if it's four or five inches over, where the
(12:08):
guys are running so that they can be in his
eye line is different. And so as a as a defender,
as a linebacker, you have to adjust almost that first step.
You have to know that you're going to be looking
six inches over because even if he's you know, dropping
back in the same place, his eyes are going to
be just in a little bit different place than you're
used to, and so almost instinctually, you're going to have
(12:31):
to know that so you can react quickly. And I
thought that was really interesting and I said, so are
you guys running these drills in practice? What does that
look like? And he said, he said, yeah, you are.
He said, but also just the most important thing is
that the coaches are hammering at home, and he said,
I know they're doing that in practice, but I just
thought that was that was interesting because as non players,
(12:52):
I never know exactly how hard it is. And I
thought that was really interesting what he said about instincts,
So that certainly be something that will be watching for
is you know, are there any mistakes, Are there any
slip ups or are you know? And hopefully there are none? Right?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
That is really interesting, especially when you look at the
situation the Panthers are right now, especially at that inside
linebacker spot, when you've got you know, a rookie in
Kobe Winman and you've got Chandler Wooten out there who
has been around the league for a while, but he's
you know, just making his first or second start of
the season at that position. So that's something that I'm
sure that they're going to be even honing in on
even more with those two guys inside. If it does
(13:29):
impact the linebackers like that, like Thomas is saying, that's
going to be something that I'm sure that they're going
to be really focusing on because these are two guys
that have not played a lot, and not to mention
going up against a lefty quarterback like that with the
changes he makes them have defensively, so that that's going
to be something interesting to watch.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Yeah, and certainly hoping this defense is certainly hoping that
they can capitalize on his inexperience. So I want to
talk about the Pro Bowl. So we just heard a
couple of days ago that j. C. Horn is in
the Pro Bowl, and then the Athers have three alternates,
so Robert Hunt, Johnny Hecker, and Chuba Hubbard. Starting with JC, Sharon,
(14:06):
I just think this is amazing. This is his fourth season,
this is the first time that he has been able
to play a full season, and he's been very vocal
about the facts that he made a promise to himself
that he wanted to start every single game this season,
and of course there was nothing he could do about
those injuries in the previous three seasons. But whether that
(14:29):
was the training, whether that was the mindset, he just
was not going to let anything stop him. And I
just thought, gosh, what validation for him to be able
to play his first full season. And we know how
talented he is, we know how much promise he had.
He was a first round draft pick for a reason.
His dad, Joe Horn, certainly certainly had him ready to go,
(14:51):
and I just thought, gosh, what a great as you said,
Cherry on top at the end of this season.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Yeah, absolutely, and jac I just love this for him
because this is the guy and they predicted when he
came out in the draft and when the Panthers got
him that he was going to be a Pro Bowl cornerback,
and I was expected of him because he is so
talented and he's just had some bad luck with the injuries.
And like he'll be the first one to tell you
that it's not something you know when you have broken
but you can't you can't prepare to prevent that from happening.
(15:19):
It's certainly nothing he was doing to that he wasn't
prepared or he wasn't taking care of his body or
anything like. These were just flukey injuries that were just
bad luck injuries that piled up on him. So he
is the most prepared guy and takes such good care
of his body. I mean he hired, you know, a
personal chef at one point. He's been you know, he
got a little leaner off this offseason, which I thought
(15:40):
was interesting, and you know, he's been doing all sorts
of training and just being just totally on top of
it to be able to stay out there on the
field for a full season. So for him to be
able to do that this year and not just be
out there for every game, but be out there the
amount of snaps he's been out there, he's played like
ninety seven ninety eight percent of the snaps on defense.
So he's he's out there and he's given you a
(16:01):
full game, and I think it's just awesome. And he's
had tremendous numbers this season, just tremendous numbers against just
shutting down opposing receivers and really keeping guys, keeping quarterbacks
from throwing on his side.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Of the field.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
So this is just great validation for him to show
what everybody thought he was going to be when he
came out of college, that he was going to be
this lockdown cornerback who's going to be in Pro Bowls.
It took a little bit longer for him to get there,
I think than we all anticipated, just because of those injuries.
But now that it's finally here, I'm just so excited
for him, and I'm sure he's just going to keep
building on that.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
You know, Sharon, you see those guys on the sideline,
and I'm sure you've seen this with JC, just like
I have. You see these guys and a lot of
times they grow into those leadership positions, and there's no
doubt that JC is one of the leaders on this team.
And they just they take any play in which they
didn't in which it didn't go their way, just as
(16:56):
a personal insult, almost two to what they're doing. They're
beating themselves up on the sideline. They're upset. And sometimes
it's not even if there's a mistake, it's if you know,
Jase tipped a ball instead of intercepted it, you know
he could still be doing really great, and then it
just it eats at them and Chewba Hubbard is one
of those guys as well. And to be honest, the
(17:17):
entire Panthers team is everyone cares, everyone is doing their
best out there, but some guys take it really, really hard.
Brian Burns was another one. You know, you see him
stalking up and down the sidelines if he felt he
had made a mistake. And jac is the exact same way.
He is so locked in, and you know, there were
these storylines about him not being able to play, and people,
(17:41):
whether it was in the national media or people on
social media, gave him a hard time for that. And
I think I can say that because of course, you know,
as I talk about a lot, my good friend TD
said it on our show this week. You know, there
was there was trash talking about him. Was his exact quote,
and we know that that is not who JC Horn is.
It does not bother anyone more than it bothers him
(18:04):
that he can't be out there. And I'd love watching
him on the sidelines because he just nothing. If he's
not one hundred percent perfect, and we saw it he
was pretty close to perfect this season. It just eats
him alive. Have you seen that as well?
Speaker 4 (18:18):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Absolutely, He is so intense out there, so intense, and
that's exactly what you're saying. Like when he felt he
should have had an interception he just got the tip
or something like that, he totally just you know, just
comes off the field just like literally pounded his chest
and beating himself up because he's frustrated by it and stuff,
because he wants to go all out, one hundred percent
every single time he's on the field. He wants to
accomplish everything, you know, he wants to get it all done.
(18:39):
He's just so he's just so just on it when
he's out there on the field and when he comes off,
he just he wants it all to be, just to
be how it's supposed.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
To be in his mind.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
And yeah, I hate that that there was that whole
you know that whole storyline surrounding him about the injuries
and this, that and the other, because I mean, if
you know JC, and if you're around him at all
and in that pantlocker, you know exactly what he has
done day in and day out, all season long, all
off season long, to be able to stay out there
and be out there on the field. So I'm so
(19:09):
happy for him this year that for the most part. Now,
obviously he didn't play this last week, and we'll see
about this weekend, but he's been out there almost every
single game now until this the very end of the
season here, and he's a difference maker on this defense,
no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Congratulations to j C. Horn and to our alternates Robert Hunt,
Johnny Hecker, and Shuba Hubbard. I think they deserve to
be in it. So hopefully the time that the Pro
Bowl rolls around, we will be congratulating them as well
on being Pro Bowlers, not just the alternates. But Sharon,
this was great. I cannot wait to hear what you
thought of that last game. Certainly wishing you smooth travels
(19:45):
down there and can't wait to talk next week.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Absolutely sounds great.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
All right, we are joined now by Panthers tight end
Felipe Franks, Felipe, thank you so much for doing this.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Okay, I know you guys have been working hard the
last couple of weeks. But did you get any time
off for Christmas and New Year's? Did you get to
do anything fun?
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Yeah? I got a little bit of time off on
for Christmas. I flew back to Nashville and I got
to see my son, so it was pretty cool. Yeah,
seeing him open his presence first Christmas, so it was awesome.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I've got a seven month old at home, so I'm
wondering what is going on? Is he is he moving
around a lot?
Speaker 4 (20:19):
Yeah, he's just now like standing. He'll take a few steps,
wabble fall down, but yeah, he's like still just like
started saying dad like I say dadad like last week.
So it's cool, like at cool stages.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Well, congratulations on the Dada. I've got a three year
old also at home, and he was doing dad ad
for like six months before, Mama, so you're lucky there.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
That's hilarious. He's he's he's stuck on a dadad trend
right now. It's it's been like that the last week
and a half. It's funny.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Okay. So you have such an interesting story. Not only
were you a quarterback in college and in the NFL,
but you were also drafted by the Red Sox in
twenty nineteen. Is that right?
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Yeah, that's right. Yep.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Okay, what position did you play?
Speaker 4 (21:02):
Uh, it's a crazy story. So I quit baseball like
my junior year of high school. But I kind of played.
I played all around, mostly pitcher, But yeah, I stop
playing early and then I kind of got like a
random phone call like my junior year of college, and
then kind of just went from there. But pitcher mostly.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
That's great. I figured because of how tall you are,
I figured you were a pitcher, but I wasn't sure,
so I had to ask.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Yep, I played pitcher, tried to play an infield, but
not very great at it.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So you are such a high energy guy. Anyone who
has watched you play can tell that.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
We do the radio broadcast with Luke Keigley, and he
has said before if you could have fifty two other
Felipe Franks, you'd be in good shape on a team.
So is that something that you mindfully bring to the
team where you say Okay, this is my responsibility to
bring this energy to lift these guys up. Or is
that just your natural personality.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
That's a great question. I think it's a combination of
a couple of things. I think it's like personality. Obviously,
I love to compete, love to like win and everything
I'm doing. But I think also just like having a
chip on my shoulder. You know, I hate to say
like playing mad, but just having a chip on my shoulder.
I know how volatile the business is, I know how
(22:22):
easy it can get tooken from you, you know, and
even playing different positions, you know, going from quarterback, and
to say I wasn't mad when I guys changed, I'd
be lying. So, you know, just always keeping that chip
on my shoulder and really just going out of there
competing and having fun. But yeah, mainly just keeping a
chip on my shoulder because I know, I feel like
(22:45):
just like how I've worked to get here to this point,
and I just I don't want to let it go.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
So well, speaking of that change from quarterback to tight end,
I know it wasn't an easy one for you. That's
certainly what it sounds like. But what does that entail
having to go from playing one position your entire life
and then learning a whole different one.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
Yeah, that's another great question. I think it's everyday process.
I mean, I really try to attack practice like it's
a game day because in reality, you know, some of
these guys have been doing it their whole lives, so
you know it's fair to say I'm ten years behind
and you know, doing some of the things that they do.
And so I think it's just the everyday process, trying
to work at it every day, not taking a day off.
(23:28):
And I know that's kind of monotonous when a lot
of people say it, but really truly trying to you know,
one of the hardest things to keep is sustaining success.
So I think just really approaching every day and attacking it,
whether it's fundamentally or with effort or speed or whatever
the case may be. I think just an every day
process for me.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Well, I appreciate you you hyping me up saying I'm
asking good questions, Thank you so much. But going back
to this energy piece, I have to be honest. When
you came in to do this interview, I thought you
were going to be the guy that I saw on
the field, like, oh my gosh, thank you so much.
You know, as much much energy as you have, and
you are just so calm, cool and collected. It's really
(24:05):
a different guy. So is that a switch that you
flip when you get out onto the football field?
Speaker 4 (24:10):
Yeah, I think it's just that. I think it's like
when you step on the field, and once again, it
can become monotonous and a lot of athletes can of
say it, but I think like when you step on
the field, it just takes the ultimate focus at your job,
at what you're doing, you know, because as soon as
you let the focus slip, you know, something happens, or
you know, you give up this or that. And so
(24:31):
I think just like having focused but also having just
the ultimate focus of approaching each play like it's the
last play. It's that play, is not the next play.
Just ultimate focus. I think that's really what it comes
down to. And yeah, the energy on the field is
just like you know, you put the work in all
week and you want to go out there and have fun.
You want to enjoy it. That's what I do. Once again,
I know how volatile it is, and I'm not going
(24:52):
to let it, you know, just consume me have fun.
It's a kid's game at the end of the day,
and then obviously, like when football done, I'm a regular person.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
So who has more energy on the field? You are
Sam Franklin.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Oh, that's a good one. I always try to match Sam.
I don't know, man, he always brings it, so like, yeah,
he's he's he's one of a kind. Sam's great. He
always brings energy, so it's up to some of us
to just kind of match it. So I definitely try
to get there with him.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Yeah, I don't know if I could pick who has
more energy, it's like one a. But the great thing is,
you know, being the sideline reporter, I can see how
much the other guys feed off of you.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
We have a group of hungry guys. It's it's it's
really fun to be around. Everybody's hungry to get tackles,
to make plays, to you know, help the squad out,
and so, you know, I think that's what it's all about.
We all just pushing each other. I've always been kind
of a fan of Iron Sharp AND's iron, but that's
kind of what we do. The group's fun, it's close
knit and get after it.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Okay, So moving away from football, you are a self
described real estate enthusiast. Uh oh, and I just want
to know what does that mean? What are we enthusiastic
about when it comes to real estate?
Speaker 4 (26:01):
Once again, it's a great question. Uh yeah, I think
just the obviously, I think the financial freedom part of it.
Uh Now, once again, I try not to reinvent the
wheel a big Warren Buffett fan. Me and my brother
talk about it all the time. You know, be honest
with you. If you if you if you really want
my strategy investing, you know, if it can't beat the
(26:22):
ten percent in the market, then I'm hesitant investing in it.
But real estate is one of those things that I
really enjoy. I really enjoy learning about it, both commercially
and residentially. So uh, I just I think it offers
so much like for not yourself but your family for
generations to come. So it's awesome. Yeah, I love learning
about it.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Okay, last question, are you a truly a guy or
a Zillo guy? Or are you going on some professional
website that I don't even know about?
Speaker 4 (26:49):
No? No, no, no, uh you know I like redfin.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Oohdin that's a good one.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Yeah, I get on there. I would say mostly Zillo,
I know it can be an inaccurate sometimes, but just
to look at it.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Ailo, Okay, Zillo go sponsor Felipe Franks or Redfin whoever.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
Whichever, please do that would be awesome. I love you guys.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Okay, Felipe, thank you so much. This was great, and
thank you for bringing the energy and thank you for
hyping me up. But saying that I am asking great questions.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (27:18):
Let's go. Yeah no, that was awesome. Thank you. I
appreciate you having me on well.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Huge thank you to Felipe Franks and to Sharon. As always,
we appreciate all of you who are listening, and we
will be back next Wednesday with a season wrap up.
Wow, Jeers, Kristin Balboni and Sharon Thorps loved with your
sideline pass.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
That's right, it is your sideline pass with Kristin and Sharon. Sharon,
Happy New Year.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Happy New Year to you too.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Let's talk about this game. We're going to get straight
into it. You were on the sideline for this one
forty eight to fourteen in Tampa Bay against the Bucks,
and the big thing that stuck out to me, Sharon
was I mean, of course the score, but how many
typical starters we did not have in this game. And
I'm just wondering what stood out to you and then
(00:37):
also how did that reflect in the sideline in the
game up close?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
Well, I mean, yeah, it was walking wounded there down
in Tampa Bay. Starting with Chuba Hubbard. That was killer
on the offense, not to have him in there just
from what he brings on the field, but also on
the sidelines. I mean, he was still there and was
trying to be involved. But I mean it started out
just strange at the day, you know, at ten o'clock
in the morning, when Tube is normally out there on
the field with the Jugs machine catch passed after pass,
(01:02):
and instead he was sitting there with the hoodie and
like moping on the sidelines on the bench, and I
was talking to him, like, it's really weird not having you.
Speaker 1 (01:08):
He's like he was not happy with it.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
So that it was tough not having him on the
field because the running game just couldn't get anything going.
But then on the sidelines too, he was still trying
to be involved and was trying to, you know, talk
guys up a little bit, but just not the same.
It just wasn't the same not having him be that
vocal leader on the sidelines and stuff like that. So
and then on the defensive side, it was just, you know,
it was crazy with all the guys that were out
in that one, starting with j C. Horn because we
(01:32):
saw what Mike Evans did and Jac normally does a
pretty good job trying to keep him intact. So it
was tough on the field with all those guys, and
then on the sidelines just the you know, the mood
of the sidelines. It's hard to overcome that, especially when
you start going down early like they did after that
initial touchdown and then things just spiraled out of control,
and when you're without the guys who are normally out
(01:53):
there on the field and most of them were sitting
on the sidelines instead. It just, you know, sort of deflating.
It's tough, it's hard, and you know, guys, they tried
step up obviously, and that's what that's what this is.
You know, next man up and next man mentality, and
that's what they try to do. But when you're down
to your fifth and sixth string linebackers started inside and
calling the defense, that's tough.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
That's that was one of the stats that really stuck
out to me. Gosh, fifth and sixth starting inside linebackers
this year. And I mean just in terms of practice reps,
in terms of being able to connect with these guys,
and also, as you said, calling the defense, I mean, gosh,
(02:32):
what a what a tough task. And you know, I
know this team, and Dave Canalis would be the first
to tell you. In fact, he did say this when
I talked to him on Tuesday. None of those things
are an excuse, but I mean, that is something that
really really stood out to me. Jaron. One thing I
want to ask you about, so I watched the game
with Jonathan Stewart and Thomas Davis, and one thing that
(02:52):
both both of them were were very big on and
really wanted to know the conditions ahead of time. Was
was the field slow?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
It was? It was.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
I noticed it as soon as I set foot on
the field at ten o'clock in the morning, and I
was like, Wow, it's really wet down here. It had
rained that night overnight, and I think it had rained
some a little bit the days prior so the field
and they had also already had a bull game there,
and so the field was it was quite slick, and
you could see that throughout the game. Guys were slipping,
but it was just wet in the It's a grass field,
not artificial turf, and it was wet, and the sidelines
(03:23):
were wet. It was just very damp down there, starting
when we just first got out there early in the morning,
and then it progressively got a little more chopped up
as the game went on. But you could see a
lot of guys slipping and slidding in the game.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, And so TD was telling us that he was
a big advocate of changing your cleats at halftime, and
he could tell out there, you know, which guys did
and which guys didn't, And of course that's personal preference,
but you know, again and not that any of this
is an excuse. I just find it really interesting from
a sideline perspective. These are the things that we like
to bring to people who are listening. And I said, well,
(03:55):
what is that process?
Speaker 4 (03:56):
Like?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Do you know to change your cleats? Is that is
that something that the equipment staff tells you do they
say you need to do it? Is it a recommendation?
And he said, he said yes. You know Don Toner
who has been there for forever. He is just this
incredible equipment manager. He runs everything and he has for
what you're in twenty five years.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Got ever since I've been here.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
You go, yes, And they said, yep, he would typically,
you know, give give an update on the field. Of course,
those guys know it and suggest it. Hey, we recommend
changing your cleats. But of course that is personal preference.
And that's not to say that that's the reason that
guys were slipping and sliding. But I just find that
kind of thing so interesting. What do you think is
the advantage staying with your cleats or or if you're
(04:41):
a player, you know, changing them. And Sharon, I don't
know about you, but I like to break in a
pair of shoes. I've always wondered about that kind of thing,
you know, or if you play with sleeves on for
the first time and you usually don't wear sleeves like,
I don't know, I'm funny about that kind of stuff.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
You know.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It's funny though, if you look in these guys' lockers,
I mean, they've got like twenty pairs of shoes. They
have so many different pairs of cleats in there, and
so I think they do rotate through shoes on a
regular basis. And you know, I know that, like, like
you said, a good pair of shoes, you want to
sort of wear them in a little bit with thinking.
Maybe cleats a little more ready to go straight out
of the box kind of thing for these guys, just
because the amount of shoes they have and how many
(05:18):
they do wear. So I'm guessing that for most of
them is just like all right, no, here's another pair
of shoes, and they don't have any break in period,
and maybe they're actually more supportive and have more grip
and things like that. On the newer ones too, who knows,
but I know they have lockers full of cleats, like
tons of them, and then they travel they have these big, huge,
like mobile closets, these big, these big traveling closet things
(05:40):
that they open them up and just full of cleats,
you know, so they can change them right there on
the sidelines that they did too. They're just full of cleats.
All these shoes that they travel with too. So I
think they mix and match their their cleats pretty easily.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
And you know, we have an incredible equipment staff, and
so I'm sure if one guy likes his cleats a
certain way, likes to have them broken in. You know, Piniero,
where's two different klesa white and a black. We see
kickers do that kind of thing. So it is amazing.
One day we'll have to dive into the equipment staff
and just all they do. I just want to know
how many I'm getting off on a tangent, but how
(06:13):
many loads of laundry are they doing? And the way
in which they pack everything. I just find that stuff
so so interesting. Okay, but I'll get off of that.
We'll go back to the game. You know, talking to
Dave Knalis and I know that you're going to be
talking to him very shortly, and you've already talked to
him this week. I said, well, how do you want
to finish this season out because we know this team,
(06:36):
sharre and is on this upward trajectory. We can see it.
We expect guys to get healthy at the start of
next season. But of course they want to finish this
game out. Really, I mean, excuse me. They want to
finish this season out very very strongly, to leave with
you know, a good taste in their mouths, all of
that kind of thing. And you know, he told us,
(06:58):
he said, I just want to I just want to
leave this season playing Panthers football. We want to be
proud of the end of the season. And I asked him,
my son, you know, is playing spoiler to a division rival,
the Falcons. Does that have any motivation for you? And
he said, look, not for me. He said, I think
if you have to get up for a game, then
that means that there are games that you're going to
(07:18):
be down for. And I thought that was really interesting
because we hear these these answers from coaches all over
the board that say, you know, we've got to do this,
We've got to do this. We're only focused on ourselves,
not our opponents. But I really like the way he
put that, Sharon, No, that.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Is a good way to say yeah, like, Okay, I'm
going to get up for this one, but this one
who cares because we don't play them regularly, or oh
they're not in the playoffs, that kind of thing. I
do think that from a players standpoint, that's certainly not
something they're focusing on because they want to go out play,
like you said, panther football. They want to finish this season.
They want to be able to go out on a
high note and have some momentum going into the offseason
(07:55):
and do what they're capable of doing. What they've been
doing for so many games. Out of these past you know, six, seven,
eight games, they've been playing really well in most of them.
So I think they want to go and do that
more than anything else. And that's why you're going to
see these starters plan they were not They're not sitting anybody.
I mean, everybody who's available to play is going to
play because they want to go out and put their
brand of football out on the field and finish the
season on a high note, be it a win or not.
(08:16):
They want to go out there and play their brand
of football. And I do think after the fact, you'll
hear from guys and say, yeah, you know, it was
pretty cool to take them down, you know, and play
spoiler again. I mean, like a lot of guys didn't
even know, like after the Arizona game, didn't even realize
that they knocked him out of the playoffs, and they
knew going into Tampa Bay that it was a winner,
go home kind of thing for them too. But I
don't think that that is certainly part of their motivation.
(08:38):
It might be sort of like the cherry on top
kind of thing, but not That's not what they're aiming
to go do is just to take out their division rival.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
And sharing this division rival is going to look very
different with Michael Pennix Junior and their starting this game.
He was of course not the starter Kirk Cousins was
in the last game. And the interesting thing about him,
in addition to the way he's looked right and he
has really impressed for the most part, but also he's
a lefty and that is so interesting because there are
(09:11):
ways in which this team is going to have to
adjust and they don't see left handed quarterbacks very often.
They saw Tua last season, but it's not something that
you see sometimes even a whole season.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Absolutely, and the guys were talking about that all week.
Mike Jackson in particular, he's never played against the lefty quarterback.
He wasn't here last year at the Panthers when we
played the Dolphins, and he's never played a lefty quarterback
and he's really looking forward to it because he thinks
it's just going to be pretty different. He said, you know,
everything is going to be the opposite of what you
expect out of a right handed quarterback. And while that
might seem like, hey, you know, how does that impact
(09:44):
a DBA, you know, a cornerback or a safety, why
of their care which hand it comes out of. But
I guess I guess it really does. And that's that's
one thing that's definitely on their mind, is how to
attack him and how to prepare for him with it,
you know, the ball coming out of the left hands
and out of the right hand, and just how all
of that plays out. I I think that's going to
be pretty cool to watch too, because I never really
thought about it, Like last year when we played the
Dolphins that you know, I was like, okay, I didn't
(10:06):
even think about that with the lefty quarterback. But when
Mike Jackson was the first one to bring that up
this week, and it was interesting hearing his perspective on it.
And like you said, Pennis, he's been playing pretty solid
and he's only started two games one one then lost
the other one here against the Commanders last week on
Sunday at Phone that great game that they played in overtime.
So but he's he's doing wlly. He's thrown for over
four hundred yards in those two games, one touchdown, two interceptions.
(10:30):
But he's a guy that they don't have a lot
of tape on either, which is one thing that makes
him a little harder to here for. They've got those
two games, and then of course the coaching staff has him,
you know, from the NFL, come from the Combine and
from their scouting days when he was coming out in
the draft, so they've got that kind of information on him,
but from a pure watching tape in the NFL stand
But they don't have a lot to go on except
for those two games, so which makes it a little
(10:50):
harder to prepare for him as well. But for the
most part, it seems like they're running the same kind
of play as, the same kind of scheme that they
were doing before. Maybe have a few things particularly set
up for him him and what he likes to do.
But I don't think their offensive scheme has changed too
much with him in there.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, And Dave Canalis would certainly agree with you. That's
what he said. He said, their offense is their offense,
and as you said, there's certainly some wrinkles. I think
those are the two big hurdles, and being left handed
and not having a lot of tape on them as
you said, on him, as you said, Sharon, But Dave
Canally seems very confident in that. You know, we do
know what they do for the most part, and therefore
(11:25):
we feel ready. And you know you mentioned the cornerbacks
and safeties. So of course, as you know, and as
I talk about a lot, I do the our TV
show Panthers Huddle with Thomas Davis, and we got him
to do a demonstration of how it affects linebackers and
he said, you know, on the left handed side, and
he said for them, he said, in some ways it's
(11:47):
not different, right, you just have to be prepared for it.
And a lot of the guys haven't seen it, but
he said, if they're in zone, then what happens is
that the quarterback's eyes are just slightly different, and his
throwing lan are slightly different, and of course that affects
the secondary a lot more. But he said, you know,
even if it's four or five inches over, where the
(12:08):
guys are running so that they can be in his
eye line is different. And so as a as a defender,
as a linebacker, you have to adjust almost that first step.
You have to know that you're going to be looking
six inches over because even if he's you know, dropping
back in the same place, his eyes are going to
be just in a little bit different place than you're
used to, and so almost instinctually, you're going to have
(12:31):
to know that so you can react quickly. And I
thought that was really interesting and I said, so are
you guys running these drills in practice? What does that
look like? And he said, he said, yeah, you are.
He said, but also just the most important thing is
that the coaches are hammering at home, and he said,
I know they're doing that in practice, but I just
thought that was that was interesting because as non players,
(12:52):
I never know exactly how hard it is. And I
thought that was really interesting what he said about instincts,
So that certainly be something that will be watching for
is you know, are there any mistakes, Are there any
slip ups or are you know? And hopefully there are none? Right?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
That is really interesting, especially when you look at the
situation the Panthers are right now, especially at that inside
linebacker spot, when you've got you know, a rookie in
Kobe Winman and you've got Chandler Wooten out there who
has been around the league for a while, but he's
you know, just making his first or second start of
the season at that position. So that's something that I'm
sure that they're going to be even honing in on
even more with those two guys inside. If it does
(13:29):
impact the linebackers like that, like Thomas is saying, that's
going to be something that I'm sure that they're going
to be really focusing on because these are two guys
that have not played a lot, and not to mention
going up against a lefty quarterback like that with the
changes he makes them have defensively, so that that's going
to be something interesting to watch.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Yeah, and certainly hoping this defense is certainly hoping that
they can capitalize on his inexperience. So I want to
talk about the Pro Bowl. So we just heard a
couple of days ago that j. C. Horn is in
the Pro Bowl, and then the Athers have three alternates,
so Robert Hunt, Johnny Hecker, and Chuba Hubbard. Starting with JC, Sharon,
(14:06):
I just think this is amazing. This is his fourth season,
this is the first time that he has been able
to play a full season, and he's been very vocal
about the facts that he made a promise to himself
that he wanted to start every single game this season,
and of course there was nothing he could do about
those injuries in the previous three seasons. But whether that
(14:29):
was the training, whether that was the mindset, he just
was not going to let anything stop him. And I
just thought, gosh, what validation for him to be able
to play his first full season. And we know how
talented he is, we know how much promise he had.
He was a first round draft pick for a reason.
His dad, Joe Horn, certainly certainly had him ready to go,
(14:51):
and I just thought, gosh, what a great as you said,
Cherry on top at the end of this season.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Yeah, absolutely, and jac I just love this for him
because this is the guy and they predicted when he
came out in the draft and when the Panthers got
him that he was going to be a Pro Bowl cornerback,
and I was expected of him because he is so
talented and he's just had some bad luck with the injuries.
And like he'll be the first one to tell you
that it's not something you know when you have broken
but you can't you can't prepare to prevent that from happening.
(15:19):
It's certainly nothing he was doing to that he wasn't
prepared or he wasn't taking care of his body or
anything like. These were just flukey injuries that were just
bad luck injuries that piled up on him. So he
is the most prepared guy and takes such good care
of his body. I mean he hired, you know, a
personal chef at one point. He's been you know, he
got a little leaner off this offseason, which I thought
(15:40):
was interesting, and you know, he's been doing all sorts
of training and just being just totally on top of
it to be able to stay out there on the
field for a full season. So for him to be
able to do that this year and not just be
out there for every game, but be out there the
amount of snaps he's been out there, he's played like
ninety seven ninety eight percent of the snaps on defense.
So he's he's out there and he's given you a
(16:01):
full game, and I think it's just awesome. And he's
had tremendous numbers this season, just tremendous numbers against just
shutting down opposing receivers and really keeping guys, keeping quarterbacks
from throwing on his side.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Of the field.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
So this is just great validation for him to show
what everybody thought he was going to be when he
came out of college, that he was going to be
this lockdown cornerback who's going to be in Pro Bowls.
It took a little bit longer for him to get there,
I think than we all anticipated, just because of those injuries.
But now that it's finally here, I'm just so excited
for him, and I'm sure he's just going to keep
building on that.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
You know, Sharon, you see those guys on the sideline,
and I'm sure you've seen this with JC, just like
I have. You see these guys and a lot of
times they grow into those leadership positions, and there's no
doubt that JC is one of the leaders on this team.
And they just they take any play in which they
didn't in which it didn't go their way, just as
(16:56):
a personal insult, almost two to what they're doing. They're
beating themselves up on the sideline. They're upset. And sometimes
it's not even if there's a mistake, it's if you know,
Jase tipped a ball instead of intercepted it, you know
he could still be doing really great, and then it
just it eats at them and Chewba Hubbard is one
of those guys as well. And to be honest, the
(17:17):
entire Panthers team is everyone cares, everyone is doing their
best out there, but some guys take it really, really hard.
Brian Burns was another one. You know, you see him
stalking up and down the sidelines if he felt he
had made a mistake. And jac is the exact same way.
He is so locked in, and you know, there were
these storylines about him not being able to play, and people,
(17:41):
whether it was in the national media or people on
social media, gave him a hard time for that. And
I think I can say that because of course, you know,
as I talk about a lot, my good friend TD
said it on our show this week. You know, there
was there was trash talking about him. Was his exact quote,
and we know that that is not who JC Horn is.
It does not bother anyone more than it bothers him
(18:04):
that he can't be out there. And I'd love watching
him on the sidelines because he just nothing. If he's
not one hundred percent perfect, and we saw it he
was pretty close to perfect this season. It just eats
him alive. Have you seen that as well?
Speaker 4 (18:18):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (18:18):
Absolutely, He is so intense out there, so intense, and
that's exactly what you're saying. Like when he felt he
should have had an interception he just got the tip
or something like that, he totally just you know, just
comes off the field just like literally pounded his chest
and beating himself up because he's frustrated by it and stuff,
because he wants to go all out, one hundred percent
every single time he's on the field. He wants to
accomplish everything, you know, he wants to get it all done.
(18:39):
He's just so he's just so just on it when
he's out there on the field and when he comes off,
he just he wants it all to be, just to
be how it's supposed.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
To be in his mind.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
And yeah, I hate that that there was that whole
you know that whole storyline surrounding him about the injuries
and this, that and the other, because I mean, if
you know JC, and if you're around him at all
and in that pantlocker, you know exactly what he has
done day in and day out, all season long, all
off season long, to be able to stay out there
and be out there on the field. So I'm so
(19:09):
happy for him this year that for the most part. Now,
obviously he didn't play this last week, and we'll see
about this weekend, but he's been out there almost every
single game now until this the very end of the
season here, and he's a difference maker on this defense,
no doubt about it.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Congratulations to j C. Horn and to our alternates Robert Hunt,
Johnny Hecker, and Shuba Hubbard. I think they deserve to
be in it. So hopefully the time that the Pro
Bowl rolls around, we will be congratulating them as well
on being Pro Bowlers, not just the alternates. But Sharon,
this was great. I cannot wait to hear what you
thought of that last game. Certainly wishing you smooth travels
(19:45):
down there and can't wait to talk next week.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Absolutely sounds great.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
All right, we are joined now by Panthers tight end
Felipe Franks, Felipe, thank you so much for doing this.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Okay, I know you guys have been working hard the
last couple of weeks. But did you get any time
off for Christmas and New Year's? Did you get to
do anything fun?
Speaker 4 (20:02):
Yeah? I got a little bit of time off on
for Christmas. I flew back to Nashville and I got
to see my son, so it was pretty cool. Yeah,
seeing him open his presence first Christmas, so it was awesome.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I've got a seven month old at home, so I'm
wondering what is going on? Is he is he moving
around a lot?
Speaker 4 (20:19):
Yeah, he's just now like standing. He'll take a few steps,
wabble fall down, but yeah, he's like still just like
started saying dad like I say dadad like last week.
So it's cool, like at cool stages.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Well, congratulations on the Dada. I've got a three year
old also at home, and he was doing dad ad
for like six months before, Mama, so you're lucky there.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
That's hilarious. He's he's he's stuck on a dadad trend
right now. It's it's been like that the last week
and a half. It's funny.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Okay. So you have such an interesting story. Not only
were you a quarterback in college and in the NFL,
but you were also drafted by the Red Sox in
twenty nineteen. Is that right?
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Yeah, that's right. Yep.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Okay, what position did you play?
Speaker 4 (21:02):
Uh, it's a crazy story. So I quit baseball like
my junior year of high school. But I kind of played.
I played all around, mostly pitcher, But yeah, I stop
playing early and then I kind of got like a
random phone call like my junior year of college, and
then kind of just went from there. But pitcher mostly.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
That's great. I figured because of how tall you are,
I figured you were a pitcher, but I wasn't sure,
so I had to ask.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Yep, I played pitcher, tried to play an infield, but
not very great at it.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
So you are such a high energy guy. Anyone who
has watched you play can tell that.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
We do the radio broadcast with Luke Keigley, and he
has said before if you could have fifty two other
Felipe Franks, you'd be in good shape on a team.
So is that something that you mindfully bring to the
team where you say Okay, this is my responsibility to
bring this energy to lift these guys up. Or is
that just your natural personality.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
That's a great question. I think it's a combination of
a couple of things. I think it's like personality. Obviously,
I love to compete, love to like win and everything
I'm doing. But I think also just like having a
chip on my shoulder. You know, I hate to say
like playing mad, but just having a chip on my shoulder.
I know how volatile the business is, I know how
(22:22):
easy it can get tooken from you, you know, and
even playing different positions, you know, going from quarterback, and
to say I wasn't mad when I guys changed, I'd
be lying. So, you know, just always keeping that chip
on my shoulder and really just going out of there
competing and having fun. But yeah, mainly just keeping a
chip on my shoulder because I know, I feel like
(22:45):
just like how I've worked to get here to this point,
and I just I don't want to let it go.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
So well, speaking of that change from quarterback to tight end,
I know it wasn't an easy one for you. That's
certainly what it sounds like. But what does that entail
having to go from playing one position your entire life
and then learning a whole different one.
Speaker 4 (23:05):
Yeah, that's another great question. I think it's everyday process.
I mean, I really try to attack practice like it's
a game day because in reality, you know, some of
these guys have been doing it their whole lives, so
you know it's fair to say I'm ten years behind
and you know, doing some of the things that they do.
And so I think it's just the everyday process, trying
to work at it every day, not taking a day off.
(23:28):
And I know that's kind of monotonous when a lot
of people say it, but really truly trying to you know,
one of the hardest things to keep is sustaining success.
So I think just really approaching every day and attacking it,
whether it's fundamentally or with effort or speed or whatever
the case may be. I think just an every day
process for me.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
Well, I appreciate you you hyping me up saying I'm
asking good questions, Thank you so much. But going back
to this energy piece, I have to be honest. When
you came in to do this interview, I thought you
were going to be the guy that I saw on
the field, like, oh my gosh, thank you so much.
You know, as much much energy as you have, and
you are just so calm, cool and collected. It's really
(24:05):
a different guy. So is that a switch that you
flip when you get out onto the football field?
Speaker 4 (24:10):
Yeah, I think it's just that. I think it's like
when you step on the field, and once again, it
can become monotonous and a lot of athletes can of
say it, but I think like when you step on
the field, it just takes the ultimate focus at your job,
at what you're doing, you know, because as soon as
you let the focus slip, you know, something happens, or
you know, you give up this or that. And so
(24:31):
I think just like having focused but also having just
the ultimate focus of approaching each play like it's the
last play. It's that play, is not the next play.
Just ultimate focus. I think that's really what it comes
down to. And yeah, the energy on the field is
just like you know, you put the work in all
week and you want to go out there and have fun.
You want to enjoy it. That's what I do. Once again,
I know how volatile it is, and I'm not going
(24:52):
to let it, you know, just consume me have fun.
It's a kid's game at the end of the day,
and then obviously, like when football done, I'm a regular person.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
So who has more energy on the field? You are
Sam Franklin.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
Oh, that's a good one. I always try to match Sam.
I don't know, man, he always brings it, so like, yeah,
he's he's he's one of a kind. Sam's great. He
always brings energy, so it's up to some of us
to just kind of match it. So I definitely try
to get there with him.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Yeah, I don't know if I could pick who has
more energy, it's like one a. But the great thing is,
you know, being the sideline reporter, I can see how
much the other guys feed off of you.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
We have a group of hungry guys. It's it's it's
really fun to be around. Everybody's hungry to get tackles,
to make plays, to you know, help the squad out,
and so, you know, I think that's what it's all about.
We all just pushing each other. I've always been kind
of a fan of Iron Sharp AND's iron, but that's
kind of what we do. The group's fun, it's close
knit and get after it.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Okay, So moving away from football, you are a self
described real estate enthusiast. Uh oh, and I just want
to know what does that mean? What are we enthusiastic
about when it comes to real estate?
Speaker 4 (26:01):
Once again, it's a great question. Uh yeah, I think
just the obviously, I think the financial freedom part of it.
Uh Now, once again, I try not to reinvent the
wheel a big Warren Buffett fan. Me and my brother
talk about it all the time. You know, be honest
with you. If you if you if you really want
my strategy investing, you know, if it can't beat the
(26:22):
ten percent in the market, then I'm hesitant investing in it.
But real estate is one of those things that I
really enjoy. I really enjoy learning about it, both commercially
and residentially. So uh, I just I think it offers
so much like for not yourself but your family for
generations to come. So it's awesome. Yeah, I love learning
about it.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Okay, last question, are you a truly a guy or
a Zillo guy? Or are you going on some professional
website that I don't even know about?
Speaker 4 (26:49):
No? No, no, no, uh you know I like redfin.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Oohdin that's a good one.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
Yeah, I get on there. I would say mostly Zillo,
I know it can be an inaccurate sometimes, but just
to look at it.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Ailo, Okay, Zillo go sponsor Felipe Franks or Redfin whoever.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
Whichever, please do that would be awesome. I love you guys.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Okay, Felipe, thank you so much. This was great, and
thank you for bringing the energy and thank you for
hyping me up. But saying that I am asking great questions.
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (27:18):
Let's go. Yeah no, that was awesome. Thank you. I
appreciate you having me on well.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Huge thank you to Felipe Franks and to Sharon. As always,
we appreciate all of you who are listening, and we
will be back next Wednesday with a season wrap up.
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