September 10, 2025 • 16 mins
This week on Sideline Pass, Kristen and Sharon detail what it is like being a sideline reporter during a rain delay, recap the Panthers 26-10 loss to the Jaguars, look ahead to week 2 vs the Arizona Cardinals, and so much more!
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Years, Kristin Balboni and Sharon Thors loved it with your
Sideline Pass.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome to another edition of Sideline Pass with your Sideline
Reporter Sharon and Kristen.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Sharon.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
It is Wednesday, which means that whatever happened last week,
we can put it behind us, and as the team does,
we turn the page and we get ready for the Cardinals.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Absolutely, and that's what you have to do.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
I mean, obviously, the outcome of Sunday's game at Jacksonville
not what anybody was expecting or wanted to see. But
you know, they had tell the truth Monday, you know,
looked over the film, saw what they need to correct,
got a little time off yesterday Tuesday, and then back
to work Wednesday, and now is when they start fixing
all of those issues that they had this last week
and start focusing on Game two. And you know it's
(00:50):
game two. We had one game and yeah it was
not the best game, but there's still you know, sixteen
more of these to go, so guys got to put
that one behind and move on to the next challenge
and that's Arizona Cardinals.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
M hm. And we are certainly going to be talking
about Cardinals Sharon's going to give us her scouting report,
which is, as we all know, the best scouting report
on any opposing team. It is appointment listening for me
every single week. But I do want to touch on
a couple of things. As we said, there's plenty of
analysis about what happened in that game. We've heard the
players talk, we've heard the coaches talk, and we will
(01:22):
get into that a little bit. But what we always
like to do here is bring you behind the curtain,
bring you down to the sideline, some might say. And
so what I want to know from you, Sharon, his
first game on the road there, there were obviously a lot.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Of moments in that game. What did you see on
the sideline?
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Well, you know, one thing that I think some people
probably noticed was was Bryce Young getting emotional. That's something
that has come up and you know, he's become more
vocal like he did at the end of last season.
A lot of people are loving that that he was
becoming a little more outgoing, a little more outspoken and
things like that. And so you know, he was frustrated
after a play and the when they were trying to
go go into score and you know it fell apart.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
And didn't happen.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
He sort of stomped off and you threw a helmet
and was, you know, yelling a little bit, which is
not something you often see from Bryce. But it's great
to see that kind of passion, that kind of you know,
just just a little more anger and things like that
in him, And say, because he's so even keeled and
so nice and so pleasant, and so it's sort of like, wow,
Bryance is ticked, you know, so, but I think that
that's sort of a good thing too, for him to
(02:20):
be able to show that emotion. But yeah, you know,
guys up and down on the sidelines, I mean, he
gets early on, everybody was, you know, very excited. It
was all business though. You could sort of tell guys
weren't like two out of out of sorts. They weren't
like all jacked up and oh my gosh, we're ready
to go. I mean, they were very business like. They
knew that this was, you know, the season open. They
wanted to come out and put their best foot forward
kind of thing. But you know, when things started to
(02:41):
go poorland, they weren't able to get things rolling. I mean,
guys were clearly getting frustrated and that's that's normal, of course,
because that's not how they want things to happen. So
guys are getting frustrated, but then they were also you know,
guys trying to calm everybody down and get people going.
Shoba Hubbard goes up and down the sidelines quite often
trying to, you know, get the offense going, and he'll
even come over to the defense times too and say,
you know, good job, and some of the guys from
(03:03):
the defense will come over. Ashawn Robinson in particular, would
you know, come over a couple of times to the
offense trying to, you know, say good drive or whatever
it may be. So, you know, guys trying to bring
each other up on both sides of the football. And
then I think probably one of the most fun moments
was JC getting that interception, which was unreal that one
hand to grab and when he came back on the sidelines,
you can assume everybody would be would be mobbying him
(03:25):
and that's exactly what they were doing, so that that
was a lot of fun to see that.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, I said that, I think Joe Horn, his dad
would be very proud, you know, the receiver, Joe Horn
would be very absolutely j c catch right there that
one hand, the extension. It's interesting what you said about
Bryce hereon because as you said, and as we've seen
for the past, you know, this is going on the
third season, he is very even keeled on the sidelines.
That's something that anyone in our position would notice. At
(03:51):
the end of last year, he did get more animated,
and it seemed like it came along with confidence, right,
And that's something that that plenty of people have talked
about his growing confidence there toward the end of the year,
once he became the starter again. I saw the emotion
and like you said, I thought it well. I liked it,
you know in terms of, you know, it's showing how
(04:14):
passionate you are. And you know, there's that we've heard
the guys from twenty fifteen say it where they said
that they knew it was going to be a good
season when Cam Newton and Josh Norman got into it
in training camp.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Definitely.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
And I just remember, you know, as fans sometimes are
you know, I don't want to speak for everyone, but
me as a fan before covering an NFL team.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Specifically, I'd be like, oh my gosh, you know, somebody's upset.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
I don't know about that, and then you find out
that there are differing views on it, which it's taken
as a mark of passion. And like you said, if
guys are getting frustrated on the sidelines as the game
goes on, means they care and yeah, and certainly want
to see things change in week two.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
And something that Dave Kanal has said.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
To me, Sharon that we can look out for is
he said that he wants to see more celebration of
teammates and in moments, like he said, if anyone is
and granted, you know, if it's in the fourth quarter
and you're down, you know, twenty six to ten, it's
it's hard to celebrate sometimes maybe that Chuba touchdown. But
(05:19):
he just said I think overall that he wants to
see bringing the focus back to the team, celebrating your
teammate and really like making the most of these these
little wins and these big plays and all sorts of things.
So that's something that I think we can watch for more,
is that he's encouraging them to be I think demonstrative
in terms of really really hyping up the big plays.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
No, absolutely, and I would love to see that too.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
I mean because you see that sound like you said,
but certainly didn't get a lot of opportunity on Sunday
because of the situation with the game. But I love
it that that coach Kanalis thinks like that too, and
he's he's always talked about that. He wanted to remember
last year in his debut, oh you know, in the season,
he was like, I want guys to be standing on
the sidelines, to.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Be watching their teammates, be cheering.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
For them, you know, I want to start to the
side exactly. So he wants he wants that kind of
involvement and wants to create that kind of culture for
this team. So I guess maybe that's it. That's a
good reminder for the guys as we you know, get
into only game two of the season here, that they can,
you know, take a little more time to celebrate those
and not just have to be all right, play over,
move on to the next one kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
And selfishly, it makes for great sideline reporting all the
different celebrations.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Exactly. Yes, let's go for it.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
I want to ask you about the lightning delay again,
kind of a nerdy sideline reporter thing.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
It was. It lasted for what an hour and fifteen minutes.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Gosh, never ending?
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Was that? Yes?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Could you just don't know when it's going to end
and the sky's not telling you anything, I imagine.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
So what was that like covering that?
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Oh my gosh, Well, first of all, I never even
saw lightning when I once when they when they called
the game and we were getting ready to go out
there for an offensive position. Then all of a sudden,
you know that Jaguars are running off and we're still
on the field and they're like, what's going on?
Speaker 1 (06:59):
What's going on?
Speaker 4 (06:59):
And you know, one of the grounds people who were
standing near me.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Was like, oh, lightning.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
I'm like where He was like, I don't know, And
I'm like I have no idea where the lightning ever
was whereever came from. But we never had any bad
weather except for a little bit of rain came down
for just a few minutes. But yeah, it was like, okay,
now what now what? I kept trying to get answers
from different people, and everybody had a different answer.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
And nobody knew what they were doing.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
And of course, when we're on the air trying to
trying to talk and fill that hour and sixteen minutes
of range of weather, delay.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
You know, it's like, okay, what can we come up with?
Speaker 4 (07:30):
I was trying to get information for people because they
didn't have any idea what was going on up in
the booth or anywhere. Nobody seemed to know anything. So
I was just constantly trying to find information, ranging from
when is the weather delay going to be over? To
what is actually happening with the weather, and what are
the Panthers doing right now? As they're in the locker room.
They're they're eating, they're getting IV's, they're trying not to
get bored.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I mean that's when you do your most intrepid reporting.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
I remember once during a preseason game there was a
delay where we didn't know what time the game was
going to start, and Sharon I creeped up to the
back of an official meet, like the officials were meeting
with the stadium with you know, John you and John
Diggs and Eddie Elevens.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
They're meeting with the stadium personnel, and.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
I like, kind of walk, don't mind me, I'm anything.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yes, yeah, so that's you look, we investigate, okay for
all of you at home, but that's a long hour.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Yes, it was like, oh my gosh, and that was crazy.
After that, it was like, all right, now we still
had to come out and play like eight and a
half minutes and then.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
It was halftime. It's like, really, I felt like the
game should have been over at that point.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
We were looking back at place for some of the
shows that we were doing this week, and we're sitting
there going, okay, was this play in the first half
or the second half? Because it felt like, you know,
anything that happened after that lightning delay, it just felt
I was like, that's really.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
It was like three halfs. It was just weird.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
So it really was, and perhaps to you guys were
filling all of that extra time. So let's talk about
the Cardinals. I think we need our famous Sharon Thorslan
preview of what to expect. Now. We know that the
Cardinals came in to Bank of America Stadium last year
and the Panthers won. It was a great game. But
(09:07):
as you were saying just a little bit earlier, this
team has changed.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Now their offense is literally exactly the same. They have well,
they have four of their starting five offensive alignment back,
but they still have Kyler Murray, who we all know
is an unbelievable threat to throw and run the football.
And they're big. They're big thing. They want to run
the ball. That's what they do. They've got James Connor
coming off back to back thousand yard seasons. He's showing
(09:32):
no signs of slowing down. They were eighth in the
league last year in running the ball, averaged one hundred
and forty four yards a game. They had one hundred
and forty six this past week against the Saints. So
they can run the football and that clearly was something
that the Panthers have had trouble stopping now for a while.
And then they've got some studs in the receiving group
as well, with Marvin Harrison junior second year player now
(09:53):
he showed a lot of flash last year as a rookie.
And then Trey McBride their tight end, who had an
unbelievable season a year ago. I'm getting Pro Bowl honors
along the way. So they've got just studs offensively. But
where they did change was defense. They completely overhauled their
front seven and they brought in some really, really good players,
starting with Josh Swat, the edge rusher from the Eagles,
(10:16):
of course Super Bowl champion, so he's in there now
on the edge. They also brought in Kalayis Campbell, who
I think has been around for about fifty years now.
He never he never fought, He's just so good every year,
so they've got him in there as well. They have
brought in Dalvin Tomlinson up on that front line, and
then they drafted really really good cornerback will Johnson who's
(10:37):
already turning some heads out there with his play this
past week, so you know, throw him already out there
with Budda Baker and those guys and Garrett Williams, and
they've got a really good secondary already, so when you're
really beefing up that front seven and getting a sweat
in particular up there to be an edge rusher. And
they've got a Jilaris back from a torn acl last
year as well there in the linebacker crew. So they've
(10:58):
got a lot of real the talented players on that defense.
And you know, they played the Saints last week, so
that's sort of not a really good gauge because the
Saints definitely struggling and having some issues with everything, it
seems like, so and they did beat them, but like
I said, they had one hundred and forty six rushing yards,
which is where that's their bread and butter on offense.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
So the Panthers defense really has.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
To tighten up and make some corrections from this past
week when they gave up way too many rushing yards.
So because they're going to be in for another really
stiff challenge on Sunday with James Connor and the Gang.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
And the good news about that, Sharon, is that this
steal line was revamped and you know, and Derek Brown
is back, and so I I believe that they are
going to be a team that can stop the run.
And I think that what we saw last week was
you know, I talked to former players as we've gone
through our content this week and talked a lot about
run fits and if they can just straighten those out,
(11:54):
then they can be this D line that everyone expected
them to be. And then also and something that I
was reminded about with with former players talking and certainly
we know this as sideline reporters, Derek Brown, as good
as he is, it is still going to take him
a minute just to get back adjusted to playing. And
so so really excited to see this D line respond
(12:19):
to last week's game and to respond to a team that,
you know, I think, I think when you're a player
and you're a professional, it's like you want that challenge. Oh, okay,
Arizona runs the ball. Let's let's go back and show
everyone that Week one was not the way in which
we want to defend the run. So I know that
those guys feel that way. I know that that's what
the coaches are saying. So I'm excited to see it.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Absolutely, I agree with you. And I also think, like
you were pointing out that Derek Brown maybe is going
to take him a little a little bit of time
to get back in the swing of things. None of
these guys have really played together a lot either, you know,
because I mean they didn't play in the preseason really
at all, except for a couple of snaps. Derek Brown had,
you know, three snaps. So there's something to be said
for that. You know, that chemistry and communication and things
across the line. We talked about it a lot on
(13:00):
the offensive line, but same thing with the defensive line
and the guys out on that defense. They need snaps
playing together and you know, sort of get used to
each other, particularly when you've got so many new guys
like we do upfront. And Derek coming back like that
is basically new this season as well with that rotation.
So I think it's going to take them a little
bit of time to get the rhythm down, get the
chemistry down, things like that. And as they continue to
(13:21):
build that, I think you're going to see this D
line getting even better and hopefully with this the run
game shut that down more. And like you said, absolutely,
I know they're up for that challenge and they want
to go out there and prove that that was an
anomaly last week. They want to go out there and
keep Kyler Murray in check as well as James Connor
and to try to shut down there, slow down that
run game if nothing else.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Sure, and let's talk about I think one of the
biggest bright spots this past week was Tetoro McMillan, So
I want to talk about him and then also maybe
the rookies in general and what we might see from
them in this next game.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
So what was Timak like in person?
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Oh, I tell you what, you know, the way he
can go up there and grab a football. When you
see it up close and personal like that, it's like,
holy cow. You know, we saw it all through training
camp and stuff. But to do it on the on
the big stage, you know, in a real game you
just sat ever, Yeah, just how talented he is and
how he just literally rises above everybody else. It almost
(14:19):
almost snagged that touchdown pass. Would have been unbelievable if
he could have reeled that in. But yeah, he was
very poised, did not act like he was, you know,
in awe of anything, just acted like it's another game.
He just went out there and fit right in.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
And I'm sure that he'd do a little self critiquing
saying that, you know, he's got a got to be
able to get that ball, you know, and things like that.
But I thought he did a tremendous job and really
really showed why they chose him in the first round
like that and made him the number eight pick. I mean,
he really really looked good out there, and it was
a lot of fun to watch him.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah, I'm excited to see what he does each week.
You know, something tells me it's going to get better
and better. And then you know, of course he's not
the only rookie in this rookie class. So what have
you been hearing in terms of the other young guys
and will we get to see them more well.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
That that is the hope.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Dave Canalis was, I was speaking about that on Monday
in his press commerce. So he wants to he'd like
to see a little bit more and then particularly on defense,
you know, Nick Gordon, Prince willam on Me, Ellen Lathan, Ransom,
and we didn't see a lot of those guys against
the Jaguars, and the hope is that maybe we'll be
able to get a little bit more of them, a
little more, a little a few more plays and at
(15:29):
least because there's some talented guys, especially in Ransom, he
made some unbelievable plays in the preseason and Nick Gordon too,
now back you know, had to be out for a
little while they were with that punctured Lark collapse long.
So you'd love to see these guys get in the
rotation and show why we drafted them and why they
were so good in the preseason, to see how they
fare in the in the regular season here, So Dave
(15:51):
Canal seems to be lobbying for that. We'll see if
Asiao Vero agrees with them and gets them out there
on Sunday against the Cardinals. To be fun to get
those guys in the see what they can bring, you know,
maybe spice up the defense a little bit, and you know,
give them some valuable playing experience as well, and you
really build the depth on this defense, which is something
that you got to have particular as you go later
into the season.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Absolutely, well, look, one game down, a lot of season
left to go, and I'm excited to see how the
Panthers respond in Arizona. Sharon safe travels. We will talk
at the same time next week and thanks to everyone
as always for listening.
Years, Kristin Balboni and Sharon Thors loved it with your
Sideline Pass.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome to another edition of Sideline Pass with your Sideline
Reporter Sharon and Kristen.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Sharon.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
It is Wednesday, which means that whatever happened last week,
we can put it behind us, and as the team does,
we turn the page and we get ready for the Cardinals.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Absolutely, and that's what you have to do.
Speaker 4 (00:28):
I mean, obviously, the outcome of Sunday's game at Jacksonville
not what anybody was expecting or wanted to see. But
you know, they had tell the truth Monday, you know,
looked over the film, saw what they need to correct,
got a little time off yesterday Tuesday, and then back
to work Wednesday, and now is when they start fixing
all of those issues that they had this last week
and start focusing on Game two. And you know it's
(00:50):
game two. We had one game and yeah it was
not the best game, but there's still you know, sixteen
more of these to go, so guys got to put
that one behind and move on to the next challenge
and that's Arizona Cardinals.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
M hm. And we are certainly going to be talking
about Cardinals Sharon's going to give us her scouting report,
which is, as we all know, the best scouting report
on any opposing team. It is appointment listening for me
every single week. But I do want to touch on
a couple of things. As we said, there's plenty of
analysis about what happened in that game. We've heard the
players talk, we've heard the coaches talk, and we will
(01:22):
get into that a little bit. But what we always
like to do here is bring you behind the curtain,
bring you down to the sideline, some might say. And
so what I want to know from you, Sharon, his
first game on the road there, there were obviously a lot.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Of moments in that game. What did you see on
the sideline?
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Well, you know, one thing that I think some people
probably noticed was was Bryce Young getting emotional. That's something
that has come up and you know, he's become more
vocal like he did at the end of last season.
A lot of people are loving that that he was
becoming a little more outgoing, a little more outspoken and
things like that. And so you know, he was frustrated
after a play and the when they were trying to
go go into score and you know it fell apart.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
And didn't happen.
Speaker 4 (01:59):
He sort of stomped off and you threw a helmet
and was, you know, yelling a little bit, which is
not something you often see from Bryce. But it's great
to see that kind of passion, that kind of you know,
just just a little more anger and things like that
in him, And say, because he's so even keeled and
so nice and so pleasant, and so it's sort of like, wow,
Bryance is ticked, you know, so, but I think that
that's sort of a good thing too, for him to
(02:20):
be able to show that emotion. But yeah, you know,
guys up and down on the sidelines, I mean, he
gets early on, everybody was, you know, very excited. It
was all business though. You could sort of tell guys
weren't like two out of out of sorts. They weren't
like all jacked up and oh my gosh, we're ready
to go. I mean, they were very business like. They
knew that this was, you know, the season open. They
wanted to come out and put their best foot forward
kind of thing. But you know, when things started to
(02:41):
go poorland, they weren't able to get things rolling. I mean,
guys were clearly getting frustrated and that's that's normal, of course,
because that's not how they want things to happen. So
guys are getting frustrated, but then they were also you know,
guys trying to calm everybody down and get people going.
Shoba Hubbard goes up and down the sidelines quite often
trying to, you know, get the offense going, and he'll
even come over to the defense times too and say,
you know, good job, and some of the guys from
(03:03):
the defense will come over. Ashawn Robinson in particular, would
you know, come over a couple of times to the
offense trying to, you know, say good drive or whatever
it may be. So, you know, guys trying to bring
each other up on both sides of the football. And
then I think probably one of the most fun moments
was JC getting that interception, which was unreal that one
hand to grab and when he came back on the sidelines,
you can assume everybody would be would be mobbying him
(03:25):
and that's exactly what they were doing, so that that
was a lot of fun to see that.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, I said that, I think Joe Horn, his dad
would be very proud, you know, the receiver, Joe Horn
would be very absolutely j c catch right there that
one hand, the extension. It's interesting what you said about
Bryce hereon because as you said, and as we've seen
for the past, you know, this is going on the
third season, he is very even keeled on the sidelines.
That's something that anyone in our position would notice. At
(03:51):
the end of last year, he did get more animated,
and it seemed like it came along with confidence, right,
And that's something that that plenty of people have talked
about his growing confidence there toward the end of the year,
once he became the starter again. I saw the emotion
and like you said, I thought it well. I liked it,
you know in terms of, you know, it's showing how
(04:14):
passionate you are. And you know, there's that we've heard
the guys from twenty fifteen say it where they said
that they knew it was going to be a good
season when Cam Newton and Josh Norman got into it
in training camp.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Definitely.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
And I just remember, you know, as fans sometimes are
you know, I don't want to speak for everyone, but
me as a fan before covering an NFL team.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Specifically, I'd be like, oh my gosh, you know, somebody's upset.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
I don't know about that, and then you find out
that there are differing views on it, which it's taken
as a mark of passion. And like you said, if
guys are getting frustrated on the sidelines as the game
goes on, means they care and yeah, and certainly want
to see things change in week two.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
And something that Dave Kanal has said.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
To me, Sharon that we can look out for is
he said that he wants to see more celebration of
teammates and in moments, like he said, if anyone is
and granted, you know, if it's in the fourth quarter
and you're down, you know, twenty six to ten, it's
it's hard to celebrate sometimes maybe that Chuba touchdown. But
(05:19):
he just said I think overall that he wants to
see bringing the focus back to the team, celebrating your
teammate and really like making the most of these these
little wins and these big plays and all sorts of things.
So that's something that I think we can watch for more,
is that he's encouraging them to be I think demonstrative
in terms of really really hyping up the big plays.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
No, absolutely, and I would love to see that too.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
I mean because you see that sound like you said,
but certainly didn't get a lot of opportunity on Sunday
because of the situation with the game. But I love
it that that coach Kanalis thinks like that too, and
he's he's always talked about that. He wanted to remember
last year in his debut, oh you know, in the season,
he was like, I want guys to be standing on
the sidelines, to.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Be watching their teammates, be cheering.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
For them, you know, I want to start to the
side exactly. So he wants he wants that kind of
involvement and wants to create that kind of culture for
this team. So I guess maybe that's it. That's a
good reminder for the guys as we you know, get
into only game two of the season here, that they can,
you know, take a little more time to celebrate those
and not just have to be all right, play over,
move on to the next one kind of thing.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
And selfishly, it makes for great sideline reporting all the
different celebrations.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Exactly. Yes, let's go for it.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
I want to ask you about the lightning delay again,
kind of a nerdy sideline reporter thing.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
It was. It lasted for what an hour and fifteen minutes.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Gosh, never ending?
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Was that? Yes?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Could you just don't know when it's going to end
and the sky's not telling you anything, I imagine.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
So what was that like covering that?
Speaker 4 (06:47):
Oh my gosh, Well, first of all, I never even
saw lightning when I once when they when they called
the game and we were getting ready to go out
there for an offensive position. Then all of a sudden,
you know that Jaguars are running off and we're still
on the field and they're like, what's going on?
Speaker 1 (06:59):
What's going on?
Speaker 4 (06:59):
And you know, one of the grounds people who were
standing near me.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
Was like, oh, lightning.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
I'm like where He was like, I don't know, And
I'm like I have no idea where the lightning ever
was whereever came from. But we never had any bad
weather except for a little bit of rain came down
for just a few minutes. But yeah, it was like, okay,
now what now what? I kept trying to get answers
from different people, and everybody had a different answer.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
And nobody knew what they were doing.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
And of course, when we're on the air trying to
trying to talk and fill that hour and sixteen minutes
of range of weather, delay.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
You know, it's like, okay, what can we come up with?
Speaker 4 (07:30):
I was trying to get information for people because they
didn't have any idea what was going on up in
the booth or anywhere. Nobody seemed to know anything. So
I was just constantly trying to find information, ranging from
when is the weather delay going to be over? To
what is actually happening with the weather, and what are
the Panthers doing right now? As they're in the locker room.
They're they're eating, they're getting IV's, they're trying not to
get bored.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
I mean that's when you do your most intrepid reporting.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
I remember once during a preseason game there was a
delay where we didn't know what time the game was
going to start, and Sharon I creeped up to the
back of an official meet, like the officials were meeting
with the stadium with you know, John you and John
Diggs and Eddie Elevens.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
They're meeting with the stadium personnel, and.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
I like, kind of walk, don't mind me, I'm anything.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yes, yeah, so that's you look, we investigate, okay for
all of you at home, but that's a long hour.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Yes, it was like, oh my gosh, and that was crazy.
After that, it was like, all right, now we still
had to come out and play like eight and a
half minutes and then.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
It was halftime. It's like, really, I felt like the
game should have been over at that point.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
We were looking back at place for some of the
shows that we were doing this week, and we're sitting
there going, okay, was this play in the first half
or the second half? Because it felt like, you know,
anything that happened after that lightning delay, it just felt
I was like, that's really.
Speaker 1 (08:45):
It was like three halfs. It was just weird.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
So it really was, and perhaps to you guys were
filling all of that extra time. So let's talk about
the Cardinals. I think we need our famous Sharon Thorslan
preview of what to expect. Now. We know that the
Cardinals came in to Bank of America Stadium last year
and the Panthers won. It was a great game. But
(09:07):
as you were saying just a little bit earlier, this
team has changed.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Now their offense is literally exactly the same. They have well,
they have four of their starting five offensive alignment back,
but they still have Kyler Murray, who we all know
is an unbelievable threat to throw and run the football.
And they're big. They're big thing. They want to run
the ball. That's what they do. They've got James Connor
coming off back to back thousand yard seasons. He's showing
(09:32):
no signs of slowing down. They were eighth in the
league last year in running the ball, averaged one hundred
and forty four yards a game. They had one hundred
and forty six this past week against the Saints. So
they can run the football and that clearly was something
that the Panthers have had trouble stopping now for a while.
And then they've got some studs in the receiving group
as well, with Marvin Harrison junior second year player now
(09:53):
he showed a lot of flash last year as a rookie.
And then Trey McBride their tight end, who had an
unbelievable season a year ago. I'm getting Pro Bowl honors
along the way. So they've got just studs offensively. But
where they did change was defense. They completely overhauled their
front seven and they brought in some really, really good players,
starting with Josh Swat, the edge rusher from the Eagles,
(10:16):
of course Super Bowl champion, so he's in there now
on the edge. They also brought in Kalayis Campbell, who
I think has been around for about fifty years now.
He never he never fought, He's just so good every year,
so they've got him in there as well. They have
brought in Dalvin Tomlinson up on that front line, and
then they drafted really really good cornerback will Johnson who's
(10:37):
already turning some heads out there with his play this
past week, so you know, throw him already out there
with Budda Baker and those guys and Garrett Williams, and
they've got a really good secondary already, so when you're
really beefing up that front seven and getting a sweat
in particular up there to be an edge rusher. And
they've got a Jilaris back from a torn acl last
year as well there in the linebacker crew. So they've
(10:58):
got a lot of real the talented players on that defense.
And you know, they played the Saints last week, so
that's sort of not a really good gauge because the
Saints definitely struggling and having some issues with everything, it
seems like, so and they did beat them, but like
I said, they had one hundred and forty six rushing yards,
which is where that's their bread and butter on offense.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
So the Panthers defense really has.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
To tighten up and make some corrections from this past
week when they gave up way too many rushing yards.
So because they're going to be in for another really
stiff challenge on Sunday with James Connor and the Gang.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
And the good news about that, Sharon, is that this
steal line was revamped and you know, and Derek Brown
is back, and so I I believe that they are
going to be a team that can stop the run.
And I think that what we saw last week was
you know, I talked to former players as we've gone
through our content this week and talked a lot about
run fits and if they can just straighten those out,
(11:54):
then they can be this D line that everyone expected
them to be. And then also and something that I
was reminded about with with former players talking and certainly
we know this as sideline reporters, Derek Brown, as good
as he is, it is still going to take him
a minute just to get back adjusted to playing. And
so so really excited to see this D line respond
(12:19):
to last week's game and to respond to a team that,
you know, I think, I think when you're a player
and you're a professional, it's like you want that challenge. Oh, okay,
Arizona runs the ball. Let's let's go back and show
everyone that Week one was not the way in which
we want to defend the run. So I know that
those guys feel that way. I know that that's what
the coaches are saying. So I'm excited to see it.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Absolutely, I agree with you. And I also think, like
you were pointing out that Derek Brown maybe is going
to take him a little a little bit of time
to get back in the swing of things. None of
these guys have really played together a lot either, you know,
because I mean they didn't play in the preseason really
at all, except for a couple of snaps. Derek Brown had,
you know, three snaps. So there's something to be said
for that. You know, that chemistry and communication and things
across the line. We talked about it a lot on
(13:00):
the offensive line, but same thing with the defensive line
and the guys out on that defense. They need snaps
playing together and you know, sort of get used to
each other, particularly when you've got so many new guys
like we do upfront. And Derek coming back like that
is basically new this season as well with that rotation.
So I think it's going to take them a little
bit of time to get the rhythm down, get the
chemistry down, things like that. And as they continue to
(13:21):
build that, I think you're going to see this D
line getting even better and hopefully with this the run
game shut that down more. And like you said, absolutely,
I know they're up for that challenge and they want
to go out there and prove that that was an
anomaly last week. They want to go out there and
keep Kyler Murray in check as well as James Connor
and to try to shut down there, slow down that
run game if nothing else.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Sure, and let's talk about I think one of the
biggest bright spots this past week was Tetoro McMillan, So
I want to talk about him and then also maybe
the rookies in general and what we might see from
them in this next game.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
So what was Timak like in person?
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Oh, I tell you what, you know, the way he
can go up there and grab a football. When you
see it up close and personal like that, it's like,
holy cow. You know, we saw it all through training
camp and stuff. But to do it on the on
the big stage, you know, in a real game you
just sat ever, Yeah, just how talented he is and
how he just literally rises above everybody else. It almost
(14:19):
almost snagged that touchdown pass. Would have been unbelievable if
he could have reeled that in. But yeah, he was
very poised, did not act like he was, you know,
in awe of anything, just acted like it's another game.
He just went out there and fit right in.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
And I'm sure that he'd do a little self critiquing
saying that, you know, he's got a got to be
able to get that ball, you know, and things like that.
But I thought he did a tremendous job and really
really showed why they chose him in the first round
like that and made him the number eight pick. I mean,
he really really looked good out there, and it was
a lot of fun to watch him.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah, I'm excited to see what he does each week.
You know, something tells me it's going to get better
and better. And then you know, of course he's not
the only rookie in this rookie class. So what have
you been hearing in terms of the other young guys
and will we get to see them more well.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
That that is the hope.
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Dave Canalis was, I was speaking about that on Monday
in his press commerce. So he wants to he'd like
to see a little bit more and then particularly on defense,
you know, Nick Gordon, Prince willam on Me, Ellen Lathan, Ransom,
and we didn't see a lot of those guys against
the Jaguars, and the hope is that maybe we'll be
able to get a little bit more of them, a
little more, a little a few more plays and at
(15:29):
least because there's some talented guys, especially in Ransom, he
made some unbelievable plays in the preseason and Nick Gordon too,
now back you know, had to be out for a
little while they were with that punctured Lark collapse long.
So you'd love to see these guys get in the
rotation and show why we drafted them and why they
were so good in the preseason, to see how they
fare in the in the regular season here, So Dave
(15:51):
Canal seems to be lobbying for that. We'll see if
Asiao Vero agrees with them and gets them out there
on Sunday against the Cardinals. To be fun to get
those guys in the see what they can bring, you know,
maybe spice up the defense a little bit, and you know,
give them some valuable playing experience as well, and you
really build the depth on this defense, which is something
that you got to have particular as you go later
into the season.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
Absolutely, well, look, one game down, a lot of season
left to go, and I'm excited to see how the
Panthers respond in Arizona. Sharon safe travels. We will talk
at the same time next week and thanks to everyone
as always for listening.
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