October 29, 2025 • 31 mins
This week on Sideline Pass, Kristen and Sharon react to the Panthers week 8 loss to the Buffalo Bills, look ahead to this Sunday's road trip to Green Bay, and so much more - including an exclusive sit down with Panthers long snapper, JJ Jansen.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Jeers, Kristin Balboni, and Sharon Thor's love it with your
sideline pass.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It is time for your sideline pass with your sideline
reporters Sharon and Kristin, and Sideline Pass is brought to
you by Barefoot Wine. You know, wine and football aren't
that different. Sure they're complex, but enjoying them should be easy.
You don't need to worry about complex formations and flavor
profiles or which wine pairs with.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
What all that matters is together.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Barefoot Wine and Panthers are easy to enjoy, So let's
enjoy ourselves. Barefoot the official wine sponsor of the NFL. Sharon,
it is Wednesday morning, after the tough loss to the Bills,
and we've got a lot to talk about with that game,
and I thought, because we are sideline reporters, we should
start with giving everyone the latest on the injuries. And unfortunately,
(00:52):
you never want to be in that position where there
were a lot of them on Sunday.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
Yeah, that was pretty darn brutal. That needs us to say,
in particular the the offensive line, that's just man alive.
It's just a struggle with the O line. You hate
to see Brady Christensen go down with that achilles injury.
He has done for the season. He's uh, you know,
had a torn I think it was bicep a couple
of years ago and that ended his season early as well.
(01:17):
So it's just he's just the most versatile guy on
that offensive line and can play absolutely anywhere, as he's
been doing for years for us now, so hate it
for him going down. And you got Cad May's at
that center position, who is already in there for Austin
Corbett of course, and he's got that I think it's
the ankle injury. You've got Corbett again out again. Now
we're not sure about any of these guys with their
(01:38):
updates are gonna be. We're gonna hear from Dave Canlsel
but later on today to give us the official on that.
But that's three more line.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Taylor Motain at the end of that game and we'll
see there again. But yeah, it's just we lost three
in that game. Yeah, three of the starting line as killer.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
Yeah. And then the good news is Chandler Zavala, who
has also been out since that Patriots game. Uh, they
opened up his window today to open up his twenty
one day practice to get him back into the lineup,
So hopefully he'll be able to come back sooner rather
than later, because they certainly need that depth. That was funny.
It just seems like just a few weeks ago, we're
just bragging about how we have all five of our
starters and all four of our depth guys back from
(02:16):
last year. And man, it's a good thing they had
that because they are making use of every last one
of those guys.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yes, I just remember being so impressed by Brian, Dan
Morgan and Brent Tillis in that entire front office to
bring back such depth at that position, and they've needed
every single one of as you said, those nine guys
that return that played the most snaps last year. And
even then, you know, we had Jake Cerncom and he
was the fourth guard at you know, the fourth guy
(02:41):
at that position over the course of the season, and
you know, we're making sure we can say his name right,
you know, and that's and I mean, really that's that's
how much we haven't seen him. And so even with
all of these injuries, you know, it is remarkable also
the speed at which offensive linemen come back. They are
so tough and it's amazing to see. And then also
(03:02):
the lack of real drop off. You know, we had
some another rash of injuries a couple of weeks ago,
and that was when Rico Dawdle had had those two
amazing games. And Dave Canalis has just said wonderful things
about this offensive line staff and the guys themselves, of
just the way they started even from from training camp,
to just rotate in to make sure that they know
(03:22):
their playbooks, to really have you know, no drop off
if things are needed, and we've seen that with guys
coming in at the last minute of playing different positions,
and it's really impressive. But gosh, you you hate to
see those injuries, like you said, and especially we know
when someone's out for the season like Brady Christensen. Just
just really tough, Sharon. I want to move on to
the quarterback position. We saw Andy Dalton in for Bryce
(03:44):
Young with that ankle injury. And again this is Wednesday
morning or Wednesday before practice, I should say, so you
know they're going to bring Bryce out every day of practice,
but it seems to me, you know, I talked to
Dave Canallis earlier this week, and then of course he
gave his postgame presser and his Monday presser, and it
seems like they are very hopeful without seeing him on
the field yet, they're hopeful that he can play against
(04:04):
Screen Bay.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
Yeah, it sounds like they were really hoping to get
him out on the field today to actually practice. He was,
like he said, out there every day last week, was
not actually practicing, just working with trainers on the side.
They're hoping they can actually get him out there today
to try and get some work in and test out
that ankle. It does not seem like it was as
severe as an ankle and jew as it certainly could
have potentially been when we see those high ankle sprains.
(04:26):
So hopefully it was just a minor sprain and he'll
be able to get back out there because you know,
we love Andy Dahton. He just did not have a
good day obviously against the Bills, and so it'd be
great to be able to get Bryce back out there.
Dave Canalis was talking about that ahead of Sunday's game.
The reason they want to get him out there is
to keep growing the way this offense has been growing
and working together. They want to do it with Bryce
out there because he's, you know, the leader of this offense.
(04:48):
So they'd like to get him back out there if
at all possible, and certainly have several more days ahead
of the Packers game, so it'd be great if he
can get back out there for Sunday's game.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And you mentioned that they want him back out there
so that this offense can keep growing. A big part
of that is the run game, and there has been
a lot of talk, certainly among the fans, a lot
of talk about the running back situation, and that's something
that Dave Canalis addressed earlier this week. You know, we've
seen two weeks now of Cuba Hubbard being healthy and
we've seen this alternating rotation of running backs between him
(05:19):
and Rico Dowdel and Sharon. Dave Canel has had some
interesting comments after that loss to the Bills.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Yeah, on Monday, he was clearly questioned about it with
the situation because we've seen Rico do amazing things out there,
and since Tuba came back, he maybe hasn't had the
same type of runs that he's head in the past.
You know, coming off that calf injury, it's harder to
get into a groove when you are alternating guys, and
you know, tubas sort of like that grinded out, you know,
rack up the arts kind of guy, not as explosive
(05:47):
as Rico. And it sounds like the coaching staff is
looking at that closely now of sea, because you know, Rico,
I think he only touched it all like one time
in the second half the way they were alternating things,
and of course they had to start throwing when you're
down so far. But it sounds like they're going to
maybe go a little bit more with the hot hand,
give Rico some more carries this week to see if
he can get that offense going again like he did
(06:08):
those two weeks in a row that he was just amazing.
So and you know, everybody loves Cuba. He's just the
blue guy on this offense and he's a guy that
he just wants to win. They asked him about that
on Monday. Do you care if it's you know, you
or Rico or you know more Rico and not you
or whatever, and he said, I don't care. I just
want to win. So he's that kind of guy. And
that's what Dave Canal said. We have to make sure
(06:29):
this is all about the football. I can't just you know,
worry about you know, Cuba is my blue guy. I
gotta have him out there. Kind of thing is like,
it has to be about winning, it has to be
about what's best for this football team. So I would
venture to say we might see a little more a
heavier dose of Rico Dawdle on Sunday against the Packers
loose to start out with, and see if that can
get this run game going again like it had been
clicking for a couple of weeks there.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yeah, I agree completely, and we'll see what happens. But
you know, if you look at the numbers, the facts
are that Rico in terms of yards per carry has
been ahead of Cuba the last two weeks, and then
of course we can't forget about those two weeks where
Chuba was out and just the you know, he was
close to setting the Panthers record for rushing yards the
first week where he was solo, and then the second
(07:10):
week he set the Panthers record from yards from scrimmage,
which is something that you know, he'd be Christian McCaffrey
in that category, which is still mind boggling. Yeah, mind
boggling to me. But it's also a great position to
be in. As you know, we just started talking about injuries,
and at this position, you have two great, healthy running backs,
and as awkward as it might be, or as tough
(07:31):
a decision as it might be, because you want both
of these guys to produce, and it's in the best
interests of the team for both of them to produce.
What a good problem to have overall that you have
got two guys right now who are healthy and that
can can come out fresh at the end of this game.
And we've heard Dave Canalis say that over and over.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Oh absolutely, I mean that is absolutely having your cake
and in it too. I mean a lot of yeah,
would love love to have two thousand yard backs on
your team, which the Panthers have done in the past,
and they've worked very well together and very effectively when
it was Dangel William Jonathan Stewart. So there's certainly no
reason that can't work again. And you know Rico the
two games in a row where he rushed for those
(08:09):
crazy amount of yards, I mean he was sitting on
the bench late in the game, drinking pickle juice and
getting getting his cramps worked out, you know. So it's
great to have that kind of a depth. You don't
have to worry about that. You don't say, oh no,
we can't run this play because Ricos will run the
bench drinking pickle juice kind of thing. You got, Okay,
Cuba can jump in and do it. So and that's
something that this coaching stuff, I'm sure just loves to
have that luxury of having not one, but two guys
(08:31):
who can just get you yards when you need him
at any point. So you're not going to see either
one of them sitting in the bench for very long,
and they're going to compliment each other throughout the rest
of this season and moving forward hopefully. And it's a
really good problem to have.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
And such a great point by you, Sharon, where Dave
Canellis has said, you know, no matter who's in, I
can call there's such a similar style of running back.
I can call whatever's on the play sheet. So you're right,
Rico needs to take a drink of pickle juice, you know,
or get the massage gun out. Cuba's right there and
Dave Canelic can go with the same play, which is
which is so nice. So we are halfway through the season,
eight games, and you know, the Panther's four and four
(09:07):
on the season, five hundred great position to be in.
And Sharon, you brought up something that you wanted to highlight,
which Dave Canls talked about in his Monday press conference.
But you know, maybe you maybe you didn't hear it
if you're a fan, and that is that every four weeks,
what they have is a leadership council. The Panthers Leadership
Council meets and they kind of assess where everything is.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
Yeah, I think that's just the coolest thing because I mean,
not a lot of teams do something like that. I
mean everybody maybe has you know, a captain here, a
go to guy here that might you know, have have
the coach's here. But Dave Canals made a concerted effort
to create this, this leadership group, and it's made up
of a certain amount of players. We don't know who.
He didn't come out and say exactly who was on it,
but we do know Christian Rousboom was part of the
(09:52):
meeting on Monday and the captains and the captains are there,
but so I don't know everybody else that's involved in it.
But they meet every four weeks at the end of
each quarter of football and sit down and say, okay,
these are our goals, this is what we're doing, this
is how we fix it kind of thing, And they
did that after the Patriots lost, which just you know,
happened to be coincidental that the same thing coming off
this game. So they look at things and see how
(10:15):
they need to address things. And what I thought was
really cool about this particular meeting, Dave Canal said that
the first one it was sort of like, we're still
trying to figure.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Who we are.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
We didn't really have an identity. This one, this team
knows who they want to be. They sort of they've
got more of a grasp on who they are, and
they're just really confident that they're going to be able
to go back and fix the problems that they head
against the Bills. That they look at that as you know,
that was a one off. That was just a coach
John Fox, which to say, we picked a bad day
to have a bad day, a rough game, you know,
and what can you do. You got to move on
(10:44):
and fix it. You got to put that in the
rear of your mirror, don't dwell on it, don't worry
about it. So having this leadership council, I think is
really a cool thing to hear from the coaches and
to give their opinions to the coaches. I mean, to
have that kind of of collaboration is just a really
neat thing. And Dave Canalys has been He's done that
ever since he got here. He loves having these guys
talk to him and he's it's a group effort to
(11:06):
get this team where they want it to be. And
he's said all along, I want you guys to own
this team, and they're they're doing that with this leadership
counsel and then they go back and you know, pass
everything on to the rest of the team. So I
think that's a pretty cool concept that they have and
hopefully they'll be able to bounce back just like they
did after the Patriots game.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yeah, three straight wins after that Patriots game. Is it
a coincidence? I don't know, but I think all those
things working together really make a big difference. And Sharon,
as you said, the leadership council goes and passes everything
on to the rest of the team, and then Canalis
and the coaching staff get to take those takeaways as well.
So it really is it's unique, it's different, and it's
coming at a great time. Like you said, those those
(11:45):
two meetings have come after what have been the worst
losses of the season, and so what a great time
to take stock, assess, and like you said, get back
to that identity that this team is building. But really
good challenge here this week, Sharon. The Packers, you know,
came home from the game on Someday and watch that
Sunday night football game against the Steelers, and they looked really,
really good. And as we all know, if you listen
(12:06):
to this podcast, you listen to our pregame show, you
know that Sharon has the best scouting reports in the NFL.
So Sharon, please tell us what this Panthers team is
facing in Green Bay.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Well, I certainly certainly appreciate that compliment, but it's the truth.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
I speak the truth.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Well, thank you, thank you. I've only been doing it
for about twenty five years now, I should have a time.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Seems to change every week though the teams change every week.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
They do. You know, It's funny because we haven't played
the Packers in two years. It was a Christmas Eve game.
Now I always go back and sort of look all right,
you know, see if there's anything that carries over or whatever,
just to see what was going on then totally different
except for basically the quarterback and the running back. But yeah,
Packers really good as you might expect. They're five to
one and one actually have a tie. They're coming off
that Monday Sunday night game win over the Steelers, and
(12:53):
they have got an offense that is absolutely rolling. They
are six in the league right now. Jordan Love at
quarter back. He's thrown for eleven touchdowns, only eleven or
only two interceptions, which is like insane. They've only turned
the ball over three times as a team, that's second
the league. So yeah, two interceptions and one bubble. He's
only been sacked ten times, that's fourth in the league.
(13:14):
So they have They've got a lot of injuries on
our O line too, but they're similar to the Panthers,
so they're still getting the job done. The top receiver,
the guy that probably people are really paying attention to
right now that just came back, Christian Watson. He's their
really speedster deep threat, came back from an ac Andrew
just made his debut last week. Four catches, eighty nine yards.
(13:35):
He's a serious deep threat. They've also got, of course,
Romeo Dobbs and their rookie golden. But the guy to
watch on that offense is their tight end Tucker Craft.
He is huge, six foot five, two hundred and fifty
nine pounds. I mean, he is a big boy, and
the yards after catch that he gets are just insane.
I think they say he's like fourth in the league
(13:55):
and yards after catch. He is really tough to take down.
So that's a that this offense is going to really
have to swarm to and just gang tackle to be
able to get him down. Their run game veteran guy
Josh Jacobs back there, he's got nine touchdowns. They're only
eleventh in the league I think in rushing attack, but
nine touchdowns. So they've got a really potent offense that
can they can get the job done and really ground
(14:18):
and brind and pound you there with that running attack defense.
The name everybody certainly knows about on this defense now
Michael Parsons. The Packers were so lucky to get him
in that crazy trade in that whole scenario with Dallas
right before the season started, and that move has paid
off six and a half sacks that he has. He's
just amazing up there, just all over the quarterback. He's
(14:40):
just an insane all pro. We all know it. He's
just phenomenal. So they're third in the league against the run.
That's where Rico and Cuba and this offensive line have
got their work cutout for him. They're only allowing just
under seventy nine yards per game on the ground, so
it's going to be tough sledding out there to get
the run game going, no matter who's back there, so
they're going to have to really really work hard on that. Overall,
(15:00):
their sixth in the league and total defense so really good.
They've got a veteran secondary All Pro safetyes Davia McKinney
back there sort of holding down things. But they do
only have four takeaways, which I thought was really interesting.
They're really low in the rankings on the lower in
the bottom half of the league with takeaways just four
of them, which is which is interesting. So they're they're
not turning teams over, but they are certainly limiting them
(15:21):
yard wise, particularly in the run game. So it's going
to be a tall task to go up there to Lambeau.
We all know about Lambeau and that unbelievable fan base
they have up there in this historic Lambeau Field, which
is so cool. I'm so excited. I've been to Lambeau before,
but I've never worked a game there on the sideline,
So I'm really excited about going to Lambeau as a
(15:42):
as a working person for the first time, not just
a fan. But it's going to be really cool. So
this should be a fun game, and I really hope
the Panthers can bounce back in this one, get that
run game going again, get the defense back to where
it was a couple of weeks ago, and steal a
victory up there in Green Bay.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
And Sharon, you famously said earlier this year that you
wanted it to be as cold as possible for this game, So.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Now I'm like, well that's boring.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yeah, good for good for the Panthers team, but maybe
not so good for Sharon Thorson. Well, I think they
appreciate you making the sacrifice there and letting the weather
be a little more but safe, yes, safe travels up
to Green Bay. Are certainly looking forward to this game
and hopefully next Wednesday, we're talking about a big win
over the Packers.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
Sharing sounds great. Thanks a lot.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Welcome to Sideline Past.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
I'm joined to by Panthers legend long snapper and team
Captain JJ Jansen.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
JJ, it is always so good to talk to you.
Thanks for doing this.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
It's a blast.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
I'm kind of enjoying these these nice comfy chairs, like
a I'll just go put my arms up here and relax.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
It's a very cozy environment.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
I like, you don't get these comfy chairs in the
meeting rooms.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
No.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
My chair, Actually my chair in the meeting room has
broken three times, so including early in the season. I
leaned back in my chair and the whole back just
went and I was in full recollecde. We've got a
lot of good maintenance people here at the organization, so
it got quickly fixed. But I actually fell back two
(17:08):
separate times because I forgot it hadn't been fixed.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Yet between the morning meeting and the afternoon meeting, and
I broke it.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
PA, And you said that was early in the season.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Early in the season.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Well that's tough because you're still getting to know the
other specialists, right.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Yeah, I didn't. I didn't. I didn't make a good
showing of it that.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
This was actually when Matt Wright was here, so we
had all four of us were here and the three
of them were giving me.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
I just want to be cool.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
You know, you're the elder statesman, and all of a
sudden you lean back and.
Speaker 5 (17:32):
It was like, oh no, I passed on cool A
long time later that that has long since left me.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
So you are one of three team captains.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Your team captain again this year.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
What I want to know is from your time at
the Panthers, are there captains that have stuck out to
you that you were inspired by or that really impacted you?
Speaker 5 (17:51):
You know, I think captains is a really interesting thing
because oftentimes we choose the best players in their position.
So it's off in the quarterback, it's the middle linebacker. Certainly,
when you look back at the years when we went
to the Super Bowl year and like there's some iconic
captain's photos with Cam and Luke and Greg and Charles
Johnson and Ryan Khalil, Like there were some really cool things.
(18:14):
I always thought what was really special was, and I'm
excluding myself from this, like whoever the special teams captain
I always thought was a really valuable role because they
weren't like the premier player. They're not the starting quarterback.
They are a guy that communicates on four phases as
special teams probably has a prominent role on offense or
defense and has to be one of the true glue
(18:36):
guys of the entire team. And so the guy that
always sticks out to me in terms of like awesome
in terms of captainship was always Colin Jones. He played
safety for US, played a little bit of linebacker, did
a little bit of everything, and actually the probably the
guy on special teams I worked with the most, just.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Because that role.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
It's so cool to be able to honor a role
player with a captainship. So often the captains are just
who are your best players, and rightfully so when your
best players are your best leaders, that is that.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Makes for the best teams.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
But in special teams you always feel like you get
a little bit more insight into who the full team
thinks is like the the best at understanding their role.
And so I thought that was a really cool way
to do it.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
And certainly that describes you. What does it mean to
be a captain in the NFL?
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Like, how do you approach the role.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Now that it's been given to you, not just special
teams captain but team captain. Where does that come in
in terms of leadership?
Speaker 1 (19:35):
I think it's an honor.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
I know it's an honor because your guys, your teammates
are looking at you and say, we trust you. We're
giving you a title that in some way means that
we're willing to listen to you.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
You know, I hope that they would look.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
At me and say, Okay, this is a guy that's
got some wisdom in some areas I certainly can't do
well they do.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Because they voted for you.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
Sometimes I wonder if they'd I'm the old guy check.
But I always feel very honored because it feels like
it allows me. They are giving me permission to sort
of speak into their football journeys. And while I certainly
can't run down on a kickoff or a punt and
hit people the way they do, the nuances the physicality
(20:19):
of special teams, I do think it signals, at least
to me, that they trust me to provide a little
bit of wisdom and insight. And I take that to
be a really special You know, it's a cool part
to look back on my career when it'll all be
done and go, hey, there's a handful of years where
your teammates thought enough of you to put you up.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
That's the sea on your chest is.
Speaker 5 (20:40):
A very it's a huge honor, and I always thought
it'd be cool if that ever happened. And a handful
of last year's certainly, Johnny Hecker was a captain. San
Franco was a captain. Like it was fun kind of
sharing all that with those guys. But it's always an
honor whenever your team selects you.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Well, you talked about this wisdom and what you bring
to the table. The other thing that people may or
may not know is that you're a I would call
you a rules officionado, so I will be honest when there.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Is a flag.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I'm thinking about yesterday's game, when there's a flag and
there's this moment where you don't know if it's going
to go against the offense or defense. I look at
you when I'm on the sidelines.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
To see which way you're pointing.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Is that something that you consciously stay on top of
and provide that for the team or do you just
happen to every year the rule changes come out, that's
just your thing.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
You stay on top of it.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
Yeah, the rules are so interesting because most guys don't
need to concern themselves with the large majority of the rules.
They don't affect them. I'm in a little bit of
a different spot where I'm generally observing the game for
most of for fifty nine minutes of on field play,
(21:47):
like I'm just observing the game, so you just get
very tuned in. I love the rules. I think understanding
how games are played and officiated you can use that
to your advantage. And I think it's really silly when
some people choose to kind of stick their head in
the sand and go, I'm.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Not going to worry about the rules.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Whatever the officials say, it goes because those are often
the biggest plays in the game. A defensive pass interference,
an I llegal man downfield like those have.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Big changes in the games.
Speaker 5 (22:13):
One of the really cool parts, and this is something
that both Chris Tabor, a former special teams coach who
we played against this past week, and Tracy Smith, our
current special teams coach, is you find in special teams
that those coaches that are dialed into the details, they
know the most about the game, and they show you
how to influence the officials positively to your team.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
So we know who's officiating what plays.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
So on the field, like you always look you say,
you look at me, like, do I know where the
flags are coming in what they're looking at.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
You just have enough experience with it.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
And then I always feel like one of my little
No one's actually given me this as an official role,
but I just sort of took it upon myself. Is
I like yelling the specific rule at the officials because
games happening really and we've got unbelievable NFL officials, But
sometimes you have to like give them the words to
what they're seeing. So, for instance, Sam Franklin, I was
(23:08):
watching him the whole time as we were playing Buffalo.
Was he got called for a holding, I'm yelling out
on the field holding white twenty eight and there comes
the flag, Like whether they saw it or not, you're
just trying to give them the words for what they
just saw because a lot of times there's a lot
of chaos. That's always kind of fun for me to do.
And then you know, Andy and I always have a
(23:30):
running joke that almost always when there's a flag downfield
on a passing play, we always tap the top of
our heads because it feels like those are always a
legal man downfield. So he and I will find each other.
We maybe be forty yards away from each other and
we're tapping the top of our heads. It's a common
foul and we just have we have fun with it.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
I love that. I'll have to look for that.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
I want to ask you something else about being on
the field. So for anyone who's certainly been to a game,
and then I know that you can see this. If
you're watching a game, you look at the sidelines, it's
filled with people like me. Right, There's forty of useople
that are going, you know, photographers, reporters, videographers are going
from one side to the other. And then you also
have this giant mobile crane that I swear is going
(24:08):
to be the death of me one day. We are
very lucky. You're lucky to viewer that you have it.
It's a great shot. But that thing zips up and down.
There's like four people that are just there to tell
you to move out of the way. And you guys,
as specialists, are also trying to find space. You are
trying to find space too long snap, your kicker is
trying to find you know, any kicker is trying to
(24:28):
find a place to place the net, have some space,
punter the same thing, and you guys are having to
watch out for all of us I've always wondered, has
that gotten Have the sidelines gotten.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
More crowded since you started?
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Is my?
Speaker 3 (24:43):
I have many questions to start right there.
Speaker 5 (24:46):
Yeah, well, they certainly get more crowded as you get
into bigger games. Yes, so yesterday, yesterday, it was much
more crowded. Right if you have if you have the
A team, you know, the local Fox or CBS broadcast.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
If you have the A team, the B team, if.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
It's Monday night, you've got tons of.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
Yes, absolutely, there's more. There's more credentialed people. There's more photographers,
there's videographers. Pam Oliver was doing our game. She's got
two or three. Yep, she's got spotters. There's an extra TV.
I mean, there's a lot of moving parts. And technically,
by the letter of the law, we're in we're in
your space, so we have we have we have an area,
(25:24):
and but they put the net outside that area, so.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Technically we're not in it. But it's the only place
to put the net.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
You can't and this is the place. So we're kind
of ducking and dodging. And usually the scariest situation is
usually after a kickoff, I'm getting ready to snap and
the videographers are running from like what I would call
the minus twenty, and they're trying to run to the
other side, and here comes I'm snapping a ball as
guys are running across, and I've never hit anybody yet
because I usually see them go and then I'll snap.
(25:53):
I'll literally, if I'm gonna snap, i snap around them.
So I've never hit anybody. But the punters are always
worried that I'm gonna hit them because they don't think
I can see people running, but I will intentionally as
people are running, I will snap it fast, but just
so they're running by and it's like sudden.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
The scariest part, and this.
Speaker 5 (26:09):
Is a little cue for you, never never run directly
behind the net or in front of the net, yes,
because the kickers are coming through, or more dangerous is
the ball is getting hit into the net as you're
walking past. So you always got to get I usually
say give about a five yard circle around the net.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
It's hard to be in the way at that point.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
And look, we've all done it.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I try to be very cognitian because I don't want
to be the person that gets in the way of
you guys.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Process.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
I wouldn't want to be the person that got kicked
with the ball. That would be my bigger concern.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Yes, absolutely, But it is this thing of And here's
the thing. I've never run into a specialist who has
had an attitude about it.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
How are you guys so nice?
Speaker 2 (26:46):
I mean, because you are trying to do your job
and like you said, you're out in the media space,
but there's nowhere else for you to go.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
Does it ever get annoying a little bit?
Speaker 1 (26:55):
No, it doesn't get annoying.
Speaker 5 (26:57):
Every once in a while we'll get someone it's a
little snarky, and then that's where it's like, Okay, we're
gonna now, we're gonna, we're gonna we're gonna fight a
little bit of over our space here. But in general,
everyone's like, oh, I'm so sorry. It's like, no big deal,
just keep and keep moving. We've got really good security
guards and we got other people down there that are
usually pretty cognizant about movement. Like, no one's ever really
we're all working. I mean that's the other thing. Like
(27:19):
NFL is such an entertainment business. We're on the field playing,
but we're not making We used to do joke hundreds
of dollars we're making. Everyone on that field's making millions
of dollars, but we're certainly not making hundreds of dollars
if it's not for the TV partners and the local
It's all part of the show, and that's what gives
us all of our jobs. And so I think there's
in pro football especially, I think there's a very healthy
(27:42):
understanding of we are all working here, and different people
have different jobs, whether you're in the media, whether you're
on the field, whether you're a coach, whether you're security,
like so many people are employed by the NFL in
a wide variety of thing, wide variety of ways, and
so I think it's really important to just let's all
work together. I feel the same way about on the field,
Like it's a physical game, it's a violent game, but
(28:04):
we're still we're all working here. Let's not harm anybody
in uh, you know, in their process of accomplishing their job.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
I've always wondered about that. I always feel like I'm like, oh,
excuse me, so sorry, let me get out.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
I don't want to get in your way because what
you're doing is very very important. Okay, Lastly, I want
to ask you about broadcasting and being on air. You
are a great broadcaster. I always joke that you're going
to take my job one day, whenever you decide it.
And you've been hosting Kart Talk for a few seasons
where everyone go check it out.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
If you haven't, I'm sure you have.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
It's on all the Panthers social media, it's on the website,
and you drive around guys on the team.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
You've had legends.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
I mean, I even saw you in a truck with
I think was it Greg Olsen or yeah, we did.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
We did.
Speaker 5 (28:49):
We did a bit of a series with the twenty
fifteen guys Olsen.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
And really stepped it up the production level.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
Well, so that that actually started because the first one
we filmed was the day before for a training camp,
and I had Luke and Keithley.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
I figured, everyone knows, yeah, but I have a Luke.
Speaker 5 (29:06):
So in our house he's big Luke and my son
is little Luke.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
So now I have to clarify.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
So if you ever hear me say big Luke, it's
Keikley and that's why that's how we do it. But
it was ninety eight degrees yeah, and so I was like,
I can't drive this poor guy.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
I wanted to talk for like an hour.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
I wanted to get the full twenty fifteen story. So
I said, I can't drive around in a golf cart.
You know, obviously we've got some construction around here. We're
getting ready for the season, and then obviously building me,
building the fieldhouse, all this stuff, so there's a lot
of construction. I was like, I can't drive this poor
guy around for an hour asking questions.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
We're all sweating, and so we did.
Speaker 5 (29:38):
We did that whole series from inside a GMC wh
was just a sponsor, so that's a very good thing.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
And then Bojangles.
Speaker 5 (29:44):
Stepped up and you know, they were giving us some
bow boxes and we had all kinds of good stuff
in there. So we had a lot of fun with it.
It's a great way. I've always felt like this place
operates best when the fans know their players and there
they have a relation chip with them. This is just
a very family friendly community, the Carolinas, and so I've
(30:05):
always thought that the best teams excel when the team
fits the community. And I always thought the way we
fit the community is to be in the community. I
thought Charlotte has always been that way, and so just
one of the ways to sort of connect players to
the fans. And so I said, look, I would love
to just host this and work on my hosting hosting
(30:26):
chops because.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
We're very good at getting interviewed.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
I've had years and years of practice being interviewed, but
what you do that hosting job is really hard because
you're you're holding conversation. In my particular case, I'm also
driving trying to not commit any commit any traffic violations,
which I think I made a few. Luke and Coach
Rivera were both like, hey, there's a stop sign because
I'm looking over here conversing with them while you know,
(30:52):
probably blowing through stop signs and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
So we're working on multitasking.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
I love that. JJ.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Thank you so much for doing this. You'll see him
as the host of Sideline Pass in.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
A couple of years. Don't worry. I appreciate the time
as always.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Thanks person.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
H
Jeers, Kristin Balboni, and Sharon Thor's love it with your
sideline pass.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
It is time for your sideline pass with your sideline
reporters Sharon and Kristin, and Sideline Pass is brought to
you by Barefoot Wine. You know, wine and football aren't
that different. Sure they're complex, but enjoying them should be easy.
You don't need to worry about complex formations and flavor
profiles or which wine pairs with.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
What all that matters is together.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Barefoot Wine and Panthers are easy to enjoy, So let's
enjoy ourselves. Barefoot the official wine sponsor of the NFL. Sharon,
it is Wednesday morning, after the tough loss to the Bills,
and we've got a lot to talk about with that game,
and I thought, because we are sideline reporters, we should
start with giving everyone the latest on the injuries. And unfortunately,
(00:52):
you never want to be in that position where there
were a lot of them on Sunday.
Speaker 4 (00:56):
Yeah, that was pretty darn brutal. That needs us to say,
in particular the the offensive line, that's just man alive.
It's just a struggle with the O line. You hate
to see Brady Christensen go down with that achilles injury.
He has done for the season. He's uh, you know,
had a torn I think it was bicep a couple
of years ago and that ended his season early as well.
(01:17):
So it's just he's just the most versatile guy on
that offensive line and can play absolutely anywhere, as he's
been doing for years for us now, so hate it
for him going down. And you got Cad May's at
that center position, who is already in there for Austin
Corbett of course, and he's got that I think it's
the ankle injury. You've got Corbett again out again. Now
we're not sure about any of these guys with their
(01:38):
updates are gonna be. We're gonna hear from Dave Canlsel
but later on today to give us the official on that.
But that's three more line.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Taylor Motain at the end of that game and we'll
see there again. But yeah, it's just we lost three
in that game. Yeah, three of the starting line as killer.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
Yeah. And then the good news is Chandler Zavala, who
has also been out since that Patriots game. Uh, they
opened up his window today to open up his twenty
one day practice to get him back into the lineup,
So hopefully he'll be able to come back sooner rather
than later, because they certainly need that depth. That was funny.
It just seems like just a few weeks ago, we're
just bragging about how we have all five of our
starters and all four of our depth guys back from
(02:16):
last year. And man, it's a good thing they had
that because they are making use of every last one
of those guys.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yes, I just remember being so impressed by Brian, Dan
Morgan and Brent Tillis in that entire front office to
bring back such depth at that position, and they've needed
every single one of as you said, those nine guys
that return that played the most snaps last year. And
even then, you know, we had Jake Cerncom and he
was the fourth guard at you know, the fourth guy
(02:41):
at that position over the course of the season, and
you know, we're making sure we can say his name right,
you know, and that's and I mean, really that's that's
how much we haven't seen him. And so even with
all of these injuries, you know, it is remarkable also
the speed at which offensive linemen come back. They are
so tough and it's amazing to see. And then also
(03:02):
the lack of real drop off. You know, we had
some another rash of injuries a couple of weeks ago,
and that was when Rico Dawdle had had those two
amazing games. And Dave Canalis has just said wonderful things
about this offensive line staff and the guys themselves, of
just the way they started even from from training camp,
to just rotate in to make sure that they know
(03:22):
their playbooks, to really have you know, no drop off
if things are needed, and we've seen that with guys
coming in at the last minute of playing different positions,
and it's really impressive. But gosh, you you hate to
see those injuries, like you said, and especially we know
when someone's out for the season like Brady Christensen. Just
just really tough, Sharon. I want to move on to
the quarterback position. We saw Andy Dalton in for Bryce
(03:44):
Young with that ankle injury. And again this is Wednesday
morning or Wednesday before practice, I should say, so you
know they're going to bring Bryce out every day of practice,
but it seems to me, you know, I talked to
Dave Canallis earlier this week, and then of course he
gave his postgame presser and his Monday presser, and it
seems like they are very hopeful without seeing him on
the field yet, they're hopeful that he can play against
(04:04):
Screen Bay.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
Yeah, it sounds like they were really hoping to get
him out on the field today to actually practice. He was,
like he said, out there every day last week, was
not actually practicing, just working with trainers on the side.
They're hoping they can actually get him out there today
to try and get some work in and test out
that ankle. It does not seem like it was as
severe as an ankle and jew as it certainly could
have potentially been when we see those high ankle sprains.
(04:26):
So hopefully it was just a minor sprain and he'll
be able to get back out there because you know,
we love Andy Dahton. He just did not have a
good day obviously against the Bills, and so it'd be
great to be able to get Bryce back out there.
Dave Canalis was talking about that ahead of Sunday's game.
The reason they want to get him out there is
to keep growing the way this offense has been growing
and working together. They want to do it with Bryce
out there because he's, you know, the leader of this offense.
(04:48):
So they'd like to get him back out there if
at all possible, and certainly have several more days ahead
of the Packers game, so it'd be great if he
can get back out there for Sunday's game.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And you mentioned that they want him back out there
so that this offense can keep growing. A big part
of that is the run game, and there has been
a lot of talk, certainly among the fans, a lot
of talk about the running back situation, and that's something
that Dave Canalis addressed earlier this week. You know, we've
seen two weeks now of Cuba Hubbard being healthy and
we've seen this alternating rotation of running backs between him
(05:19):
and Rico Dowdel and Sharon. Dave Canel has had some
interesting comments after that loss to the Bills.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Yeah, on Monday, he was clearly questioned about it with
the situation because we've seen Rico do amazing things out there,
and since Tuba came back, he maybe hasn't had the
same type of runs that he's head in the past.
You know, coming off that calf injury, it's harder to
get into a groove when you are alternating guys, and
you know, tubas sort of like that grinded out, you know,
rack up the arts kind of guy, not as explosive
(05:47):
as Rico. And it sounds like the coaching staff is
looking at that closely now of sea, because you know, Rico,
I think he only touched it all like one time
in the second half the way they were alternating things,
and of course they had to start throwing when you're
down so far. But it sounds like they're going to
maybe go a little bit more with the hot hand,
give Rico some more carries this week to see if
he can get that offense going again like he did
(06:08):
those two weeks in a row that he was just amazing.
So and you know, everybody loves Cuba. He's just the
blue guy on this offense and he's a guy that
he just wants to win. They asked him about that
on Monday. Do you care if it's you know, you
or Rico or you know more Rico and not you
or whatever, and he said, I don't care. I just
want to win. So he's that kind of guy. And
that's what Dave Canal said. We have to make sure
(06:29):
this is all about the football. I can't just you know,
worry about you know, Cuba is my blue guy. I
gotta have him out there. Kind of thing is like,
it has to be about winning, it has to be
about what's best for this football team. So I would
venture to say we might see a little more a
heavier dose of Rico Dawdle on Sunday against the Packers
loose to start out with, and see if that can
get this run game going again like it had been
clicking for a couple of weeks there.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Yeah, I agree completely, and we'll see what happens. But
you know, if you look at the numbers, the facts
are that Rico in terms of yards per carry has
been ahead of Cuba the last two weeks, and then
of course we can't forget about those two weeks where
Chuba was out and just the you know, he was
close to setting the Panthers record for rushing yards the
first week where he was solo, and then the second
(07:10):
week he set the Panthers record from yards from scrimmage,
which is something that you know, he'd be Christian McCaffrey
in that category, which is still mind boggling. Yeah, mind
boggling to me. But it's also a great position to
be in. As you know, we just started talking about injuries,
and at this position, you have two great, healthy running backs,
and as awkward as it might be, or as tough
(07:31):
a decision as it might be, because you want both
of these guys to produce, and it's in the best
interests of the team for both of them to produce.
What a good problem to have overall that you have
got two guys right now who are healthy and that
can can come out fresh at the end of this game.
And we've heard Dave Canalis say that over and over.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Oh absolutely, I mean that is absolutely having your cake
and in it too. I mean a lot of yeah,
would love love to have two thousand yard backs on
your team, which the Panthers have done in the past,
and they've worked very well together and very effectively when
it was Dangel William Jonathan Stewart. So there's certainly no
reason that can't work again. And you know Rico the
two games in a row where he rushed for those
(08:09):
crazy amount of yards, I mean he was sitting on
the bench late in the game, drinking pickle juice and
getting getting his cramps worked out, you know. So it's
great to have that kind of a depth. You don't
have to worry about that. You don't say, oh no,
we can't run this play because Ricos will run the
bench drinking pickle juice kind of thing. You got, Okay,
Cuba can jump in and do it. So and that's
something that this coaching stuff, I'm sure just loves to
have that luxury of having not one, but two guys
(08:31):
who can just get you yards when you need him
at any point. So you're not going to see either
one of them sitting in the bench for very long,
and they're going to compliment each other throughout the rest
of this season and moving forward hopefully. And it's a
really good problem to have.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
And such a great point by you, Sharon, where Dave
Canellis has said, you know, no matter who's in, I
can call there's such a similar style of running back.
I can call whatever's on the play sheet. So you're right,
Rico needs to take a drink of pickle juice, you know,
or get the massage gun out. Cuba's right there and
Dave Canelic can go with the same play, which is
which is so nice. So we are halfway through the season,
eight games, and you know, the Panther's four and four
(09:07):
on the season, five hundred great position to be in.
And Sharon, you brought up something that you wanted to highlight,
which Dave Canls talked about in his Monday press conference.
But you know, maybe you maybe you didn't hear it
if you're a fan, and that is that every four weeks,
what they have is a leadership council. The Panthers Leadership
Council meets and they kind of assess where everything is.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
Yeah, I think that's just the coolest thing because I mean,
not a lot of teams do something like that. I
mean everybody maybe has you know, a captain here, a
go to guy here that might you know, have have
the coach's here. But Dave Canals made a concerted effort
to create this, this leadership group, and it's made up
of a certain amount of players. We don't know who.
He didn't come out and say exactly who was on it,
but we do know Christian Rousboom was part of the
(09:52):
meeting on Monday and the captains and the captains are there,
but so I don't know everybody else that's involved in it.
But they meet every four weeks at the end of
each quarter of football and sit down and say, okay,
these are our goals, this is what we're doing, this
is how we fix it kind of thing, And they
did that after the Patriots lost, which just you know,
happened to be coincidental that the same thing coming off
this game. So they look at things and see how
(10:15):
they need to address things. And what I thought was
really cool about this particular meeting, Dave Canal said that
the first one it was sort of like, we're still
trying to figure.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
Who we are.
Speaker 4 (10:23):
We didn't really have an identity. This one, this team
knows who they want to be. They sort of they've
got more of a grasp on who they are, and
they're just really confident that they're going to be able
to go back and fix the problems that they head
against the Bills. That they look at that as you know,
that was a one off. That was just a coach
John Fox, which to say, we picked a bad day
to have a bad day, a rough game, you know,
and what can you do. You got to move on
(10:44):
and fix it. You got to put that in the
rear of your mirror, don't dwell on it, don't worry
about it. So having this leadership council, I think is
really a cool thing to hear from the coaches and
to give their opinions to the coaches. I mean, to
have that kind of of collaboration is just a really
neat thing. And Dave Canalys has been He's done that
ever since he got here. He loves having these guys
talk to him and he's it's a group effort to
(11:06):
get this team where they want it to be. And
he's said all along, I want you guys to own
this team, and they're they're doing that with this leadership
counsel and then they go back and you know, pass
everything on to the rest of the team. So I
think that's a pretty cool concept that they have and
hopefully they'll be able to bounce back just like they
did after the Patriots game.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Yeah, three straight wins after that Patriots game. Is it
a coincidence? I don't know, but I think all those
things working together really make a big difference. And Sharon,
as you said, the leadership council goes and passes everything
on to the rest of the team, and then Canalis
and the coaching staff get to take those takeaways as well.
So it really is it's unique, it's different, and it's
coming at a great time. Like you said, those those
(11:45):
two meetings have come after what have been the worst
losses of the season, and so what a great time
to take stock, assess, and like you said, get back
to that identity that this team is building. But really
good challenge here this week, Sharon. The Packers, you know,
came home from the game on Someday and watch that
Sunday night football game against the Steelers, and they looked really,
really good. And as we all know, if you listen
(12:06):
to this podcast, you listen to our pregame show, you
know that Sharon has the best scouting reports in the NFL.
So Sharon, please tell us what this Panthers team is
facing in Green Bay.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Well, I certainly certainly appreciate that compliment, but it's the truth.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
I speak the truth.
Speaker 4 (12:21):
Well, thank you, thank you. I've only been doing it
for about twenty five years now, I should have a time.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Seems to change every week though the teams change every week.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
They do. You know, It's funny because we haven't played
the Packers in two years. It was a Christmas Eve game.
Now I always go back and sort of look all right,
you know, see if there's anything that carries over or whatever,
just to see what was going on then totally different
except for basically the quarterback and the running back. But yeah,
Packers really good as you might expect. They're five to
one and one actually have a tie. They're coming off
that Monday Sunday night game win over the Steelers, and
(12:53):
they have got an offense that is absolutely rolling. They
are six in the league right now. Jordan Love at
quarter back. He's thrown for eleven touchdowns, only eleven or
only two interceptions, which is like insane. They've only turned
the ball over three times as a team, that's second
the league. So yeah, two interceptions and one bubble. He's
only been sacked ten times, that's fourth in the league.
(13:14):
So they have They've got a lot of injuries on
our O line too, but they're similar to the Panthers,
so they're still getting the job done. The top receiver,
the guy that probably people are really paying attention to
right now that just came back, Christian Watson. He's their
really speedster deep threat, came back from an ac Andrew
just made his debut last week. Four catches, eighty nine yards.
(13:35):
He's a serious deep threat. They've also got, of course,
Romeo Dobbs and their rookie golden. But the guy to
watch on that offense is their tight end Tucker Craft.
He is huge, six foot five, two hundred and fifty
nine pounds. I mean, he is a big boy, and
the yards after catch that he gets are just insane.
I think they say he's like fourth in the league
(13:55):
and yards after catch. He is really tough to take down.
So that's a that this offense is going to really
have to swarm to and just gang tackle to be
able to get him down. Their run game veteran guy
Josh Jacobs back there, he's got nine touchdowns. They're only
eleventh in the league I think in rushing attack, but
nine touchdowns. So they've got a really potent offense that
can they can get the job done and really ground
(14:18):
and brind and pound you there with that running attack defense.
The name everybody certainly knows about on this defense now
Michael Parsons. The Packers were so lucky to get him
in that crazy trade in that whole scenario with Dallas
right before the season started, and that move has paid
off six and a half sacks that he has. He's
just amazing up there, just all over the quarterback. He's
(14:40):
just an insane all pro. We all know it. He's
just phenomenal. So they're third in the league against the run.
That's where Rico and Cuba and this offensive line have
got their work cutout for him. They're only allowing just
under seventy nine yards per game on the ground, so
it's going to be tough sledding out there to get
the run game going, no matter who's back there, so
they're going to have to really really work hard on that. Overall,
(15:00):
their sixth in the league and total defense so really good.
They've got a veteran secondary All Pro safetyes Davia McKinney
back there sort of holding down things. But they do
only have four takeaways, which I thought was really interesting.
They're really low in the rankings on the lower in
the bottom half of the league with takeaways just four
of them, which is which is interesting. So they're they're
not turning teams over, but they are certainly limiting them
(15:21):
yard wise, particularly in the run game. So it's going
to be a tall task to go up there to Lambeau.
We all know about Lambeau and that unbelievable fan base
they have up there in this historic Lambeau Field, which
is so cool. I'm so excited. I've been to Lambeau before,
but I've never worked a game there on the sideline,
So I'm really excited about going to Lambeau as a
(15:42):
as a working person for the first time, not just
a fan. But it's going to be really cool. So
this should be a fun game, and I really hope
the Panthers can bounce back in this one, get that
run game going again, get the defense back to where
it was a couple of weeks ago, and steal a
victory up there in Green Bay.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
And Sharon, you famously said earlier this year that you
wanted it to be as cold as possible for this game, So.
Speaker 4 (16:02):
Now I'm like, well that's boring.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yeah, good for good for the Panthers team, but maybe
not so good for Sharon Thorson. Well, I think they
appreciate you making the sacrifice there and letting the weather
be a little more but safe, yes, safe travels up
to Green Bay. Are certainly looking forward to this game
and hopefully next Wednesday, we're talking about a big win
over the Packers.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
Sharing sounds great. Thanks a lot.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Welcome to Sideline Past.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
I'm joined to by Panthers legend long snapper and team
Captain JJ Jansen.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
JJ, it is always so good to talk to you.
Thanks for doing this.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
It's a blast.
Speaker 5 (16:37):
I'm kind of enjoying these these nice comfy chairs, like
a I'll just go put my arms up here and relax.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
It's a very cozy environment.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
I like, you don't get these comfy chairs in the
meeting rooms.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
No.
Speaker 5 (16:47):
My chair, Actually my chair in the meeting room has
broken three times, so including early in the season. I
leaned back in my chair and the whole back just
went and I was in full recollecde. We've got a
lot of good maintenance people here at the organization, so
it got quickly fixed. But I actually fell back two
(17:08):
separate times because I forgot it hadn't been fixed.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
Yet between the morning meeting and the afternoon meeting, and
I broke it.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
PA, And you said that was early in the season.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Early in the season.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Well that's tough because you're still getting to know the
other specialists, right.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Yeah, I didn't. I didn't. I didn't make a good
showing of it that.
Speaker 5 (17:23):
This was actually when Matt Wright was here, so we
had all four of us were here and the three
of them were giving me.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
I just want to be cool.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
You know, you're the elder statesman, and all of a
sudden you lean back and.
Speaker 5 (17:32):
It was like, oh no, I passed on cool A
long time later that that has long since left me.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
So you are one of three team captains.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
Your team captain again this year.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
What I want to know is from your time at
the Panthers, are there captains that have stuck out to
you that you were inspired by or that really impacted you?
Speaker 5 (17:51):
You know, I think captains is a really interesting thing
because oftentimes we choose the best players in their position.
So it's off in the quarterback, it's the middle linebacker. Certainly,
when you look back at the years when we went
to the Super Bowl year and like there's some iconic
captain's photos with Cam and Luke and Greg and Charles
Johnson and Ryan Khalil, Like there were some really cool things.
(18:14):
I always thought what was really special was, and I'm
excluding myself from this, like whoever the special teams captain
I always thought was a really valuable role because they
weren't like the premier player. They're not the starting quarterback.
They are a guy that communicates on four phases as
special teams probably has a prominent role on offense or
defense and has to be one of the true glue
(18:36):
guys of the entire team. And so the guy that
always sticks out to me in terms of like awesome
in terms of captainship was always Colin Jones. He played
safety for US, played a little bit of linebacker, did
a little bit of everything, and actually the probably the
guy on special teams I worked with the most, just.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
Because that role.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
It's so cool to be able to honor a role
player with a captainship. So often the captains are just
who are your best players, and rightfully so when your
best players are your best leaders, that is that.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Makes for the best teams.
Speaker 5 (19:09):
But in special teams you always feel like you get
a little bit more insight into who the full team
thinks is like the the best at understanding their role.
And so I thought that was a really cool way
to do it.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
And certainly that describes you. What does it mean to
be a captain in the NFL?
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Like, how do you approach the role.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Now that it's been given to you, not just special
teams captain but team captain. Where does that come in
in terms of leadership?
Speaker 1 (19:35):
I think it's an honor.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
I know it's an honor because your guys, your teammates
are looking at you and say, we trust you. We're
giving you a title that in some way means that
we're willing to listen to you.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
You know, I hope that they would look.
Speaker 5 (19:51):
At me and say, Okay, this is a guy that's
got some wisdom in some areas I certainly can't do
well they do.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
Because they voted for you.
Speaker 5 (19:58):
Sometimes I wonder if they'd I'm the old guy check.
But I always feel very honored because it feels like
it allows me. They are giving me permission to sort
of speak into their football journeys. And while I certainly
can't run down on a kickoff or a punt and
hit people the way they do, the nuances the physicality
(20:19):
of special teams, I do think it signals, at least
to me, that they trust me to provide a little
bit of wisdom and insight. And I take that to
be a really special You know, it's a cool part
to look back on my career when it'll all be
done and go, hey, there's a handful of years where
your teammates thought enough of you to put you up.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
That's the sea on your chest is.
Speaker 5 (20:40):
A very it's a huge honor, and I always thought
it'd be cool if that ever happened. And a handful
of last year's certainly, Johnny Hecker was a captain. San
Franco was a captain. Like it was fun kind of
sharing all that with those guys. But it's always an
honor whenever your team selects you.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Well, you talked about this wisdom and what you bring
to the table. The other thing that people may or
may not know is that you're a I would call
you a rules officionado, so I will be honest when there.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
Is a flag.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I'm thinking about yesterday's game, when there's a flag and
there's this moment where you don't know if it's going
to go against the offense or defense. I look at
you when I'm on the sidelines.
Speaker 3 (21:15):
To see which way you're pointing.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Is that something that you consciously stay on top of
and provide that for the team or do you just
happen to every year the rule changes come out, that's
just your thing.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
You stay on top of it.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
Yeah, the rules are so interesting because most guys don't
need to concern themselves with the large majority of the rules.
They don't affect them. I'm in a little bit of
a different spot where I'm generally observing the game for
most of for fifty nine minutes of on field play,
(21:47):
like I'm just observing the game, so you just get
very tuned in. I love the rules. I think understanding
how games are played and officiated you can use that
to your advantage. And I think it's really silly when
some people choose to kind of stick their head in
the sand and go, I'm.
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Not going to worry about the rules.
Speaker 5 (22:04):
Whatever the officials say, it goes because those are often
the biggest plays in the game. A defensive pass interference,
an I llegal man downfield like those have.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Big changes in the games.
Speaker 5 (22:13):
One of the really cool parts, and this is something
that both Chris Tabor, a former special teams coach who
we played against this past week, and Tracy Smith, our
current special teams coach, is you find in special teams
that those coaches that are dialed into the details, they
know the most about the game, and they show you
how to influence the officials positively to your team.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
So we know who's officiating what plays.
Speaker 5 (22:37):
So on the field, like you always look you say,
you look at me, like, do I know where the
flags are coming in what they're looking at.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
You just have enough experience with it.
Speaker 5 (22:46):
And then I always feel like one of my little
No one's actually given me this as an official role,
but I just sort of took it upon myself. Is
I like yelling the specific rule at the officials because
games happening really and we've got unbelievable NFL officials, But
sometimes you have to like give them the words to
what they're seeing. So, for instance, Sam Franklin, I was
(23:08):
watching him the whole time as we were playing Buffalo.
Was he got called for a holding, I'm yelling out
on the field holding white twenty eight and there comes
the flag, Like whether they saw it or not, you're
just trying to give them the words for what they
just saw because a lot of times there's a lot
of chaos. That's always kind of fun for me to do.
And then you know, Andy and I always have a
(23:30):
running joke that almost always when there's a flag downfield
on a passing play, we always tap the top of
our heads because it feels like those are always a
legal man downfield. So he and I will find each other.
We maybe be forty yards away from each other and
we're tapping the top of our heads. It's a common
foul and we just have we have fun with it.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
I love that. I'll have to look for that.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
I want to ask you something else about being on
the field. So for anyone who's certainly been to a game,
and then I know that you can see this. If
you're watching a game, you look at the sidelines, it's
filled with people like me. Right, There's forty of useople
that are going, you know, photographers, reporters, videographers are going
from one side to the other. And then you also
have this giant mobile crane that I swear is going
(24:08):
to be the death of me one day. We are
very lucky. You're lucky to viewer that you have it.
It's a great shot. But that thing zips up and down.
There's like four people that are just there to tell
you to move out of the way. And you guys,
as specialists, are also trying to find space. You are
trying to find space too long snap, your kicker is
trying to find you know, any kicker is trying to
(24:28):
find a place to place the net, have some space,
punter the same thing, and you guys are having to
watch out for all of us I've always wondered, has
that gotten Have the sidelines gotten.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
More crowded since you started?
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Is my?
Speaker 3 (24:43):
I have many questions to start right there.
Speaker 5 (24:46):
Yeah, well, they certainly get more crowded as you get
into bigger games. Yes, so yesterday, yesterday, it was much
more crowded. Right if you have if you have the
A team, you know, the local Fox or CBS broadcast.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
If you have the A team, the B team, if.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
It's Monday night, you've got tons of.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
Yes, absolutely, there's more. There's more credentialed people. There's more photographers,
there's videographers. Pam Oliver was doing our game. She's got
two or three. Yep, she's got spotters. There's an extra TV.
I mean, there's a lot of moving parts. And technically,
by the letter of the law, we're in we're in
your space, so we have we have we have an area,
(25:24):
and but they put the net outside that area, so.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Technically we're not in it. But it's the only place
to put the net.
Speaker 5 (25:31):
You can't and this is the place. So we're kind
of ducking and dodging. And usually the scariest situation is
usually after a kickoff, I'm getting ready to snap and
the videographers are running from like what I would call
the minus twenty, and they're trying to run to the
other side, and here comes I'm snapping a ball as
guys are running across, and I've never hit anybody yet
because I usually see them go and then I'll snap.
(25:53):
I'll literally, if I'm gonna snap, i snap around them.
So I've never hit anybody. But the punters are always
worried that I'm gonna hit them because they don't think
I can see people running, but I will intentionally as
people are running, I will snap it fast, but just
so they're running by and it's like sudden.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
The scariest part, and this.
Speaker 5 (26:09):
Is a little cue for you, never never run directly
behind the net or in front of the net, yes,
because the kickers are coming through, or more dangerous is
the ball is getting hit into the net as you're
walking past. So you always got to get I usually
say give about a five yard circle around the net.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
It's hard to be in the way at that point.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
And look, we've all done it.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
I try to be very cognitian because I don't want
to be the person that gets in the way of
you guys.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Process.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
I wouldn't want to be the person that got kicked
with the ball. That would be my bigger concern.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Yes, absolutely, But it is this thing of And here's
the thing. I've never run into a specialist who has
had an attitude about it.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
How are you guys so nice?
Speaker 2 (26:46):
I mean, because you are trying to do your job
and like you said, you're out in the media space,
but there's nowhere else for you to go.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
Does it ever get annoying a little bit?
Speaker 1 (26:55):
No, it doesn't get annoying.
Speaker 5 (26:57):
Every once in a while we'll get someone it's a
little snarky, and then that's where it's like, Okay, we're
gonna now, we're gonna, we're gonna we're gonna fight a
little bit of over our space here. But in general,
everyone's like, oh, I'm so sorry. It's like, no big deal,
just keep and keep moving. We've got really good security
guards and we got other people down there that are
usually pretty cognizant about movement. Like, no one's ever really
we're all working. I mean that's the other thing. Like
(27:19):
NFL is such an entertainment business. We're on the field playing,
but we're not making We used to do joke hundreds
of dollars we're making. Everyone on that field's making millions
of dollars, but we're certainly not making hundreds of dollars
if it's not for the TV partners and the local
It's all part of the show, and that's what gives
us all of our jobs. And so I think there's
in pro football especially, I think there's a very healthy
(27:42):
understanding of we are all working here, and different people
have different jobs, whether you're in the media, whether you're
on the field, whether you're a coach, whether you're security,
like so many people are employed by the NFL in
a wide variety of thing, wide variety of ways, and
so I think it's really important to just let's all
work together. I feel the same way about on the field,
Like it's a physical game, it's a violent game, but
(28:04):
we're still we're all working here. Let's not harm anybody
in uh, you know, in their process of accomplishing their job.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
I've always wondered about that. I always feel like I'm like, oh,
excuse me, so sorry, let me get out.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
I don't want to get in your way because what
you're doing is very very important. Okay, Lastly, I want
to ask you about broadcasting and being on air. You
are a great broadcaster. I always joke that you're going
to take my job one day, whenever you decide it.
And you've been hosting Kart Talk for a few seasons
where everyone go check it out.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
If you haven't, I'm sure you have.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
It's on all the Panthers social media, it's on the website,
and you drive around guys on the team.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
You've had legends.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
I mean, I even saw you in a truck with
I think was it Greg Olsen or yeah, we did.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
We did.
Speaker 5 (28:49):
We did a bit of a series with the twenty
fifteen guys Olsen.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
And really stepped it up the production level.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
That's right.
Speaker 5 (28:56):
Well, so that that actually started because the first one
we filmed was the day before for a training camp,
and I had Luke and Keithley.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
I figured, everyone knows, yeah, but I have a Luke.
Speaker 5 (29:06):
So in our house he's big Luke and my son
is little Luke.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
So now I have to clarify.
Speaker 5 (29:10):
So if you ever hear me say big Luke, it's
Keikley and that's why that's how we do it. But
it was ninety eight degrees yeah, and so I was like,
I can't drive this poor guy.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
I wanted to talk for like an hour.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
I wanted to get the full twenty fifteen story. So
I said, I can't drive around in a golf cart.
You know, obviously we've got some construction around here. We're
getting ready for the season, and then obviously building me,
building the fieldhouse, all this stuff, so there's a lot
of construction. I was like, I can't drive this poor
guy around for an hour asking questions.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
We're all sweating, and so we did.
Speaker 5 (29:38):
We did that whole series from inside a GMC wh
was just a sponsor, so that's a very good thing.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
And then Bojangles.
Speaker 5 (29:44):
Stepped up and you know, they were giving us some
bow boxes and we had all kinds of good stuff
in there. So we had a lot of fun with it.
It's a great way. I've always felt like this place
operates best when the fans know their players and there
they have a relation chip with them. This is just
a very family friendly community, the Carolinas, and so I've
(30:05):
always thought that the best teams excel when the team
fits the community. And I always thought the way we
fit the community is to be in the community. I
thought Charlotte has always been that way, and so just
one of the ways to sort of connect players to
the fans. And so I said, look, I would love
to just host this and work on my hosting hosting
(30:26):
chops because.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
We're very good at getting interviewed.
Speaker 5 (30:29):
I've had years and years of practice being interviewed, but
what you do that hosting job is really hard because
you're you're holding conversation. In my particular case, I'm also
driving trying to not commit any commit any traffic violations,
which I think I made a few. Luke and Coach
Rivera were both like, hey, there's a stop sign because
I'm looking over here conversing with them while you know,
(30:52):
probably blowing through stop signs and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
So we're working on multitasking.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
I love that. JJ.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Thank you so much for doing this. You'll see him
as the host of Sideline Pass in.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
A couple of years. Don't worry. I appreciate the time
as always.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
Thanks person.
Speaker 5 (31:11):
H
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