Game On Rewind: Mike Kaye of the Charlotte Observer joins the show to talk Panthers! 2024-7-12

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's the Carolina Panthers. They're rightaround the corner here in terms of season
thirty and to help us break downsome of the off season doings. He's
been covering the off season activities there. There's been a bit of a lull
here for all NFL teams. Buttraining camp for the first time ever opens
up at the stadium in Charlotte indowntown there. It's gonna be Mike Case,

(00:21):
Charlotte observer joining us now who coversthis team as well as anybody.
Mike, welcome back, man.How you been well? I have two
functioning arms and a smile on myface because I've had some very nice timing
to rest up and take the leisurelywalk. You know what I think For
people that don't know Mike, Mikehad a bit of a boo boo on

(00:42):
his arm, and he I think. Do you ended up going to the
combine though? Didn't you get asling on? Were you there? It
was supposed to air up. Imean I was supposed to get in a
flight for the Senior Ball and brokemy humorous combine went to the Oders meeting.
You go to the Senior Ball too? Did you make the trifecta.

(01:03):
No, oh, you missed thecompletely almost detached for my body, so
I was not able to make themobile. Yeah, it was bad.
So if people were wondering why yousaid that at the top, it's not
a corny line on a T shirt. He really does have two arms and
he's happy about it. And he'llbe using those arms in a couple of
weeks holding a notepad and typing upsome of the best ride ups during training

(01:26):
camp that you'll find around the NFLcircuit. Mike, it's going to be
interesting. It's a new venue obviouslyfor training camp this year. It'll be
I think pretty interesting to watch,not only Bryce Shunk's development, but let's
see how this coaching staff works togetherin harmony. If they can. Those
are all questions. It'll be answered. But let's talk running backs. And

(01:48):
I know people like, what areyou talking about it? Mike, he
just put an article out The stateof the running back room is interesting because
you've still got Miles Sanders on theroster, Chuba Hubbard is obviously has been
the bell cow, and then theydraft Jonathan Brooks. Can you help us
understand what they have it running backright now? Well, they have somewhat
of a crowded room aesthetically, butI think they're in pretty deacon shape for

(02:09):
a team that wants to run theball, and they aren't shy about saying
it. I think you know they'rein an interesting spot right because Miles Sanders
is going to get paid no matterwhat happens, and Tuba Hubbard is in
the final year of his deal.So logically, if you're coming at it
from an old school mentality, theseare two guys who compliment each other well,

(02:34):
but they also can be run intothe ground because you don't have like
the long term upside projection with them, especially after drafting Jonathan Brooks in the
second round. So in theory,you say to yourself, well, let's
fill up on touches for Suba Hubbardand Miles Sanders that first half of the
season. Let Jonathan Brooks get accustomedto the NFL or cover from an ACL

(02:59):
injury, and go from there becauseyou have three guys who really could be
able to anchor the running back room. But you don't need to rush things
with Jonathan Brooks. Juba Hubbard isevery reason to knock this year out of
the park, and frankly, MilesFanders should be very motivated after a terrible
first season in Carolina, So Ithink the trajectory is upward for this running

(03:23):
back room, especially if they wantto run the ball as much as Davis
and Alpis that they want to.How does it feel around the building?
You've been around this organization for acouple of years now. You've seen some
pretty interesting things unfold here. Youand I both have been together along that
ride, and you've been around otherNFL markets too, Mike, you've done
this for a long time. It'searly going yet, but what's your early

(03:46):
sense of just the overall feel inthe building from the top down. Well,
I think that they are optimistic aboutkind of I'm trying to find the
right words. I'm a writer,right, I think I think they're optimistic
about incremental growth. I think theythink, you know, it's gonna be

(04:13):
a while before they are, youknow, super Bowl contenders, So why
not do this the right way.You've got a young coach in Dave Fanalis,
You've got a relatively young GM inDan Morgan. They're both in their
first year of doing the big job. And you've got a still young quarterback
who needs to develop. I thinkthey've done a lot to enhance the offense,

(04:35):
some at the expense of the defense, which is actually something that I
heard to call them about that theyshould do anyway, even before they made
the move away from Scott's dinner,or even before they even really before they
fired Frank Wright, you know,this is about figuring out if Bryce Young
is the guy They're gonna think orswim one way or another with the play

(04:56):
of Bryce Young, and look sofar, I think they feel good about
the energy practice. I think theyfeel good about the moves that Dan Morgan
has made. I think they feelgood about this draft class. But you
know, only time will tell.I think it was about twelve months ago
where I think you were probably asdead on as anybody was about the Panthers,

(05:19):
because I saw yet Camp and wehad known each other a little while,
and you were a little less optimistic. I think about what other people
perceived the Panthers would be in twentytwenty three, not that many of us
saw two wins. But I thinkyou're right. Incremental growth is the best
way to put it, and that'swhy you go back and look at the

(05:39):
spending here. I think they've beenfairly responsible they did put some money into
the offensive line. Robert Hunt getsa big contract. Damian Lewis gets paid
as well, but not quite asmuch. Those are two very good guards,
especially Hunt. What about the movethe center with Corbett. Your thoughts
on that is this offensive line looksfor once, at least since twenty twenty

(06:00):
two, to have some type ofcontinuity. Well, they're saying all the
right things about Corport's move to center. I heard from other people in the
league that they think he can dobecause he's extremely smart. They have constantly
talked about how he practiced his centerin previous years and looked really, really
good. But like, it takesme back to the movie The Social Network,

(06:20):
where you know, fake Mark Ruckeror fictional Mark Rutgerbergh Zuckerberry excuse me,
is debating with the you know,the the fictional Winklebox twins over who
created Facebook, and he said somethingto the effect of, if you would
have created Facebook, if you createdFacebook, you would have created Facebook.

(06:42):
If he would have if he wassuch a great center, which is a
position that there's maybe fifteen or sixteenreally good centers in the league, he
would have been a center by now. And he's a very good right guard.
He's a very good right guard andwas with La and here in Carolina.
Yeah, I mean, frankly,he was the best offensive player on
the team and twenty two and Idon't know that it was that close.
You know, everybody talks about Bozemanand the running game, but I got

(07:06):
to tell you, Austin Korbett waskey to all of that. If you
watch any of the tape, Imean, I know how much you break
down the tape, even more sothan me. But like, he is
very smart. He looks good snappingthe ball in OTAs. Unfortunately I missed
two OTA sessions because I was recoveringfrom surgery, but he looked good in
Vendor and Mini Camp. I thinkthey're optimistic, but again, time will

(07:30):
only tell once the you know,the pads come on. And I think
they feel good about the depth theyhave there because of cave Mays, because
of Brady Christiansen, both having theability to kind of move inside if need
be. The thing that I'm concernedabout is he's coming off his Corbet's coming
off to knee surgery, and nownow you're adding to his plate. He's

(07:53):
snapping the ball and then he's gotto be up and so long term the
wear and tear, that's a concerntivedefensively real quick. Of course, Brian
Burns. The deal gets done therethe second round picks, and obviously Carolina
is spared having to pay him thecontract. From your reporting and understanding,

(08:13):
I assume that was just a stalematethat was happening between the general manager front
office Scott Fitter at the time,and the player and his agent. More
importantly, Jadavian Clowney comes in andyou get the sense that you're not trying
to be Pollyanna here, but maybethere's a little more upside to Clowney in
terms of being a little more functionalin the run game. What's your thought
on that trade off? Yeah,I think that's really what it is,

(08:37):
right, is a trade off oftalent. You know, Jadavian Cloude's coming
off a reer year with nine anda half backs in Baltimore. But you
could play on the Baltimore defense andget three sacks because of how many good
weapons they had to throw at youand move around the defense. And that

(08:58):
defensive system was unreal last year,so much so that the defensive coordinator got
a head coaching job over atdiro everroSo. But speaking of everro Everro's priority
with pass rushers is typically he wantsguys who can stop the run initially because
remember this is a pass defense heavyscheme they want. This is a secondary

(09:20):
friendly scheme, and so you wantyour gut, your front seven to be
able to stop the run effectively,so the secondary can really focus on coverage.
And so I think, you know, Clowney will definitely help in that
regard. You know, DJ Johnsonwas largely brought in because he was supposed
to have like very good run stoppingtrade. He needs to develop as a

(09:43):
pass rusher. I think they'd likefor Clowney to have six sacks. If
he can do that, I thinkthey feel pretty good about it. But
if you look at the pass rush, I mean DJ Wadam coming up with
squat injury at eight sacks last year, they're hoping that he can kind of
you know, regain fourm after injury. He's doesn't have a great win rate
statistically, but he does fit thesystem. He does have upside. He's

(10:07):
still you know, coming off arookie contract, so he's in his mid
twenties. But outside of that,it's tough I said that Clowney had a
nine and a half sack season lastyear. Guess what outside of Wadham and
Clowney, the rest of the grouphas a combined nine and a half sack
Yeah. Not good. Not good. And you know, Derek Brown influences
the game in a lot of ways, and maybe some production in terms of

(10:30):
actual sacks would would make people happy. But I think what he brings to
the table is so much more thanthe numbers in the sacks department. It's
pressures, it's penetration, it's holdingthe gaps, it's making sure the run
game flows in the right direction.I think part of the problem with Burns
at times there were some misfits inthe run on his end, and I
think even Louvu at times, whowas outstanding and flew downhill. I think

(10:50):
maybe they're looking for just better fits. I was surprised Louvu left. I
thought they'd make him a priority.But I think it's a philosophical thing.
We will see. Hey, howabout j C. Horn? Ask question
here. I know there's a lotof topics here, but how vital is
it for j C. Horn,not only for his personal growth, but
this team to stay healthy and anynews on Stefan Gilmore. Is there still

(11:11):
an opportunity there for signing? Well, let me touch something you just said.
They did try to resign Louvu.Luvu's market just like ascended. It
was wild. Yeah, that reallyhe got a ton he didn't he what
does he end up getting? Idon't even remember, but it was way
over what I thought. I thoughthe gets three years, thirty million.
I believe he clips that pretty substantiallyoff the back of my head. Yeah,

(11:33):
I might be, uh, youmight want to have a producer look
at that, but I I rightnow, unfortunately, I know, I
know. Yeah, he got alot, he got a lot of money.
He got to go ahead, Mike, he got a ton of money,
and the Panthers needed to put thatelsewhere. Right, And as far
as you know, fit wise,Josie Toole is probably a more natural fit

(11:54):
for that position. It was likeLouvu was basically the best blitzing inside linebacker
you could have, but everything elsekind of felt by the wayside. As
far as J. C. Hornis concerned, you know, he's played
in twenty two to fifty one games. It's well documented. I think the
number two cornerback position is a bigconcern main league because J. C.

(12:16):
Horn has not been able to stayhealthy. You know, they bring in
Dame Jackson, who Dane Morgan hasbeen fond of since he entered the league.
And Dan Jackson's a fine like two, a to be player at cornerback,
right, like a CJ. Hendersonstyle player. The problem is if
he's replacing CJ. Henderson, you'rehaving Troy Hill essentially replace Dante Jackson,

(12:41):
you know. And then well here'sthe thing. If J. C.
Horn goes down for four games,your two be, your fine two be
corner is now you're number one,and you know they go up against Mike
Evans, they go against Drake London, they go against you know, it
goes on and on. Yeah,it's it's it's a very tame. Yeah.

(13:03):
Yeah. And I think Mike,as we wrap up, you've been
very generous of your time here,Mike Case Charlotte Observer, it's gonna be
fascinating. We didn't get to likeXavier Logett, Who's gonna be a fun
guy to cover for a lot ofreasons coming up here in this season.
What's going on with the Observer rightnow? What's cooking? I know you've
got some positional preview articles right now. Where can we find the work?

(13:24):
Yeah, we've got some positional previewstuff going on right now at Triloa Observer
because we never sleep or take daysoff. Yes, we have appeared in
all fifty one fifty one games overthe last three years. And that's the
first time I've ever used that joke. But yeah, we're gonna have a
big preview coming up of camp battlesand everything. Uh, nobody covers training

(13:48):
camp as in depth as we do. Our training camp notebooks are known for
being really, really thorough. Wehave some great features from Alex that Low,
my partner, Yeah, and somegreat columns from Scott Fowler my my
our columnist. And you can findme on Twitter at Mike underscore e underscore
k A y E. It's theworst Twitter handle on the planet that I
got it before I entered the business. And I'm somebody who sticks to the

(14:11):
bid. Yeah you do. Andand you're you're a real good sport for
coming in with us and chopping itup. I know this is a long
interview, but uh, I'm gladyou're feeling better. I'm glad the arm
is better. I hope the fan'sdoing well and I can't wait to see
in Charlotte a couple of weeks.Bud, we'll see you then. Very
excited to see you too. I'llsee you later.