PODCAST: Who Deserves the Blame? Reich? Fitterer? Tepper? All the Above?
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 This is Desmond Johnson on the Believe in Carolina Panthers Podcast, here on the Believe
00:22 Podcast Network, the number one podcast network for professionals.
00:25 Do you believe?
00:32 If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and rate the show on iTunes.
00:41 And welcome to a brand new edition of the Believe in Carolina Panthers Podcast.
00:58 I'm your host Desmond Johnson, joined by Sports Illustrated beat writer Skylar Callahan and
01:03 Panthers all time lead and rusher Jonathan Stewart.
01:05 You can catch us every Tuesday here on the Believe Podcast Network.
01:08 You can catch the video live at youtube.com/@tobaccoroadsportsradio.
01:13 Shout out to everybody that's joined us over the past couple of weeks.
01:15 It's been a rough year for the Carolina Panthers.
01:18 One and eight now after 16 to 13 lost the Chicago Bears on Thursday, which was like
01:23 a lifetime ago at this point.
01:25 We'll get into not so much the game because that's been a while now since that game was
01:29 played.
01:30 We'll look forward towards the Dallas Cowboy game this upcoming Sunday.
01:33 And we'll just kind of open it up here because we're at the halfway point of the season and
01:38 it feels like people are going to have some things to get off their chest.
01:41 So I want to allow the fan base to be able to do that and we're the place to do that
01:45 live.
01:46 So if you've got questions about anything that's been going on or questions about what
01:48 might happen going forward, here's the place where you can go in, type your comments in
01:52 underneath the Facebook page or underneath the YouTube video and we'll answer it on the
01:56 air.
01:57 Of course, tell them why you're mad.
01:58 If you've got anything like that out there, we'll go around the NFL if we've got enough
02:02 time.
02:03 Lots of different storylines.
02:04 I think the bills are imploding right now.
02:06 Just questions all around.
02:08 We realize Baker Mayfield is thrown for like 21 touchdowns and like five interceptions
02:12 for Tampa Bay so far this season.
02:16 Maybe it's us.
02:17 Maybe we're that part of the relationship where it's like, it's not them.
02:19 Maybe it's us.
02:20 Maybe it's the Panthers.
02:21 Maybe we're the ones that are like not knowing what we're doing.
02:23 So I think this is our come to Jesus moment this week on the Believe in Panthers podcast
02:27 where we kind of decide, all right, what are we doing?
02:31 What are we doing here?
02:32 So we'll get to all that and much more here on this Tuesday morning.
02:36 That comment's coming in already Haskell Shelton on a on LinkedIn and checking in.
02:40 I am not the Twitter mob and can be patient.
02:41 However, at what point can we have a real conversation that's entirely possible?
02:44 We drafted the wrong quarterback off my chest.
02:47 Now we'll get to that too because CJ Stroud's making that conversation really hard, like
02:53 really hard.
02:54 I'm starting to think our game against them was aberration more than anything else because
02:57 everything else before that and after that, it's been the CJ Stroud.
03:00 I'm seeing him in MVP talk like this is insane.
03:03 So we'll, we'll get to that too.
03:05 I'm playing lights out right now.
03:07 It's crazy, man.
03:08 So I'll get to all that before we go any further.
03:11 A word from our sponsors over at BetOnline.
03:13 The last of the major pro sports leagues is off and rolling in college.
03:16 Basketball is ready to roll as well.
03:17 BetOnline remains your top spot for all your live betting actions and contests.
03:21 NFL, college football, UFC, NHL are all in full swing.
03:24 BetOnline is your number one source for wagering news, odds, trends, and predictions.
03:28 All the hoops, betting action along with every sport available at your fingertips with both
03:31 desktop and mobile access at any time.
03:34 Head over to the BetOnline, head over to BetOnline today.
03:37 Remember to use our promo code, BLEAV for your 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit.
03:43 BetOnline where the game starts and normally we would start with the box score, but we're
03:47 not going to do that.
03:48 Bears defeated the, the Panthers 16 to 13.
03:51 Eddie Pinero got trotted out there for a 59 yard field goal after pretty much himself
03:55 and everybody on the team told them that he did not have the leg for that.
03:57 They'd send him out there anyway and he was short.
04:00 So that's how the game ended.
04:01 Kind of describes the season up to this point.
04:04 Panther Pickle in the comment section says, I don't think Thomas Brown is ready to be
04:08 an OC or at least the offensive system we are running doesn't, doesn't fit the personnel
04:11 we have and that isn't an OC's job.
04:13 I'm glad Panther Pickle started us there because that's where I wanted to start.
04:17 Guys does it feel like they're trying to, they're trying to run an offense with pieces
04:23 that don't fit the offense they're trying to run?
04:25 Like that's what it's starting to feel like now.
04:26 Like that they're putting it on top of us here.
04:29 It goes back to what we've been saying.
04:32 That reset button hurts, especially when you don't have the players that you need to really
04:40 run an offense or a defense or a special teams unit the way you want it to be ran.
04:49 Clearly you have some pieces that stuck around from last year's Panthers team that was built
04:59 different.
05:00 You saw Wilks towards the end of the year, defensive modern coach where he believes in
05:10 run the ball, offensive line block, running backs run hard, receivers make a block that
05:17 will spring the running back, right?
05:20 And we pat and we have to pass, we'll pass, play action, get it downfield.
05:29 This team was built for that because that's what the majority of the players are on this
05:35 team right now because it's only a year out from last year.
05:39 And now you have a new scheme, you have new coaching staff, new mindset, the reset button.
05:45 And what that means is you have players and at depth that aren't necessarily probably
05:53 the guys made for what this coaching staff wants to achieve moving forward and how they
06:01 want to describe themselves as a unit.
06:06 And we're seeing that play out.
06:10 I feel Bryce Young, he's pretty much watching him being thrown out into the fire.
06:21 I don't think the team is built for his success.
06:29 And I think it's obvious.
06:32 And I think right now we're experiencing that and it's hard to watch.
06:37 It's hard to watch.
06:38 It's excruciating.
06:39 It feels like a chore.
06:42 Because you know in the back of your mind, this is this way because we just don't have
06:50 all the pieces right now.
06:52 And you want to say to yourself, time will tell, but people tire.
06:59 We've been dealing with this with other coaches.
07:01 You know what I'm saying?
07:02 And then it's like, what if this, what if that, what if we kept this coach or that coach?
07:10 No one really knows.
07:11 So we are where we are with our record.
07:16 And the only thing you can do right now to make yourself feel better is point the finger.
07:20 But I'm going to tell you that it ain't going to make you feel better.
07:23 Pointing the finger don't make anyone feel better.
07:27 And if you continue to do that, you're going to shoot yourself in the foot one day.
07:31 Because one day people are going to look up these receipts and you're going to be the
07:35 guy, just like I'm the guy right now that talked about Dallas Cowboys.
07:40 I talked bad about them Cowboys earlier in the season.
07:44 He was on a path.
07:46 They still ain't going to win no Superbowl.
07:48 But I can tell you what, they are not the Carolina Panthers.
07:52 You know, the one thing all year I was saying, I was like, man, we don't look good, but at
07:57 least we're not the Bears.
07:58 Like, that was literally what I was saying out loud, like online, social media.
08:01 Like, well, at least we're not the Bears.
08:02 We're not Bears bad.
08:03 We're not Broncos bad.
08:04 We are.
08:05 The Bears and the Broncos are pretty good.
08:11 The Broncos took advantage of a poor executed Bills offense.
08:15 Jesus Christ.
08:16 The Bills still deserve to go to the playoffs.
08:20 Like after that.
08:21 I got a lot.
08:22 We could get to this later, but I'll tell you what I'm mad about that game.
08:25 Skyler, before I hit the video clip of Frank Wright from yesterday, have you piggyback
08:31 behind Stu.
08:32 What are your initial thoughts here?
08:33 We're nine games in, 10 weeks into the season.
08:35 We're at the halfway point.
08:36 From what you've seen, does it feel like this is working?
08:41 Because it doesn't really feel like it's working.
08:43 And it's starting to feel like the building is starting to realize it too, that this ain't
08:46 working.
08:47 Something's not right here.
08:48 Yeah.
08:49 I mean, we've talked about it for weeks.
08:51 I mean, how this is like a square peg in a round hole with these offensive linemen.
08:56 And we go back all the way to the spring.
08:58 And I think there's a lot of people within the fan base that were trying to talk themselves
09:04 into DJ Chark and Adam Thielen being good enough.
09:09 And that Terrace Marshall was going to make this huge step in year three because now he's
09:13 got actual coaching.
09:15 And I was one of the few, at least on Terrace Marshall, that was like, "Let's pump the brakes
09:20 a little bit," because he still hasn't proven anything.
09:23 And we've talked about him for two seasons now where he's shown flashes and just goes
09:27 away.
09:29 And I think that's one of the biggest storylines is Terrace Marshall not stepping up and being
09:34 the player we all thought he would be by year three.
09:36 That's why the trade request popped up.
09:38 He's not in the lineup much.
09:40 He's not a factor.
09:42 And that's a big problem.
09:44 So you don't have the help of receivers.
09:46 I think me and Stu went deep on the O-line scheme thing a couple of weeks ago about how
09:51 this is a team that's running completely different schemes from what they did a year ago.
09:56 And it's not that these guys are bad offensive linemen, in my opinion.
09:59 I think they're just really good at what they do well.
10:02 And that's what they did last year was it catered to their strengths.
10:06 This year, they're being asked to do-
10:07 It was right at the ball.
10:08 Down to three.
10:09 Exactly.
10:10 It makes me wonder if that's possible.
10:11 In between tackles, just get downhill.
10:14 And I think that's why you're seeing the struggles now because they're being asked to do something
10:19 that they're not typically good at doing.
10:23 And it's getting to a point where you're banging your head against the wall because you're
10:30 doing the same thing over and over and over again and nothing's changing.
10:34 And to whoever said the thing about Thomas Brown, and I've been thinking about this,
10:39 I hate to be this brutally honest, but if I'm Frank Reich, I don't know that my first
10:46 offensive coordinator at a new job is going to be somebody that has never had a history
10:52 of calling plays, even if you know you're going to be calling the plays to start.
10:55 If you want to transition that eventually, that's got to be somebody that you have trust
11:01 and that has had experience doing it before.
11:04 That's no knock on Thomas Brown.
11:05 I think he's going to be a great coach.
11:06 I think he's head coach material, but he hasn't had that experience yet.
11:10 And I don't know that I would have made him that guy in year one.
11:14 The other thing I want to say about the coaching staff is too, we've talked about this staff
11:19 being an all-star staff.
11:21 There's so much experience.
11:22 There's so much history with these guys having success.
11:27 But sometimes when you formulate these all-star coaching staffs or all-star rosters, like
11:31 we see in the NBA, right?
11:33 Like the Lakers, they try to put this monster roster together and it just doesn't work because
11:38 you're coming from different backgrounds, different philosophies.
11:41 And just because you have a lot of success in the past from different areas, doesn't
11:45 mean it's going to all come together.
11:47 You have to have some sort of background where you're on the same page.
11:51 And that's just not what this coaching staff looks like they're on right now.
11:54 They look like they're on completely different chapters of the same book.
11:57 And until they get on that same chapter, it's going to look like the same thing we've seen
12:01 the first nine weeks.
12:03 I'm trying to figure out how to, because I'm not mad.
12:10 I'm just, I'm really-
12:13 It's a disappointment is what it is.
12:14 Yeah.
12:15 Yeah.
12:16 I'm really disappointed because we came into this season, we talked about it.
12:19 We came to this season.
12:20 Again, this is my fourth season hosting Believe in Panthers, Stu's second season, Skylar's
12:25 third season.
12:26 And this is the first year where we came into it with hope.
12:29 We literally had hope for the season that we were going to actually be relevant throughout
12:33 the year and not for dumb coaching mistakes or losses we shouldn't have took or stuff
12:38 that we normally get put out there for.
12:40 We were like, we're going to be in the thick of things.
12:42 We got some stuff together.
12:43 This might work.
12:44 And I'm starting to hear some of the same things that, not the same things, but the
12:49 same tone that Matt Rule had towards the end of his tenure here coming from Frank Wright.
12:54 He sounds defeated in the press conferences.
12:57 We're halfway through the season and he literally sounds defeated.
12:59 He knows it's around the corner.
13:02 This is not guaranteed.
13:04 He's not guaranteed a job here through the year.
13:06 This can happen mid season.
13:07 It feels like he knows that.
13:09 And this is a video, a pull from Twitter.
13:12 Sheena Quick from Fox Charlotte, great Carolina Panthers reporter.
13:17 She caught this video of Frank Wright at the press conference yesterday where she asked
13:23 him about whether or not this was a run smash type football team.
13:30 Let me just play the audio here for you and then we'll react to it.
13:34 Yeah.
13:35 And it just goes to, and again, I don't want to say everything that we're trying to do
13:43 schematically, but in the big picture, I will say this.
13:49 We want to be a physical football team who can run the ball on their own terms.
13:55 Do we want to be smash mouth football, under center, power?
13:58 No, that's not who we're trying to be.
14:00 We're not trying to be that.
14:01 So yeah.
14:03 Yeah.
14:04 And it just goes to, and again.
14:05 Let's get that off my screen.
14:13 Thoughts on this, because my first thought when I saw it, I was actually in the car and
14:18 my first thought when I saw it, I banged on the thing and I'm like, dang it, Frank, come
14:25 on Frank.
14:26 Like, what are you doing, Frank?
14:27 Like you kept the whole offensive line from last year.
14:30 The one of the few bright spots we had was the offensive line.
14:33 We were in here talking about the top 10 unit.
14:35 You kept the offensive line coach, James Campion, and you said it in your opening press conference
14:40 about how the offensive line, we needed to keep them together because we recognize what
14:45 they can do and their strong point of this team, right?
14:48 If that's the case, why are you not letting them do what they do?
14:51 Why are you not letting them run power?
14:53 It makes me, it made me think of the timeline in terms of how we lost onto Foreman.
14:56 They offered Foreman first before they went and signed Miles Sanders.
15:00 Foreman said no and left.
15:02 It makes me wonder if Foreman said no, because he was told of how they were going to run
15:05 the football, like the scene.
15:07 And it didn't fit his style.
15:08 So he's like, no, I'm going to go someplace else.
15:10 They go out and find Miles Sanders and they give him the money instead.
15:13 Like people kind of have the timeline conflicted in terms of, they think Sanders came and then
15:16 Foreman left because he came.
15:18 No, I went back to look.
15:20 Foreman got offered his deal first and it was more than the $2 million for one year
15:23 they got from Chicago.
15:24 So he took less money.
15:25 And that's when over here, I went over there and did some research because I don't want
15:29 to come in and be like, I want Frank Wright gone unless I know for sure I want Frank Wright
15:34 gone.
15:35 You know what I mean?
15:36 And I've been holding on for the longest, like, no, we got to let this work.
15:38 We got to let this work.
15:39 Like we can't just, you just stop it in the middle and start all over again because we've
15:43 done that a couple of times.
15:45 But I don't know if I've got the patience to, to, to wait two years to see if this is
15:49 going to work.
15:50 They're going to destroy Bryce Young for starters.
15:52 And it just, I feel like we're going to start losing players.
15:55 Like it's going to get to a point where like Brian Burns doesn't want to be here.
15:58 Like he hasn't, has he had a winning season since he's been here?
16:01 I don't, I know he hasn't been to the playoffs.
16:04 So no, I don't think so.
16:06 I mean, I think DJ Moore was the same way.
16:08 So I mean, it starts to get to a point where it's like, okay, how much of blame do you
16:12 put on the owner, David Tepper?
16:15 And how much blame do you put on Frank Wright?
16:17 Cause this is his idea.
16:18 Like, this is how he got the job.
16:20 He came in with his grand plan of what he was going to do, did all that.
16:23 And they've got one win to show for it in 10 weeks.
16:25 Like
16:26 I mean, what sucks about this, you know, I hate it for, I hate it for a friend.
16:31 I hate it for the whole coaching staff.
16:33 I hate it for everybody.
16:34 Cause I mean, you have an opportunity of a lifetime to come together with like really
16:39 good men at the end of the day.
16:43 And have plans to be, you know, you know, better than you were last year and like being
16:50 able to be in a positive growth mode.
16:54 And right now it's zeroed in right now.
16:57 Like the defense is playing good enough to win game.
17:00 Yeah.
17:01 Yeah.
17:02 They are playing good enough to win games.
17:05 It's coming down to, I mean, shoot, the only touchdown we had last year, last week was
17:10 the return.
17:14 So special teams, those are, those are elements of a game of a team that you need to rise
17:21 to the occasion.
17:22 And what's been happening is our offense is at a standstill.
17:28 If you can't score in this league, you know, I mean, we just needed one touchdown, you
17:33 know what I'm saying?
17:34 So I guess.
17:35 I guess so a Tyler Baggett or whatever his name was like, we made him a Bay.
17:42 How do you say it?
17:45 Tyson, Tyson, Bay.
17:46 And like, don't get me wrong.
17:47 Like you're going to have game, like every team's going to have a game where you just
17:51 can't work it.
17:52 You might have two of those games where you just can't work it.
17:55 And the defense comes and plays lights out and you sneak out of there with that, with
17:59 a win, you know?
18:03 But we've had multiple, multiple, multiple games that have been this way.
18:09 And so now when we're, you know, asking, you know, fans are going to ask questions.
18:14 I mean, I have people out here trying to go protest.
18:18 Yo, did you see that?
18:21 The Mark Thornbush or whatever it was supposed to be.
18:23 He was like, hold up, man.
18:25 Look, everybody relax.
18:26 Stay at home.
18:27 First of all, do not come out your house for all this because you're going to be protesting
18:31 and ain't nothing going to happen.
18:33 Ain't no change going to happen.
18:34 This is, there's other things that you could put it this way.
18:37 There's way more important things going on in this world for you to go protest.
18:42 A lot of Panthers ain't, ain't one of those things, baby.
18:46 What was going to happen?
18:47 Like I told my wife, I was like, cause I saw the picture on, on Twitter, like them calling,
18:50 you know, March on Mint, you know, bring it.
18:54 And then you not going to have a brother.
18:56 There's a whole, there's a whole thing.
18:58 You ain't going to have a picture of a brother with dreads being your life.
19:05 That was my thought too.
19:06 You know, like what is happening?
19:07 Like don't put us out there like that.
19:08 This wasn't our idea.
19:09 Don't put us out there like that.
19:10 This is you.
19:11 Cause I saw one of the threads and they were like, I'll bring the tiki torches.
19:17 I'll bring the pitch forces.
19:18 I'm like, what are you doing?
19:20 Like what's supposed to be the end game here?
19:21 Like what do you think is going to change?
19:22 Go watch the news and go figure out something else to put your time and effort towards.
19:27 Oh my God.
19:28 The Panther fans have just kind of, they haven't checked out.
19:31 I get the frustration, but just stay at home, eat some Cheeto.
19:37 You know, it would be more telling is, is what happens on Sunday is if you just let
19:46 the Cowboys fans take care of that.
19:47 You want, if that's the way you want to protest, just don't show up to the game.
19:50 Give all your tickets to the Cowboys.
19:52 And that's what happened last year.
19:53 Yeah, that happened last year.
19:57 How I feel as a player, please, please, please show up to the game.
20:01 They need you.
20:02 Please.
20:03 All the Panther fans to show up no matter what, man.
20:08 Like, listen, I remember the days two and 14.
20:12 We lost to the Browns, man.
20:17 We were two and 14, but that last game, Carolina Panther fans was in there rocking.
20:24 Okay.
20:25 Like it was the holidays.
20:26 They was glad to be outside.
20:27 Sunshine was shining.
20:28 I mean, blue skies, cold as heck, but hey, they out there, you know, just show up, man.
20:36 Just like, like, like it's all going to pay off in the end.
20:41 Like positive vibe, somehow to get your way into situations that don't seem like there's
20:49 a light at the end of the tunnel, but there is.
20:51 I'm glad you brought that up because I actually wanted to ask you about that because you've
20:54 been a part of a season like this, like how mentally taxing is it to show up to work every
21:00 single day knowing you're out of the playoff race and there's really nothing at the end
21:06 of the tunnel except for next season?
21:08 Well, this is, this is how I view things.
21:10 This is how I view a lot of things.
21:11 Like you show up to something, you 100% in no matter what.
21:17 And I can tell you this, there's players that played on the worst teams in history of football.
21:24 But they're showing up and playing because they want to win.
21:30 These guys are trained to win games.
21:33 Now the mindset, you know, when you're two and 13, it's the last game of the year.
21:43 Believe it or not, you might be playing harder than you played all season because who's going
21:49 to be here next year.
21:50 Are you going to be, are you going to be part of the, you know, the recipe to greatness,
21:57 to being better?
21:58 Are you going to be part of that recipe?
22:01 So you got to put that on film.
22:03 So everything you put on film during these moments, during these hours, please believe
22:08 that eye in the sky is watching because we want to know who's fading out and who is,
22:14 who's fading out and who isn't.
22:16 And so as a player, I need y'all in the bank, like riding for me.
22:25 Don't ride in the sense of, man, y'all playing trash.
22:30 Like go and support the players that you like are in love with.
22:35 Yeah, the franchise, like, you know what I'm saying?
22:38 Like go and like participate and be there because you never know, man.
22:42 Like, like a kicker could be out there kicking and you could be the person that's doing the
22:48 loud screeching and he hears it and he just pulls it left and you can be that guy.
22:53 You can feel like he was that guy that left.
22:56 And you could also be the guy that or not be the guy that you could be there for when
23:01 the, the whole thing turns around.
23:03 You could be there for that moment and say, Hey, I was there for that.
23:06 You never, yeah.
23:07 I was going to say 2000, 2006, I think it was 2006.
23:12 It was, it was after the Steve Smith year where he was like number one catches touchdowns
23:18 yards or whatever, like tore up the league.
23:20 We got to the NFC championship game.
23:21 That was 2005.
23:22 So yeah, 2006, he broke his leg opening night and he's out for the season.
23:26 And we went on like a, like a one in seven skid or something like that to start the year.
23:31 And it was just like, it just felt bad.
23:34 But then they turned it around and won like the last five or six games and was flirting
23:37 with the playoffs at the very end of it.
23:38 And it was just Jake the Loman, Moose Muhammad basically was the entire offense, like 2006,
23:42 just like trying to get us there.
23:45 And I'm not saying we can do that with this scene because that team had, well, for starters,
23:50 that team had John Fox as the head coach and they had some defense, like some dudes on
23:55 defense also.
23:56 So I don't know if we can do that cause we don't have the depth or the, or the, the dudes
24:01 like we don't have the number of dudes that that team had to turn it around.
24:04 But some of that falls back on again, on the coach, Willie Smith saying Frank Wright hired
24:08 the coaching staff, installed the offensive plan, selected the players.
24:11 He's had the draft OTAs training camp and he's only won one game off offensive minded
24:16 coaches BS.
24:17 And I was thinking about that too.
24:21 Every time we watch the Panthers on offense, it just looks like everything is so hard.
24:25 Like everything is so hard for them to actually do like the simplest things.
24:30 And then I'll watch some other teams play and they're just moving the ball with ease
24:34 or just, you know, and it could be random to you.
24:36 It just feels like it's just us, like whatever we're trying to do on offense just isn't working.
24:41 And I was trying to remember why I liked Bryce in the first place.
24:44 Well, I went and looked at them on before we drafted him.
24:47 They're not running Bryce the way he was being ran in Alabama.
24:49 Like at Alabama, it felt like it was more, not necessarily freestyle, but it felt like
24:53 it was more like RPO and it was more allowing Bryce to see more structured.
24:59 Yeah.
25:00 Like he doesn't have room to really kind of innovate inside this offense.
25:03 Like at Alabama, I felt like he got, he had a chance to kind of play with it after the
25:09 first couple of seconds.
25:10 Like if I see something develop after the initial play, I can, I've got the ability
25:13 to go with that.
25:15 It feels like here, if he doesn't see it on that first read or whatever it is, he's been
25:18 told throw it away or just get rid of it or whatever.
25:22 But don't try to force something someplace where he told you not to go.
25:24 It's limiting the offense and defenses are picking up on it.
25:28 So now defenses are like, well, he's not a threat to run the ball.
25:32 So, you know, really none of them are.
25:34 So we're going to load the box just in case he's not going to throw it downfield.
25:37 He doesn't throw it further than 15, 20 yards by play by design.
25:40 So why are we going to fall all the way back?
25:42 We're just going to push everything up front and just make every single thing you do hard
25:46 to do at a 10 yard radius pretty much.
25:49 And the Panthers never counterattack.
25:50 And that's the thing I don't understand too, with what you guys said, with the offensive
25:54 minds on the staff, maybe we overrated the Jim Caldwells and the Thomas Browns and those
25:59 on the staff.
26:00 What do you think the odds are of Frank Wright making it out of November as the Panthers
26:06 head coach?
26:07 Because one of the things we did say when he did put the staff together, I do remember
26:12 saying it.
26:13 It felt like them hiring Thomas Brown and a Jiro Ivaro were fail safes, like in case
26:20 something went horribly wrong, like and Frank Wright just wasn't the dude you've got offensive
26:25 coordinator and a defensive coordinator sitting there that are in their 30s or whatever, that
26:28 just interviewed for head coach and jobs before we gave them this.
26:31 They're one of the highest paid assistant head or coaches in the league.
26:34 That's why they came here.
26:35 And it feels like Tapper would be more prone to let Wright go so he can keep one of them
26:41 as interim and see how they do before he would move forward to my perch or his Jim Harbaugh,
26:45 which we'll get to in just a sec.
26:46 I'm back on my stuff again.
26:48 I almost cursed on here.
26:49 I'm back on it again.
26:50 I'm back from the Jim Harbaugh.
26:51 We'll be on it in a second.
26:56 But what do you guys think of the odds?
26:58 Let's say they lose to the Cowboys.
27:00 Once they lose by 20 and it's at home and it's he won't see Tuesday potentially.
27:06 And then I don't even know what we have after that.
27:08 Tennessee's next week, I think.
27:11 I don't think that I don't think that the piece would be disturbed like that, man.
27:18 Like I think in our in our minds and off of history, it's the easier thing to say.
27:24 Yeah.
27:25 With frustrations.
27:26 You think I don't I think you'll finish the season.
27:30 And I know this is a major hypothetical, but what if they get skunked on Sunday like forty
27:36 nine?
27:37 Nothing.
27:38 No more.
27:39 What was that?
27:40 No point.
27:41 What happened?
27:42 What was the score in the 49 game last year?
27:43 It was bad.
27:44 I think it was thirty eight to ten maybe.
27:47 So they were like thirty five.
27:48 None at the half or something crazy like that.
27:50 And then the 49ers kind of let off the gas in the second half.
27:53 But they were having a party at that point and be away.
27:55 Thirty seven, fifteen each.
27:56 Yeah, my boy, Mike Davis, I just step up a second year to adjust.
28:05 I don't I think I've gotten to the point.
28:07 I think you guys mentioned this last week with Scott Fitter or my one of the other one
28:12 a billion other shows I've been on the past couple weeks trying to talk about the Panthers.
28:16 Scott Fitter has gotten to the point now with me where I go back and think about all the
28:20 stuff he's done over the past four years, even when Matt was here and then he's had
28:25 two years without Matt rule here.
28:27 All the all the the draft picks have been traded away.
28:31 All the players have been traded away.
28:33 When he said the whole thing about parachute and a quarterback in like he he felt like
28:36 we had a team where he could parachute a quarterback in and go.
28:39 If I'm not mistaken, we still had Christian McCaffrey and DJ Moore when he made those
28:43 comments.
28:44 So technically he was right.
28:45 Like Ben, what we didn't what we didn't expect was that they would trade those those pieces
28:49 off and I keep coming back to the same thing.
28:52 Why did we trade off Christian McCaffrey?
28:55 And when we did it like we had already extended him.
28:58 If you think about if you think about it, there's no chance in hell that they even get
29:05 Bryce if they don't get those picks.
29:08 But he did.
29:09 He also said it after Bryce made they made the pick for Bryce.
29:13 Yeah, he did.
29:14 So it's that's why I think Scott may be more in danger here.
29:20 And I really have no idea.
29:22 It's hard to tell.
29:23 I don't know everything close to the vest.
29:24 But when you look at how this team was built, like, of course, you're not going to have
29:30 the depth and you're one of a new coaching staff and you're going to have guys that don't
29:34 fit exactly your scheme.
29:35 Like it's just that's natural.
29:37 That's going to be with every coaching changes you have.
29:39 They make another one this offseason.
29:40 It's going to be the same thing.
29:42 But you still have to go out and your job is to find guys or at least enough key guys.
29:48 The guys are going to be playing the most snaps to fit what you do schematically, offensively
29:54 and defensively.
29:55 Defensively, they didn't really make much of a change.
29:57 A lot of the guys that are on that side of the ball were already in place last year.
30:02 Offensively saw the major turnover.
30:04 And to me, that's where you completely with because if you if you completely change the
30:10 outlook of your offensive roster and the offensive staff, you should be able to marry those two
30:15 things together, not have it be so far, far apart.
30:20 And I don't understand, like you guys said, like, how do you commit to this type of playing
30:25 style but yet keep the offensive line that ran a completely different offense last year?
30:31 If you're going to make that switch, you've got to make that switch.
30:33 The only thing I can think of is they thought, well, we're not going to go and revamp this
30:38 whole offensive line of one offseason.
30:40 And this is the best we can work with.
30:42 Maybe we can just tweak their game a little bit to where it can work for a year and then
30:48 we can revisit it next offseason.
30:49 Well, problem is you may not get the next offseason.
30:52 And another thing, too.
30:53 I mean, they've got a half a year to see it doesn't work like they should have switched
30:56 this up by now.
30:57 It wouldn't be hard.
30:58 I mean, literally, this is what happened last year.
30:59 Wilkes switched it when he became Intermed coach.
31:01 He switched to this.
31:02 So it's not like they can't switch to it.
31:05 But now they don't have the personnel to really run it because they ran the form and out of
31:08 town.
31:09 There's so many different voices in that coaching staff.
31:13 I mean, it's one, I think it's the largest coaching staff I thought I saw in the entire
31:17 league.
31:18 Wow.
31:19 When you have that many voices, you've got so many different philosophies.
31:21 Like Frank comes from a spread offensive background.
31:25 Thomas Brown comes from that eye candy motion offense that likes to window dress and do
31:29 crazy things pre-snap.
31:31 And then you have James Campen, who worked with that downhill power offensive run game
31:37 last year.
31:38 It's a little bit of everything.
31:41 And to marry those three things together, that's a tough chore.
31:46 Donald Duck says, when I was saying, think about all the stuff we gave away, he said,
31:50 well, to gain back draft capital that we traded away during the Roland Fitterer era, hence
31:54 the C-Mac trade, all for a bag of peanuts, basically.
31:56 That's the thing that's got me.
31:57 We didn't get a first round pick out of trading away Christian McCaffrey.
32:00 He's an MVP candidate, literally.
32:03 He's probably one of the front runners.
32:05 He's making historical movement.
32:07 We didn't get a first.
32:09 We didn't get a first.
32:12 The three picks that you got in return for Christian, two of them are now playing for
32:17 Pittsburgh because they're in that trade to move up in the draft.
32:22 The other is DJ Johnson, who has not made a scratch on this defense.
32:27 And then you trade away your number one wide receiver just to get up eight spots to one
32:32 when you want to mess it up.
32:34 To potentially get the wrong guy.
32:36 Yeah, because you weren't even sure.
32:38 You weren't completely sure.
32:39 I'm starting to look at it like, and Mike says the same thing here in hindsight, might
32:44 not have traded up for Bryce, but able to split Caleb Williams this year, keep picks
32:47 and more.
32:48 I think I would rather have Drake May over Caleb Williams.
32:51 But besides that, how much different would this team look if they hadn't drafted a quarterback
32:56 this year, still had DJ Moore and just brought in Andy Dalton to be the same type of bridge
32:59 quarterback they've been doing the past two, three years, like just with a different coaching
33:03 regime.
33:04 And Andy Dalton in this offense probably would have been just fine.
33:07 And then you wait a year, you build your asset, you keep your number one receiver.
33:10 You just extended, you just extended DJ Moore and he traded them away for what?
33:15 The get Bryce Young here to throw to who you just traded away everyone.
33:20 So that's Scott Fitterer, right?
33:22 Like that's that's Scott Fitterer.
33:24 Like he was, he had his hand on all of that.
33:25 And that was after Matt rule was gone.
33:27 Rule was gone when they traded McCaffrey rule was gone when they traded more rules gone
33:31 for all this.
33:32 And I'm like, you can't blame him.
33:35 Fitterer took over.
33:36 So it's like, I see the anger.
33:38 And I know it was a couple of years ago too.
33:42 And in rule was here, but you mean he didn't pay a sonoretic.
33:46 I mean, I know he wanted to go to Philly because that's where he played at Temple and went
33:53 to the Super Bowl.
33:54 But he did, he made the right choice.
33:56 If you are serious, if you're serious about becoming a contender, you're going to pay
34:03 that man his money.
34:04 And now we're seeing some of those plays with Burns and it's just like, yeah.
34:12 You've turned down the Rams twice now.
34:13 They've come sniffing around offering first round picks for Brian Burns.
34:17 And you've said no politely both times.
34:19 Yet you're far away negotiating for Brian Burns.
34:22 Did you see the report that came out earlier this week about who they tried to trade for?
34:28 Yeah, Montez Sweat, Devontae Adams, and T. Higgins.
34:37 Now I wonder if those teams were like, nah, we're good because we don't see anything over
34:42 there.
34:43 We won't.
34:44 So why are we going to trade with you?
34:45 You already traded away all your picks or whatever.
34:46 Yeah, they're not going to wait two drafts to get a first round pick.
34:49 I'll give you our 2026 first round pick for T. Higgins right now, please.
34:55 I don't think that would have helped if any of them came in.
34:59 Maybe Sweat, but the defense hasn't been the problem.
35:01 So I don't know if the ESWBers made it.
35:05 They got to figure out how to get some rhythm on offense.
35:11 What do you do midseason to do that?
35:13 Like what do they need to change?
35:15 You run the ball.
35:17 The easiest, best thing that you can figure out how to gain confidence up front is to
35:23 run the ball.
35:25 Do the things that are simple.
35:28 The guy right there in front of you, block him, push him back three yards.
35:32 When you're Simon.
35:33 When you're Simon.
35:34 When you're Simon.
35:35 And when you do that good enough, then you start hitting some play action.
35:42 When you do that good enough, you start running some outside plays.
35:47 Do some jet sweeps.
35:49 Do some bubble screens.
35:50 And then you hit him over the top.
35:53 That's what you did well in college.
35:55 That's what Bryson did well in college.
35:57 And going back to what you talk about Bryson in college, like him being on the move.
36:03 That's what's really cool about these quarterbacks now.
36:05 The quarterbacks that have the freedom to move outside of the pocket to create their
36:12 own throwing lanes when they're under distress in the pocket.
36:19 I feel like he's pretty good at that.
36:22 You know what I'm saying?
36:23 Being able to make things happen while he's on the run or he's feeling some pressure.
36:28 It's the moments when he's being stuck in the pocket because he's zeroed in on something
36:35 that he's either being coached to see develop and he's supposed to just wait on it.
36:42 I don't know.
36:43 But I mean, you just got to find some rhythm.
36:48 And I feel like right now, obviously, that's a struggle because not one thing is working
36:54 for them.
36:55 It goes against why you draft Bryce Young, though, doesn't it?
36:59 Like don't you draft?
37:00 I mean, because you're already going into it knowing the kid's 5'10" or whatever.
37:03 He's not your prototypical quarterback.
37:05 That's not what you're doing.
37:06 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:07 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:08 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:09 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:10 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:11 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:12 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:13 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:14 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:15 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:16 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:17 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:18 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:19 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:20 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:21 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:22 You're not going to be able to do that.
37:43 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:04 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:32 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:33 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:34 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:35 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:36 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:37 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:38 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:39 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:40 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:41 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:42 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:43 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:44 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:45 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:46 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:47 You're not going to be able to do that.
38:48 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:12 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:13 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:14 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:15 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:16 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:17 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:18 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:19 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:20 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:21 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:22 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:23 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:24 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:25 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:26 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:27 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:28 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:52 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:58 You're not going to be able to do that.
39:59 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:00 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:01 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:02 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:03 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:04 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:05 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:06 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:07 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:08 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:09 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:10 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:11 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:12 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:13 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:42 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:43 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:44 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:45 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:46 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:47 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:48 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:49 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:50 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:51 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:52 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:53 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:54 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:55 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:56 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:57 You're not going to be able to do that.
40:58 You're not going to be able to do that.
41:17 You're not going to be able to do that.
41:38 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:00 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:28 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:29 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:30 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:31 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:32 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:33 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:34 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:35 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:36 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:37 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:38 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:39 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:40 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:41 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:42 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:43 You're not going to be able to do that.
42:44 You're not going to be able to do that.
43:03 You're not going to be able to do that.
43:24 You're not going to be able to do that.
43:50 You're not going to be able to do that.
43:53 You're not going to be able to do that.
43:54 You're not going to be able to do that.
43:55 You're not going to be able to do that.
43:56 You're not going to be able to do that.
43:57 You're not going to be able to do that.
43:58 You're not going to be able to do that.
43:59 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:00 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:01 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:02 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:03 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:04 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:05 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:06 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:07 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:08 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:34 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:37 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:38 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:39 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:40 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:41 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:42 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:43 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:44 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:45 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:46 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:47 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:48 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:49 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:50 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:51 You're not going to be able to do that.
44:52 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:16 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:17 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:18 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:19 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:20 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:21 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:22 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:23 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:24 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:25 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:26 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:27 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:28 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:29 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:30 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:31 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:32 You're not going to be able to do that.
45:56 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:03 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:04 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:05 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:06 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:07 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:08 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:09 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:10 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:11 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:12 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:13 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:14 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:15 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:16 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:17 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:18 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:44 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:47 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:48 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:49 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:50 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:51 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:52 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:53 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:54 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:55 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:56 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:57 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:58 You're not going to be able to do that.
46:59 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:00 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:01 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:02 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:23 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:49 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:52 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:53 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:54 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:55 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:56 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:57 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:58 You're not going to be able to do that.
47:59 You're not going to be able to do that.
48:00 You're not going to be able to do that.
48:01 You're not going to be able to do that.
48:02 You're not going to be able to do that.
48:03 You're not going to be able to do that.
48:04 You're not going to be able to do that.
48:05 You're not going to be able to do that.
48:06 You're not going to be able to do that.
48:07 You're not going to be able to do that.
48:28 You're not going to be able to do that.
48:54 You're not going to be able to do that.
48:59 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:00 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:01 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:02 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:03 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:04 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:05 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:06 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:07 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:08 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:09 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:10 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:11 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:12 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:13 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:14 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:35 You're not going to be able to do that.
49:57 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:25 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:26 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:27 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:28 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:29 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:30 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:31 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:32 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:33 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:34 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:35 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:36 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:37 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:38 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:39 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:40 You're not going to be able to do that.
50:41 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:05 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:12 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:13 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:14 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:15 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:16 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:17 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:18 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:19 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:20 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:21 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:22 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:23 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:24 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:25 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:26 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:27 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:55 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:56 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:57 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:58 You're not going to be able to do that.
51:59 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:00 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:01 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:02 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:03 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:04 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:05 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:06 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:07 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:08 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:09 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:10 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:11 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:35 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:42 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:43 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:44 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:45 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:46 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:47 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:48 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:49 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:50 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:51 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:52 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:53 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:54 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:55 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:56 You're not going to be able to do that.
52:57 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:23 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:26 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:27 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:28 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:29 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:30 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:31 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:32 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:33 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:34 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:35 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:36 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:37 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:38 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:39 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:40 You're not going to be able to do that.
53:41 You're not going to be able to do that.
54:07 Keep pounding, y'all.
54:08 [BLANK_AUDIO]