Bleav in Panthers: Dan Morgan Enters The Chat
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00:00:00 This is Desmond Johnson on the Believe in Carolina Panthers Podcast, here on the Believe
00:00:20 Podcast Network, the #1 podcast network for professionals.
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00:00:29 We're available in your favorite directories, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, Luminary,
00:00:34 and TuneIn.
00:00:35 You can also find us at Believe.com and @BelievePodcast on Twitter.
00:00:47 And welcome into another brand new edition of the Believe in Carolina Panthers Podcast
00:00:50 here on the Believe Podcast Network.
00:00:52 Do you believe?
00:00:53 I'm your host, Desmond Johnson, joined by all-time lead and rusher, Jonathan Stewart,
00:00:57 sports illustrator, beat writer, Skylar Callahan, will be with us shortly, right before we were
00:01:01 supposed to go on the air.
00:01:03 As you know, Skylar's also the beat writer for Sports Illustrated for the Charlotte Hornets.
00:01:06 The Charlotte Hornets, if you have not heard, just traded Terry Rozier like 10 minutes ago
00:01:10 to Miami, so he's in the middle of dealing with that.
00:01:13 He'll pop in here in just a bit.
00:01:15 A loaded show for you today, of course, the biggest news in Panthers news is the promotion
00:01:20 of assistant general manager, Dan Morgan, up to the general manager role.
00:01:24 Dan the man.
00:01:25 Dan the man.
00:01:26 We got our thoughts on that.
00:01:27 Of course, the NFL playoffs in full effect, the divisional round from last week, what
00:01:30 we saw, some surprises, if any at all.
00:01:33 And we'll set the plate for this week for the NFC and AFC championship games.
00:01:37 Stu, I think we got some good ones coming up here on Sunday, so we'll get into all that
00:01:42 as well.
00:01:43 What's up, brother?
00:01:44 How you doing?
00:01:45 Man, I'm fantastic.
00:01:46 You know, this past weekend, it was everything any football fan could ask for as far as the
00:01:54 games.
00:01:55 So if you're a Detroit Lion fan or if you live in Detroit, born in Detroit, I mean,
00:02:03 right now living on a cloud right now, first time they've been in the conference championship
00:02:08 since 1957, I think is what I saw.
00:02:11 So yeah, it's been a minute like we've been a couple of times since the Detroit Lions
00:02:14 have gone.
00:02:15 So it's they're living it up, but they got to go out West.
00:02:18 They got to see San Francisco.
00:02:19 I said, just go show.
00:02:20 I don't know if it was San Francisco for the Packers, but the kind of came out again, not
00:02:27 feeling like the 49ers were as great of a team as we kind of hyped them up to be.
00:02:32 That's that's Green Bay.
00:02:34 I think a lot of it is Green Bay.
00:02:38 Green Bay, you know, the next 10 years, you know, with Jordan Love, he's he's going to
00:02:44 be, you know, something special.
00:02:48 He's already kind of proven that this year under the radar.
00:02:52 People are afraid to, you know, give him a crown because Aaron Rodgers, maybe it's too
00:02:58 soon and all that talk.
00:03:01 But he's a he's a really good player.
00:03:04 The way his receivers, you know, get open for him, you know, the just the whole scheme
00:03:10 in the offense just seems like it fits right now.
00:03:13 So hopefully they build on top of that this offseason.
00:03:17 You know, continue to build up the offensive line.
00:03:19 Yeah, because you're running game, obviously, too, with the play action.
00:03:22 I mean, you can be real dangerous down the road and they're young, too.
00:03:26 They're the youngest team in the whole league.
00:03:27 So I think I just saw the Packers are prepared to make Jordan Love one of the highest paid
00:03:31 quarterbacks in the league.
00:03:32 So it's own time.
00:03:33 Like he decided to flip the switch.
00:03:36 This was the time.
00:03:37 So we'll see.
00:03:38 We'll see if Jordan Love breaks 300 million.
00:03:40 Has my brother in a million?
00:03:41 Yeah, I don't know.
00:03:42 I don't know.
00:03:43 I was dead.
00:03:44 Mom's had 450 or whatever it was.
00:03:46 Patrick, Patrick getting paid by Allstate or what is state?
00:03:51 Well, the state farm paying that man about 200, 200 million.
00:03:55 Probably Travis Kelsey is in 15 commercials right now.
00:03:58 Like literally like every time, every time it goes to break, I'm going to see Travis
00:04:02 Kelsey selling something soup.
00:04:04 My home's in my auto.
00:04:05 Oh, come on, motto.
00:04:06 It's good.
00:04:07 Before we before we dip into the Dan Morgan talking, I'm already seeing a lot of people
00:04:12 seeing some some comments pop in from Panther faithful.
00:04:16 Little unsure about the hire.
00:04:17 We're going to get you right.
00:04:18 We can get you right for this episode.
00:04:19 It's over with a word from our sponsors over at Bet Online with NFL playoffs right around
00:04:23 the corner in the NBA season in full swing.
00:04:25 Bet Online has you covered with all the up to the second odds, news and scores with additional
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00:04:37 Remember to use the promo code Believe BLEAV to receive your 50 percent welcome bonus on
00:04:41 your first deposit bet online where the game starts.
00:04:44 And where we'll start is by introducing our man Skyler Callahan to the crew coming in
00:04:49 hot off of a trade.
00:04:54 Basically it just went down in the NBA.
00:04:56 I've been kind of hoping for it.
00:04:57 I actually do a little bit of work for those guys over at all Hornets.
00:05:00 I and I know the talk had been going on, but I don't know if they were going to pull the
00:05:03 trigger Skyler Terry was here to the Hornets.
00:05:06 I mean, to the to the heat.
00:05:08 Yeah, yeah.
00:05:09 It's been kind of rumored the last few weeks.
00:05:11 That's kind of where he wanted to go and kind of felt like it was going to happen at some
00:05:15 point.
00:05:16 Just didn't know when.
00:05:17 Didn't think it'd come after they just beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, which was strange
00:05:22 in itself.
00:05:23 That game was weird.
00:05:24 You know the game, but you know, this is this was expected.
00:05:28 It probably will be, I would say, the biggest move that they'll make.
00:05:32 But I wouldn't be shocked if they make another minor deal here soon.
00:05:35 I mean, they're not going to keep Kyle Lowry.
00:05:37 I would be I would be shocked if they did.
00:05:39 So they'll probably either buy him out of his contract or flip him for something else.
00:05:44 So be sure to think.
00:05:46 Meanwhile, the Hornets are, I think, eight and thirty ten and thirty one.
00:05:52 Now they've reached.
00:05:53 OK, so it's ten and thirty one, ten thirty one.
00:05:57 I'm a ten thirty one exchange, but I'm at the point like Mello.
00:06:00 You already paid him.
00:06:02 Lamella, Mark Williams, Brandon Miller, everything else.
00:06:07 Just just blow it up.
00:06:08 I mean, at this point, we've done this three, four years now, like every year has been the
00:06:11 same where they just can't get out of their way with injuries and stuff.
00:06:14 Use these assets.
00:06:15 Hey, all of them just trade them all out and then start fresh with new ownership.
00:06:20 Yeah, I like I like Roger, though.
00:06:23 Yeah, scary.
00:06:24 Yeah, I heard that hurts, man.
00:06:26 Yeah.
00:06:27 I mean, he's one of their assets like they they're they're at a point where they got
00:06:30 they just got to the treadmill or name tread water.
00:06:33 They're drowning.
00:06:34 But they got to figure out with what they had.
00:06:36 What's the older guys and a bunch of real young guys.
00:06:39 So and I've said it like and people may not agree with me because that a lot of the Hornets
00:06:43 fans don't really care for Terry Rozier for whatever reason.
00:06:46 I think he's a really good player.
00:06:48 He's about as good as you're going to get without being an all star.
00:06:51 And I think he could have been a big part of their turnaround, because let's face it,
00:06:55 like in any sport, you got to have some veterans on your roster, because if not, you're you're
00:07:00 just going to drown.
00:07:01 And yeah, I mean, they're 10 and 31, but I mean, the whole damn roster has been hurt.
00:07:06 So like literally it's so much the last time this this roster was healthy, they went to
00:07:13 the playoffs.
00:07:14 There were 43 and 39.
00:07:15 That was two years ago.
00:07:16 This team is running lost to the heat, right?
00:07:19 Yeah, yeah.
00:07:20 No, no.
00:07:21 The Hawks, the Hawks.
00:07:22 Well, that was when for whatever reason, they had to walk from the hotel to the arena like
00:07:27 45 minutes and then they were healthy.
00:07:30 Yeah, and this got stopped once they arrived at the arena like like about 40 or whatever.
00:07:36 But we know why y'all are here.
00:07:37 We know why y'all are here is because it's the Believe in Competition and the Dan Morgan
00:07:43 experiment has begun.
00:07:45 Let's just go to you guys first.
00:07:46 I have my own thoughts on it.
00:07:48 Stu, you said your paths didn't cross career wise in terms of playing with each other,
00:07:52 but being a part of the organization, you know, Dan, you've met him before.
00:07:56 I'm sure you've had conversations with him.
00:07:58 What were your thoughts when it was announced yesterday that Dan Morgan is going to be the
00:08:00 new general manager?
00:08:01 I mean, like a lot of people are going to say what they want to say.
00:08:08 You know, it could have been anyone and someone's going to have something to say about it.
00:08:12 Negative, positive, they're going to say it.
00:08:16 And so but what I will say is I respect the decision.
00:08:19 I respect it from the stance of, you know, a locker room guy, as a fan and as a player.
00:08:28 You know, this is a guy that I believe that the Panthers hiring Dan, the man vice president
00:08:37 of football operations, you know, GM.
00:08:41 This is a move that, you know, brings a total, you know, like, you know, I guess it really
00:08:51 just brings everything to a center, you know, as far as like, hey, what are we doing?
00:08:58 What do we want to do?
00:09:00 You bring in a guy with experience, not just as a player, but a guy that was, you know,
00:09:05 if he was healthy, we're talking a monster, right?
00:09:10 I mean, set in Super Bowl records with tackles, I guess, I think it's still the same.
00:09:15 Yeah.
00:09:16 What do you add?
00:09:17 Like 16 tackles against the Philadelphia Eagles or 13?
00:09:20 I'm not sure.
00:09:21 But he's a monster, right?
00:09:23 Like so not only was he a player, but he was a respected player amongst the amongst the
00:09:30 league when he was playing.
00:09:33 And then you take him, you take his experience as he has gone into the executive realm of
00:09:39 the NFL.
00:09:40 And so you take that he has a comprehensive understanding of what he's of what the football
00:09:47 world is supposed to be like, what the locker room is supposed to be like, what an organization
00:09:51 is supposed to be like, because he's been there from a player and in an executive role.
00:09:56 And he's been around, you know, teams that have built, you know, sustainable and legendary
00:10:04 programs.
00:10:05 I mean, you look at the Legion of Boom, right?
00:10:08 Seattle Seahawks.
00:10:09 Let's not forget, he's seen that happen.
00:10:11 I mean, who knows exactly what, you know, hand he had in, you know, picking that, you
00:10:17 know, to where, you know, you have all these guys on your roster, but he was a part of
00:10:22 it.
00:10:23 He's seen things happen.
00:10:24 He's seen things take fold.
00:10:26 And then you look at the Buffalo Bills, the Buffalo Bills are the like, like the wonderful
00:10:32 magic of a Buffalo that everyone in the nation has experienced beside them, you know, being
00:10:38 the Kansas City Chiefs.
00:10:39 Like, like he was a part of that.
00:10:44 And so him coming to the Carolina Panthers, we all know the uphill battles that, you know,
00:10:52 the GM, the coaching staffs, you know, the organization as a whole has experienced the
00:10:56 last several years.
00:10:59 You know, you can, you can argue, you know, the last two years, the last three years,
00:11:05 you've kind of been in a position of being, you know, up a creek without a paddle.
00:11:10 You bring his experience and knowledge to this game and, and picking players.
00:11:16 And you know, I look at the free agency, right?
00:11:20 Like if I'm a free agent, now I'm looking at Dan Morgan and I'm like, Oh, this is a
00:11:24 guy that understands ball.
00:11:26 Yeah.
00:11:27 He understands defense.
00:11:28 He understands, you know, how to win games.
00:11:31 He understands communication.
00:11:33 He understands what needs to be in the locker room.
00:11:36 Anybody can, you know, determine whether a guy is a fast guy.
00:11:41 If he can cover guys in the open field, if they can bully a guy into the quarterback's
00:11:46 lane, if you can, you can, anybody can watch film and say, that's a good, that's a good
00:11:53 draft pick.
00:11:54 We should draft him.
00:11:55 That's a good player.
00:11:56 We should get him on our squad.
00:11:57 But what a lot of people can't do is sense what's needed in the locker room.
00:12:02 You know what I'm saying?
00:12:03 Because I think that's, what's been missing is, is, is someone to be able to say, Hey,
00:12:09 that's a great player.
00:12:10 And that might be the best player in the draft, but this guy right here, we can utilize this
00:12:17 guy and it might be a fifth round draft pick.
00:12:20 We can, we can, if we can get to this fifth round and we get this guy, I believe in this
00:12:24 guy.
00:12:25 Cause that's what we're really seeing.
00:12:27 You look at the LA Rams, you look at, you know, the running, they're, they're starting
00:12:32 running back.
00:12:33 They're leading receiver.
00:12:34 These are guys that were taken later in the rounds.
00:12:38 These are guys that no one really believed in, but for whatever reason, they have a GM
00:12:43 and a coaching staff that says, Hey, look, hopefully no one takes these guys, but these
00:12:48 guys fit what our locker room needs.
00:12:51 And so I just feel like he has the experience from different angles to be able to bring
00:12:58 something else and bring a different perspective that I don't think we've had in a while.
00:13:04 And quite frankly, you look at the San Francisco 49ers, you know what I'm saying?
00:13:11 You look at John Lynch.
00:13:12 I mean, he's a legend in his own, but I believe he was able to put together a great winning
00:13:20 like ultra because he's seen it.
00:13:23 He's been a part of it.
00:13:25 And you look at Dan, he, you know, 2001, he was part of a team of one in 15.
00:13:31 And he was also a part of a team that went to the super bowl.
00:13:34 So he's been through it all.
00:13:36 And as a player, and then as an executive, once again, I was like, I was saying before,
00:13:42 he's been to the pinnacle and then executive level.
00:13:45 So I don't have nothing, nothing bad to say about the hire.
00:13:49 I'm pretty excited about it.
00:13:52 He's a good guy, you know, and good guys should win.
00:13:58 - Skylar, and before Skylar starts, again, we are live and we have the benefit of having
00:14:07 Skylar here with us, who's also the beat writer for Hornets SI, the publisher.
00:14:12 And if you don't know, Terry Ruggiero was just traded to the Miami Heat.
00:14:14 I just saw a Woj bomb come across my phone while Stu was talking that the Hornets have
00:14:19 no plans to buy out Kyle Lowry and that they're planning to trade him elsewhere for more stuff.
00:14:25 So that trade still kind of ongoing, but just wanted to throw that tidbit out there while
00:14:29 it's hot on the tweeters.
00:14:31 Skylar?
00:14:32 - Yeah, that's, like I said, I wouldn't expect him to be in a Hornet jersey for longer.
00:14:37 He may not even put one on.
00:14:39 They may not even make the jersey for him.
00:14:42 - No.
00:14:43 - But yeah.
00:14:44 But as far as Dan goes, I'm kind of split, to be honest with you.
00:14:50 Like I'm not, I think the jury's out for me.
00:14:54 I like it because I'm just going to echo a lot of what Stu just said.
00:14:59 Like he knows what it takes to win here.
00:15:01 He's seen what it takes.
00:15:02 He knows what doesn't work here.
00:15:05 And I think if you want to really turn a really bad roster around, I know a lot of people
00:15:10 say, well, why would you pick someone that's in the building?
00:15:13 Well, if you really believe in somebody that hasn't really necessarily had the keys to
00:15:18 the car, but you believe that they can be the one that can drive this thing to where
00:15:23 it needs to go, well, no one else knows the roster better than Dan Morgan in terms of
00:15:29 the guys that they interviewed externally.
00:15:30 So that's another, I guess, pro.
00:15:33 The cons for me are, well, it was a really bad season.
00:15:39 It's been a really bad few years and Dan was in the building for those years.
00:15:44 He was a part of that process.
00:15:46 So how much of a say did he have in those conversations?
00:15:50 That's the thing that I want to know that probably many of us want to know.
00:15:54 Maybe we'll get to ask if they do an introductory press conference because I want to know how
00:16:01 much of a factor did he have in say trading Christian McCaffrey or trading off DJ more
00:16:07 in that trade to go and get Bryce Young or trading up to go get DJ Johnson in the draft
00:16:11 or letting Hassan Redick walk.
00:16:14 I can't remember the timeline.
00:16:15 That may have been before he got here.
00:16:16 I can't remember, but no, he was here because Morgan's been here for what, two years, three
00:16:22 years, two, three years.
00:16:23 I've been around there.
00:16:24 So yeah, I would assume he was there for that, but there's obviously, it's been a lot of
00:16:28 decisions that went wrong.
00:16:29 So that's my decision or my kind of pros and cons on that.
00:16:34 My biggest question for David Tepper is why the hell did you hire a search firm?
00:16:40 If you're going to just stick to the guy anyways, like did you want to go through this exhaustive
00:16:46 search and keep the idea of Dan Morgan around or was it kind of always in place?
00:16:54 Like if Dan was always going to be Scott's successor, then was the search for him really
00:17:01 just for the head coach?
00:17:02 Like, I don't understand that.
00:17:04 Was Dan just being kept to be his yes man?
00:17:08 Is that a possibility?
00:17:10 Because you look around at some of these guys that they interviewed for the GM job, it's
00:17:14 a lot of cap guys, guys that have backgrounds in negotiating and dealing with contracts.
00:17:18 So there's been some rumors floating out there about Brent Tillis, who I think I mentioned
00:17:23 last week as someone that was maybe a favorite for the job.
00:17:28 Are these candidates that interviewed for the job, were they told like, Hey, if you
00:17:32 come, this is going to be your job or is it, Hey, you're going to be partnered with Dan.
00:17:37 That's where I'm kind of confused on and hopefully we'll get some clarity in the next week or
00:17:42 so.
00:17:43 But I don't know, I'm split on it.
00:17:45 I think it's good in a lot of ways, but I have a lot of question marks about it.
00:17:49 So for me, it felt like a couple of days ago, it felt like Morgan had took the lead in the
00:17:56 search.
00:17:57 Like it just kind of organically felt like he was going to be the guy.
00:18:00 Somebody was going to have to come in and really wow him to be it.
00:18:03 I don't think that I feel like Fitter had the keys and Dan was just in the back seat,
00:18:11 but he had no like say in where the car was going.
00:18:14 He was just along for the ride and he just had to make sure there was gas in the car
00:18:17 pretty much.
00:18:18 So I feel like it's still Fitter that, cause some of those choices, it don't feel like
00:18:23 Morgan would have been considered if he was a part of those choices, like the ones that
00:18:26 have backfired because that's what got Fitter fired.
00:18:28 So why would you continue to keep the guy that was in the room going?
00:18:32 Yeah, that's a great idea, Scott.
00:18:33 Let's do that.
00:18:34 Like it didn't seem like something they would do.
00:18:37 It does feel like Morgan was put there and we've talked about this before too, almost
00:18:41 like a fail safe.
00:18:42 Like if you look at the way the coaching staff was built last off season, it almost felt
00:18:46 like they had certain people on the staff in case things went wrong, like breaking case
00:18:50 of emergency.
00:18:51 And it feels like now Morgan is kind of the breaking case of emergency.
00:18:54 If Scott's got to go, we've got a guy sitting here and now I'm sitting there looking at
00:18:58 the coaching search and I'm sitting there thinking, I won't be surprised if we get to
00:19:01 this point next week and he Giro's is the head coach.
00:19:04 Like it's kind of heading that way too.
00:19:06 Doesn't it feel like that?
00:19:07 It feels like they're kind of keeping everything close to the vest.
00:19:10 And it goes back to what I was saying last week.
00:19:13 Like, don't be surprised if a lot of these changes aren't drastic because at the end
00:19:19 of the day, man, like it's not always greener on the other side.
00:19:24 You know what I'm saying?
00:19:25 So like what Skylar pointed out, like if you got, got like, if you're trying to change
00:19:31 the organization, but still win games next year, the answer is not cleaning house.
00:19:37 I can tell you that.
00:19:39 And that's because if you clean house, you definitely, you hidden, you hidden control
00:19:45 all delete.
00:19:46 This is white block.
00:19:47 It's just a white screen.
00:19:48 And if you've got a white screen, you ain't got really, it's going to be a black screen.
00:19:54 But like, if you have that, then now you as a fan, you're going to be in the same boat,
00:20:01 you know what I'm saying?
00:20:02 And so you can't just clean house and, and expect, you know, drastic measures of change.
00:20:09 I look at the Texans, right?
00:20:12 Like they didn't clean house, right?
00:20:17 They brought in, they brought in a new head coach and that was the missing him and Stroud
00:20:21 were the missing components.
00:20:25 But I think we, at the end of the day are in a good place with Dan.
00:20:33 And I liked the, I like what you said there about, you know, you have a sports car and
00:20:39 you have a really nice sports car, just didn't have the right driver.
00:20:43 And so the good thing is you have somebody in the back seat, you know, observing, taking
00:20:48 notes and now it's his time to shine, you know, now it's his time to drive the car.
00:20:56 And here's the, here's the kicker though.
00:20:58 That car is the pace car from 2003.
00:21:00 So he already knows the car.
00:21:01 Like he just, he just wasn't driving it.
00:21:02 He was just sitting in it.
00:21:03 And that's the thing for me where I'm like, okay, the thing I really like about it is
00:21:07 the same reason why I like the Frank Reich hire is the same reason why I wanted Steve
00:21:10 Wilkes.
00:21:11 The main thing I have stressed on this show as the fan component of the show, I've been
00:21:15 more worried as I see changes happening with David Tepper's owner, that the Panthers as
00:21:18 an organization, we're going to lose our identity, that we were going to erase what we were,
00:21:22 the whole keep pounding mantra, what we're known to do, that kind of the type of players
00:21:27 that come through here.
00:21:28 Well, I was worried all that was going to happen.
00:21:31 And then you started seeing elements of it a little bit with Matt rule.
00:21:35 And then they try to rectify that with bringing in Frank, right.
00:21:38 And all that kind of stuff with Dan, when you say keep pounding, it's one thing to go
00:21:43 to the press conference and said at the podium and the reporters love it and the fans eat
00:21:48 it up and everything else.
00:21:49 But if you weren't here or don't really, if you don't know what it is like, then it's
00:21:53 hard to kind of, it's almost like somebody saying, you know, like North Carolina, their
00:21:59 thing is their, their folks say Aggie pride.
00:22:02 And I didn't go to ANC.
00:22:03 I worked with them, but you won't hear me saying that out in public.
00:22:06 Cause it feels weird for me to say, you know what I mean?
00:22:08 I didn't go to ANC.
00:22:09 So it's not as authentic.
00:22:11 When someone actually played for the Panthers says, keep pounding.
00:22:15 It's more like when Steve Wilkes said it last year, it meant more.
00:22:20 And with Morgan, he was in the room when Sam Mills made that speech in Oh three before
00:22:25 the Cowboys playoff game that started this whole thing.
00:22:28 Like he understands what it is.
00:22:29 He has the record.
00:22:30 I see two different numbers here, one for 18 and one for 25, but Dan Morgan still holds
00:22:36 the record for most tackles in a super bowl and super bowl history against the Patriots
00:22:39 super bowl 38 had to retire due to concussions and things of that sort.
00:22:44 But if you look at his where he's been and who he's worked for, I mean, we sit here and
00:22:48 complain about how some of these other teams are kind of copying what Carolina did.
00:22:54 He worked under him.
00:22:55 Like I know the one guy we wish did not get away was the guy that's the general manager
00:22:59 for the bills right now.
00:23:00 Brandon Bean, who was the assistant here.
00:23:01 Yeah.
00:23:02 He was here for a while.
00:23:04 He learned under Brandon being for three years.
00:23:06 Like he wouldn't know something.
00:23:07 Brandon being was like Carolina Panther through and through.
00:23:11 Yeah.
00:23:12 And so, I mean, he learned from the one of it.
00:23:16 He learned a lot from the losing seasons and the winning seasons and then fast flips to
00:23:22 like, cause when you got here, like you said, they were one in 15 in 2001 by 2003, they
00:23:27 were 11 to five and in the super bowl, like it just don't take long.
00:23:30 The impact is there.
00:23:32 And you want to know, one of the things that I just thought about is, you know, what the
00:23:37 players experience and what the organization experienced from having a GM come in and take,
00:23:45 you know, take the throne.
00:23:49 Back when David Gettleman became our GM, I remember him coming into our team meeting
00:23:53 room and he basically, you know, set up, you know, set up front stage and just basically
00:24:03 told us that we were going to go to a super bowl and that, and shared with us, you know,
00:24:10 some stories about, you know, his time with New York giants and just kind of how everything
00:24:15 came to be and certain players on the team and on the roster and, and what he looked
00:24:20 for as far as, you know, the locker room guy and you know, how to carry yourself and you
00:24:27 know, how to be, you know, you know, a champion in that sense.
00:24:32 Cause I mean, hearing it from him, especially coming from where we were coming from, you
00:24:38 know, kind of being good, but not really, but hearing a, you know, an actual like super
00:24:46 bowl champion GM and hearing his mindset, you know, that's a shift in itself.
00:24:52 You know what I'm saying?
00:24:53 Guys can, you know, look at Dave Gettleman, you know, with their own perception and whatnot,
00:24:58 but my man put it together a winning roster.
00:25:01 He did.
00:25:02 Yup.
00:25:03 He did.
00:25:04 And so, and he had, you know, experience of winning.
00:25:09 So with Dan, you know, looking at his track record, like as far as being places and having
00:25:18 experiences as a player at the executive realm, you have to respect the fact that he, he knows
00:25:27 what he's doing and he wouldn't be in the position that he is if he didn't.
00:25:34 And so I'm not, I'm not a fan of cleaning house, especially with Dan being, you know,
00:25:41 the choice, I respect it.
00:25:44 And you know, I think what everybody's expectations are as far as, you know, Carolina Panthers
00:25:52 making decisions of putting, you know, putting us back on the map, there's a lot of ways
00:25:58 to do it.
00:25:59 And this is one of them.
00:26:01 Miss rain.
00:26:02 There's a lot.
00:26:03 I know everybody's hopping by today.
00:26:04 I know everybody was waiting on us to come in on a Tuesday.
00:26:06 Miss rain says, is it possible to search firm, analyzed all candidates and felt Dan was the
00:26:10 best choice for the job.
00:26:11 It's possible.
00:26:12 I mean, and if you look at it, why wouldn't he be?
00:26:14 I mean, of everything we just mentioned, he knows the culture he's been there three years
00:26:17 already.
00:26:18 He knows what the team needs.
00:26:19 He just watched the team like the rest of this this past year.
00:26:22 He knows what the holes are.
00:26:23 So and plus the people he's been with and I'm sitting there looking at it cause I kind
00:26:29 of forgot until Stu started mentioning it and I went to go pull it up just to kind of
00:26:33 see where he was.
00:26:34 So for those that are a little unsure and I see it in the comment section, there's some
00:26:37 that are kind of unsure about it because of the stench of what just happened this past
00:26:40 year.
00:26:41 He joined the Seahawks as a scouting intern in 2010.
00:26:44 He was there till 2017, eventually getting up to director of pro personnel.
00:26:49 He was the assistant director and then director of pro personnel side that basically drafted
00:26:54 the Legion of Boom and won a Super Bowl fall in 2013 season.
00:26:57 And if you remember the Legion of Boom, it wasn't all a bunch of first rounders like
00:27:01 they they had a certain type they were looking for a cornerback and it's safety or whatever.
00:27:04 But a lot of those dudes, Richard Sermon was like a fifth round pick.
00:27:08 Cam Chancellor was like a third round pick.
00:27:10 Cam Chancellor was a cyborg, by the way.
00:27:13 Just the way that they went about it.
00:27:14 I think Brandon Browner was a first round pick, but they built it throughout the draft,
00:27:18 not just first round picks.
00:27:19 He went 2018.
00:27:21 He went to Buffalo director of player personnel.
00:27:25 He was underneath general manager Brandon Bean, who used to be the assistant general
00:27:28 manager here for three years.
00:27:30 And then he went back to Charlotte 2021 as assistant general manager.
00:27:33 So he's been assistant general manager for three years.
00:27:35 2021, I believe that's when Fitter got here, if I'm not mistaken.
00:27:41 So he so he's never under Herny, but he's been underneath Fitter for those three years.
00:27:46 Now, 2021, Matt Ruhle is still here.
00:27:48 So still kind of murky in terms of who was making those final decisions.
00:27:51 We've assumed we've been told it was Matt Ruhle that had final decision on player personnel,
00:27:55 whatever his time here.
00:27:57 And then when they hired Frank Wright, that shifted to Scott Fitter and kind of a committee
00:28:01 Frank Wright and everybody else.
00:28:03 I personally love it.
00:28:04 I love it.
00:28:05 The more I sit here and think about it, it makes the most sense.
00:28:08 I was worried they were going to clear everybody out.
00:28:10 They just try to start something brand new.
00:28:12 Again, I wanted somebody that was familiar with Panther culture.
00:28:15 It's so important to me that we keep that.
00:28:17 He's the bridge.
00:28:18 Now he becomes the bridge from previous Panther regimes to future Panther regimes.
00:28:25 And he's also part of that linebacker lineage that Sam Mills to Dan Morgan to John Beeson
00:28:32 to Luke Keekly, Thomas Davis, Shaq Thompson, who's on the scene now, like he's a part of
00:28:38 that lineage.
00:28:39 And he can actually go into a room and command respect with these players because of that.
00:28:44 And the final thing I'll say about him, it feels like they did this because the number
00:28:48 one priority for the team going into this offseason is re-signing Brian Burns.
00:28:53 And he's been in the room with these negotiations, I would assume, for Brian Burns for the better
00:28:57 part of a year.
00:28:59 So the one thing I was saying, maybe they keep Fitter because of the Brian Burns situation
00:29:02 and then they didn't.
00:29:03 In the back of my head, I'm thinking, well, maybe Dan Morgan's got a shot because he was
00:29:06 in there and he might be able to understand it better being a former defensive player
00:29:10 for the Carolina Panthers.
00:29:12 So maybe it shifts a little bit.
00:29:14 You hope that he doesn't share the same thoughts as Scott on the Brian Burns situation.
00:29:20 Right.
00:29:21 And which is why he would be retained.
00:29:22 So all of it kind of comes together.
00:29:24 And now they can shift.
00:29:25 I know the number one fear that a lot of Panther fans had was that they were going to hire
00:29:29 a coach before they hired the GM.
00:29:32 And because they're interviewing coaches right now.
00:29:33 Yeah, he's been in every single one of them.
00:29:36 He's been in every single one of them.
00:29:37 So it feels like, and we talked about this before, David Tepper, man, I almost want him
00:29:43 to lean into this villain role and not be like almost like kind of lean into the heel
00:29:48 role.
00:29:49 Like if people are going to think you're a heel, just be a heel.
00:29:50 You know what I mean?
00:29:51 Like everyone's booing Hulk Hogan.
00:29:52 Turn to Hollywood Hogan, man.
00:29:53 Like, go ahead and do it.
00:29:54 Like, because I mean, it's not helping anything.
00:29:58 MWO.
00:29:59 Damn if we do, damn if we don't.
00:30:02 You know, so the firm could have been like, Dan Morgan's the best hire.
00:30:06 He hires Dan Morgan.
00:30:07 Half the fan base is like, what are you doing?
00:30:09 Like we're supposed to clean out house.
00:30:11 That's y'all's fault.
00:30:12 Y'all assume we're cleaning house.
00:30:13 We never once said they were cleaning out the whole thing.
00:30:15 Just starting fresh.
00:30:16 We just assumed they were, right?
00:30:17 We wanted them to, and then they didn't.
00:30:19 And now we're mad that they didn't do it.
00:30:21 And then he goes back to what we said with the whole driver thing, and it could be the
00:30:25 same thing with the head coach.
00:30:26 You may have had the right person in the building, just not in the right role.
00:30:29 Right.
00:30:30 Right.
00:30:31 It may not be the sexiest thing in the world to hire a zero of errors, your head coach,
00:30:34 but it might be the best thing.
00:30:36 It may not be.
00:30:37 It may not get the hype and all the hoopla's of Ben Johnson or Bobby Sloic or Raheem Morse
00:30:42 or anything like that.
00:30:43 But if the right guy is in your building, there's no need to go look anywhere else.
00:30:48 I don't know that answer.
00:30:50 None of us do.
00:30:51 Let me throw these scenarios at you, because now that we have the GM and now that we're
00:30:55 about halfway through the show, we'll get over to the playoffs here in just a second.
00:30:59 But head coach wise, does it feel like it's turning into Ben Johnson, Bobby Sloic, zero?
00:31:07 Like those are the kind of three, especially with the dude from the Bengals getting picked
00:31:10 up yesterday?
00:31:11 I'd be shocked if it is.
00:31:14 Personally, I think this helps more than anybody.
00:31:17 Dave Canales in Tampa Bay, because he had spent eight years in Seattle with them.
00:31:24 Seattle was different positions.
00:31:26 There is a wide receivers coach for a while, and then he became a quarterback's coach and
00:31:31 helped with the career resurrections of Gino and Baker.
00:31:35 And he helped get the best out of Russell Wilson in Seattle, too.
00:31:38 So you're talking about.
00:31:39 Yeah, that's a that's a that's a heck of a track record right there.
00:31:43 So I'm really on my radar and probably not on a lot of people's radar until probably
00:31:52 the last month or so of the season.
00:31:53 Oh, shoot.
00:31:54 That's within a division to, you know, we try to win the division.
00:31:58 Smoke and tell us everything, you know, everything, you know, but just went on a little run like
00:32:04 I don't think anybody had that on their bingo card for twenty twenty three NFL season.
00:32:08 The Tampa would actually get to the NFL division round and win the South and Baker looked good
00:32:13 and how they did when they look amazing.
00:32:17 I did.
00:32:18 There was a lot of good quarterback play this week.
00:32:20 And we'll get to what we saw division weekend.
00:32:22 But one final note on the coaching search, I'm open by this time next week when we come
00:32:26 back, we've got coach.
00:32:27 We can kind of go there, but keep this in mind.
00:32:31 They're not allowed to interview the coaches that are in the games this week.
00:32:34 Yeah.
00:32:35 So I would not if they really want to talk to Ben Johnson or the two Ravens coordinators,
00:32:42 don't expect it to happen higher to happen until next week.
00:32:45 Oh, Todd, welcome offensive coordinator.
00:32:48 I'm a little nervous about him because I'm like, well, you got Lamar and Lamar can probably
00:32:53 hide a whole lot of warts with your system.
00:32:55 So I'm not really sure if it's you or is it Lamar?
00:32:59 Because I saw Lamar do some stuff where I was like, I don't think that was the way I
00:33:03 had three touchdowns and 130 yards passes and was out there making people look stupid.
00:33:10 Yeah.
00:33:11 People.
00:33:12 Yeah.
00:33:13 He got he got stats that don't make sense.
00:33:14 It's like, huh?
00:33:15 I like that game change.
00:33:16 Like you have never seen before.
00:33:17 Is this like I was saying that with my homes to watch my homes and that Bill's game, my
00:33:23 homes throws the ball at the craziest angles like throw it side armed or like like a home
00:33:29 base.
00:33:30 Like he runs my homes, runs a lot more in playoff games.
00:33:34 I realize that.
00:33:35 Right.
00:33:36 Yeah.
00:33:37 And he does that thing.
00:33:38 Actually, you know what?
00:33:39 I am a little mad at Pat.
00:33:40 Yeah, I was.
00:33:41 Tell you why we started this.
00:33:42 He does the thing where he thinks he's going to slide or act like he's going to run out
00:33:44 of bounds and he runs another 15 yards.
00:33:46 You know, the defenders are mad.
00:33:47 They see him because they don't know what they're going to do.
00:33:50 He'll be like, he'll be tiptoe down the sideline.
00:33:53 That was the one who was like last year, the year before where he was tiptoeing.
00:33:55 I think it was the Texans.
00:33:56 He was tiptoeing down the sideline and everybody's going to run out.
00:33:59 He just kept running.
00:34:00 Nobody was like, what are you doing?
00:34:01 And he just kept going and ran to the end zone.
00:34:04 It was like, I mean, all you got to do is push him out.
00:34:06 You ain't got to touch him because he's got homes.
00:34:09 They were afraid of your flag.
00:34:10 If you afraid, you need to go sit on the bench.
00:34:14 If you're afraid of playing the Chiefs, then buddy, it's going to be a long day.
00:34:17 But a shout out to shout out the Panthers North.
00:34:20 Y'all y'all tried and you even had him at home.
00:34:24 But like we said on the show, it's not about these.
00:34:26 We've got to talk about these games this past week.
00:34:28 We've got to get into it because we'll get into it real quick.
00:34:32 If the Panthers are leaning already towards Canales or Avera, then yeah, you'll probably
00:34:37 get a decision this week.
00:34:38 But like I said, if they want to talk to Ben or anybody else, then you might as well wait.
00:34:43 I'm fine with Avera.
00:34:44 To be honest, I'm totally fine with Avera.
00:34:46 And then just go find go find the next hot shot offensive coordinator.
00:34:51 Go get Joe Brady.
00:34:52 Go call Buffalo.
00:34:55 Like what we haven't talked about is the fact that we blame.
00:35:02 We've been blaming a lot on, you know, Tepper and, you know, coaching staff and and whatnot.
00:35:11 But you got to have the right players and the players got to execute.
00:35:16 So when it comes down to it, like we got to make sure we I feel like the GM Dan Morgan
00:35:25 has what it takes to find guys that are going to have grit, that are going to have that
00:35:31 dog in them, that's going to have the mindset of, oh, we're going to win at all costs.
00:35:36 I don't care what it is that Derek Brown mentality.
00:35:39 We need we need we need about five, five more different positions and brown brown.
00:35:50 Either tied in their ground to offensive lineman.
00:35:59 He's like just another and just another dog, another dog on special teams that just be
00:36:05 that just that can play anything.
00:36:08 That's a familiarity with Derek Brown familiarity with Frankie Louvoo.
00:36:12 Like I feel like the defensive guys that are free agents are about to be free agents or
00:36:16 in contract situations.
00:36:18 They might feel a little different now about coming back to Carolina, knowing that Dan
00:36:21 Morgan's the GM and he's, you know, one of the defensive stalwarts of this franchise.
00:36:24 He's going to have their back.
00:36:25 So maybe that helps as well, too, because if they end up going to square one anyway
00:36:31 and like Burns leaves, Lou leaves Brown, I want to be here.
00:36:35 If the defense gets decimated, that's called that's called cleaning house.
00:36:38 That's clean.
00:36:39 Yeah, that's when you really like, OK, now we really got to just figure like, OK, but
00:36:44 I really want to get the Panthers fans right up right here.
00:36:48 Oh, oh, no.
00:36:49 I thought somebody asked what would happen if a vario gets the job?
00:36:54 Who's the OC?
00:36:55 Well.
00:36:56 Started out there, Thomas Brown did coach with.
00:37:00 You know, wait, has he interviewed anywhere?
00:37:05 I don't know that for the Titans head coaching job.
00:37:08 He also interviewed for the Bears OC job.
00:37:11 He is under contract.
00:37:12 So if I have a good working relationship and a vero, trust them.
00:37:18 Maybe they stay in Pat there, too.
00:37:19 I'm not saying it's the best decision.
00:37:21 I'm not saying that's what they should do.
00:37:22 I'm going to tell you why we met.
00:37:23 I don't know if that's going to work.
00:37:24 But I don't know.
00:37:25 It's going to work.
00:37:26 But it's going to deal with it.
00:37:27 But it's also Zach Robinson, who is interviewing for the Steelers OC job.
00:37:36 And I think somewhere else he's an up and coming guy, too.
00:37:39 So Zach Robinson would be another name that would probably make sense.
00:37:42 It was also on that same staff in L.A.
00:37:44 So really the best thing to do, if you if you're curious, just start digging into where
00:37:49 a vario coach.
00:37:50 So that one year he was in Denver, L.A. is ties to Green Bay.
00:37:54 Just look at some of the coaches he's coached with.
00:37:58 I don't think that he would keep Thomas Brown because I think Thomas would probably want
00:38:01 to go somewhere else anyways.
00:38:03 But it kind of sounds like that.
00:38:06 I do know that he's respected amongst the locker room.
00:38:08 Thomas Brown.
00:38:09 Yeah, he was voted one of the top OCs by the players like right before the season, which
00:38:12 was shocking.
00:38:13 And again, he was in a situation where he was up a creek without a path.
00:38:17 Now, if he had a whole offseason with his playbook, then maybe it's a little different.
00:38:23 Just imagine the the outcourt, the outcry of all the fans.
00:38:28 If all this happens and you change G, you fire Scott Federer, you promote in-house,
00:38:33 you fire Frank Reich, you promote in-house, you keep Thomas Brown.
00:38:39 That would be the last two times they hired a coach like it'd be a completely different,
00:38:42 completely different way.
00:38:43 So it'd be three different ways he's done this.
00:38:46 So you couldn't really say it's same old, same old sometimes keeping in the house works.
00:38:52 I mean, look at the Pittsburgh Steelers be doing that, don't they?
00:38:56 Yeah, and that's where he's from.
00:38:57 Then you say one of them all is behind Pittsburgh, like what they've done for four years or 50
00:39:01 years.
00:39:02 We need to make all the people that were saying Mike Thomas deserves to get let go when we
00:39:06 were like, he's gonna get hired for everybody that has anything bad to say about Mike Tomlin
00:39:10 deserves to be slapped in the face.
00:39:13 That's right, because we knew we knew we knew my time.
00:39:15 Even when he was struggling, it's like they still finish over 500.
00:39:19 We still don't know how we don't know how to keep on Tomlin them to the playoffs.
00:39:26 And that's exactly what he did.
00:39:28 And shout out to my tongue.
00:39:30 I'm kind of in favor of Bobby slow it over Ben Johnson at this point, just from watching
00:39:34 what he did with CJ Stroud.
00:39:36 Now, granted, he had a whole lot more to work with than he would come in here.
00:39:39 And I don't know what their temperaments are, but my concern with them is they can't run
00:39:43 the damn ball.
00:39:44 Yeah.
00:39:45 And I want somebody to understand that you have to run the football, especially in NFC
00:39:48 South.
00:39:49 Like you got to run the football.
00:39:50 If you if you're the lead in rushing team and then see South, you're probably the best
00:39:54 team in the NFC South.
00:39:55 You go through all the previous years of the teams that won the division.
00:39:59 Falcons Saints Bucks, if they want it, they probably were the top rushing team that year.
00:40:04 So I want to got understands the division is coming into as well.
00:40:08 I'm fine with that.
00:40:09 You know what I'm talking about?
00:40:10 I'm fine with it.
00:40:11 Like I'm okay with it.
00:40:12 Just Ben Johnson had almost to 1000 yard rushers.
00:40:17 Gibbs is a problem.
00:40:18 Gibbs is a total problem.
00:40:19 Let's you know what?
00:40:20 Let's get into what things we saw in the division around this past weekend that maybe we weren't
00:40:27 expecting.
00:40:28 Jason Kelsey with the shirt.
00:40:31 Yo, that man, he's living life, man.
00:40:34 Like to have that much fun at a.
00:40:37 Can you imagine being in that booth?
00:40:39 Jason Kelsey, Taylor Swift, Mama Kelsey in there.
00:40:43 Like we're just having a ball like every and it's not even they weren't even arrowhead.
00:40:50 They were in a bar where they were treating that like that was a home game.
00:40:54 You see Kelsey jump out the window.
00:40:56 Like he jumped out of the boot window into the stairs and was like, I'm gonna jump back
00:41:01 in through his beer in the booth and jump back in or whatever.
00:41:05 Jason Kelsey is a national treasure.
00:41:07 He must be protected at all times.
00:41:10 Can you can you bet against the Kansas City Chiefs at any time after January?
00:41:16 Because it's starting at a point where it's ridiculous.
00:41:18 Like I feel bad for both.
00:41:20 I am this week.
00:41:21 If that's where you want to start, we can start there.
00:41:25 That's the big one.
00:41:26 Well, there's only two, but that's the big one.
00:41:27 Big one.
00:41:28 I think Lamar's gonna win MVP.
00:41:31 Deservedly so.
00:41:33 But it's almost like, you know, like in the last dance or Jordan would be talking about
00:41:38 someone who's like slighted him or whatever, or like his motivation for that particular
00:41:42 season.
00:41:43 It's almost like 97 where it's like, well, what led you into this Baltimore game?
00:41:48 Mar Jackson winning MVP.
00:41:49 That was mad.
00:41:50 Clearly, it's me.
00:41:51 Yeah, I didn't like that.
00:41:52 So I wanted to go in there and show him what was up.
00:41:59 And that's kind of what it feels like it's shaping up as where it's like, OK, you can
00:42:02 win MVP.
00:42:03 I'm gonna win this.
00:42:04 I'm gonna win the state championship.
00:42:05 I'm going to win the Super Bowl.
00:42:06 I will tell you this, the Baltimore Ravens.
00:42:14 They they are just they just really good, man.
00:42:19 They're the most complete team.
00:42:23 They just really complete like the way they beat the Texans.
00:42:26 They're the 2015 Panthers.
00:42:28 Look at the way they are built.
00:42:30 They are the 2015 Carolina Panthers.
00:42:32 Like I'm not really sure like what the actual like national geographic terms of how the
00:42:39 Ravens act in the wild.
00:42:41 But all I can see, all I can picture is Ravens eating a dead, you know, a dead animal on
00:42:49 the street in the middle of the middle of the house.
00:42:52 There's a vultures hanging out on the side of the road.
00:42:55 But I'm pretty sure Ravens be doing the same thing.
00:42:59 The way they be like going like I looked at this game and I think it was Collins receiver.
00:43:07 Oh, yeah.
00:43:08 He caught like an out route and he got hit eight times.
00:43:15 It wasn't just like he broke a tackle and broke another tackle.
00:43:21 It was he got hit eight times as he was going down.
00:43:25 So literally, the Baltimore Ravens defense acts like they're like hyenas.
00:43:31 Maybe that's a better term.
00:43:34 Like they ain't eaten all year.
00:43:38 And I'm not really sure what they're doing, you know, in a biweek to sustain, you know,
00:43:46 that ability to just come into a game and just be active the way they were.
00:43:51 You can tell on the offensive side, Lamar Jackson, you know, you take a couple of weeks
00:43:55 off, you're going to have a slow start.
00:43:59 That defense did not have any slow, any pause in their step.
00:44:07 And the way they performed scares me for the Chiefs, because if it wasn't for the Buffalo
00:44:13 Bills with the foolery of the fake punt and all this nonsense, it really like like the
00:44:20 Buffalo Bills game plan was, hey, look, let's run the ball and keep the ball away from the
00:44:25 Chiefs.
00:44:26 I want to run.
00:44:27 Yeah.
00:44:28 And yeah.
00:44:29 And so if that's your game plan, just stick to it.
00:44:33 It's called the patient game.
00:44:34 They don't try to don't try to win this game with no trickery or no foolery.
00:44:39 And so but the Chiefs, I mean, if it wasn't for the Chiefs clicking on cylinders as far
00:44:44 as those explosive plays.
00:44:47 That's a different story, in my opinion.
00:44:50 And so how they won against the Buffalo Bills, they're going to have to bring a lot more
00:44:55 heat when it comes to the Baltimore Ravens.
00:44:59 It feels like my home's going to have way more pressure on them.
00:45:05 Oh, yeah.
00:45:06 Look, you saw what happened.
00:45:07 You saw what happened with the Texans.
00:45:09 Yeah.
00:45:10 That's what was that plan.
00:45:13 And you may be waiting on this, too.
00:45:16 Like this is the first time Baltimore's hosted a conference championship since they were
00:45:20 the Colts, I think, from my understanding or ever.
00:45:23 I don't think they've ever hosted a conference championship.
00:45:25 So so this is this is that's a big one.
00:45:29 And then the other one, of course, San Francisco and the Lions.
00:45:32 But before we get to that game, we were talking about it off air before we started, Stu, before
00:45:37 Skylar came in.
00:45:38 San Francisco, Green Bay, I felt like it kind of exposed San Francisco a little bit.
00:45:42 I don't know if that was so much Green Bay is doing or San Francisco is doing or if it
00:45:47 was just Debo being out, because it feels like if you don't have Debo and Christian
00:45:51 McCaffrey on the field at the same time, they're not the same offense.
00:45:54 Like you can't do the same things.
00:45:57 And they slipped into what we would do, where they just kept feeding McCaffrey.
00:46:00 Like I noticed, like once Debo went down, it wasn't Kittle, it wasn't Ayuk, it wasn't
00:46:05 these other guys.
00:46:07 It was just easy for Brock Curdy to be like, oh, there's McCaffrey right there.
00:46:10 Just throw it to him in the next play.
00:46:12 Oh, there's McCaffrey over here in the open and flat and just keep giving it to him and
00:46:15 off to McCaffrey.
00:46:16 Like that's literally what they did.
00:46:17 And he's kind of held on.
00:46:20 Green Bay coming.
00:46:21 Green Bay is coming.
00:46:23 Yeah, I think they come.
00:46:26 I think the Niners had a slow start.
00:46:28 I mean, it's harder for offense.
00:46:31 You take time off to just pick up your pads and your helmet and say, hey, offense, let's
00:46:37 go out there and execute.
00:46:38 You know what I'm saying?
00:46:42 It's easier for a defense to pick up their pads and go and say, hey, let's go out there
00:46:47 and hit and tackle.
00:46:50 Like it's a completely different mindset because on the offensive side of the ball, there's
00:46:54 timing involved.
00:46:55 You know what I'm saying?
00:46:57 There's a lot of variables that have to go right for an offense to click.
00:47:01 On the defensive side, not saying that it's easy, it's just a little bit different.
00:47:08 But I think the San Francisco 49ers had a slow start and Brock showed that.
00:47:14 But when they needed to make plays, they made them.
00:47:18 And so that's what good teams do.
00:47:21 When your numbers call, when the lights are on, it's time to perform.
00:47:26 And so if they can do that, I mean, they lost Debo earlier in the game.
00:47:33 He tried to come back and so they still showed that, no, we can still win games without Debo.
00:47:42 And we're saying Green Bay is a solid team.
00:47:49 It wasn't like they were beating somebody that had no business being there.
00:47:53 I think they have still a great shot of winning.
00:47:57 And Shanahan's gonna have to find ways to get the ball in people's hands to make up
00:48:06 for the loss of Debo if he's not playing.
00:48:08 Because I think even if he does play, if it's a shoulder injury, he's gonna be playing different.
00:48:13 You know what I'm saying?
00:48:14 So- >> He's still on shore for Sunday, last I checked.
00:48:18 I was gonna say, was there anything that surprised you in the divisional round?
00:48:24 Maybe Baltimore beating Houston by as much as they did.
00:48:27 >> Yeah. >> Other than that.
00:48:28 >> I think Baltimore's defense to me, getting after the quarterback,
00:48:33 they're surprised me, just surprised me how easy that was.
00:48:38 And just getting in, making it hard for CJ to step up and make plays.
00:48:45 And I think that's what's gonna, if that carries over to the Chiefs game,
00:48:51 that's ultimately gonna be the deciding factor of if they win or not.
00:48:55 >> And for those keeping up, weekly viewers of Believe in Panthers,
00:48:58 go subscribe to the YouTube channel, youtube.com/@tobaccaroadsportsradio.
00:49:02 We can catch the video each week.
00:49:04 We did our division picks last week and I wrote them down so
00:49:07 I could keep us accountable here.
00:49:09 Ravens versus Texans, we picked the Ravens.
00:49:12 Chiefs versus Bills, we actually picked the Bills.
00:49:15 >> I did not pick the Ravens.
00:49:19 >> You didn't pick, no, you picked the Texans.
00:49:21 >> Yeah, I picked the Texans.
00:49:22 >> And then we picked the Bills.
00:49:24 I think we did it cuz they were at home and we didn't trust the Chiefs.
00:49:27 We should have known better.
00:49:29 In the NFC, we got right.
00:49:30 49ers, Packers, we picked the 49ers.
00:49:32 Lions, Bucks, we picked the Lions.
00:49:33 So we did get Lions 49ers right for the NFC Championship.
00:49:36 We had Ravens, Bills for AFC Championship.
00:49:38 Although, to be honest, Ravens, Chiefs sounds better because the Chiefs
00:49:43 are defending champs.
00:49:44 If Lamar wants to do this, if this is the year Lamar breaks through and
00:49:47 wins the Super Bowl and everything, you gotta, hey, to beat a man,
00:49:49 you gotta beat the man.
00:49:50 You gotta pull out Russell.
00:49:52 >> And just think about all the naysayers,
00:49:55 all the naysayers out there during the offseason talking all that junk, right?
00:50:02 >> Lamar.
00:50:03 >> How no one wanted to play Lamar.
00:50:05 >> Man, we don't want, he ain't worth all that money.
00:50:07 Don't pay him all that money.
00:50:08 >> His mom was making the contract form.
00:50:09 His mom was just hating.
00:50:10 >> He's crazy.
00:50:11 >> What's he doing?
00:50:12 >> I mean, I even jumped on the ship of, man, this is taking too long.
00:50:18 >> Yeah.
00:50:18 >> Hopefully, you just go ahead and sign, brother.
00:50:20 I don't want you to miss out.
00:50:21 >> I'm out with some money.
00:50:22 I get a little something.
00:50:23 >> But- >> And now,
00:50:24 he's having the best eight months ever.
00:50:26 >> But that's a mindset of somebody that is confident.
00:50:30 And that's just different, fellas.
00:50:35 He built different.
00:50:37 >> People will follow that.
00:50:38 Teammates will follow you through a brick wall when you are built like that.
00:50:42 When you're wired that way, when you're just like the alpha.
00:50:45 Lamar's the alpha.
00:50:46 I want him to win.
00:50:47 I want him to win this because Daniel Lofsky's been on this kick for
00:50:50 like two weeks now when it comes to Lamar.
00:50:52 That he has to win a Super Bowl because there is a segment of people who will
00:50:55 forever think a person that sounds like Lamar Jackson looks like Lamar Jackson.
00:50:59 >> You know who needs to win a Super Bowl, Desmond?
00:51:01 >> He's not supposed to win a Super Bowl.
00:51:02 >> You know who needs to win a Super Bowl?
00:51:04 >> Who?
00:51:05 >> Josh Allen.
00:51:07 >> If Josh Allen could get out of Josh Allen's way.
00:51:08 Now, this wasn't his fault.
00:51:09 This, I can't blame him.
00:51:11 >> It wasn't his fault.
00:51:12 But if he is going to be a playmaker, a person that goes into the game,
00:51:19 the big game, the three big games that they have that won.
00:51:23 >> All those Mahomes, right?
00:51:24 Well, no, it was against Burrow, wasn't it?
00:51:26 No, no, all those against Mahomes.
00:51:27 Yeah, it was all Mahomes.
00:51:28 >> Yeah, three games.
00:51:29 Three games that they've played and
00:51:32 they could not get past the Chiefs because Patrick Mahomes.
00:51:36 >> Yep, yep, literally.
00:51:38 Like literally.
00:51:39 >> Yeah, literally.
00:51:39 >> I'm not gonna let us lose.
00:51:41 I'm not gonna let us lose.
00:51:41 It's Jordan-like.
00:51:42 Literally, Jordan would have some moments where he's like, I'm not letting us lose.
00:51:45 I don't care who it is.
00:51:46 I'm not letting them down.
00:51:47 >> Hey, look, you suck today, but it's okay.
00:51:49 >> [LAUGH] >> I got your back.
00:51:51 I got your back.
00:51:52 You just let buddy slide and he sacked me and we lost eight yards.
00:51:58 But don't worry about it.
00:52:00 I got you.
00:52:01 >> The one thing that stands out for me watching these playoff games is how much
00:52:05 time the quarterbacks have to throw after we've watched the Panthers this year.
00:52:09 It's like night and day.
00:52:11 >> I'll tell you what, though,
00:52:12 Baltimore Ravens made the Texans look like the Panthers this year.
00:52:15 >> Yeah, it was all up in that backfield.
00:52:17 >> Quarterback just back there just bobbing, just waiting, waiting, waiting,
00:52:20 waiting.
00:52:21 >> Yeah. >> Hit the guy right there for 15 yards.
00:52:23 I'm like, good Lord, I don't remember us being able to do this.
00:52:27 >> I really wish Detroit was healthy for this game because if they had Jonah Jackson
00:52:33 and Frank Ragnar, which I think they're both doubtful, I'd pick the lines.
00:52:39 I'm being 100% honest with you.
00:52:41 >> In San Francisco?
00:52:42 >> I would because I just have that feeling.
00:52:45 And I know I said it last week with Buffalo, but
00:52:48 I still have that feeling with Detroit.
00:52:51 Some things just feel right.
00:52:52 It feels like it's down time.
00:52:54 It feels like everything's lining up for them.
00:52:56 >> Yeah, I feel the same way.
00:52:58 I felt like that about Buffalo.
00:52:59 >> When Jackson and Ragnar are doubtful, if one of them can go,
00:53:04 I think Ragnar's more likely to play.
00:53:06 If he can play, he's arguably the best center in the NFL.
00:53:09 If he plays- >> You could say the same thing about
00:53:14 San Francisco though.
00:53:15 This is their third straight conference championship appearance.
00:53:18 They've been knocking on the door for three years.
00:53:20 >> If I need to get a game winning drive,
00:53:23 I don't care how many pieces Brock Hardy has around him.
00:53:26 I would trust Jared Goff to make the right decision.
00:53:28 >> Yeah.
00:53:29 >> Yeah.
00:53:30 And I was on Jared Goff early this year.
00:53:31 I remember right around when we played him, I was like, Jared Goff looked good.
00:53:34 This year, I don't remember him looking like this with LA.
00:53:35 He looks different.
00:53:36 >> And my main tie to this 49ers thing is CMC.
00:53:43 I want my boy to be in the Super Bowl.
00:53:45 And so- >> And Steve Wilks.
00:53:48 >> Yeah, and Steve Wilks.
00:53:50 >> And Shad Dawkins.
00:53:51 >> Yeah, and Sam.
00:53:52 >> Yeah, yeah, and Sam.
00:53:53 I mess with Sam.
00:53:54 >> Yeah, there's a couple of them that probably still.
00:53:57 >> But in all honesty, I just want my boy to get that ring.
00:54:02 And so the Lions definitely deserve it.
00:54:06 The city, I mean, I feel like America deserves that.
00:54:10 I mean, I feel like the Detroit Lions might be America's team.
00:54:14 >> Whoa, whoa, hold on, whoa.
00:54:16 >> [LAUGH] >> Whoa.
00:54:17 >> I know it ain't the Cowboys.
00:54:19 >> I'm not willing to adopt the Detroit Lions yet, and the Cowboys.
00:54:23 >> But is it hard to root against them?
00:54:27 >> Who, Detroit?
00:54:28 >> Yeah.
00:54:29 >> Kinda, yeah.
00:54:30 It's like- >> All right, so
00:54:31 if it's hard for you to root against them, then they gotta be America's team.
00:54:35 >> It's like, but they're like the little kid that's always getting bullied.
00:54:38 So you don't wanna root against the little kid, but I wanna be the bully.
00:54:42 [LAUGH] >> They've been getting bullied,
00:54:46 but I think this year, how they've overcome and
00:54:51 become what they are, that says a lot about adversity and
00:54:58 proving people wrong and dedication to your craft.
00:55:04 I mean, if you wanna talk about America, what is America built on?
00:55:10 You know what I'm saying?
00:55:11 You gotta work for yours, you know what I'm saying?
00:55:13 You gotta come in every day.
00:55:15 >> [LAUGH] >> You gotta come in every day and
00:55:18 chop wood, carry water.
00:55:21 And so that's what they've been doing.
00:55:23 >> Yeah, I mean, I like Detroit.
00:55:25 I'm looking for the sexy pick for the Super Bowl at this point,
00:55:28 like between these four.
00:55:29 I don't know if Detroit, for me, yet.
00:55:30 >> That's the energy, baby.
00:55:32 >> I just, I want- >> All I'm saying is,
00:55:36 I want CMC to get there.
00:55:39 But either way, the NFC is gonna be well supported.
00:55:44 >> Either way, both sides, really.
00:55:45 Like if Baltimore gets there, I'm fine with that.
00:55:47 >> This is great.
00:55:49 >> Yeah, what's the best, which one would you want to see the most out of all
00:55:52 the combinations in the Super Bowl?
00:55:54 That's probably the best question to ask.
00:55:56 Cuz we can make our picks, but at this point, it's kind of a crapshoot.
00:56:00 Like whoever gets there is gonna be fine.
00:56:01 I wanna see CMC and Lamar Jackson.
00:56:06 >> I mean- >> Purple and red just sounds so nice.
00:56:13 >> I think that's the colors of the logo.
00:56:14 [LAUGH] I think it's the colors of the actual Super Bowl logo this year.
00:56:17 >> Really?
00:56:18 >> Yeah, I think it is.
00:56:19 It's like purple and red or whatever.
00:56:20 >> It's probably the third straight year that that's lined up.
00:56:24 >> Yeah, last year was green.
00:56:25 >> You wanna know something?
00:56:26 My sister-in-law told me about that, how the logos for
00:56:29 the last four years or so- >> People saying the script leaked out.
00:56:33 >> It's all in the script.
00:56:34 >> [LAUGH] >> Dang.
00:56:36 >> So I kinda want, see, my problem is I'm a former Cowboy fan.
00:56:42 So for me to want- >> No, you're not.
00:56:44 >> So for me to want the 49ers to do anything like Great Life-
00:56:47 >> Don't you claim that, Desmond.
00:56:48 >> It contradicts my whole wiring.
00:56:50 I hate the 49ers.
00:56:52 I hate them.
00:56:53 I have hated them since I was a little kid.
00:56:55 I still hate them.
00:56:56 I've never been a fan of them.
00:56:58 But now they got all these Panthers over there and it's like,
00:57:01 I really like Steve Wilkes, he deserves this.
00:57:03 >> Yeah. >> CMC definitely deserves this.
00:57:05 >> Yeah.
00:57:07 >> But no.
00:57:08 [LAUGH] >> Yes, yes.
00:57:10 >> I'm not a fan of the Chiefs or the Ravens either.
00:57:12 So it's like, I've kinda begun to admire Pat Mahomes.
00:57:16 At this point, he's what, age 26?
00:57:18 They showed a comparison of him and Tom Brady side by side at this point in their
00:57:21 careers, cuz they're already starting the whole Pat Mahomes,
00:57:23 has he surpassed Tom Brady yet, that kind of thing.
00:57:26 And a lot of those categories, yes, [LAUGH] already,
00:57:29 with no signs of slowing down.
00:57:32 But what y'all were saying about the Bills and
00:57:35 what y'all were saying about the Lions, I think the whole year, it's been Ravens.
00:57:40 This is the Ravens time to break through and to win this game, yeah.
00:57:44 [LAUGH] >> I'll tell you the key to the Chiefs,
00:57:49 actually, I'm thinking about it, Pacheco.
00:57:52 >> That boy runs hard.
00:57:54 >> That's the key.
00:57:55 That is the key element.
00:57:56 If they can run the ball, they ran it,
00:57:59 they had 7.7 yards per carry against the Buffalo Bills.
00:58:05 And so if they can run the rock, they got a good chance.
00:58:09 But if they can't, which I feel like they won't be able to,
00:58:12 cuz that Baltimore's defense- >> Nasty.
00:58:14 >> They just nasty, right?
00:58:15 They just playing different.
00:58:16 They playing like hyenas.
00:58:18 >> Or they're playing like a bunch of ants,
00:58:20 like you just step into a fire ant hill.
00:58:23 Like you step in that, it's over with, it's over with.
00:58:25 If you step in it just for a second, it's over with.
00:58:29 >> If you want best on best, I think you want Kansas City, San Francisco.
00:58:33 But if you want the storyline, somebody finally does something, right?
00:58:40 Like Lamar gets a Super Bowl, or Detroit finally goes from the depths of hell all
00:58:45 the way to the Super Bowl.
00:58:47 That's Baltimore versus Detroit, you can't root for,
00:58:51 you can't go against either team.
00:58:53 >> Somebody's gonna come out historically- >> Spoken like a true journalist.
00:58:58 >> [LAUGH] >> For me personally,
00:59:03 I've always been an underdog guy.
00:59:05 Because if you look at every team that when I was,
00:59:08 before I got into this business, I was a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, still am.
00:59:12 Like fan of West Virginia, I've always been an underdog guy.
00:59:16 I've never been a Yankees, the Lakers, Patriots, Cowboys type of person.
00:59:21 >> That's me.
00:59:22 >> [LAUGH] >> So I feel for
00:59:26 the people in Detroit, just like I feel for the people in Buffalo.
00:59:28 Those people deserve a Super Bowl.
00:59:31 But Detroit has been through hell the last, golly, how many years?
00:59:36 Three decades?
00:59:37 >> Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:59:39 >> There's no fan base that deserves a Super Bowl more than them.
00:59:43 San Francisco, they're gonna have their shine.
00:59:46 Kansas City's got more to come.
00:59:48 I think Baltimore's gonna get back.
00:59:49 Detroit's kind of like in this weird little window.
00:59:53 How many more good years of Jared Goff are you gonna get?
00:59:56 That's my question.
00:59:57 Is this gonna be something that he sustained for six to eight more years?
01:00:00 Or is it just kind of like a two or three year window?
01:00:02 I wanna see Detroit get to the top.
01:00:05 I wanna see MCDC holding that Super Bowl trophy.
01:00:09 >> MCDC.
01:00:09 >> MCDC.
01:00:11 And their window, like I always say, the three, four year window for teams.
01:00:13 Usually, to me, I count it once they reach the conference championship.
01:00:16 So Detroit's window starts now.
01:00:17 >> You've got two coordinators.
01:00:19 >> You see, it's got- >> And Ben Johnson,
01:00:21 that are gonna be head coaches very soon.
01:00:23 >> And we saw what happened to the Philadelphia Eagles when they lost both
01:00:25 their offense and defensive coordinators last year.
01:00:27 They kind of fell off.
01:00:29 Well, they started off 10 to 1.
01:00:30 So I don't know what happened, but whatever happened,
01:00:34 they fell off a cliff halfway through the year.
01:00:36 >> If you just listen to Dan for like 30 seconds, you fall in love with their-
01:00:41 >> Man, I love Dan Campbell.
01:00:42 >> That's what I want.
01:00:43 >> Yeah, I need a guy like that.
01:00:45 >> Come on, man.
01:00:45 >> Yeah. >> One more down, man.
01:00:46 >> You wanna play.
01:00:47 I wanna go play right now.
01:00:48 Just thinking about it.
01:00:50 >> That's how you play smash mouth football, man.
01:00:53 You just whooped the hell out of us.
01:00:54 >> [LAUGH] >> Is that what he said to Coach Wilks at
01:00:57 the end of the game last year?
01:00:59 >> I feel like he's gonna drop and just do 20 push-ups at any time.
01:01:02 [LAUGH] He's like, hold on, man.
01:01:04 I'm just gonna get these out.
01:01:05 [LAUGH] So there's a lot of good story lines going to the conference
01:01:08 championship Sunday, one of the best Sundays in sports.
01:01:12 AFC Championship is 3 o'clock PM on Fox.
01:01:16 It is the Detroit line, no, excuse me, the Baltimore, excuse me,
01:01:20 I got it all messed up.
01:01:20 AFC Championship CBS, Baltimore Ravens taking on the Kansas City Chiefs.
01:01:24 Baltimore's hosting, it's 3 o'clock kick.
01:01:27 And then at 6.30, the NFC Championship, San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay,
01:01:32 or no, I'm reading it wrong, San Francisco Detroit, excuse me, on Fox and
01:01:36 Fox Deportes, so you can watch all that there.
01:01:39 Super Bowl, do they still do where they skip a week and then do Super Bowl?
01:01:41 They do the Pro Bowl games or whatever in between, and
01:01:45 I'm glad they're doing a Pro Bowl no more.
01:01:48 When was the last time you watched a Pro Bowl?
01:01:49 All the way, [LAUGH] all the way through.
01:01:53 >> Maybe 2005.
01:01:58 >> There was one where it got kind of- >> That's when the Pro Bowl was good.
01:02:02 >> Yeah, they started really tackling and stuff.
01:02:05 >> I watched it the year,
01:02:06 the last year I watched it was when Mike Tovert was in there.
01:02:09 >> So I've been like 2015, 2016, somewhere in there.
01:02:16 >> 14.
01:02:17 >> But it turned into flag football, I know they do flag football now,
01:02:20 if I'm not mistaken.
01:02:21 They do flag football and skills challenge and all that stuff.
01:02:23 You know what they need to bring back?
01:02:25 You remember when you was a kid and they used to do the NFL fastest man on ABC
01:02:29 while we're swearing, Darryl Green was always the dude, every year,
01:02:32 who could challenge Darryl Green?
01:02:33 He was the fastest dude for 13 years or whatever.
01:02:36 They need to bring that back.
01:02:37 I wanna know who's the fastest man in the NFL, is it Tyree Kill?
01:02:39 >> They don't do that, cuz then guys might get injured.
01:02:43 >> [LAUGH] >> Yeah,
01:02:46 you don't want no guys pulling hammies before they go into the offseason training.
01:02:50 >> [LAUGH] >> That'd be the worst.
01:02:52 >> Darryl Green would kill it, every year it'd be Darryl Green versus somebody.
01:02:55 And then everybody always wanted to be Darryl Green versus Bo Jax or something,
01:02:59 Bo would never show up.
01:03:00 And so it'd be Darryl versus whoever, and Darryl would just smoke him at the very end.
01:03:03 Darryl Green, that was how the announcers would announce him throughout the season,
01:03:06 the fastest man in the NFL.
01:03:07 >> We know who would win that.
01:03:10 >> Is it Tyree Kill?
01:03:12 >> Absolutely.
01:03:13 >> I'm trying to think if there's somebody, cuz the dude gives,
01:03:16 the running back from Detroit, he's pretty fast.
01:03:18 >> Fast, but he ain't Tyree.
01:03:20 >> Now Tyree got that pull away, that roadrunner speed, I guess.
01:03:24 >> Yeah, he got that.
01:03:26 [LAUGH] >> So
01:03:31 are we gonna make a Super Bowl pick together as bleeding Panthers like we did
01:03:35 for the division?
01:03:35 >> Yeah, we'll do that next week.
01:03:39 >> Yeah, let's see who's in it and then we'll just kind of pick who's gonna win it.
01:03:44 Cuz we'll have two weeks at that point.
01:03:45 So we're gonna stop it right here.
01:03:47 All the good stuff, subscribe, all the major podcast platforms for
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01:04:09 That's it, yeah, get to those, follow those for the latest.
01:04:12 [SOUND] Anything else?
01:04:15 >> Shout out to Dan Morgan for- >> We're with you, man.
01:04:19 >> Getting the GM job.
01:04:22 >> Best of luck.
01:04:23 >> Best of luck.
01:04:24 >> And you got your support here at the Believe in Panthers.
01:04:28 So yeah, man, good luck, brother.
01:04:32 >> We believe in you, Dan.
01:04:34 >> Let's go, Dan, Dan the man.
01:04:36 >> Come help us, Dan.
01:04:37 >> Come help us win some games, man.
01:04:40 Come, please, please come help us.
01:04:42 So hopefully, maybe we'll have a coach by this time next week.
01:04:45 Depending on what happens, so we'll see.
01:04:49 But for Jonathan Stewart, Skylar Callahan, this is Desmond Johnson.
01:04:53 You've been watching and
01:04:54 listening to the Believe in Carolina Panthers podcast here on Believe Podcast
01:04:56 networks brought to you by BET Online.
01:04:59 Keep pounding.