TALKIN' FOOTBALL

about what's going on here. You know, obviously locally you got Baker. We have Baker Mayfield here, and you know I was I've been pretty what's the word I'm looking for? Critical? Yeah, let's use that extremely critical? Um. Critical. Yeah, I don't know that has value. We just just wrote with that, um. But you know, I'm really interested to see with Baker Mayfield. I think that's fantastic. You saw I don't know if

you saw it. We saw it, but um, I was going through the lineup top fifteen, top twenty quarterbacks and we missed. We left a few out right. So let's let's let's redo it, um, So we're just talking about quarterbacks. The ranking is not of uh ranking order of this guy's won, this guy's too, not not New America, not not New America. Value are saying, I believe if I say Aaron Rodgers is number seven, that I believe he's number seven. I'm just because this is off the cuff.

But it's also talking football in a way that we, you know, sometimes we try to do and you can't do it necessarily on TV. So let's just name some quarterbacks, your top fifteen, top twenty quarterbacks at and and I, and let's just I'll entertain you by going down that path. But I also talk about some other things that are that are pretty funny that I think people don't realize. Right, So, um,

give me, give me a quarterback. Aaron Rodgers, Okay, Aaron Rodgers, about you, Joe my homes, my homes okay, Um, Dak Prescott because I missed him last time, Okay, Um who else? Josh Allen? There you go, Josh Allen okay, say Patty Malmes yeah, uh, Justin Herbert all right? Um, car Matt Stafford okay, um Stafford? Um, Kylie Murray top yeah not not not of you know, it's just kind of name a guy seven eight nine, Okay, Lamar Jackson, that is

all right? What what what? I don't know quarterbacks? This is a podcast or someone maybe like Lamar who that we madic We had someone to the phone. They made the like that. This may be first time listeners, man, you know radio aniquette. First time caller. We'll give you a T shirt. T shirt first off callers, long time listening. Right, first time caller. We've got your online three right? Who else? Uh, Matt Ryan, it's your call, bro, it's not mom. This

is this you just said it's a podcast. I didn't know how it was not the subject matter expert on quarterbacks where you don't have yes, go right, Tom Brady forgot about that guy. He's okay TV twelve. Let's go justin uh not we are Joe Burrow Okay, okay, um, let's see um, let's see Lamar, Jake Plumber just messing with you. He's doing mushrooms right now. No, he has a mushroom farm. I just saw he has a mushroom farm. Now.

He's doing for restaurants, for psychedelics, street pharmacists. No, he's heavy into the fun guy, mushroom, um culture the funniest far I consuming. I consume information that randomly. I'm always concerned I get the wrong ones on your beats. That'd be allowed pizza. The paint is dripping off the walls. And I'll take random quarterback college for two hundreds, just thrust fun guy? Uh? Who else? So we got a Cowboys? Um, Jimmy,

would you say, Jimmy Garoppolo? That surgery went? But we said top fifteen right, top fifteen, top twin, Deshaun Watson, Shawn Watson, got you? Okay? Um, Matt Ryan Carson wentz exactly. Oh, Jalen Hurts, Yeah, I like Jann Jalen Hurts all right, number fifteen. Right, here's the best part. Baker Mayfield. Oh, we didn't say Derek Carr. We didn't say Russell Wilson. Derek Carr got you dangerous Russell Wilson. Okay, Uh, here's here's here's my point. Sixteen seventeen quarterbacks. Baker Mayfield is

in that conversation. Now, why am I talking about this? Is why am I interested? As a forty Niners fan, as a fan of football a lot of times and fans regularly a lot of fans at times makes so many emotional decisions without statistics, and even as an analyst, I sometimes forget that. But what the point I'm trying to make is if Baker Mayfield is a top twenty quarterback, right, that's outstanding until the Carolina Panthers us Carolina Panthers, we

have benefited from that. However, one thing that is not known is there's twelve other teams that are terrible. Think about it, but the bottom line is the emotional thing of saying we got a top fifteen, top twenty quarterback, you should be a But also, let's dumb it down. Hey bro, there's only thirty two teams, so it's really not that great other thing unless you are not part of the other twelve that are in purgatory toa. How's he gonna be? We don't know. He has a plethora

of athletes, some additions there. He got some additions, But do we know can he really throw the football on time accurate for four quarters seventeen weeks? I'm not sure. His body of working college excellent, his body to work in the NFL marginal. My point is saying all of this is you could be a top twenty top fifteen, top twenty quarterback. But that doesn't necessarily mean that that's gonna equal out to success. Absolutely, and sometimes we look

at statistics. I think statistics are important, but you can't have so many. You can't talk about statistics so much that we start to analyze and say, well, because Baker Mayfield is in the top fifteen, or any quarterback is in this top fifteen, but would you take Baker over TB twelve? No, no, sir, okay, just say no, right justin Herbert, Josh Allen, Dak Prescott. My point is that we're advancing as a Carolina Panthers with Baker Mayfield, but also we have to start looking at what's going on.

And so for me, looking at this train ends action, what the Carolina Panthers have done, I believe it's a good move, step in the recreation, step in the right direction. Outside of Cam Newton, Statistically, the Carolina Panthers in there, almost thirty years of being in being a franchise have only had a top fifteen quarterback twice. Wow mm hm. They've had top running backs, top tight ends, top wide receivers, top defense, d N middle linebacker, whale linebacker, sand linebacker, safety, corner,

but quarterback has not. They have rarely had a top quarterback in there exist. Oh that makes my mind start spinning because obviously the first question is is why or how when you always hear that that's the most important position in in in football. Now we all know scheme. We've learned a lot from you about you know, who's my quarterback, who's my coordinator? When you start looking back at the previous ten, fifteen, twenty Super Bowls, you know,

I can think of Peyton Manning that year. He didn't have great stats, but they want because of that defense. I can think of Joe Flacco that year. He didn't have a great stats, but they want because of that defense. Outside of that, it's the top two, three, four, five quarterbacks that we would say in the league. And I might have missed one or two and I'm not having

a research department poll. But so you think, if that's your quest as a GM or as an owner, as a head coach, if that's your quest for thirty years, how can whether it's the Panthers or team fill in the blank, how can you miss that offense team fill in the blank. Here's why, Because we talked about the NFL. We talked about the game of inches. Well we also need to do us talk about the game of seconds.

And what do I mean by that? If I if I just break down Baker Mayfield versus Sam Donald, I don't have the statistic and again this is just randomly talking. I would look for how long the quarterback has the ball and in the second amount of seconds he takes to deliver the ball. Think about this and what I mean, And we moved the Baker Mayfield Sam Donald. Let's just

talk about football in general. If you're a quarterback and your your processing system between you know I talked about quarterbacks, you must confirm where you're going with the ball before. Confirm where you're going before the snap of the ball, not discover. If you're discovering, it will slow you down. If you confirmed, they will do something and you will start. Now mark off, Well, I was gonna go to the left, but they blitzed or they they did a scheme that

took away my primary target on the left. So now I gotta go to my second primary And it's called progressions. He goes through his first progression, second progression. But if you are discovering where you're gonna win the snap of the ball. They're just safe. For giggles, two two seconds. Takes two seconds, but if it takes Tom Brady one point seven, that's three tenths of a second. Those three tenths of a second do through three things. They result into a p BU, a incompletion or completion or a

pick three tenths of a second. Yeah, and those are the things that don't show up on the average fan statue. Like they look at a QBR they're looking at a completion percentage, but the average person, you know, they're not they're not thinking about that or even taking that into consideration.

So everything you just said, it's almost like it's it's stats plus, like what are the whole things when you're looking at the quarterback, you know from a fans perspective and to your point, like you you just think, oh we got a top five, got a top ten, top fifth QB, Well that and what else? Because if I'm not mistaken, wasn't there like a year of even when Ben Roethlisberg was really good, they still had a bad team, right, Like, they weren't that good even though he was still performing

as a top ten quarterback. The team in totality, wasn't that good? Right, So it's it's like that's great. But then to you everything you're saying, like but what else? Right? Like? What else is part of that story? Well? Part of it is the stats that there are so many small ancillary stats that are kept, data driven information that are kept that your opposing team knows, right, they know on third and two on the right hash, here are the

seven or eight plays that they're gonna run. Yeah. So a lot of times when we're saying that it's predictable, the truth of the matter is it is predictable because the formula is predicting what you're gonna do. That the analog, the information, the data is there. Now football has become not just brute strength, but also intelligence, and not intelligence of quarterback play, but intelligence of the people that are

on the staff. There are people who can't throw a frisbee, but they can tell you where you should throw the ball in this coverage, at this yard marker, at this moment, with the sun ages and all that seven, with the with the wind going two point seven miles per hour, and and and it's a you know, it's a blue moon half moon, right, Just all the those things, and football has become so complicated at times that you can

almost over analyze football. And I think, as I know for me, is I have to get back to there's times where I am lazy with my words and not saying why I dislike. So what are those It sounds like you're saying intangibles, and what are those intangibles that maybe that either you look for or when you're evaluating the quarterback that you should that come top of mind. Well,

it's all in the last ten years has changed. Right when when all of us were in here, when we were all playing sports, it was about throwing a deep path? Can you throw the gold posts? Can you throw this? Can you throw that? Five step drop? Steven step drop? Now everything is in the pistol formation. Seventy of the time guys are in the pistol formation, right, So that

limits what kind of run plays you can actually run. No, No thirty four wham, no thirty four power right there, I believe Eve, going back at my old stats, I was looking at something small, ancillary stat. I believe Kansas City last year gave the football on third and one and fourth and one to their full back nine times. Do you know how many times they got that conversion on third and one and fourth and one, nine for nine. Some stuff still works a good number because they're primarily

in such a pistol formation. HM and Patrick Mahomes is so dangerous you have to respect both. Even with the running back in there, you can still do a play action drop the linebacker. Think and you got Travis Kelsey. So when I look at the quarterback play, I used to look at it as a receiver going make when he's on the opposite hash and I'm running a eighteen yard comeback. M When I come back to the ball, where's the position of ball? Is it low? Is it at my numbers? Is it a good spiral? Is it

starting to waiver? Those are the things right, drop back, three steps, five steps, highs, velocity, Does he have arc on the ball when releasing it? Does he have pace and touch on underneath routes? Those things aren't important anymore because they aren't running those routes anymore. In college everything is look at it, Look at the screen, look at

the picture on the sideline. Right there's man, there's teams, and there's guys right now in the National Football League or guys that played in college playbook was as stick as a first grade reading book twenty plays. So is that helping I be? Even's hurting And that's why, that's why the twelve other teams are struggling to fine quarterbacks are struggling fine important pieces because you really don't know what you have until you get him in a building.

You don't know what his intangibles are. You don't know if he has a reading disability. You don't know if he has a process disability. And I'm saying all these things because if you are only taught right in college, I was in the number system, got to the number system. It was as a post six. You know, an end route by the tight end. But sometimes the tight end number system was different than the wide receivers or seven. So you've got two sevens right, so you've got two

sevens corner routes and the tight ends work in the middle. Man. Now I came in the league, it was max want uh max one thirty six choy x D curl or want uh I write zip o recircle O was an out by the number by the outside wire receiver inside right receiver run a corner ola like a flag um and then you had other routes where hunt street circle or lay where a hunt hitch under streak on the other side hitch in the circle. Sometimes one word told

everybody what to do. Sometimes numbers, but it all varies, so you're not really sure. It took me a long time. Great example of a guy who I believe got a rough a rough time in the NFL that wasn't his problem is a kid named Jason Campbell played at Auburn. Jason Campbell got drafted I believe by the forty Niners or no, Washington got drafted by. So he played with UH with Auburn drafted by Washington played with the forty

Niners as well. But think about this. Jason played maybe how many years, ten years, like ten or twelve years, nine years, and damn near had a new office coordinator every year and including college. Think about it. We had his teammate on Rnny Brown. Think about that. Think about as soon as you get this offense, you gotta switch.

How difficult would that be. Let's dumb this down. If I'm working at a restaurant and we're making hot dogs for the winner and we're about to start a new menu, and then we changed the whole our self of the restaurant that's difficult. Can start all over. You gotta start all over, especially if you don't even know how to make the food. Everybody knows how to make a hot dog. You just throw it them some water right now. If you don't, I don't know how to operate your stoven.

And that's the problem in itself. Then all of a sudden, you're going from making hot dogs, so now you make a Mediterranean food with no passport, which means you've never been there, you never experienced it. Those Those are the things that fans don't understand some of these players are dealing with. And I understand that people don't care. You shouldn't,

but it's also part of what's going on. I love cut to It, and I love it even more when you download us and subscribe, and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie where where at at cut to It? On Instagram? What about Twitter? At cut to It? Facebook? Cut to It featuring Steve Smith singr? What about online? And you can follow us at cut to It podcast dot com where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got

all my answers questions. Um, yeah, I got all my questions answered. That's what I'm here for. A brother cut to a podcast dot com. I can tell you right now, I think Baker's gonna win that win that competition. I'm just saying that right now. You know, why is that? Because he's he's experienced adversity, right, and he's overcame it. I would I would say Sam hasn't overcome his adversity yet. Why do you say that? Have you not been watching?

Just I'm just I'm just asking. I'm get in context, so good, But he's at he's he's at because you can you can argue that he's had adversity. I don't know, and is it? Will he get over the hump? I don't mean, we just don't know. When Sam has gotten rushed in the game. Does he look comfortable? No, I know never no quarterback. Every looks comfortable under Durest, But Sam seems to make bigger, bigger mistakes under Durest. Baker's

makes everybody makes mistakes under the rest. But Baker has shown us that he can still win under the rest. Now that offense, what I'm interested in seeing is how Baker handles that offense and what Ben mcadoo's offense is compared to coach Stefanski because the coach, Coach Stefanski's offense is built on play action, which is down the field and the running game. That's you can argue that with Baker right like he's at a he's at a strong

running he's at a strong running game. That affects your offense right, Yes, opens up the play action, yes, And that's the way this office is. The Kirk Cousins has played under this offense, which he's behind on Tom Brady as far as completions down the field, justin Jefferson is developing at an extraordinary pace. Adam thieling this offense, Clint Kubiak, which is that uh uh uh Kubiak as well. And then you have Kyle Shannihan who's had it's been under

this offense under Kubiak in Tennessee. I'm not not Tennessee Houston. So he goes to forty nine Hackett. He's gonna bring this kind of type of offense to the Broncos. The Jets now are trying to get that offense because of uh la Flour's Matt Lafore's brother La floor. That's with the Jackson and obviously Green Bay. You see how they had tried to have that two headed monster running the ball, right, So running the ball is efficient. But the question now

is gonna be can Christian McCaffrey stay healthy. When healthy, he's one of the best. But the problem with Christian isn't necessarily because he can't play. He could play, And they're saying that we're gonna monitor his his workload. I think that's excellent in practice. He doesn't get hurt in practice. It's actually in the game. So how do you monitor the workload? Win? Most of the time. If he doesn't get two carries or twenty two touches or the ball,

it's a completely different offense. And that's kind of where I'm going with stats plus right, like what what what else? Right? Because there's other factors. The underlying factor is the health

of Christian McCaffrey. Right, So it's great if if if Baker is a top fifteen quarterback, and I hope that he's going to be a top fifteen quarterback, But what else happens if Chris McCaffrey gets hurt, if all the other things, if the defense doesn't continue to take the steps forward that we know that they have or the old line doesn't does it. So there are other things that you know. Just for me, I'm not looking at we got we got Baker Mayfield and we're there, Like,

there's other things that still have to happen. I'm concerned about the defense because they're top top five defense. I think they're all second overall. But how many times did they play and get warned down because they they can't get off the field because because the offense is making them soon as they get off the field, the office is making them get back on the field. So it's counterintuitive, like you got three phases in football, but only one

phase is strong and another tour struggling. Right, So there's just a number of other things. Can they can they rush the pastor like we want them to be able? Well, Russian and Passenger is gonna be interesting because Hassan Radi is right, your your Hasan was a really good three four. You're running a hybrid for three, right, but you have the players who actually are four three type. If you watch Derek Brown in college, looking at this offense a

three four type of defense, you want ladder of movement. Yeah, right, that's what you want out of your three four. You want your guy, your your three technique or your A or B gap clogger tackles, your tackles. You want them to move latterly to clogged up things. The problem with that is, Derek Brown is a dump truck. Do you know what a dump truck does? It goes forward and backwards. It does not go ladder. You ever seen a dump truck try to do a flipping you? Have you ever

seen a dump truck do that? Have you ever seen a dump truck do a ten point turn? They never I've never seen a dump truck to a three point turn. It's always like a ten point big boo boo. It's it's crazy. It's a lot in that caboose. I'm not comment on another man's boost, No, no, I'm just talking about the trash. And it's so much and and so you're saying, what are you getting on? Why do you

think that? Steve? Think about how excellent KK Short was in his defense, and look how his numbers declined and the injury started mounting up when he lost his partner, cried star Star was the dump truck which allowed people had to handle this big old man, mammoth of a man with a double team. So allowed KK who was athletic, to use his athleticism and finesse. And that was that effect on the entire defense. Now that frees up your nonebackers. Now we can roam, Now we can make makes it

makes lu Kickley tackle. It makes it makes Luke Kickley is tackling the running back not seven yards down the field, They're literally meeting at the line of scripts and all but all of those things factory. So you have Derek Brown all of a sudden, who was a top five pick, who was killing people. I mean he was. I hopped. Ain't got nothing on this man. Denny's all the the the what what's that? I hopped? Um pancakes, slams and waffle house, you name it, Roscoe's chicken waffle. That man

had all the syrup on the pancakes. Excellent. He gets Carolina. They wanted to then out, they want to they play in the hybrid three three four? Why do you and that? My friend trained. This sends me into why sometimes players get lost. They're dominant in college, but they get lost in the shuffle in college in the pros because in college you can draft, you can sign a five star

and switch him. Great example you ever heard of, Uh you ever heard Dwayne Johnson the Rock talk about how his senior year he was starting and there was a former tight end that took his job. Just a Hall of Fame name warrant. Yeah, think about it. Yeah, Well, in college you can manipulate and do stuff. Guys play quarterback here and now they're playing wide receiver, wide receiver. You know, Uh, Richard Sherman playing wide receiver, college play receiver.

Now he's a quarterback Kent State. All the different things. Randall will take it back, but it all changes in the various correct and it does not always equal to success. Right Yeah, what's being asked to me right now? And and and so when I look at this team and look at this division in the NFC South, you gotta say that right now, on paper, who's the best position team to run the South? Right now? Outside of Tampa Bay because of Tom I guess Jamis in New Orleans

is still yet to be proven. But if you look at his weapons, he has but see that, I love that you said that. You look at his weapons. But now the question is was it the offensive coordinator or was it Sean Pell The only reason I wouldn't say the same just yet because because you don't know how Jamie Winton is going to bounce back. It was, you know, as an injury. Was the reverbula Payton being gone? Yes?

What is gonna happen when Peyton? When now Dennis Allen who prior to becoming the head coach, he didn't have success as a head coach prior to that? Right with the I think it was the Oakland Oakland Raiders. Let it you know whether it is or it isn't. His hands were tied. But we all know when you accept the head coaching job, you receive all the praise that you do well, and then you get all of you get all the nonsense. What is that offense gonna look like?

How is Michael Thomas gonna be able to hold up a whole year? Chris Aliva, He's gonna have a transitional Uh, He's not gonna be dead in water, but he's going to He's gonna have to learn the NFL game, and what I say, learned the NFL game to play at the expectation and at the level we've seen him impact the game immediately like he did Ohio State. Yeah, it seems like it's a lot of things that are in transit in the NFC cell. And then we got to go down right there the Battle of the Falcons. What

is Marcus Mariota gonna do? Ye? You talked about turning the whole new page right like they've had years in Matt Ryan. All of a sudden you got Marcus Mariota. You still got kind of pit selling in. You got he got him selling in this big tight end wide receiver. You lost Calvin Ridley, who's gonna step up? T J. A. J. Terrell, dynamic draft pick who's doing excellent, But they've lost some guys on defense. What is this team gonna really look like when their backs are against the wall now that

they have a quarterback? Or the transition? And who's the leader? There? Great question who's the leader right like it's been Matt Ryan or whether whether he's been playing well, have been playing down like you know, he was the unquestioned leader of that team. Who is that now? And I say they opened in I have no idea, don't know either. I don't know either. It's a great question, you know, going back to a come minutes ago when you're talking about Baker or Sam, and you feel that Baker could

secure that starting position over Sam. So you start looking at other dynamics in there. I mean, you look at the coaching regime, who of course on the hot seat not on the hot seat. So they're going they're going to like, yo, I gotta put the best guy for for for my stability to be with this organization out there. And then there's a financial play. You know, you we're paying Sam roughly eighteen nineteen, I think the Baker contract

comes in. The Panthers are picking up five or six million, So you always hear about what we paid that money. We gotta play them, so you do have to. You most of the time you have to. You're paying somebody you playing. But one of the interesting things that is going on in the National Football League right down and you're gonna see it in this trend what we what you're seeing the National Football League with young players, especially

with quarterbacks, running backs, while receiver. Mainly with quarterbacks I believe, but they're paying these young guys early. But they're also with quarterbacks, they're pretending that they don't see the deficiencies and extending them mhmm. Let me give you an example. We give Baker. The Cleveland Browns sign Baker's fifth year option, picked it up, picked it up, so eighteen million dollars. The Carolina Panthers picked up Sam's for eighteen or fifteen

million dollars. We are fully committed, we're gonna extend you. And the Cleveland brown said, we're gonna extend you. We're gonna give you Baker two nickels a rub together, but we're about to give Deshaun Wasser a quarter of a billion dollars. Think about that, Hey, Carolina Panthers, Bak Sam, We're gonna stay your eighteen million dollars, but we're looking for somebody else right now. Think about it. Very confusing because quarterback play is so tough. It is extremely hard

to find a franchise quarterback. It seems like you either got it or you don't. Yes, but there's but there's a lot of there's a lot of hidden reasons why. Because you can watch a kid playing college, that doesn't

mean he's gonna be successful. Yeah, you can also see a guy who possibly just played okay in college because maybe the coaching staff or maybe the offense didn't really play to his strengths and maybe even still look put up numbers because I even thinking, even going back to what you're saying about system, like, guys are still putting up numbers and whatever. But does that mean when you

get to the league, does that translate to success. It's gonna be interesting, It's gonna be But I noticed you guys said when I said that extending, They pretend and extend and it's it's mind boggling. But what's gonna start to happen is guys are getting extended, but teams are getting rid of them immediately after they figure out doesn't

have it. Yeah, talking about the two guys Pittsburgh Steelers picked up, former first round draft picks who didn't who didn't play well in their respect the teams and it's not necessarily their fault. But the question now is going to be what happened at their previous locations that contribute to them not performing well. Mr Bisky talk to you

when they said Mr. Bisky lost his confidence earlier. My question is is he gonna get it back because we haven't seen him playing a football game to say that he is a starting quarterback for the pit first, like your ship, they're going, man, Oh they got Mitch. Why not? I'm not sure? Good do it, Good do it. Let's getting down to do it. Do it? Hey, Gerard, why did you get that T shirt? You mean this thing? Oh? Yes, I got it from cut to a podcast dot com

where we have exclusive merchandise. Shout out to our guys at seven or four shot. But yeah, you can go on, buy you a T shirt, subscribe to us wherever you listen to podcasts. Going back to bring it back to Carolina and Baker and Sam. As Baker comes into Charlotte, it's prepared to be a Carolina panther. From your LANs, I'm not even saying from a quarterback perspective, but from your leans, what should he look to do, maybe not even just to win over this city, but to win

that locker room to what? What are what are the things that I love that question? I really believe he first of all, stopped trying to win over the locker room. Just do your job. That question is presented to a lot of players, a lot of talk. How do you win over the locker room? Winning covers all sins multitude of sins. Yeah, but if you come in trying to prove other than it prove other than you can play,

you're gonna rub people the wrong way. It's I think, especially when you already have that tag on you, that you may be a problem in the locker room. Whether it's it's the narrative right now. People could say whatever they want of how the Browns handled the situation, but think about this. They paid another man more money than they would pay you. Obviously there was something there that just the Browns just didn't want to tolerate. What is it?

I don't know. It's not my job to really know, but I tell you whose job it is to know Bakers because I do believe he's at a pivotal point in his career. The Cleveland Browns ran him out of town. Yeah, And I was even asking, more so because I was around you when you when you had to go to Baltimore. And to your point, I don't necessarily why I said.

I'm not saying you had to win, because I don't think you went to Baltimore trying to win that locker You win, and I know, because I know this, you went to the back of the receiver's line and earned it. So I'm even thinking from us from a standpoint of Baker's been in the league now what five years into his fifth year, and so you're not with it, You're no longer a rookie, You're now, You're not You're you're

older now. So now being that you were further along in your career, but going into a different locker room, what were those steps? And like that, That's why I want to say, like not the cliche, how do you win over the locker room? What are the things to where you impart yourself within? That is a such that is a complicated answer because Baltimore has such a long standing as a culture culture that we can really say, right now, what is the culture of the Carolina Panthers.

That's a great question. That is a great question that I don't have answer to, and I don't know who does. Do you when you think of Carolina Panthers of the two team? Do you say winners? I just feel like I'm just I'm just going down the checklist of things. Do you say physical, intimidating at times, defensively but overall No, I'm talking about overall overall. No. Some people would say maybe a little bit disorganized, yes, dysfunctional, yeah, I don't I don't here. I don't think the team has an

identity at all. That's what and that's why. That's why I'm saying, you cannot come in and try to win a locker room over and we don't even know what this team is. What do you win? What are you winning over? Are you winning over the balloon team? Like I don't, I don't know what you're winning over because you're you're plugging it. I guess where you're gonna With Baltimore. You were plugging into something that already established, that was

already plugging into the culture, right I was. That was one of the reasons that it was a treat a very intriguing opportunity because they had an identity, they had a culture, and I wasn't bringing I wasn't bringing something. It was do you fit our culture correct? Can you adhere to our expectations? And when they when you have a team that has identity and when they bring you into free agency or in trade, they talked to you to see does this guy align with us? And I'm

gonna say, right now, I don't know. You don't know because we don't know what ours is because it hasn't been established. It hasn't. They're doing a lot of great things up there, but they're not equaling enough to wins. Yeah, and that's the toughest part being the hometown fair. But we're so thirsty and hungry for success that I noticed

nobody's paying attention. We got the number one and number who got the two, number three overall number number one, number three quarterbacks overall picks a couple of years ago. And they're both on our team, right, and we're hoping we get something when we get somethings together. I hope I grow. I hope I go I help grow. Yeah, so it's it's it goes that if that was it plays into the culture, right, like how have we gotten to this point? Like the years before Caddy Cardiac Cats

right with Cam Newton was there? Uh the swagger? Right? M hm, Luke Key, Luke Brad Hoover, Reggie White, help Jake, you knew what you were? Moose you write me just I'm just talking about all these different identities. Yeah, you knew. Now when I look at this team, what I what is the identity? We know it's we know it's Christian McCaffrey.

If he's healthy again. It goes there's so many different variables that we don't know yet, and that that type of football, think about it, Think about that that type of football or that type of investment. Take take that and put that on the PLL sheet and hand it to your investors. Who's going to invest I'm just gonna say, if we notice that, then everybody else noticed that too. When the team pulls up, when the defensive coordinator knows that too, then they don't have an identity right, So

it's it plays into everything. I'm just gonna be man, I'm excited, But these are so many things that I'm thinking about. These are so many things that I need to do an extremely better job at at at processing and going through versus oh, when I played, you know, I'm I'm I'm trying to really get rid of when I played and start looking at the business of football is the business of each team operating in good faith

that gives the fans complete comfort and security. And right now the Carolina Panthers fan base, they're struggling for that security. But I believe Baker signing Baker, allowing those two quarterbacks to to to dool it out, but then also too, how different is Ben mcadoo's offense gonna vary from Joe Brady's I'm I'm I'm intrigued to see. It's gonna a showdown in Spartan bird in which probably the Carolina Panthers

haven't had a very long time. Yeah, a lot of key battles, a lot of things, keep eye on, and you can tell they also making a concentrated effort to try to get better. They are. But you know, you can make a concentrated effort and be working with some crystal light. That don't mean that's gonna be good effort, that's all. Sometimes effort ain't always good. No, that's what I'm saying. Sometimes you gotta have some good tangible things. And you're over there to man, we got some good juice. Man,

that's crystal light. Bro. That's I'm I'm. I'm fixated on crystal because I when I was a kid, I got I went over to one of my um non African American friends house and they had some. They said it was a kool Aid. That's my palate. It was ready for cool. At least have flavor aid. My flavor was at least at least is a good substitute. Crystal light is no man, my palette was waiting for some kool Aid. What what I got? What's the water down water? I

don't know that I ever had sin. I've never had Crystal Like brought this section brought to you by Crystal Likes. They only had two flavors like pink lemonade, lemonade. Yeah, why do you know, Joe? Why do you know? Joe Man? Lemonade and lemonade. That was the truth, you know, Huh time country time is good. Now, country time is good. Like a d seven grams of sugar per serving. It was a point. Man, Hey, one time my dad man I used to put the dude used to put like

real oranges or lemons in it. That was give a little flavor. Trinking some polp up in there, tricking you, so you know, and some of them talking about ten percent fruit juice man squeezing. Well, listen, this has been awesome. Uh, it's been awesome podcasts just be able to talk about

the home team but also talk about football in general. Um, you know, seasons coming up, training camps, there's gonna be a lot of battles obviously here in Carolina, Baker versus Sam, Sam versus Baker, but also too is um just tells you how complicated and how interesting football is. So I

hope you enjoy it. Um the warning this isn't about it say isn't me back You know people say um, backpelling, but more it's it's less of backpelling, more just watching and listening and going okay, let me explain, let me go long version. Why you know that's sometimes I don't get the opportunity to do on television because it's, you know, two men a segment, and you've got four people on there, so everybody gets thirty five seconds. Well, and the beauty

of it is us and everybody else out there. For preseason, you're gonna be in the booth, so you're gonna get to be able to see that battle unfold, and from an analytical perspective, you're gonna be able to dive down in and see where that battle is going. So that's one of the cool things that you get to do. Already, No I I again, I like saying I think he's a good kid. I already know. Plus Sam's from California.

You went to USC rooting form. You never want to see a man really who has such promise kind of Falter right. He had a disadvantage going to the Jets. Then he comes here and you hope things are better, but things weren't better. So be interested, interested to see how handles this adversity. You know, they say competition breeds the best. Sometimes it always does, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it reveals things of who you are. M Yeah, so we'll see. So. Uh, I'm Steve Smith Senior, Gerard Little

John backstage, Joe, and this is cut to It. You are a unique person, you are well worth it, you are competent, and most of all, your lovable. I'm Steve Smith Senior. I'm Gerard Little John and this is cut to It. Cut to It with Steve Smith Senior. That is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Baltold Creative Media, The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. For more podcast from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to

your favorite show from Cut to It. Executive producer Steve Smith, singer co host Gerard Little John, talent in booking manager Joe Fusci, social media teamer Wesley Robinson, and John Show from Balto Creative Media. Cut to It is produced by Brian Baltaschevitch and Meredith Carter, with production assistance by Alex Lebrek, Production coordinator Taylor Robinson. Theme music by Alex Johnson, lyrics

and vocals by Anthony Hamilton. You ain't heard them about it, then we're about to let you know it's all