This week on a Happy half Hour.
No one is suggesting this thing is fixed and they're going to turn into the two thousand Rams all of a sudden. But if they are deliberate, if they run the ball well, if Bryce continues to do these little things well and take care of the ball, and he's reasonable to see some substantial improvement on offense.
Touchdown Cow. It's time for the Happy Half Hour, presented by Southern Star, an official bourbon of the Carolina Panthers. Here are your hosts, Darren Gant and Cassidy Hill.
All right, hello friends, and welcome to the final Happy half Hour of the preseason. You ain't getting out of this. You ain't getting out of this that easy. There'll be more Happy half hours come to the regular season. But this is the final preseason edition of the Happy pre Hour.
Yeah, and it's the final pre Happy.
And this final pre Happy half Hour is as always, presented by a Southern Star, an official bourbon partner of the Carolina Panthers. Celebrate the spirit of the Carolinas and celebrate the end of the preseason. It's like a weekend off and stuff, a whole weekend. Yeah, well not Monday. They don't get the holiday, and then there won't be another one of those for about thirteen weeks.
Thirteen.
I don't know. I don't look at this schedule. I'm like Dave Canalis, I look at what's right in front of me. If you ask me, I have a vague sense that the Carolina Panthers play in Germany sometime in November. Question Mark, I'm ron Burgundy, But I'm not really sure.
I honestly, you could convince me so easily that it's in October, because I have no idea.
I mean, I've got friends who have asked me. You know, hey, what do you think about the first three games? Who were the first three games?
Oh?
Yeah, I know New Orleans is the first one? Yep, well yeah, New Orleans.
You know what I'm gonna do, Darren, I'm gonna bring my passport with me for every away game because I don't know which one of them that I don't know which time that plane is taken out.
I do have a feeling we're gonna have enough build up and enough lead time on it in front of that Germany trip that we will in fact know we are going to Germany when that plane leaves. But yeah, it's uh. Yeah. Here we are the end of the preseason. The Panthers wrapped up practice today and they've got the weekend off. Dave Canal has talked about giving everybody a chance to see their families again one last time, because this is a long haul once they get to that point.
But we got a lot of stuff to go through in the next little bit. And now I wanted to kind of circle back a little bit because you know, the last time we talked to you, there were ninety people on this roster. Now there are fifty three, and some of them have come and gone, and that's changed a number of time. But yesterday was one of those days that it's like, look at them all walking in
the door. Six waiver claims at once. So you go from the initial shock of okay, there goes ninety to fifty three, and all of a sudden, fifty three had to turn into forty seven and then back to fifty three real quick. So plus sixteen, yeah, is twelve so far. Twelve so far on the practice squad. It means there's four spots left to go. Those ought to fill up quick. But again, just as you go through the exercise of looking at that initial fifty three man roster and then
the waiver claims. You realize how far this thing has come and how much work there is to do, maybe in certain areas, but it was pretty dramatic to see. I don't know that there were a ton of surprises in those cuts. I mean, when you're coming off a two and fifteen season, the roster cuts sometimes get a little obvious, and there were a couple of mild surprises.
I think some people were surprised to see Jordan Matthews go away initially, but I don't think he was ever going very far because he went from practice squad and right back here today. But I think as they got down to that thing, you know, you kind of saw, I think in a little clearer focus what some of the off season plan was. Because when you look at ninety sometimes it's easy to get lost in the weeds.
But when you look at a fifty three and say, oh, okay, Robert Hunt, Damian Lewis, Deonta Johnson, yes, you people are all new and here to help Bryce cool, I think that comes into a little clear focus.
And then Dan Morgan said, today you know that they that he sat down with Dave Canalis, he sat down with Everroh and they went over what they want each position to look like. And then they went out and they targeted the prototype for each individual position. And he used the corners as an example. That's a perfect example too. I mean, if you look just typically at that group you've got. They brought in four new corners over the
past seven days. Mike Jackson, who I actually learned today likes to be called Mike Jack.
Yeah, he is.
He is really putting in that line of demarcation between him and Michael Jackson.
The scene my in a related story, my rap name is Auxcord.
Did you go through like a little BuzzFeed quiz to figure that out?
No, I just Mike jack hawks Cord. It was right there.
Some of these, oh, Mike Jad didn't even think about that. Mike jack Anyways, Mike Michael Jackson's aka Mike Jack comes in seven days ago. Matt said, that was a bad joke, Darren.
I'm here for the bad, the bad dad jokes, and the good dad jokes. All dad jokes are welcome here, ladies and gentlemen.
And then they signed three or they claim three corners off of waivers, including uh Schmoar Bartholomew, who had the most waiver claims of anyone on the waiver wire. Four different teams wanted this guy. So I thought that was pretty interesting. But they Dan Morgan, as we were saying, use the corners as an example of them chasing after prototypes of what they wanted each position to look like. He said, with the corner specifically, they wanted them to
be big and physical. Before seven days ago, when you look at who they had on this roster, including the guys who would eventually make their way to the practice squad after Lamar Jackson was hurt, that corner unit j C. Jackson was the biggest guy. I'm sorry, Jase Horn.
Yeah, JC being a large human being.
Right, he was six one, two hundred Yeah. Everyone else and corners are supposed to be fast and scrappy, so this is not necessarily detriment. But everyone else was five ten or five eleven maybe no one over one hundred and ninety pounds. Of the four that they brought in this over the past seven days, all of them are six foot or higher, and three of the our two hundred pounds are heavier. The smallest one is one ninety seven. Yeah, And so I think that really kind of speaks to
what Dan Morgan was saying. You know, we're gonna We've got an idea of what we want each unit to look like, and if the roster needs to turn over to make that happen, we're gonna challenge every part of the roster to make it happen, right.
I mean, after all, football is a big man's game, and they've decided they want to play big people football. So it's not a surprise that Keenan, Isaac Shamar, Bartholomew to reak Castro Fields and Mike Jackson are all big dudes. As It reminds me of something one of my old college buddies, Clayton, used to say. If you ever thought there might be trouble, he would say, Beggins lineup, Liland's bunch up. Yeah, he was ready to go one at a time. Yeah. But uh, I miss Clayton. I wonder how he's doing.
But any maybe he'll rite into the mailbag.
Yeah he might. But uh oh boy, that that brings back some memories at any rate, back to cornerbacks. I mean it does show. I mean how they want to change the roster and they know it's not a one
year process. And I thought that was kind of interesting because in today's press conference, Dan got asked a number of times about the difference between a rebuild and what he turned a retool, and you could tell from listening to him that he doesn't really care what you want to call it because he's just kind of focused on the job at hand.
I think it's like a retooling and not a rebuilding, right, So, you know, I think every day there's challenges with the roster, whether injuries or you know, there's all different circumstances. I think at the end of the day, we have a really good core of guys that we're excited about. We're excited about the season. We don't want to put any expectations on the season, but that's not to say that we're not confident in the season. So we're going to work our bucks off and that's all we know how
to do. We're going to work hard, we're going to put the hours in. The players are going to do the same. They understand that they're for the season as well, just talking to everybody out on the field. So yeah, we just got to put the work in them. We've got to go do.
It and I mean that's Dan, you know. I mean in Dan Morgan's world, there are simple solutions to every problem. It's like, what do we need to do? We need bigger cornerbacks, Okay, let's go get them. And then you turn around and there's four new dudes who weren't here a week ago. So I don't think they're going to be able to remake every position on the roster that way or that rapidly, although you know, at this point
nothing will surprise me in terms of roster moves. But I do think they they understand this is going to be a gradual thing. You know, people always ask about pass rushers and outside linebackers and how do you find somebody to go next to, you know, Jadevian Clowney out there on the other side. And the reality is any team that has one of those usually wants to keep them. The one pass rusher they claimed off waivers was Jamie Sheriff. And yes, someone already has made the new share in joke,
new Sheriff in town joke. Tell you, I don't even know who it was. It was me, you know, what were the odds of that? At any rate? Jamie Sheriff has got a fascinating backstory. He was a rookie mini camp invite as a tryout player. Seahawks watched him for
a weekend like yeah, we're good. Guys got hurt in the middle of training camp and they needed somebody to come in mid training camp, and so they called this familiar name just because he was available, and not when ninety guys are on thirty two rosters, the people who are available are usually available for a reason. So Sheriff shows up to Seahawks camp and gets three sacks in three games, right, and then all of a sudden, it's like, wait, whoa look at this guy. And that's what Morgan talks
about in turning on tape and seeing things. They just let the tape talk, as the old football cliche goes. And now Jamie Sheriff, who is an undrafted rookie, I don't think he may expecting him to come in and have seven teen sacks or anything this year. But you know, they're going to continue to turn this thing and continue to look for answers.
And I think that there's definitely he has a shot at that outside linebacker position because they are looking for answers there. You know, DJ One of them is still recovering. They have iq Lieto.
Come on, you can do better than that.
Echo Leota, Echoleota. I put my emphasis on the wrong vowels, Echo Leota. They have Calevion Chase on and they've got guys that are They're starting to put more bodies into that unit, which had been dangerously sparse at times during the off season. But both Dave can Allis and Dan Morgan have said over the past twenty four hours that is an open competition. Opposite Jadavian Clowney, We're waiting on someone to step up and take it. And so you know, Sheriff, here's your shot.
Yeah, it's turn on the blue lights. Go get that thing. That song that's like I shot thee Yeah, no, YA don't want the.
One I'm thinking of that. What's the other one that's like I fought the law and the law one in this case that can be case.
I think it goes like that exactly. Yeah, I don't know. I'm hoping there's a copyright complaint just to keep us from singing on the radio anymore. I know this is a podcast and not the radio, but when I put these headphones on my head and talk into a microphone. I just think it's radio. So if if you're listening to it for the first time, it's radio for you. But anyway, oh, so much new on both sides of
the ball and that is going to continue. But uh, I'm just I'm I'm struck by the fact that and again I've said it before on this podcast a lot lately during the preseason portion, I lose track of time. We haven't talked to the people since Buffalo, have we?
Uh?
We we have not talked to the people since all of.
The people being the listeners. I thought you were talking about the players, and I was like, well, Brice, we talked to Bryce a.
Long our people, our Happy half Hour family inside this building and without and the people in this building who listen to the Happy Half Hour. I know who you are and I'm grateful. So anyway, that sounded mildly threatening to Brennan. No, I love all of our listeners, even if they're especially if they're co workers, but all of them.
Uh.
In fact, one of the things in all of the confusion of cuts and claims and all this stuff we haven't really discussed yet is the greatest drive in the history of preseason football.
Was that drive worth the admission price of admission?
Yes, it was worth the price of me going to Buffalo and back. Although Buffalo is delightful in August, it is the time of year you want to be in Buffalo, for sure, but I ain't that, you know, seeing Bryce go twelve plays eighty five yards, A lot of people were kind of struck by it, and it stands out in start contrast because he hadn't played in the preseason. But to me, seeing that drive was kind of the culmination of a lot of work.
It was.
It was similar to what we saw from Bryce throughout training camp in practice, especially the last couple of weeks, especially the joint practice against the Jets. He was moving the ball well, he was moving the ball down field, hidding some shots and creating plays with his feet and not turning it over. I mean, I think that was one of the big things for me and watching Bryce over the last couple of weeks. But seeing that in that game kind of brought it back into focus of oh, yeah,
this offense is different. It does look considerably different than it did a year ago.
I think there was a time in training camp I want to say it was our guy Jordan Matthews that made the comment that Dave Canellis has a very specific plan for the track. He wont to keep Bryce on the offense on as they went through the off season and training camp, and he didn't want to jump ahead of that and start working on something different just for
the sake of working on something different. That He was very adamant about sticking to his plan, and there were times where we thought where we kept thinking, well, is Bryce gonna work on this? Is Bry's gonna work on that? Why haven't they done this ship? And by the time we got to that third preseason game, to your point, Darren, he had sort of worked through everything he wanted Bryce to work through, and they had put the entire playbook
in by that point. And then we saw it all come together on that drive and it was like, Okay, this is the sum total of what they've been working on throughout training camp. We saw it kind of come together.
And it also was a reminder that we probably should temper some expectations going into this season because this is not going to be, you know, a one day or a one year retool to borrow Dan Morgan word, but that there might be a plan that doesn't always make sense at the time, but it's like, Okay, what can this offense handle right now in its current iteration versus what can it handle down the road, and how do we get them there without blowing the ship up in the process.
And listen, I do think that this is going to be a very deliberate offense. I think they're going to do things intentionally. You know, we talked a couple of weeks ago, Dave Canalis didn't b essen y'all about wanting to run the ball. I think that's going to be
at the core of it. And chewba Hubbard goes three carries for fifteen yards I think on that drive, but it was those were kind of tempo runs and like, all right, almost catch a breath, run the ball, lean on somebody a little bit to set something up down
the field. But I think that seeing them run the ball, especially the way they did in certain times during training camp, seeing Bryce move out of the pocket and create plays, and I think the one that people are always going to remember, if anybody ever remembers a training camp or a preseason play at all, is going to be that fourth and three when he rolls out of the pocket to the left. See Deonte down the field seventeen yards Boom,
big conversion. Keep the chains moving, you know. And I think that's going to be important for them in the regular season, because again, no one is suggesting this thing is fixed and they're going to turn into the two thousand rams all of a sudden. But if they are deliberate, if they run the ball well, if Bryce continues to do these little things well and take care of the ball, I think it's reasonable to see some substantial improvement on offense.
And you know, again you've heard me say it improved to medium and all of a sudden, this is a different team last year. If the Carolina Panthers had scored the league average twenty two points in every single game and no more, they would have gone eight to nine and won the division and went to the playoffs. So
that's how thin the margin is. But it's you know, I think it's reasonable to see some of that kind of improved just from watching Camp and the Jets and certainly the greatest drive in the history of preseason football.
I feel like your voice should be echoing, like very odds when he says that.
Yeah, can you tell make that happen. Yeah, can you make that happen, Matt? He said, yeah, I'm getting a thumb emoji from Matt from the other side of the screen. All I'm getting you're like the neighboring Home improvement. All I'm getting in is arm like not even elbow, just like wrist up. But I got thumb, So that's good.
You know what the name of that character was, I do not Wilson Wilson.
Wilson, Wilson, Wilson, Wilson, Wilson, that was.
And his last name was Wilson Wilson.
I looked at my wife the other day because, in addition to time, personal grooming gets away from me sometimes during training camp, and I had something of a beard the other day, and I said, I swear to God, I'm gonna start talking to my volleyball if training camp doesn't end at any rate.
We where were we?
We were talking about volleyball, right, No, we were talking about oh yeah, well, no, Matt, can he can tart up my voice a little bit, make me sound like John Facinda or something that would be nice. I would I would like to go through life sounding like that, just for one day, just for one day. Yeah, just for one day, not any longer. I would call. I once asked Kevin Harland during a radio interview. You know Kevin Harland, the amazing voice announcer, And I said, do
you just like use that voice to order pizzas? Do you ever call Domino's and just say Hi, this is Kevin, And He's like, yeah, people tend to recognize me. I think when you're I think when you're Kevin Harlan, it's hard to do anything.
He's one of those voices. I think there's about five that everybody who watches any form of football can recognize. I'm I put him on that list of five.
Yeah, he is the best. But anyway, so we've covered cuts, We've covered waiver claims, we have covered the greatest drive in pre season history. Now that one started to sound like Monster Truck announces, right, the Sundays Sunday Sunday, This Sunday.
The Great tost Show on Dirt.
Now we will not be in a football stadium, at least I hope we're not. Because it's the last Sunday off for a long long time, which means when we come back and you hear from us next, it will be regular season football baby, You in a game, baby, we'll be talking about Saints. We'll be getting ready to go to New Orleans and ready for the long haul of a seventeen game season.
That might have a break around Week thirteen, might not.
We don't know, thirteen ish thirteen ish. We're just gonna go with ish for now.
And I'm looking forward to getting to a point though, even though I know it means a crazy calendar. I'm looking forward to getting to a point where we can actually start to see where the rubber is going to meet the road with this team. Sure what it's going to look like, and of course we don't really know what is their identity is gonna be till probably five six weeks into the season, right, but you know, what are they gonna look like? What does this look like
when it's all together? Was that drive versus Buffalo an anomaly against backups or was it more of what they're gonna be total and what they're gonna do because and that is the caveat that comes there. You know that was against that was not Buffalo starters, but starters are not You still have to be able to execute it on offense, and they did very well, but you know,
is that more of what we're gonna see. That was also a different drive because Bryce never went under center with Austin Corporate, not there at home having his baby, which I actually learned yesterday. He and his wife did not find out what they were going to have. They had a boy and a girl already, so they decided let's just have a surprise, and they didn't name him until he was born. They looked at him and said, that's a Cooper anyways, fun little aside, but not a.
Mini Cooper, not a mini Coups. That's a ten pound baby.
Right, but without Austin Corbett there, you know, Bryce, I'm sorry, go ahead, No, I was good.
Say we got sidetracked by baby talks.
So it happens.
That happens to me a lot. But anytime I see an adorable baby, I just can stop in my tracks at any rate. No, I mean you you were talking about Corbett not being air Rain was under center. The undrafted rookie who has made the fifty three is he is still among us and is on the roster. So they just didn't want to do too much with Bryce, you know, try to put him under center with a guy he had and worked with a lot at that point, but now it's real.
You know.
Now, the next time they line up and play, it's gonna be Corbett in the ones, it's gonna be the full book of stuff, and we'll see what it looks like.
Do you do predictions?
I try so hard not to. H you want me to predict this season? Is that what you're going for here?
I don't know.
I was gonna say week one, But we can worry about that next week.
You know what? Here, here's what I will say. The only prediction I make is is I think it will be better?
How about that?
That's a fair one.
Yeah, I would agree. I am going better with that one. And that feels like an optimistic note matter for everybody. Maybe we should go out on that note, call it a weekend, put our feet up, maybe go see the folks, relax a little bit.
So much college football on Saturday. That's gonna be my plan. And at three point thirty Florida kicks off versus Miami in the swamp. Darren, if you call me with breaking news from three thirty to seven thirty, I'm not answering.
Yeah, I wonder how our connection is going to be In general, because I'm going to try to turn a phone off for a minute too. But maybe if anything big happens, Dan Morgan can reach out by a smoke signal or something.
There that that'll be my prediction. I think Florida beats Miami twenty four nineteen.
I am not going to pretend to have the least bit of insight into this college football process. I know, I know my beloved Mountaineers are gonna give. They're gonna give the hated East Tennessee States what Patty gave the drum, and then we'll just get on about business with bigger opponents. Former Southern Conference rival East Tennessee State.
What a rivalry?
Yeah, at any rate, we'll get into all that. We'll talk about actual things during a regular season edition of The Happy half Hour when we see you next week.