This week on the Happy Half Hour.
This may arguably be the most tough outing that they will have had all year. Eagles defense Pancers offense. I'm really interested to see because Bryce the past three weeks has handled not only blitz but pressures so much better. What does he look like when Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith are bearing down on him? You guys that he's faced before. By the way, what's.
It? It's time for the Happy Half Hour with your friends Darren Ghent and Cassidy Hill. All right, hello friends, it is time for yet another edition of the Happy Half Hour. We got all kinds of stuff to talk about, including that horn flourish that cast you. We'll break that down later. If we're gonna do our own sound effects, we're gonna have a lot of problems, Matt, a lot of problems.
I do my own stunts.
Yeah, but anyway, this is the Happy Half Hour by Southern Star and official Bourbon partner The Carolina Panthers celebrate the spirit of the Carolinas, and for the second week in a row, they all most had something real.
To sell post. Well you know what they say, if wishes and hopes were oh wait, dang, what is the phrase, if.
My aunt had huyos, she'd be a wagon.
No, it's like if if some butts were wishes and butts, we'd all have a Merry.
Christmas candy and nuts.
Close enough.
Yeah, there you go. So anyway, that's where we are. Panthers losing overtime to the Buccaneers. Uh. Coming on the heels of Panthers lose on the last second, You'll go to the Kansas City Chiefs and and things feel different than the record would indicate.
They feel different, and that is indicated by the fact that this loss hurt yeap, Like the Kansas City loss, you're like disappointed because you're like, man, we were right there. It could have happened. But you kind of like take what you take, the positives from it and move on.
This loss hurt. And I don't know if this loss would have hard as much at the beginning of the year, But now you're starting to see this team kind of figure out who they are, who they want to be, and you look at that game and go, that was winnable. That was winnable in many different ways. You think one or two different things go different, or one or two things go differently in that game's a win. But that also kind of goes back to what Dave Canalysis said
and what we have said week after week. As long as Dave Canally says it, will say it, and that is finish. And you know, if there's a couple of things that are just finished in that game, it's a win. And so even though it's it's a loss, it's a good touching point. It's a good teaching point for Dave Canalis as they continue to build this thing. And it makes me think about this game that's coming up on Sunday a little differently than I probably would even a month ago.
Oh no doubt, Yeah, no doubt. I mean, And that's the thing. There were very real There have been games this year the Carolina Panthers loss because they didn't have any business being in them. That was a game they lost for very tangible and specific reasons. They score one touchdown in the red zone, kick too many field goals, they let Bucky Irvin go for a buck fifty against them.
You know, there's all these very specific things. They missed two field goals that they could have done differently, and we'd have a completely different conversation right now. Yeah, And I mean, there are so many of those, and that's what frustrated those guys so much, and it did. It was telling to me that a the players in the locker room were crushed losing that game to the Bucks because they knew they had it in their hands. They
knew they had the opportunity, you know. And again, even without the Adam Thielen touchdown, that wasn't There were so many of them that they were frustrated with themselves. But this building, for the second week in a row, had atmosphere. Yeah, I mean that sounds when we're walking underneath this stadium, you know, and a lot of times, not that anybody cares,
but to go under behind the curtain. I will duck down before a game is over watch on a monitor from the room where the press conference is about to happen, just because I'm trying to file rapid reactions, which many of you enjoy on Panthers dot Com right at the gun. To do that, I've got to be in that room.
I could hear that from under the stadium. I mean, this place was shaking coming down the stretch at the end of regulation and in overtime, and this place had a little bit of a vibe, and that was not the case early in the year at different points. I mean last year, certainly, at no point last year, I don't think other than maybe the Atlanta game.
Even then, wasn't that the game where like everybody scrammed.
Yeah, I mean, the weather's been terrible, but anyways, there's something cooking. And that's been my big takeaway from this from the last couple of weeks is they may be three and nine, they may be you know, whatever percentage points remaining to be playoff eligible, all that kind of stuff. I don't want to get to in the weeds on that, but what they've found is a voice, They've found a personality.
They've found the kind of football they want to play when they're good, when they're in games in December that do matter for playoff positioning, when they're in games for playoffs. I just think that's as valuable as anything that's happened this season is they've sort of figured out who they are. Dave Canalis keep saying, we're gonna we're trying to be us, We're trying to get to us. They've figured out what us is. Now they got to play better football and get more people.
You know, I was standing in the locker room today. It was I mean me or I good thing, I don't work in words. It was me, Robert Hunt and our coworker Rob and Robert Hunt was asking us, like, who are some of the most impactful players you've ever covered? And Rob was go back to that twenty fifteen team alive and he was like, you know what they just had. He's like, that team just had guys you know that could get it done on the field, that were great
in the locker room. And Rob Hunt said, we'll stick around another year or two, You're gonna see that team again. And you kind of can't help but believe Rob Hunt when he says stuff. And so that was, well, he's been around it, yeah, and he's been around it.
He was on a Miami team that had been you know, in some other places and then got good. So he's seen this climb before. And I think that's part of the reason he was of interest to them, in addition to the fact that he's massive and moves like a much smaller man while being a much much larger man.
Yeah, and he certainly brings the personality as well. And so you know, these three wins feel a little differently than the two did at this point last year, and we'll kind of see where they go from here.
This is three pointing towards something as opposed to two pointing toward another.
Rebuild, counting two on the way down. Yeah, kind of just looking ahead to this week, as we were saying at the top, like it's gonna be interesting to watch, and let's just call a spade a spade. This is gonna be a tough outing. This may arguably be the most tough outing that they will have had all year because they are facing the league's number four overall offense, number one rushing offense, they're twenty eighth in passing because they don't have to pass, and the number one defense
team third in sacks. The defensive part of it, Eagles defense Panthers offense. I'm really interested to see because Bryce the past three weeks has handled not only blitz but pressures so much better. What does he look like when Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith are bearing down on him, two guys that he's faced before, by the way, and what does he do with that secondary that you know has two rookie corners but also has I think Darius
Lay's question. But you know, we'll see if he's out there has Chauncey Gardner Johnson who doesn't know how to be anything but tenacious, you know, has a stingy little secondary and a stout front seven. But we've seen Bryce kind of really kind of come into himself against those sort of pressures the past three weeks. What does he do when he's faced with some of the best of it in the league right now?
Yeah, well, I mean the last couple of weeks, here's what he's done. He's done one of two things. He's either stepped into the pressure and delivered to throw, or he's gone into what they call baller mode, which I love. I mean, they just kind of declare that in their meeting. I mean, you you wrote so much and so well this offseason about their quest to get the ball out in two point seven seconds. They just decide at a certain point two point seven goes out the window, and
you go into baller mode, make something happen. If you need to escape the pocket, go look. And I mean that's where you've seen Bryce get out and make some plays and make some of those anticipation throws out on the move and I mean, there were people in this building last year when everything was sideways who were just screaming to the heavens, get Bryce out on the move, do the things he was good out at Alabama. And I mean, that's to me gonna be one of the
defining quotes of the second half of this year. Is that's Alabama Bryce. When Trevin Wallace said that after the KC game, that'll be in the book one of these days. I mean, you'll reach that point where he got back to being Alabama Bryce. But Alabama Bryce is that guy who rolls the pocket, who moves things and is looking downfield and looking around while moving. And that was the thing he was always so good out at Alabama. Is that being able to scan on the move and find
an Adam feeling downfield. You know, the crazy one handed catch in overtime was Bryce and Adam feeling basically improvising. But it's not improvising because it's months in the building and it's and it's something that takes time and communication and getting to know each other. But he wasn't making those throws earlier this year.
One another one too, that we saw that kind of got lost in the shuffle because it happened much earlier in the game, but he went out on a scramble drill I want to say in the sete no, the first Yeah, in the first quarter. I mean he was wrapped up, he was sacked and he got out of it and Tommy Tremble was running down the right sideline and just stuck his hand up in the air and Bryce found him for a huge gain. That was a gutsy little move and a gutsy throw that turned into
a big play. Back to the two point seven stuff too. You know, Canalis had kind of gotten away from talking about that during the season, and I think it was just because of kind of the way the season was going. The past couple of weeks, he has brought it back up himself, unprompted more than once, and that tells me that they're seeing Bryce clicking with it, if that makes sense.
Well, and again, different guy we're seeing right now. I don't think there's any debate about that. I mean Bryce is playing with a different confidence and a different I hate to say swagger because when you talk about quarterbacks and swagger, everything is measured against one impossible standard in Carolina Panthers history, and I don't mean Jake Delome.
You know, Or you don't think Jake Dolomses swagger.
You know. If we would have known what the word swagger meant in nineteen ninety nine, Steve Berlin had it. But that's not what I mean. And you know Bryce is never gonna be that guy. Okay, that guy is one of one. He is for a reason and literally number one, literally number one. Bryce is never gonna be that guy. But you see a little bit more now, you know, the little dance, the little jimmy coming out after eating that runs for a touchdown. I will not
I'm actually doing it right now. You just can't see it. So for all of you people into the theater of the mind here on the Happy half hour, I am currently doing the Seng dance as far as you know.
Don't let you know.
But it's it's more fun, and I think that's the biggest thing. I keep going back to finding that voice and figuring out who they want to be. They want to be the team that leans on people. They want to be the team that relies on Bryce to do smart things rather than physically amazing things. They want to be the team that eventually plays tight defense and they don't have people for it right now. They just don't. And God bless all the guys who are out there
are doing their best right now. But a lot of those guys were you know, career backups who are in starting roles or rookies who weren't expecting to play nearly this many snaps this year, and it's tough sledding. I mean, they just you know, Giero Vero talked about it today. You know, it's not all just the guys, but a lot of it's the guys. And as they continue to add more guys, then they'll be the team they want to be. And you can see those little little hints of it right now.
It's hard not to imagine. And again, if wishes and butts were candy and nuts, that's what it is. You don't have America.
I have some butts were candy and nuts. We don't have Americ Christmas.
We'll get it right around.
I still like mine, which is if my aunt had wheel se'ed be.
A wagon hardless. It's hard not to imagine what the defense would have looked like if Derek Brown was still out there. I mean, we're human at the end of the day.
That's going to be the greatest free agent signing ever this off season, adding Derek Brown.
Adding Derek Brown back saying you know when you.
Add a player like that to this team, Yeah, it's going to be like an impact signing, and you know it's obviously going to make a huge difference. But that's going to be one of many things that happens. I mean, they're going to be active in free agents in free agency right now. It's season ended today, they'd be picking fifth in the draft. Also, a lot of people would be saying, why is the season ending the Thursday, a week fourteen? We make the rules, Yeah, exactly. So you
know you're looking at a high top ten pick. I mean probably somewhere in the Florida eight range, depending on how these.
Next you can get a game change goes.
I mean, you you can find somebody and we'll get into draft stuff later on, but it's going to be somebody who ought to be able to start from day one.
I walked into an office here the other day on our second floor and dB was just sitting in a very small, uncomfortable looking chair, and I was like, Dby, what are you doing here? And he it was the pr office and he's like, this is my office now, I run this place. Yeah, And I was like, and but what was funny about it was it was an off day for the players, and.
You know who wanted to be here? You know who was more uncomfortable than dB who the chair?
That's true, And it's like all of you other people sitting in here, y'all couldn't give him one of your nicer chairs. But I just thought it was funny too, because it was an off day for the players, and he just wanted to be in the building. Yeah, And he just wanted to be here.
And be around, right, And Derek's been around the whole time we had It was actually an interesting question. I enjoy writing the Ascy Old Guy mail Bag because we find people send in questions that actually make me think sometimes, which you know, sometimes I act like I'd seen it all and done it all around this place, just because I've been wandering around for thirty years. But somebody asked
about Derek Brown being on the sidelines during games. And I mean, I know, Derek's in the building source my two eyes every day, but he hadn't been on the sideline prior to last week's game. Primarily because of self defense reasons. Derek Brown. Derek Brown was on a scooter for a long time. He had a souped up Rascal scooter that was a pretty impressive piece of engineering.
I found it on Amazon.
And then he was on crutches for a long time. And you can't have guys on crutches on the sidelines because football happens all around them and if somebody comes barreling, you know, out of bounds and runs into Derek Brown while he's compromised in his ability to move and protect himself,
then they could be a bigger problem. So gus guys have to hang back, and they're usually in a suite somewhere upstairs until they're able to be there on the sideline and be in the And Derek is definitely eager to be in the MiGs.
His voice on the sideline could could help to keep people calm.
Yeah, I mean, dB is he's seen some things here in the last a little bit and he's definitely eager to get back to where it's the kind of defense that he was used to being on previously. And and and then some So we'll see how it goes. But Philly this weekend yep, sa Kwan Barkley play hard. You know this is gonna be a challenge for those guys.
Yeah, that's gonna You sounded like somebody when you said that, were you doing an impersonation.
Not that I'm aware of. I mean, I am just batting a cold. Maybe it's Foghorn Leghorn, well Steve Spurry or Falhorn Leghorn kind of, I think. But no, I mean it's yeah, it's it's gonna be tough. I mean, the Eagles are really good at football. This just in that's analysis that you can only get here at the Happy half hour. I know the people at Southern Star are really glad they're sponsoring this thing now.
But you know.
Regardless the Eagles game five games left the rest of this season, and whether this team finishes three and fourteen, five and twelve, whatever, the four and thirteen, whatever the number may be, I think the greater lessons are going to stand. And I mean we'll see fine tuning of
some of that over the next five weeks. But I think we've learned a lot of what we're going to learn about this team right now, which is maybe they found a quarterback yeh who they trust going in the next year, maybe they can build on this passing game. You know, they'll want to continue to add parts on offense too. Just because Dan Morgan is a guy a lot of people believe is going to invest heavily in defense this offseason, that don't mean they don't need another
wide receiver to help this team. And I think they're going to be pretty active in that regard. So they're going to be busy. We're going to find things out, you know, little individual things, and you know there's gonna be opportunities like Shaw Smith Wade gets back in the lineup this week at nickel. If Shaw Smith Wade can be your nickel going into next year.
That takes care of a lot of things.
Takes care of a number of things, and it also makes this a pretty good draft.
Yeah.
I mean, if you get what you think you're going to get out of Jonathan Brooks, if Xavier Leget continues to develop again, Trevin Wallace got a lot of snaps they didn't think he was gonna get this year, that's gonna accelerate his process. Jatavian Sanders has made enough place to make you think that's going to be a thing that develops as part of this offense. If you get two contributors out of any draft you feel.
Okay about it, they might get if you get five, and so Jaydon Crummedy, So that that leaves we've gone through all of them except for Jaydon Crummedy, who has spent most of them season on ir but they seem to really really like what they're going to get out of him. And the other one is Michael Barrett, which ipso facto is Mike Jackson.
Correct, you traded your seventh round pick. You're starting to make the roster for a guy who starts every game at cornerback for you this year and play at a pretty decent level.
So you got five out of seven that are already contributing in a in an impactful way and or learning to contribute more down the road. One that you're still learning about in one like like you said, you turned into a veteran starter. Yeah, got a bad draft.
It was it sure was something, But well we'll get to all that and more. It's been there's been so much going on, I lose track of what day of the week it is. You know, we're less than three weeks from Christmas.
Right, My bank account knows that.
That late, that late Thanksgiving, late Thanksgiving rolling all over me right now. I woke up yesterday it was like, it's three weeks from Christmas. I'm not ready for this. Yeah, but uh yeah, it's been great though. Thanksgiving break was good. Hope everybody's was great. You know, had opportunity to see family. I know your family was in town. That's what it's all about. Find your people, hang out with them. Saw
a show. Speaking of which, your jukebox assignment this week was to go to the Last Waltz was to listen to the end section of the Last Waltz I a couple of Bob Dylan songs along with the band.
I have something to admit.
Oh no, I forgot to do it. You forgot to do it? Well, that's never happened. This is this.
First week I for this is the first week I Cassidy, have forgotten to listen to the song.
Now I may have to make you watch the entire movie just to get you caught up on the band's catalog.
What did I do the week you forgot to listen?
This way? We just went on to the next thing.
I'll let you. I give you a whole other week.
You're you're a better person than I am. But no, speaking of the band, I mean one of the things got to do over the holiday that was cool is here in Charlotte at the Visuali Theater in elizabeth Great Room by the way to see a show. If you ever have an opportunity, I highly recommend it. They do a Last Waltz tribute show and the Last Waltz as people like Cassidy who do not know it's it's the band's final concert from nineteen seventy six Thanksgiving nineteen seventy
six the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco. The band, featuring Levon hillm and Robbie Robertson, brought in all their friends from Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, ringo star Van Morrison, and a cast of thousands, and Martin Scorsese filmed it turned it into a movie. The two songs I gave you were two of the last three numbers in that movie. We went to see a tribute show at the Visualize
Friday night. Wife and I went with some friends, well, our friend Duffy and his wife Carla Hu and Duffy's
some music industry veteran. So we're standing there at the concert talking about the band, and Levon Hilm and Robbie Robertson and Duffy just kind of casually mentions, Yeah, when I was at Fender, we did a project with Robbie and he said, it's like, whoa dude, you know, every now and then I walk around I walk around this building and you forget that Luke Keiakley's not a part of everybody's life where they just see him walking down
the hall and be like what Luke. But you know, just the way my guy Duffy just kind of casually dropped that. Yeah, when I was working with Robbie Robertson, he said, Robbie, I love that kind of stuff. So I did. However, listen to your really long Tailor's Swift song, your super long Taylor Swift song, ten minutes of Taylor
just opening up a veint. I gotta ask when you when you listen to Taylor Swift records, do you ever consider that she makes these records and sings these songs for people like you instead of going to therapy.
Because you when I went to the Eras tour, Yeah, and she got to the all too Well section. I turned to my friend. My friend and I have a saying about all too well ten minute version Taylor's version. It's cheaper than therapy for somebody.
Man, that girl's going through it.
I like being able to I don't listen to it all the time, but when I'm just like.
But when I need to listen to it, I really.
Sometimes you just need to open a vein. And every girl knows what a good car cry can do for you. And yeah, no, but I do love the bridge of that song. That's a good screaming bridge, Like that's you turn the volume up and you're just like, maybe we got lost in translation. Maybe I asked much.
I you're feeling it right.
I will wait to assign you a song since I waited, since I missed.
Mine, that's fair enough. I may just go back and listen to the last Walter because that's a thing I do a lot this time.
But I will give you a heads up the next one, just to complete this whole circle. So that's the emotional part about that relationship. She wrote a follow up. The song is about Jake Jillenhall. She wrote a follow up song that's like the Petty One that's called I Bet you think about Me, and next week that will be your home.
Oh god.
But and that one's funny, and it's with Chris Stapleton.
God bless Travis Kelsey and Taylor. I hope they, you know, I hope those crazy kids keep it together. I you know, all you really, anybody is. But my god, if that ever gets sideways, that poor boy, he don't know what he's in for.
It's gonna make a great album though.
Oh my god. So anyway, we will cover all of that. We'll actually talk about more football and stuff too, as we do every week here on the Happy half Hour.