Happy Half Hour Episode 42: Special Assignment

So she's working her on a hundred different things. So Will and I are just sitting around eating boach Angles in the office, so we figured we'd come over here and talk today about that. We got some football, y'all want to hear about football. We like Football's people seem to like football, and there's a lot of football going on, there is no doubt about that. So it is Wednesday. We've just had our first UH joint practice with the Ravens.

H Darren, you saw some joint practice with Indie last week. How did today's compare well? And I think the interesting thing about these joint practices and and we'll see I'm still curious to see what the Mars looks like with the Ravens. But the thing I have taken away from this primarily is you're looking at two rosters that that's where the Panthers are trying to get to and and it's not necessarily a bad thing, and it's not oh my god, they're so far behind. But these are teams

that are in the playoffs every year. These are teams that have established themselves on both lines of scrimmage. These are teams that are really good and really smart, good coaches, good gms who you know, know what they want to be. And the Panthers are still trying to figure out what

they want to be. So I think it's valuable to kind of, you know, they walked into Indie last Thursday and kind of got punched in face a little bit on that first day and they were getting pushed around a little and it got a bunch of people's attention. Friday was a much better practice. Today wasn't as weird and sloppy and messy as that first day in Indy was. And I think guys are starting to get some of that is we can't do it like this every day. It can't be all the d b O sign touching

and all that kind of stuff. I I think the message is starting to come through, and it should. But I think the reality is it's good format rule to show his team the kind of people you want to be. And and if you're in the NFC South, then if you're on the other side of the bracket from them, it's safe enough to point over there and say, yeah, okay, that's how you want to put together a roster. That's what your offensive line is supposed to look like, That's

what your defensive line is supposed to look like. And pretty two pretty good examples, because those those teams are as solid and I think people here solid as a as a slight, but those are teams that win ten eleven games every year, and that's you know, the Panthers aren't there yet. I think they're moving in an appropriate direction. And there are things you've seen in these practices along

the way that suggests some movement in that direction. But we'll see as as the preseason goes on and the season goes on, how much they begin to look like those teams they're trying to emulate. It certainly seems on the defensive line standpoint, you know, from Sunday's game. You know, strip sack, another sack for um from each tour. Frankie Luvu, you know, busting in. He had a big play today.

Brian Burns with the forced fumble today. You know that that kind of that pass rush, that pressure, you know, getting getting pushed up the middle. You know, Phil Hoskins had a couple of plays that people were looking at on Twitter where he was getting big push. Uh, you know, what have you seen so far from that? Is that

carrying through? I think that's where they're closest. I think when you think about, you know, the process in that direction, that's clearly the side of the ball where they're closest to and making the most headway. And you know, it's

kind of interesting. We had just got Fitter over talking earlier today and and I asked him about j C Horne and he talked about that alpha mentality and he's like j C walks in the room and there's a gravity about him that people know and part of it's being born to Joe Horn, part of it is being in the NFL life for so long. But j C just walks out on that field and when a fight breaks out, Marcus Peters runs over and is jawing at

j C. Marcus Peters is that guy in Baltimore. And when that guy recognizes that guy here, I think that says something. And other players you can see the way they respond to j C on the field that he's different. I mean, he is. He is not like the other kids. He's not like a rookie who walks in here kind of big guyed and not knowing what training camps all

about and what's expected to him. He kind of he kind of knows and he comes in and I think it's interesting when j C had a couple of picks early in practice, you could hear coaches saying, yeah, but you gotta watch your hands. You're committing too many penalties. And they're constantly leaning on him because they know he's capable of a pretty high level of football, so they keep pushing him to do more. And I and I think kind of what they got and it was interesting

here in fitterers say it. I mean, it's it's hard for football people to praise rookies this amount. They're just not used to it. It feels weird. It's not what they expect to do because you're expecting to constantly remind rookies of what they've still got to do, what they don't know yet. And and there's not as much of that with j C because he keeps moving the target

out there farther and farther away. So you know, I think with him being mature, with all those pass rushers, like you said, I mean to see that kind of pressure from a second pass rush group with Marki's Haynes, you know, kind of leading the way out there and Frankie Luvu jumping in and making some plays. It's it's a good sign for what they're gonna be able to do in the depth they've created. I think we also

saw it, especially this second day in Indianapolis. You saw Shaq Thompson and Hassan Reddick and day Kwan Johns and those guys sort of bob up and stick their chest out and say, all right, this is who we're gonna be. This right here is what we're gonna be about. You know, we'll be about that life today, whereas the first day they were not about that life. So today, look, there are a couple of guys that we maybe haven't seen in a while starting to come back on the practice field.

Where are we from an injury STEMP. I think getting a lot closer, you know, getting some of the Miles hearts Fields back. You know, Denzel Paramount was out here today for the first time since the first day in pads when he kind of tweaked a muscle um. And we don't really have any idea what to expect from Denzel, But some of the other guys are are getting back into shape. A J boyer is getting closer, but he's

another one of those guys. A J boy is such a known commodity that it's almost like, Okay, use these reps in training camp. See if Miles Hartsfield can play Nichols, See if you can do this with other corners. Let's throw more reps Keith Taylor's way and see how he responds. So, uh, the indication I get is that aj is gonna be all right by the start of the regular season. You know, may not be out here much for the next week.

But what does a J boy a really need to do in a preseason at this point in his career. He's he's basically thirty years old, nine years into the league, so you know, he knows, he knows what's happening out here. So I would say that side of the ball especially, the signs are reasonably positive. They're not deep, Uh, they're not deep at linebacker. Uh. They've got guys dinged up and they've got you know, some questions in the second and third lines. But Jermaine Carter has been really good

this camp. I thought, I mean, in watching him, I always wondered what to make of him and whether he was just a guy kind of the way to hear Whitehead was just a guy last year. But he's not. He's a little bit bigger, he's a little bit more solid. He can still run, he can still move. But I think the vibe I get off Jermaine Carter is just of incredible competence. There's not a god where's he going now, There's not a false step this direction or yeah, any

of that kind of stuff. I mean, Jermaine just for a young guy, he feels like one of those young guys that gets it. And I think that's good to have in the middle. And as long as him and Shack are on the field, you know, at those two basically inside linebacker spots, I think, you know, there's kind of a floor through which They're not gonna fall now if one of those guys gets hurt, obviously, and they've talked about trying to keep Shack off the field, not

playing as many snaps as he did last year. They don't have that guy yet. They're still looking to see if you know, cats like Julian Stanford, you know Clay Johnston can be backup linebackers that they can trust in there, and and that's gonna be something that continues through cuts. I mean, I think linebackers one of those positions where you can plug in guys later who were in another camp or maybe not even in a camp at all,

when they can pick up quickly. You saw him bringing Josh Bines last week, and he's kind of one of those old heads who you know what he's gonna do. And that's the thing with those guys. You knowing what to expect is a big part of what you want out of that linebacker. And if and if I can adjust expectations to you and know what you're gonna do basically play and play out, I can playing around all the other stuff. So that's a long way of saying

Jermaine pretty good. But they're not particularly deep there, uh, your favorite topic, the offensive line. Yeah, what's going on there about that? Um? You know, here's the thing. I know, you you people, the people listening to you people out all you people out there who listen to this podcast, who are on the Twitter machine, who call into the radio shows. All of you people hate Camp Irving. They don't.

I mean, there's you know, it's almost like it feels like sometimes when I talk about Cam Irving, I'm almost apologetic about it because it's like, you know, nobody's expecting him to be the answer at left tackle, and I'm not gonna sit here and try to tell you he's going to the Pro Bowl anytime soon. He's got to a stay healthy and be be a more consistent player than he's been. They like him, and they think he's

all right. And I think the stuff about Taylor Moten playing on the right side is more driven externally than it is internally. Yes, playing on the left side. Yeah, yeah, playing on the left. So I think I have always thought they would have much rather just left Taylor alone and proceed accordingly. And you know, playing him on the left side was just in case of emergency, Brake Glass and you know, listen, Cam Irving has not been a durable guy in his career, so we'll see. I talked

to him in Indy. He said, part of that is. Part of that is keeping on weight and staying and the three oh five three oh a three tin range as opposed to getting down under three hundred. You know when they think, you know, the coaching staff is keeping a close eye on that, and they honestly believe with the scheme they want to play being a little more so on blocking that his athleticism, his feet help him. Again, That ain't me saying it, it's them, and and they

are increasingly defensive about him. I mean, when you talk to coaches about cam Irving, it's like, hey, wait a minute, he's okay. You know, they're you know, up on the balls of their feet saying, I don't know why everybody thinks he stinks, but he he doesn't in our mind. Well, And and that's I mean, that's a that's a product of no one's actually really seen him. I me, in terms of the out you know listeners out there, it's just you know, they're you know, seeing what grades they

took from people. A lot of this kind of stuff. But you know what someone said from Kansas City from three years ago. I mean, but I mean I think three years ago in Kansas City weighed two eighty five and was playing guard. So but your point about him, I mean, you know, he does need to get on the field, you know, like the the injury stuff is and not that you know a guy is just one guy is gonna be more injury prone than another. You know,

sometimes things just happened. But at the same time, like you know, you do need to have feel like he's going to be a guy that can be there, can play sixteen games or seventeen games there. Um. You know, we haven't seen him a ton, you know, inter minute spurts so far in camp, and we're getting pretty close to the time. I mean, Matt's talked about this all offseason that you reach a certain point in the in the preseason where you want to find your best five,

your best five. He keeps saying your best five, and it certainly appears at this moment that his best five includes cam Irving, Pat al Fly, Matt Paradis, John Miller, Taylor Moten. Now Matt really likes him, some dentist daily what he call him the other day, a uniquely powerful guard you know, which I thought was an interesting turn

of phrase. And Brady Christensen looked good. The other day in the preseason game, Deonte Brown had a really good first game, and seeing those two together on the right side, I think fuels a little more of that. Well Taylor's so what do you do with him? Um? You know? But Brady I think jumped in and played left guard a little bit in the second half of that game, um, and looked all right, didn't He hadn't played a lot of guard in his life, but he looked okay at it.

But I I like, and again, everybody's got a type. I like my guards big and massive and able to move people. And John Miller is one of those kind of guys. And so it was weird today John Miller kind of got rocked back and knocked on his back a little bit. And it's like John Miller never gets knocked on his back. He's big boy. And Deante Brown's

kind of that way too. So when you see big guys like Daily, like Brown, like John Miller in the middle, it gives you a little, you know, something resembling hope that they're at least moving in the right direction. There. The thing we used to joke with Max about back in the day to kind of make a little more light here Darren is that whenever he would write about someone like he would kind of have the Madden curse, Max's Madden curse. Yeah, it does that now apply to you?

I hope not. I hope not either. But you know, we feel monastic article about our guy panashk last week, and you know, and then yeah, I mean, and you know what you know when you go into this situation like that, that the Mike pana Shoots of the world or panashoots. Sorry Panas Shook gets heavy on the shoe. Um, but uh. And we got a lot of nice comments from our readers in Poland and and that's always good when we can expand the fan base a little bit.

But you know, going in and and he knows, I mean, and he knew that he was a long shot to make this roster. When you're when you're a practice squad defensive lineman and the first thing the coach tells you in the all season is have you ever played center? Yeah? I mean, you're change. It's is a long term stability on the roster. Not great, but it does speak And I think he's such a neat kid and I would

love to see him get another shot somewhere. Unfortunately for him, he got hurt in the indie joint workouts and didn't get a chance to play someday. So when he was waved, he was waved with an injury settlement. And you know, I hope he's able to get back in somebody's camp because he has the kind of work ethic. He has the kind of you know, Matt calls it that brand. I mean, he's that brand kind of guy because he works, because he grinds, because you knew every day he was

showing up to get after it. This weekend, first home game for the preseason, Raven's coming in. It should be pretty exciting if to have seven o'clock home game and hopefully, uh this is kind of Will putting on his marketing hat. Um. You know, all all of our fans hopefully this weekend will actually be able to to watch some of it. Yeah, and I'll tell you what I circled back. If you are not watching the Carolina Panthers Television Network preseason broadcast,

what is wong with you? We're talking about Unfiltered eighty nine. And so this this time. We've got to make sure that it works. We'll get it out there and if you can't, if you can't find it on your TV, listen online, Panthers dot Com, Panthers app. It's there and Steve Smith is incredible. My mom called me and she said she was listening from the kitchen and she's like, I think he just called somebody stupid. Yeah, yeah, that's him.

That's a boy. He um. You know, I loved Steve's energy about this because he has approached broadcasting the way he approached playing football. And I and I mean that by saying he takes it very seriously. He's passionate about doing a good job, improving the people he can do it. So, I mean he's he's out there watching practice and getting into granular football. But it's that personality. I mean, it's eighty nine. Man. You never know what's gonna fall out

of that mouth. I don't think he knows a lot of times. I mean, listen, are there lines Steve's got teed up and ready to go that he knows he's gonna drop in at a certain time. Probably so, But that's part of his charm because even though you think you can't say that on TV. He says it anyway, because it's that's our guy. He's he's he's fascinating and and he's so much fun. And I think, you know not that preseason football isn't the most serious enterprise on

planet Earth right now, but he makes it fun. And sometimes I think when people try to get caught up in some of the minutia of the game and here's the score, and here's the down and distance, you lose it. But Steve, Steve's talking ball and and that's his element, and that's what he's great at, and that's why it's so much fun for me. I mean, listen, Ordinarily I would not circle back and rewatch a broadcast of a

preseason game that I had already watched one time. But listening to Steve again, that was like, Okay, that's worth the price of admission, right there? Are you gonna do it again? Sure? Why why wouldn't you give our readers even more Sunday joy as they come back and hear what's deep set on Saturday? Exactly? The best of eighty

nine is a thing now on Panthers. So, um, if you've got tips for the best of eighty nine send them to us, preferably with the game time and everything flagged, so we can go back in our DVR and find them quickly. But yeah, I mean, I just think it's tremendous fun for everybody. And when you've got somebody who means as much of the organization as he does, Man, this was a no brainer, and I think it's going really well for a guy who's done it exactly one time.

So tomorrow, last day of training camp. Yeah, I can't believe we've already reached this point, But I want your best moments of the eight five experience. I'm trying to avoid the I eighty five experience as much as I can. It's actually, frankly kind of miserable. I have taken to getting off of eighty five as soon as I can. You cross state line in Blacksburg, get on Highway twenty nine and take the back roads in Man, it's a

lot less stress that way. What's your what's your favorite town between Blacksburg, Gaffney and Pens or Lickety Creek for that matter. Wow, I didn't even know Lickety Creek and it's it's it's real quick in between Gaffney and cow pens. It's just literally just a bridge. That's pretty cool. I mean, I just like I I was driving that road the other night and saw a barbecue shack with a woodpile outside it. And that's how you know a barbecue shack

is good. If they've got a woodpile, the barbecue is going to be good, um, and not just cooked on gas. So if you've got a wood pile outside barbecue shack, I'm probably gonna stop. It was closed on Sunday night the other week when I went past, But uh yeah, I mean that's the good stuff right there. I mean, you hate, I hate giving up a chance to drive by the p ch oid, But man, I'm I'm getting too old for this. I don't need the stress in

my life for Constant five construction. And you know, I would also be remissed to get through this episode without saying God bless Matt Rule for the self awareness. You know. The day in press conference, he was asked about his offensive line, and he said, now we're kind of like I eighty five coming down here, we're under construction. I was like, wow, Matt, did you read the comments on that one? Yeah? I imagine that one got pretty good.

I Uh, I would have said it's more like Exit three, a off to seventy but uh but yeah, under construction, that works. But hopefully Matt gets his offensive line straightened out sooner than the State of South Carolina gets eighty five up and running again. I asked Kristen on her way down what she listens to, and she says she's a drake person in the morning, in an audio book person on the way home in the afternoons. What about

you you? I tend to get in the car. I mean, I've got satellite radio in the car, so I've got, you know, the five preset stations that are always there. But I was scanning through the other night, just trying to get through it. I mean, it's like I said,

it gets a little stressfulhen you need to undwined. But uh yeah, I'm a satellite radio guy, so usually Outlaw country or Classic Rewind or Ozzie's Bone Yard, which sounds weird when you say you want to relax while you're driving, but every now and then you just need a little motor head in your life. Oh my gosh, Darren. So we're wrapping up camp tonight and we're doing it the best way possible with a digital party. What was what? What's your favorite moment of of getting to hang out

with us young inns. It's so cool and I swear I think people think I'm making this up and being a company man or being corny or whatever. But being in a room with all these people we work with energizes me. It's like training. I mean it's training camp for us too. You get to know your co workers at a different level. You know, I walked in here

and didn't really know a thing about Chanelle. I didn't know a thing about Kyle Toot, I didn't know a thing about Alex And now I at least know something about these people, and you know what makes them tick, their idiosyncrasies, what they're really good at. And these people are really good at the things they do. She Neel Smith Walker is an incredible photographer. You guys should follow her on all the Instagrams and social media's. She is amazing at what she does and she got a little

sass about and that's what I like about. We were we were talking the other night in Indy and and something came up about getting in fights when you were a kid, and somebody as Chanelle if she had ever been in a fight, and she said, nobody's ever tried me. We're all like, dang you, I'm not trying that, and we're definitely not now. So, uh, it's tremendous fun. I mean all the minor inconveniences. Listen, do I want to

sleep on a dormbed one more night? I do not. Uh. Do I want to sleep in a dorm room with a thermostat that's stuck at sixty seven degrees? I do not. That's too cold. Uh, that's not enough heats in my room at night. So you know, all that stuff kind of fades away. But this is it's a cool experience for us as a digital team because we're in the same place. We see the work, you know, and it's

not just mean meeting new new people. They now know how I operate and what I'm doing, and I know what Kyle's doing, and you know, it's just just like with the football team, got a better sense of your team and the people you were with, and that can only be good for the product. That's it. Yeah, Well, another episode forty two of The Happy Half Hour in the books, just like this training camp and I'm not

going to tell them all the stories about you after hours. No, we're not gonna We're not gonna do Spartanburg after Dark. That might be a that might be an extra bonus episode to subscribe and pay for that one. Yeah, you know, maybe you could sponsor the Happy half hour. Yeah, we'll put that behind a paywall and you know, put something on it. Yeah, we'll definitely do Spartanburg after Dark stories

in a different format. Well for Kristen Balboni, who's not here with us, but here because she's on special special assignment. You can see her all weekend on the huddle, on the game, broke Gas, on the radio, everywhere. She'll be around for daring It. I'm will Brian. Thanks guys,