Happy Half Hour Episode 88: Setting The Tone

team that was hot. Texta, It's time for the Happy half Hour with your friends Kristen Balboni, Augusta Stone, and Darren Gann. That's right, it's that time of the week. It's the Happy half Hour podcast with your friends Augusta, Darren and Kristian. And fittingly, the Happy half Hour Podcast is brought to you by Prowling Vineyards Napa Valley, which is the official wine brand and wine club of the

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Vineyards dot com. Darren Augusta. In the time since we last spoke on this podcast, the Panthers broke to franchise records, played the coldest home game in Panthers history, became legitimate playoff contenders, We celebrated a major holiday, the team had a significant injury to their secondary and brought back former All Pro Josh Norman. It's a shame that we don't have anything to talk about, guys. It's always so boring, like, oh my goodness. Yeah, and this week gets into like

the top eight of the two thousand two Carolina Panthers weeks. Right, it's uh, yeah, there's a lot maybe not even the busiest week that we've had. Is a great point, Aran, There's a lot of stuff going on, but this is this is wild and again you buys your ticket, you comes to seize the show, and you never know what you're gonna get. And this year has con ain't multitude. It's just been one thing after another. And and like said you, you just spanned all the emotions of the

week because it goes from hey, everything's great. Playoffs, dude, Jacy Horn, but Judge Norman and we're back. So it's uh, yeah, it's an interesting time to be sure, and you know, it's just kind of hard to process this stuff every week. But what you keep seeing consistently is a team that you know, everybody I think six weeks ago when we started invoking playoffs and hey, believe it or not, even though they're three and eight, they've still kind of got

a shot at this thing. Um, everybody's sort of pointed and left, and now it's real and now people are starting to see that, oh, this team does things well, maybe they do have a shot. So it's been fun to watch it has I want to go back and we got to relive these these records that were broken on Saturday. We got to talk about the cold this

of the game. But you know, just for all the fans that approach fandom the way I approach fandom, which is pessimism and worry right before my team plays a big game during Speaking of j C. Horn, can you give us the latest on on where that injury is. Broke his wrist in the game, right Brokeer's wrist during

the game, had surgery on Tuesday afternoon here in town. Uh. Steve Wilkes said yesterday they will reevaluate in ten to twelve days, okay, And even with sportswriter math, I know that that takes us to a time before the Saints game. So no j C this week. But if you beat Tom Brady in the box this week and go into Week eighteen with a shot to go to the playoffs, never know, and how does how does that work? Again?

Like I said, if i'm if I'm the fan, not only my pessimistic I'm also wondering about how that works with a broken wrist. Even me right as a sideline reporter, I could tell that his wrist was broken when it happened. I'm pretty good on evaluating the high ankle sprains. But with the broken wrist, how does that work if he's going to potentially be able to play for the Saints game. Well, and I think you have to preface everything with every

injury is different. But we did have one of these in two thousand and fifteen, and some guy named Thomas Davis him who broke an arm during the NFC Championship game. Cast it up played Super Bowl. He didn't even come out of the game. Now when he now, when he took that cast off after the Super Bowl, his arm looked like the football they just played with. It was gross. But in augustus starting to fade over here. I don't I don't think medical talk is where she thrives. But um,

it's possible. And again, I don't know the specifics of suh j C's injury, and they're not going to talk about him. Frankly, they shouldn't. It's his business. Um, But if there is an ability to club it up and go play, I think some people we'll try to. But it depends on the severity of the surgery. You know, what they had to put in there, how far up the arm they had to go to do things, that kind of thing, I mean, and all that sort of stuff. That Jac's personal medical business that if he wants to

share with us sometime, he's welcome to. But it at least exists as a possibility in a theoretical sense. I mean, we don't know. Again, again, any anything can happen to a guy. And you know, even Brian Burns said, Burns is as close to him as anybody in that locker room. And Burns is like if he's too serious. I don't want him to come absolutely, So I think the guy's

health obviously his first and foremost. But if it's a possibility, you know, I think, you know, even in a game planning situation going against the Saints, even if you think he's got a shot to play, that's one more thing Dennis Allen's got to think about. So I think that's probably a factor next week too. But it's like, at least there's a chance, that's right, And I appreciate the context of of course, we are, as you said, Darren, not saying that, oh yeah, he If he doesn't, then

that means that he's not doing something. I just was wondering the context around what does it look like to potentially be available with a broken risk, And I think that that really gives everyone listening context and best case scenario. Right. Of course, although we we absolutely hope that he takes care of himself and his health, J C. Horne is going to be a part of caritall for far beyond next week's game against the Saints, and he's important to

that future. So you don't want to do anything that's going to jack him up by trying to play one Hero game now. Absolutely, and uh, you know, talking to Steve Wilkes yesterday, UM, he said, look, I have confidence in the guys who were there. He mentioned Keith Taylor is going to have to step up t J. Carey. But there is now another name that is in the mix potentially currently practice squatter, thirty five year old cornerback by the name of Josh Norman Augusta. You know, I

I know Josh. I covered him at while I was at Fox Sports. I've covered you know, the fan of the team before I got this job. Darren of course goes way back with him. What's been your initial impression, UM, as our as our new b of of Josh Norman exactly. No, it was super exciting. So I loved just his his interview yesterday because I felt like, no matter what the question was, he had something very interesting to say. UM, very pleasant kind of guy, and it's it's really funny

because like the experience he's had here. I mean, he was cracking jokes with the reporters like David Newton, a ESP and all of them, just going and laughing with him and and talking with him, and it was it was cool. It was really I mean, he walks in and he has this air about him. He was hugging guys on the practice field like it's it was really

like a homecoming of sorts. And the most interesting thing I thought what he said yesterday was like one of the first things that he was asked when he was talking about things that had changed and he remembered all these small details. He talking about how he had a memory in every room in this place, and how the doors to the locker room, you know, weren't in the back like they are now, and they didn't connect to the weight room, and he's like everything so different, and

it's I just I love. I didn't know that the doors didn't always open, he said, I don't know. He was talking about like doors and configurations, but they have remodeled some things in the locker room in certain places that used to be other places. It was just awesome, Like I loved, Like, you know, he's one of those guys you could tell like takes in things and has

like a very big observational sort of mind. And so I was just fascinated by because it hasn't been that long, but you know, he's talking about all these little details and all the memories he has, and how he was a barista in Atlanta before he came back here, and just all these little things. I just like when I wrote the article, just compilations of quotes. The whole time, I was like, I don't even know where to stop.

Everything is golden. So I almost transcribed the whole twelve minute thing because I was like, I don't know where to edit. It was brilliant. He's uh, he's a real one. Josh is you know what Josh is? John is fun and it's okay for football to be fun, and I and I think it kind of fits with you know, we're gonna spend a lot of time we already have, uh talking about a guy who's probably going to get activated for Sunday, but not I mean, there's no game.

We assume that's the reason you bring him in is in the hope of being activated off the practice squad for the game. But we'll see I and as the wet blanket of reason, I feel like every now and then I have to point out he's thirty five years old, hadn't played in the year, and went fast to begin with, so he's probably not a guy you want sprinting downfield forty yards at a time after Mike Kevin's I don't know that that's a good matchup necessarily, but can he

still around with Julio Johnny, you know? And there are things where I think Josh adds value to this team, whether he plays five ten snaps or not. I mean I asked him on Monday when he came in and signed, and he was still big eyed when he walked down that hall towards Samir Suleman's office to sign his contract. The other day, he's kind of moon. I'd like, I said, you didn't think you'd ever be back down this all, Digiti, So I really didn't. Um, and thinking about thinking about

that stuff. Then I asked him, I said, in fifteen, you're last year here. They bring in a guy named Peanut Tilman to play his last year in the league. And Peanut was a good player during the regular season, but peanuts value to that team was in what he shared with guys like Josh, and so Josh still, I mean, he's a cornerback. He still believes he can play like I'm still a playmaker. Um got his chest out a little bit, but he understands that that's part of the

reason he's here too. I mean this, this Panthers defense is still very very young and still has a lot of guys who are still learning how to play football, and so four cats like you know j C, if he's well. Although j C is such a different animal because he grew up in the game and you know, he's got a different mentality than most. But guys like Keith Taylor, guys like Jeremy Chen having a Josh around

them is gonna be good for their development. In the same way having s to find Gilmore around here last year was helpful. But I think, you know, whatever whatever it is the kids say these days, I think Josh has a dog inside of him or or something that is what he brings to the room. Yeah, and Steve Foaks told me, he said, look, if if we feel like he can go, he said, he wants to make sure he's in game shape. He said, bab optimistically, fifteen

to twenty plays. Deren you were probably more measured at five to ten. So it's not as you said, it's there's gonna be no no saviors is coming to to save the secondary. It's going to have to be by committee. It's going to have to be these these younger guys, these key Taylor's, t J Carey stepping up. Uh. Josh Norman helping if and where he can for this game. But as you said, he brings a lot of value to this team from a leadership perspective, from having been there,

and that's what he told me. Look, it's just a mindset. It's a mindset that Steve Wilkes has instilled in in me for years, and I want to bring that to these guys and make sure that they are ready to go for this big game. You want to know what else Josh springs. Honestly, during a week when all the talk would have ordinarily been about, Oh my god, you guys are playing to get Tom Brady, Oh my god, you guys have the playoffs on the line. Oh my god,

this is so much pressure. You've never done this before. We've now spent three days talking about Josh Norman off. It really does. I think it's a collateral benefit to this too, because it keeps this from being a oh my god, changes up the news cycle a little about does That's a really good point. So, gus So you mentioned this, and I talked to him in in uh in my interview as well, I got him right off the field yesterday and I said what were you doing?

Because he was talking about the importance of the number six, which is his new number. And I said, what were you doing six days ago? And he said, I was a barista at a coffee shop. And he told me about all these different drinks he was making, so um. He said his specialty was he could do a great double espresso. He could do an oat milk latte. There was something involving sweet potatoes, which I didn't quite understand.

But there's a new type of I don't know if it's a milk or some sort of a substance, but sweet potatoes, which I thought was very interesting. But he knows his stuff, there's no doubt about it. So in that spirit, I have to know what what are your coffee orders when you get something. I know you had the lemonade and coffee for a little bit Augusta. But Darren, let me just guess with Darren black coffee? Yeah, Josh,

can you make truck stop black? If you've got a pot that's been sitting around all I wanted to be burned a little bit. You know. I'm a black coffee person too, though, that's about it, Augusta, what's your order? So right now, it's very normal. I actually have one with me. It's three sugars and oat milk, just original coffee. I do prefer coffee to espresso, though I find espresso is a little aggressive, so like, I don't get express great drinks. I get coffee and then I mix it.

But I'm I'm pretty normal right now. I have like when I'm making at home, I have like this vanilla soy milk that I use. But yeah, I love that. I will say I love that alternative milks are big and coffee. Now people are talking about eat milk and stuff as a vegan plug it um. But yeah, no, I love that. So yeah, no, it was really cool. I was watching your interview with him, and I loved like here and I'm talking about all the lot days and stuff. That's something I would love to learn to

do someday. Three sugars. He can teach you three sugars. Three sugars, big buddy, the alef energy. Absolutely, But I will drink like that or the espresso right And I'm with august on that the espresso makes me feel a little shaky and feel weird. That my decisions first thing in the morning. You know, there's a come down off of it, so I'd go with the three sugars. Usually

other things to regret. So we've gone all this time and have not even talked about the way in which the Panthers dominated the Lions on Christmas Eve, the coldest home game in franchise history. And you know, as Steve Wilkes told me yesterday when I was talking to him by the game, he said, you know we are looking forward now, right, um, And of course we are, but

I do think it is, Um. It is indicative of the way in which, of course they would like to play against Tampa and against the Saints, and if they go further than that. I mean, it's a great formula for dominating pretty much anyone if you can rush for over three and what how many yards were three? Um? And then and then the week before you saw the Steelers game, which Steve Wolks will say, we got embarrassed, right,

So there's your that's your spectrum, right. Um. The thing that I took away from this game standing there on the sidelines two things. Number One, talking to Steve Wilkes in the studio last Wednesday, we do our TV interview talk every week, and I said, what do you do to come back from the Steelers game? And he said, we've got to set a new line. A scrimmage on both sides of the ball is going to start up front. Would do all the things that he has preached to

this team. And when you rush for like twenty four yards in the Steelers game, you go okay, all right. They came out and did exactly what he said they needed to do. They executed on the game plan. And the second thing I saw, um was the amount of confidence that that gave them early to come out and and run for like seventy yards in your first two plays,

right courtesy of Chewba Hubbard. Um. It was just incredibly impressive, and you saw the confidence build throughout the game on both sides of the ball because they were able to come out and establish that identity, not just establish it, but establish it early augusta right. I mean, it was just it was neat to see because they you couldn't tell them anything. By like the second quarter, they believed in what they're doing exactly and they're so into the details.

I have a story dropping later today where I was talking with the running backs because I practice, I've noticed and you've probably seen it too, where after every single rep that the offense takes, it's always Jeff Nicks in the three running backs and they're always going under their watching the tape. And they do this every single practice,

every single rep. So it'll be like they'll go under the tent five or six different times during team periods and it's great and they've gotten into the nitty gritty details and you can see that it's like working out right because it's it's like when you have something that's working well, it's like we'll find those little bitty fine tune things. And I will say one thing about confidence.

The thing about that game was I think Tuba's first run the first play from scrimmage went like thirty yards, which is more than they got in the entire Pittsburgh game. So it's one of those things you sit there and you're like, hmm, so today it's going to be different, and you kind of knew that already. The tone would be like just it was just different, but um yeah, just getting into the nitty gritty details, like kind of polishing up things that they already have that are working well.

I think it's not surprising, But what it is is it's like, Okay, they have a formula, they know how to get to the formula. And then I think also with the offensive line, the theme that I had just talking with those guys. They were so embarrassed after the Steelers game. They wanted to come out and be like, Okay, that's not who we actually are and make a statement.

And they did it. They did it against a team that was hot, trending, hot, winners of six of their last seven coming into that one, and that offense had been on a roll. They hadn't turned it over. The that offense was the reason the lines were in that conversation. And you know, Ben Johnson, their thirty five year old offensive coordinators, one of those hot young offensive minds that everybody wants to talk to in the off season. And you know, Steve Wilkes may eventually be competing for a

job with that guy. And he's got a pretty good you know, bullet point to put on his power point display for that game. Oh yeah, Ben Johnson, I remember him. Yeah, we yards on his team and kept them, you know, from doing the thing that they had been doing. But hey, I think too that operates. That confidence piece of it

operates at a lot of levels. I mean, the the offensive line we wrote about that Augusta wrote about it after the game is just a Okay, this is who we are again, this is what we want to do again. And where that branches off. Falso is they didn't touch Sam Donald all day. The Lions didn't lay a finger on Sam Donald. And here's another thing that you can read about on Panthers dot com. Um Sam Donald pretty good, not not just, but actually pretty good. And I and

I feel bad. And I told Sam yesterday in the locker room when we were finished talking, I said, I feel almost bad saying it this way because it sounds like a slight It sounds like we're damning him with faint praise. But Sam has actually been better than just take care of it and don't screw it up. And he's made plays downfield and you've seen that over the last couple of weeks. There have been some of those

shots to DJ. I mean that touchdown he threw to DJ against Detroit was one of those balls that was placed in a spot. And if you remember back to New England joint practices, the three of us were standing in a corner of an end zone and Sam Donald, back when Baker Mayfield was in the midst of winning a quarterback competition, Sam Donald threw a ball to Derreck right in the corner of an end zone, and we're all like, my god, Sam just threw that all into

a space about the thing of beauty. I mean, Christian McCaffrey ran across the field to bear hug Derrek. I mean, it's and of course there were no cameras because Bill Belichick and the Patriots, but it was one of those things where you go, oh, my goodness, I still remember exactly where we were standing. Yes, And and so Sam

has played better as a result. I mean, and that's where this thing's all coming together a little bit, because you know, nothing's been settled at the quarterback position, change coaches in the middle of the year, all the other stuff. But right now, the way this offense is dialed up, it is working, and there's something to be said for that. I mean, the running game feeds off that offensive line.

Sam feeds off having time to throw, because Sam with time can stand and look around and find the things he's supposed to do and not do the things he's not supposed to do, and it's all working together at

a pretty interesting level right now. And you know, we've got one more game to see if are one game this week to see if it's all gonna matter absolutely and and at least you think the confidence portion of this is taken care of because Augusta, as you said, that what they did on really in all three phases. Right let me look at any baneral seventeen made field goals after that game in Atlanta. The defense is is playing well and doing what they're supposed to be doing.

For the most part. The offense, like you said, this is the identity they want to have. But to come out on Christmas Eve in a game that did not reach above twenty six degrees and to set a franchise record for most yards of offense in a single game in Panthers history, and then also the rushing record which we just talked about, is impressive any way you slice it.

It is unexpected. It is surprising because you just don't expect anyone to to break records on any given day, and certainly not in a game where those are your conditions. And by the way, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out where Augusta and I were sitting in that game. It was a little breezier than normal, probably got down to like sixty four to feel my toes two hours after the game. Tell me how many layers Kristen BALBONI was. Let's see, I had four or five shirt slash jackets

on two pairs of pants. It's just two, and then two socks, boots, the footwarmers in the boots, um, you know that attached to the bottom of your feet, and then the handwarms. I lost a glove. I don't know where it is. I'm still out on the field somewhere, and so that one you know about halftime, could not find it anywhere, so I had to go without the

gloves there. So yeah, you know, at a certain point, like I said, you just couldn't feel the toes um, and then you just kind of you just kind of accepted at that point, do you I know, when I am out in the cold too long, at a certain point, your fingers stopped working. Does your voice still work the same after four hours? The only thing that's working at twenty six degrees, that's it. So luckily that's my That's

the thing I need to work. But yes, um no, if I were a writer out there, that would be tough because the fingers weren't working. Great. Um, I will say, though, thank you, I appreciate. I've lived in Connecticut, I've lived in Chicago, so I was ready for this one. I pulled out all the old winter gear. But as a personal point of pride, you know, being in the media, I don't ever cross into the football box right where the benches are and all of that, but that is

where the heaters are. There are no heaters on the other side of of where the benches are, like back behind the benches or over on on the side. Um for the end zones, of course, no heaters there. The heaters are for the players. But I told myself for this game, I said, look, if it's it's bad enough, you just go stand in front of a heater for a second and pop right back out. I did not use the heaters personal point of pride there, So I

just wanted to say that, Yeah, I don't know. I don't know about that, but you know, sixty four and breezy up in the press box does sound tough for you. Congratulations on getting through it. Uh. Absolutely, Before we go, I just I have to read this. Um, I love reading all both of everything that you write. But Darren's asked the old guy. One of the responses in in Darren's column this week, just it just made me grin from ear to ear and I need to know more.

So someone asked what you got for Christmas? And I just have to read this paragraph. The first answer is way more than I deserve from a handcrafted Today. I give my all for Appalachian States sign for the front porch to a sweet new ted Lasso T shirt, a tasteful monkey tie I'll wear to my next formal occasion, A selection of the finest meats and cheeses and coffees, and a furry Chewbacca can hugger that's about to see some action because it's so cold. I am extremely blessed.

I just I love that so much. And before we go, I cannot leave this podcast studio without asking you about the monkey tie. Tell me more. It's this is actually a really tasteful monkey to It's a black you've said, it's a black tie with a very subtle monkey pattern, a repeated monkey pattern. It's like it's almost like a polka dot tie. From a distance, but when you get it's like, oh, that's a monkey. And now that you say that, I have to say the way in which

you wrote it, I did not. I thought the tasteful might have just been, you know, um, a little bit of a fabrication. But it does sound really nice. Said, Yeah, I got to find a picture of this some time later, or take one to night when I get home. Yeah, this is something I'll be breaking out for formal wear. This is a good one. This is a dark suit kind of kind of deal. I can't wait to see it, Darren Might, I'll wear it on the plane this week. I think you show the good luck monkey tie. We

love it. Well. Thank you everyone so much for listening to the Happy Half Hour podcast. We'll see you next week.