The Group Chat Episode 7: A Bunch of Yankees

I feel that way. Just it's mainly just like man, I hope people like this. All of this and much more, including Southern accents. On this week's the Group Chat. You've been added to the Group Chat with your friends Caroline, can, Max Sensen, and Will Brian. Welcome to the two thousand nineteen preseason super Bowl. We've made it. You say this week doesn't count, doesn't matter? Try again, ladies and gentlemens, this matters. You guys are both smiling. Get after me

about this cheesy open, but this week matters. I don't care who you are. Come on, it matters, people. Everybody's gonna having the Super Bowl parties. Yeah, where take pictures at your Super Bowl parties, post them, let me see your best who are you cheering for? We need to do that. Now. This is a This is a big week. It really is. I know some people are like, let's

just get to the regular season. But I was even talking to coach very earlier this week and he, I mean, he's saying the whole like, all right, one more to go, but just like this is a big deal for us to get out healthy, Like this is the depth. This is what matters when you get later into this season of if your depth is going to be there. This is a big deal. And for the guys that you know want jobs next week, that too. This uh, this game last year, the very first play of the game,

the opening kickoff, Elijah Hood broken. Come on, we're knocking on all we're knocking on all the What we're saying is that if you're knock on, what if you're with me? We don't want that to happen. Yeah no, but I mean that's the point, right, that's why we're watching, That's

why we're here. Yeah. Yeah. The fourth preseason game is always interesting because every year you kind of hear like there's three or four or five spots up for grabs, um, And yeah, the guys at the bottom of the roster are fighting for those final spots, But it's also a body of work thing, right, So it's it's like, yes, you want to play well in this game, but the coaches and management have been evaluating these guys all spring, summer leading up to this game too, So it's not

like this this one game is for everything. Um, it's a piece of the puzzle. Uh. And certainly some of these guys want to come out here and whether it's you know, getting into the end zone, creating a takeaway, whatever it is, you want to end on the right note. But I think it's important to remember too that this is this is the end of a very long summer for these guys, and it's not just about what happens

to night. It's about what happened in practice three weeks ago, it's about what happened in the first few weeks of the preseason. It's all those things and this is kind of the culmination of that. And obviously they're going to get more reps and they've ever gotten in a game sitting before, so this is your chance to truly which

puts it on film as well. For other teams. You have to have to have that on film, both for the Panthers in the future and for other teams that are you know, looking at these roster changes this weekend. To be able to go back to, oh this, this is what this guy did on Thursday night, just three days ago. You know, you can kind of be fresh in people's minds. Yeah, I agree, but there are still

so many question marks that these coaches are asking. So they've put together this great body of work, but these coaches and the scouts get staff and you know, Marty, they have big decisions coming and I think there's a lot of still question marks. Mean very ran through the positions that he's looking at, and I mean when he got done, I said, you've got enough time for that, yeah you know, and he was like, yeah, yeah, yeah,

you know yes. But I think that's like the interesting part is it's not like you know, they are they feel good about their starters a lot of places, but it is the depth the guys we're going to see out here. So I mean, you go out here and have a really bad game, what have you done for

me lately? You know? And so what will was saying to you know, oftentimes it's not just about who's playing on this field we're looking at right now, but the scouting staff has been working all summer and it's like, who else might be out there if someone isn't going to make that team, that might be able to help our team. I mean, that's that's all part of this final preseason game, as well as the days leading up

to that. Yeah, things are about to get really really interesting, especially once you start talking about what you just said of all the other players that are out there. When this roster does get cut down to fifty three that back you know, four five spots are very much a revolving door. So it'll be interesting to see what happens. That will happen on Friday and Saturday are kind of

those cut down days around the NFL. Um Eric question had said there's two times a year that he hates about this business, and it's that, you know, day after it's that Monday, Black Monday, when all the coaches will get fired and when they have to cut guys and and a lot of them will not find their place again on an NFL roster and say it's tough. Well, Graham had a good point too. He has no idea what it's like to be on a fifty three man roster because as long as these rookies have been here,

it's been a big team. He came from college and it was a big team. He kind of said, yeah, I'm not sure what's coming. I don't know what this is like. And it really is, um a crazy deal if you think about it. But in the spirit of this preseason game and what is to come, what we've been talking about, we're going to pick one player and we're just going to We're gonna see if we can predict maybe where they will be, what will happen. We're gonna do this, and all of you out there gonna

hold us accountable. We will hold ourselves accountable because we're gonna table this and come back to this, uh prediction that we are having here of these players. UM, I'm interested to see what you guys have to say and who you're going to pick. So let's go Max first, our resident Yankee. We're gonna get to that later. We're gonna get to this point later, but we believe that he's a closet Yankee. So go ahead with your pick and we'll be back with more on that later. I

don't I want to get into that right now. My tongue hold. I hope, I hope I sound okay right now. I'm not too a couple of y'alls in there. You just come from my radio voice in the last episode here, I'm kind of nasially, I guess everything subjective anyway. So the the premise for this, what I took it as was like, Okay, this is fourth preseason game. Who am I? What story? What stories out there? Am I are we rooting for? Which guys you know, have a compelling story

to tell personally how they've got to this point? And I think I'm sure you guys are gonna have great ones to j V and Elliott to me, has a great story. And here was a guy who signed Layton free agency, signed like kind of in the heels of that after Jerald McCoy signed, so another former buccaneer McCoy had signed, and obviously the huge deal was made out of that. No one really paid much attention to the Elliotts.

Oh and by the way, a couple of days later we signed another team of baby Buck No one knew, but this kid he picked off Cam Newton last year for his first career interception. So he may have remembered the name Um. But he's at your classic underdog story. A guy who came out of high school, wasn't even playing college football for a few years before he then

got into what was it will junior college route. Yeah, he went to Tallahassee Community College, community didn't even go on a college visit in recruiting, found his way to Florida State as a walk on, was on the scout team, and then finally got one year on scholarship, played for the Seminoles, and now finds himself, you know, in the NFL. This is the second team he's trying to play in the regular season for UM. So he's a good kid. I think he's really taken well to the secondary room.

The guys like him. He's a playmaker, always seems to just be around the ball. Uh. And look he you know, with the amount of time the Panthers defense is gonna have to be in the nickel this year, whoever is gonna wins that small nickel job is gonna be out there a lot. Uh, and it very well might be j V and Elliott UM. And so I think he's He's done a nice job as a guy who even like those of us, didn't know anything about right when

we came into training camp. Really and now here we are on the precipice of him perhaps being out there with the starters depending on what defense they come out in Week one against the Rams. Let's give people who is he competing with when they're watching on here, who are some other guys small nickel job has pretty much been battled all summer between he Korn Elder, Cole Luke, and then where Shawn Galden has pretty much settled into

the big nickel roles. So like when they go, you'll hear the coaches be like the Buffalo package and the like Buffalo nickel is what Rashan has been lying up bad. It is. It's like a bigger body. If a tight end or a big wide receiver is kind of in the slot area, they like Rashan matched up against him, and then you've got like your oldbaslies for instance, who we saw in the Bills preseason game would be an example of somebody where okay, you want a smaller shift

to your guy. That's what j V Nelly is trying to prove he can be cool. What do you got Joey Sly everyone I mean and and his you know his story that that Bill told on on Panthers dot Com a couple of weeks ago. Just you know that every time he hits a kick, he puts up six fingers. Um, I don't know for if for people have seen that kind of out in the game. And that's for his his brother who passed away in two thousand and fourteen, Um, who was at Salisbury was you know, really you know,

trying to come into his football career. You know, had had had this disease and passed away. And um, so he's he's had this foundation, the Sly Strong six Foundation, and he pretty much made a promise to his brother that you know, I promise, I'm gonna work every day of my life to make it to the NFL. And you know, here here he is. He's had the strong preseason and you know, whether it's with with the Panthers or potentially somewhere else, you know, kind of potentially on

the precipice of being on a roster. And you know, here's a guy that last year Virginia Tech, you know, wasn't you know, a big name in the a sec you know, didn't have a great percentage made. But I mean his video when he hit what a seventy yard field goal, you know, he's he can bomb the ball. When they when they did that play that people saw when um Will grew through, uh kind of that that quick pass to get it too, like one second to get him a little bit closer to get his field

goal closer. I'm pretty sure he went over the top of the uprights, like that ball was going into the five hundred level. It was, it was so high. So his story and just kind of who he is in the locker room, who he's been around this team. Um really really fascinating guy and in kind of a really cool story. Well of how kickers they don't get maybe the national headlines. Man new fan bases love a good

kicker gate, and they happened more times than not. They get the national headlines when they miss, right, I'm saying, but that's the that's the using life of a kicker and our offensive lineman. You don't really met, Oh sorry, producer Matt his phone off. He seems to be fine. But like the Bears, like that's just after after their playoff exit, Like the Kickers thing has followed the Bears every day since, so they figure out what they're kicking

situation is going to be. And I feel like the backup kicker always some somehow if they're brought in during the preseason. This happened when I was in Indianapolis. Badger he's now out with the Chargers and he's like they call him the money, the money Badger. His name is Bagley compared to the Badger. Yeah, I'm trying to think of his first name. That's terrible at it all, remember, But that was the thing when he was with the Colts, it was Adam Vinitary. This kid was just coming in

so Adam didn't have to kick during the preseason. And then he does so well, he gets cut. The Chargers take him and now he is one of the faces of their organization and he has the swooped bag hair everything. And then you know it happened here a couple of years ago too. Yeah, he's in Kansas City. So it's always interesting when you see these guys come. I don't think this is the last that we will see of Joey Sly. I just don't know about in Carolina. I

think he will stick around the NFL. I think he's done enough um to kind of be in those circles. But these kickers are crazy because they'll come in, they'll get cut, they may not get picked up again for like weeks, but they need to be able to come in week eight and like go and they're not sitting on practice squads. Yeah, And we're waiting for clarity on this Graham situation, right, I mean, that's something everyone's kind of wondering about right now. And Ron admitted himself he's

quote uneasy about him right now. So they've got to figure out what's going on with Graham and if Graham will be ready to go, and if not, Look, you gotta give Joey Sly credit. All he can do is go out there and make the kicks that he's being asked to make, six or six right now through the preseason, made all his p a t s. He's doing, He's doing what he has to do in this situation to impress the people here, impress people across the league. Yeah,

it is crazy, all right. I'm going with that. We've talked about running backs this entire training camp, preseason, everything, So I'm going with one thing you probably don't talk about much out there. We've got Reggie Bonbon, Reggie by people should start calling him that Reggie Bonbon. Well that's Cam's nickname for him is Bonbon, Reggie bon Bon bonfon who I like number one. He's got a great name. Okay, so he should already be a fan favorite. But here's

the thing that I love about him. I feel like you have CMC obviously, okay, then you have you know holy Field, Like, oh okay, we know that last name. Like that's going to get some people's attention. Scarlett has made this big splash in these last few weeks just of like he was out, he came in, he looked explosive. We love this kid, and then Cameron Artist pain is

he again? Like there's all these storylines around these running backs, and then there's Reggie What like no one's talking about Reggie, but he has the best hands. Coaches have said he has the best hands out of that group and he just became a running back, a full time running back two years ago. Okay, so if he can catch the ball, and then maybe what they're saying about him that isn't greater still developing? Is the run game a part of it of like being able to figure out gaps and

squeeze through the line. Two years, people like give him a little I think he deserves more time to develop there. He played three positions in college three I would people out there can't even make a roster playing one, okay, and he played three. Became at full time run back in two thousand and seventeen. I didn't even know that when I started looking at him. I picked him before knowing all of this about him, So I was like, he's talking about him, like no one's talking about him

because you have all of these other names. I would not be surprised if he's that under the radar running back that makes this roster because he can catch out of the backfield, and he's proven that he has great hands, and I think that is where and if you look at his stats, I mean, he had rushing nine attempts for forty four yards, So that's where it's like, okay, like that's not bad, but it's not jumping out receiving ten receptions for ninety three yards in three games that

he had the biggest game of the New England or the biggest play in the New England game with that seven yards on that, so you can't like remember the name. I don't know what will happen with him, but you have to remember his name because I think when you look at that running back, there's still that was one of the big question marks that this team still has. So I want to see what he's gonna do out

here in this last game. But maybe if you combine a few of the running backs, you get this complete back that can you know, help Christian McCaffrey and take some of those snaps off of him. But I think he deserves more opportunities to prove that he can be a true running back. He's and he's definitely the one out of that group that can come in and most closely resemble the types of packages that you're running with McCaffrey.

You know, he might not obviously execute them to McCaffrey's level, but you can put him potentially in slots or run him out, you know, run Hi out of the backfield in the same sort of looks that you would. You know, if one of those other guys come in, they're more limited in terms of what types of play call you can do. Because I think if you like gave Scarlett, Reggie Bonifon's hands and gave Reggie Bonifon Scarlett. It's like explosiveness,

you would have a complete back. So then that yeah, so then that kind of leads to where is the staff thinking or are they you know? And then I mean bringing the other guys too, of you have ax armor, so he kind of fits into that too, of like, okay, well can we lean on him more in the run game too, you know then offset It's just it's an interesting I think you can kind of plug and play a lot of those players, but I want Reggie Bond Bond Bonafon on this roster next week. I'm writting for

Reggie two. I mean, yeah, like the other positions, he played wide receiver one of them. So that's hence his great hands and the guys his experience in that and quarterback. He was Louisville's quarterback. I love it big time program. Yeah, and yeah, he's not far removed from that, which is pretty crazy. And he's just a different kind of back, Like you don't see six three running backs very much. Reggie's kind of like a longer dude, and he it just looks different with him out there, but he can

move well. I just said, he can catch well, he brings he brings something to the table, he brings something different, So it'll be interesting. There's a lot of those kind of storylines. But you know what all these players are feeling right now? Anxious? Can you imagine like what if

our jobs were like this, like, hey, guys, get anxious broadcast. No, I'm saying anxious for you know, I'm saying like yes in that sense, but I'm saying, like what if it was like, hey, guys, we're gonna need you to come in and work the preseason training camp, got a lot of guys to cover and stuff, but once we hit the regular season, we're just gonna we're just gonna keep the best ones, you know. So, like we're sitting as

could be very last podcast. I mean it could be depending on some of the reviews that you choose to leave on this. However, that's a that's frightening. I do get anxiety about work though. Any time we put out a vlog, I'm sweating. It's a lot of my face when you put it out. Yes, I mean, like getting it together is you get used to it, It's like okay, but when it's like all done and you're gonna sent it out there and you take that like final lookout you're like, wow, that's a lot of my face. Yeah,

that's in the anxiety. I hope people like you get before you publish. If I worked really hard in a story, yeah, I feel that way, just because it's mainly just like, man, I hope people like this. Yeah, that's exactly what it is. And it's just like because I put a lot into it, and like doing what we do creating content, you're you're putting yourself out there in a way like this is

what you've worked on. And it's in social media especially, anybody can immediately say this sucked or you know, people didn't like my shoe. I wish I could have my five minutes back. For sure, people didn't like my shoes last week either didn't like or they loved my shoes. There was no lukewarm feeling about the shoes. So yes, anytime you have published or post, but it feels great when someone says this is a great read that article. Yeah, I mean that is very real. Yeah, high risk, high reward.

What are you anxious about? Will give us something? Um guy? Probably when we have to do a live stream on the site, yes, yes, that that literally literally before the before you know, we've been streaming these preseason games and usually when you do a live stream, you can kind of see stuff in the preview and you can know that it's there, but it has to go up through the NFL and they put the geo gait on it, which means that only people in a certain area can

watch it. So essentially we can't see anything on our end until eight o'clock and it's just like refresh, refresh, refresh, Oh it's there, okay, yeah, pretty much. And that that was very nerve wracking the first couple of times we did that. That is a good one, a non football one that I thought about. It was like your car breaks down and you have to get out the car breaking down story from you. Yes, going back to the well here nothing this apparently really summer or winter really

scarred me. Um And technically that wasn't a breaking down. I was just stuck this one. Like let's say you know something breaks in your house, air conditioning goes out

or something. You must get it fixed, whatever the cost, and that guy's gonna come in and they're gonna be like, yeah, it's fixed, Like great sim of the invoice like or don't and like you're it's stuff like healthcare like and like then it's like his insurance going to cover this, like you know, like it's life threatening, but like a car or your house or stuff like that, Like could I be hot for just a little while? No, so then just pay it. But it's a luxury like medical things.

It's like you have to pay this to live in your home, like you could just be hot. How willing are you to withstand exactly? But then that bill comes and yeah, you gotta pay that. So that gives me anxiety. And I've never owned a home, but I feel like that way. But the car thing one time I just got, and I feel like it's something everybody can relate to. Is when you go to the mechanic, it's like they could say anything anything, Sure, I need this part fixed? Two? Okay,

Like what am I going to say? My uncle tried to give me. He's not technically my uncle, but he's like you know those family members. I don't really family, but I went to college with my dad. He sells cars. He tried to teach me a couple of like lingo words. Yeah, just to go in there and say like, hey, I think blank, blank and blank is wrong. You know, can

you just check it out for me? Probably not what's wrong, but at least I'll call him and say, hey, my car is doing this great, go in and just say this this, so then they feel like you know what you're talking about. So they can't just say like, oh, um, your brakes are squeaking great, you need four new tires. Okay, yeah, that's that's where the noise is coming from. Sounds good to me. But talk about anxiety. I hate I hate

anything with my car, even pumping gas. What about like, what about the three dots, especially when especially if you're trying out you're trying out something with maybe someone that you don't know that well at the pumping gas. Oh sorry, I've already already taken up. Take it this another direction. No, you know, so maybe you're on you know, a first or second date with someone you know, you're you're working

on a working on a line. You don't know if this person is going to find this funny, but you gotta try it anyway, you know, and you just get the three dots and then they disappear, and then they come back up, disappear and you're like, oh now or one like definitely have done this before where you send a like or you like an Instagram photo weeks ago and it's down at the bottom, and then like the anxiety of like if I unlike it, did they see that I liked it? Did they have pushed notifications on?

Like like, yeah, I've definitely been I've text mind and you're accidentally stalking a profile and then you like for sure and if like, I don't know, I've gotten to the point where like do you do you own it? Like I might have more respect for someone if you just like own the factor like weeks ago and you're just because everything I was just scrolling through your Instagram and what about Isn't it worse though when you don't even get the three dots? Yeah, if you send something

and it's nothing, it's radio side. Do you guys have read receipts or if they are, if they're on Android, and then you just don't know one way or another you shouldn't be talking in them any ways. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding out there, guys. It was just a hot take. Just um, I have my read receipts on for texting. Okay, does that make it better or worse? Here's my thing gets the point across.

I read your message, got it, like I just feel so it takes away the need for you to respond with like an okay, that's I. I really appreciate it for work purposes or like you know, if just things that I don't need to respond to. But it's like good, I got that, but it also has served me well in the like if if it just says delivered, like did it Like there's some question marks if you don't get a reply like, well did they see it? Like they got that right? Like, no, I got it. I

like it for those purposes. I haven't not not many times that sounds like I, you know, get hit up a lot and I don't want to respond. But it's just like sometimes it's like I don't have the time nor energy and and the like fake response. I don't appre she had a fake response, So I'd rather just turn the read receipts on and they they know I got it. I haven't tried read receipts of you. No, man, they've always been on. No, I'm not. I was about to say something creepy. If you're on a mac. Here's

something about your reader seats. If you're weird about wanting your reader seats on on your phone. You cannot pick individuals. I don't believe. If I'm wrong about this, please let me know. You can pick what individuals for like the messages thing on the on the back. You can go in individually and give read receipts to some people and not others on your phone though it's a batch. Wait, so Max, what are you also outside of Here's what I was on the story, especially this time of year.

What was it like first day of school for you guys? To me, there was something something so that like goes with my personality very well. Yeah, I could see you like in the backpack. Um, I loved it too. But it was also a ton of anxiety. There was a it was a healthy balance both. But it changes from year to year, like in college, like first day, like sophomore year of college, like awesome, you got your friends.

College is the greatest four years of your life, Like this is amazing, Like seventh grade, first day of school. A little bit of a different story, new school, new middle school. Yeah, so and you know, like all the kids are starting up school again, and I saw it.

There was this viral photo that went around. Have you seen this of like the kid with autism, with autism who was like super overwhelmed with his first day of school, right, and so he was like crying and this other kid, I believe they were eight years old, held his hand and like walked him into school. Very sweet. And so this photo was shared I believed by one of the kids mothers, and you got all this national attention. But it was just like, man, like that's awesome. Yeah, that

was that was really cool. That was very very cool, and I believe I believe the kid that you know held his hand and helped him, like seeked him out. I thought that was like a really cool thing. It's not like they were just standing beside each other in line and he felt it was like he saw him walked over and chose to do the right thing. That. Yeah, that was really sweet. But first day of school, I get that. It's that is a very a very big day for people. Well, hope you guys enjoyed another week

of the group chat. We will try and not have oh wait a minute, whoa, I can't go yet. We have to address something that happened. Are we Yankees? Okay, first, let's just get that out of the way. We're not Yankees. But there was a review that was left. Yeah, we read the reviews. Yeah, we read the comments. They say not to, but we do. And there was one particular I would like for you will if you have it pulled up, I would like for you to read the said comment that has hurt us, probably more than it

should have. First of all, it's a one star, which is pulling down our overall ranking here. If I wanted to listen to a bunch of Yankees, I'd move up north. I'd rather kill myself than keep hearing this nasal nonsense. Okay, first of all, there's so much to dissect here. First of all, let's just address the first thing. Don't ever say you're gonna kill yourself. No, okay. Number two, we're not Yankees, and you don't even have to move up

north to listen to Yankees. This is the Internet to homeboy, like you literally log on and you can you can listen to someone speak a completely different language without moving to that country. What's the user name? Um wall Street is better than Bell. Okay, the title of it was what the hell is this Wall Street? Now, technically Wall Street is up north. I don't know what that means. I mean what I don't because so all right now, I did not see this comment until Will alert to

me to this. But Will phrased it as somebody has something bad to say about you about Max. So Will thinks it's about me because I'm the Yankee. I'm the one, and we've discussed on this show and from New Jersey. I'm from you two or the Southerners. You guys are from South Carol, the Carolinians. But he says, a bunch of Yankees. It would be like one thing if you wanted to call me out. He doesn't like how I sound. Okay, that's fine, but he says, a bunch of attack the group.

You guys sound. I don't think you guys sound like Northern. I think it's because I say you guys. Sometimes he wants you to say, y'all, y'all, y'all over here at the pint, there's y'all want to us talk about on here? Talking about the football. I'll give you some Southern Oh my god, can you do an episode? Yes? Told the whole time. I'll be fantastic, Caroline. I really appreciate it. Y'all believe with the boys. What's doing? Then? I will say, when I get on the phone with certain people, I

will like, that's just does your Southern go faster or slower? Oh? When it sounds like it's going fast, it goes fast when I get when I get upset, drink a few beers, or on the phone with certain people, it just comes Max, can you do it too? No? Why because he's the Yankee you can't even try. I mean it should be. I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. I would love an episode where you guys continue in these voices. You know who wouldn't enjoy that? Everybody else, the one else

but this guy. Guy, this guy, this guy would like it. Yeah, but everyone else would hate it. Producer matthe even saying he would he would love for me to get kicked off the show. And you do to talk in that voice? What are the chances that he leaves another review in response to this? Will you please? And do you mind naming yourself? Like? I feel like that's a bit unfair, Like Wall Street put your name better than what do you say? Bell Bell? I don't know we can also

use some more reviews. Everyone. We will not do mean reviews, but we'll do funny ones like this one. It's not particularly me, it's you know, tweet should we do like a mean tweet says it says much more about him than it does us. So that's why we're bringing it up because it's kind of funny. Um. Although please don't use anything as serious as saying you're going to do something to harm yourself, because that's a bit extreme. But

we do, uh, we do appreciate. I will say we appreciate the reviews, but if you hurt our average, we'll bring it up. We'll say something about it. All right, we can really go now. I'm glad we picked that bone though, Like that feels I feel better And I got to hear you guys talk in those accents, which is well. Everyone, I hope you enjoy this episode of the Great Check. We will be back after the last

preseason game to kick off the regular season. We will get into our routine and we'll see who makes his final fifty three than roster. You guys, have a good weekend.