Vashti Hurt of Carolina Blitz talks Carolina Panthers before their Preseason game versus the New England Patriots
Let's talk about the Carolina Panthers, you're up in Foxboro right now. Um, you know, covering the team. But before we get to the team itself, we literally are just finding out that Shawn Watson is gonna serve in 11 games suspension, uh, is gonna have to pay a $5 million. Uh, that was kind of happening as I was driving in here. Um, First off we all know that the Carolina panthers really tried very hard to get him uh, in charlotte. And do you look at the situation as maybe that they dodged a bullet? Or do you think that they would have been okay with that 11 game suspension? Uh, You know, as far as thinking towards the future and maybe having their quarterback of the future, they absolutely dodged a bullet with this one matt rule. I don't know if he has the luxury to look toward the future he needs to win. This is his third year, this is the year where in previous stops, he has shown vast improvement. And I think that David Tepper expecting is expecting to see that vast improvement uh, this season. That's why they traded for baker Mayfield in order to get an upgrade at that quarterback position. They could not have afforded to not have a QB one for 11 games, then you're stuck with Sam Donald presumably or you know, who knows what kind of deal they would have been able to work out. But you would have been stuck with a backup quarterback in a situation where matt rolling their staff have a sense of urgency to win. It wouldn't have been a good look for them. All right, So let's talk about the quarterbacks on the roster. There are reports going out that baker Mayfield has already won the job. We haven't heard that from matt rule himself, but we did hear from him that this was the week where they were going to find that out. You're up in Foxboro amongst all the fights. And we'll talk about that too. There was also a quarterback battle. What have you seen with your eyes, baker Mayfield win this uh, in the situational football that you've seen in practice baker Mayfield won the job in Spartanburg. I feel like when they came here to Foxboro, all he had to do was not lose the job and he didn't lose the job. We saw much of the same that we saw in Spartanburg. Mayfield's ability to stretch the field more. He operates better in the two minute drill than Sam Donald does and he's also taken on a leadership role with rookie matt corral. So I'm sure that the panthers and and, and matt rule, they are seeing everything they wanted to see when they decided to trade for baker Mayfield. Matt rule. When I asked him you yesterday about, you know, what's the process you told us after New England that you guys would more than likely be have a guy in mind who you would want to be the starting quarterback. He talked about how they're being extra thorough. I anticipate that they'll make an announcement before friday's game. Uh, the starters really won't play, it will be a lot of twos and threes and at that point you have everything that you need to go ahead and name your QB one and allow him to develop more rapport with the receivers. I think it's interesting that you're, that you're saying that because you know, especially not getting a chance to really watch him every day myself. But baker Mayfield's only had this playbook really for about what, three weeks we've been able to practice with this playbook for three weeks, maybe had the playbook for four weeks. And uh, he's already starting to outshine Sam Donald as far as his command of the offense does. It seem to get easier as time goes along as he's trying to learn what's been considered a pretty, you know, hard playbook to learn from Ben McAdoo when asking about his grasp of the playbook. You know, baker told us yesterday that he feels pretty comfortable with it to the point where it's kind of becoming second nature Robby Anderson when asked about what he's most impressed with the baker mentioned that how smart he is and how fast he's been able to grasp things and look baker has a chip on his shoulder, he came in here first, he wanted to win the quarterback job, which I feel like he's done second. He wanted to show and prove that he was worth that number one pick and things soured in Cleveland and it wasn't his fault. He's still a top quarterback in the league that is yet to be seen. But he's on a mission. He's on a path to prove that. And with that comes him grasping the playbook. I think at this point now it's just getting your timing down with those weapons on the outside his receivers. You know, last year, the panthers had their joint practices with the colts and uh, you know, we've seen the fights and also seen the reports that the panthers are, you know, kind of the aggressors and these past two practices with the, with the Patriots. What have you seen as a difference between how the team showed up this year versus the Patriots and what they did last year versus the colts and the joint practice. The panthers brought that heat to Foxboro and it's quite a departure from last year because when they went to Indianapolis and I was there for those practices as well. It was like, okay, we're here. Thanks for having us here. We're just happy to be here and they had to turn it on in the second practice with the first practice, they really got bullied and that rule took exception with that. Well coming into Foxboro, the panthers were the aggressor. It started on the defensive side of the ball where there was a lot of chip penis, a lot of trash talking. the panthers were punching at every ball? I think the patriots might have taken exception with that, but jeremy, jeremy Chen told us, well that's how we play, you know, so that's, that's just how it's how you're just gonna have to deal with it. And then yesterday on the offensive side of the ball, it was the, you know, yesterday was the offense that kinda got things going in christian mccaffrey, which is shocking. And then the offensive line running his two defense and, and and a brawl. So, you know, the panthers came to Foxboro about that action and it showed during practice and the hope is that they carry that intensity into the regular season. I wanted to ask about christian mccaffrey because I felt like uh in the video that I saw yesterday with him speaking to the media, um, even though he didn't talk about the fight a lot, you know, he said, you know, he's happy to be in the huddle with the teammates that are gonna take up for him, but I felt like there was a little bit of crazy in his eye. I don't know if you noticed that being front row, but it felt like there's some intensity that they're good crazy because guys did have his back and he's wanting to have a full season to show people he still got it, uh, what did you see from the team after those fights? Did it seem like maybe it brought the team together in a way that maybe they're not, they weren't together before. It's crazy that you mentioned that because I, I wrote about that in my, in my observations how, you know, and I asked christian specifically about the offensive line without hesitation coming, his coming to his defense. There is a video of denis daily basically body slamming Dietrich Weise, who was the one who made the tackle that Mccaffrey took exception. You know, my motto I'm doing. I have a crew. You come to my defense first and ask questions later and that's what the Carolina panthers did. There's talk of this being a true brotherhood and if it is a brotherhood, then that's how you act in those moments, christian. You know, he's been on the panthers for a while and he's seen camaraderie, but I don't know if he's seen it these last few years and you know, he's not the baker Mayfield isn't the only one with the chip christian. Mccaffrey has a chip. I think that, you know, he has to prove himself all over again because he's been unable to be healthy. But even in those brawls as feudal as they may have been, as far as getting reps in a joint practice. I think that that brings you together as a team knowing that the guy you're lining with beside you has your back regardless and, and that's how you and that's, that's what makes teams special? Um, I've seen reports of Derek right, undrafted free agent wide receiver uh doing very well in practice is, you know, it seems like he caught like I guess something from in the two minute drill from Sam Donald um at the last moment, uh, and and he's been shining in practice and then of course Marie Barno has been looking, he looked good in the last preseason game. Who are some of the the, the guys that you may, we may not expect that not the normal names like christian baker, those types of guys, brian burns, who are some of the guys that you're saying that that are flashing that maybe could be new contributors for the Carolina panthers this year on either side of the ball. Speaking for on the offensive side. You mentioned one right receiver. I'm gonna say shy smith shy smith has become a favorite slot target of baker Mayfield already. We saw that in the first preseason game where he got a first down, putting them in the red zone during that one series that baker played uh in the preseason game, the first preseason game against Washington. And we we've seen it again in practice. You know, baker likes those slot receivers and and he's developed a report with Shai smith also for fantasy. Lovers shy is also returning kicks. So you might have a double edged guy to give you points on your fantasy team. So I think that shy smith has flashed a lot, His key is staying healthy on the defensive side of the ball that secondary is, it has the potential to be one of the best in the league. CJ Henderson has found new life in Carolina, he's smiling, he's talking, he's developed a relationship with steve Wilks something that he said he's never done at any other stop um professionally hit Jacksonville and so you know, expect for him to have a good, good season here in Carolina, you know, a lot, I think because of what happened uh in Jacksonville and them kind of looking at him as a first round disappointment, you know, sometimes that kind of dims your light. Well, I think he's found his light here in Carolina. Thanks to steve Wilks and jaycee Horn and Dante Jackson who have poured into him. So I think, I think he'll be a huge contributor for the panthers. Alright, I know it's just preseason, but I'm gonna have to ask you for um you know, some predictions. So just looking at the overall picture of the Carolina panthers, what they are, you have two guys who were first round picks uh in 2018 as your, as your quarterback Sam Donald baker mayfield, but then you also have former head coach is right there on your stay, that that rule didn't have before. Ben McAdoo, steve Wilks and and somebody else I'm from forgetting the name and then also you have just another year, better for brian Burns. This is gonna be a proven year for him because he's gonna want to get paid. You have other guys who want to have proven years because of what happened the last two years. You see the fights in practice, you see the last minute game winning game winning field goal against Washington, uh, commanders the other day. What is your overall assessment as to where the Carolina panthers are right now And what they can do for the regular season versus last year from what you saw well off top they're they're better than a five win team. And I think that that's already a win for matt rule. But I actually think the panthers contend for a spot in the playoffs. They have a very, very tough schedule. However, you know, so a lot of times there's always a sleeper team that flies under the radar and shocks everyone. And the panthers, the whole team has a chip on their shoulder. Dante Jackson says, we know that everybody looks down on us and we're out to prove them wrong. And even with that mentality, the edge that they, they're bringing the edge that we've seen in joint practices. I think the panthers could very well be a playoff caliber. I think they are playoff caliber team. If they reach their full potential, they'll make the playoffs. And you mentioned it, bringing that experience into those coaching rooms was huge and I think it will do nothing but benefit matt rule as he continues to try to right the ship in Carolina. All right. Last I heard from Carolina blitz, make sure you follow her at keep blitzing on twitter. We'll look out for the updates for the game on friday night, which you can watch on WRL at seven o'clock, panthers versus patriots. Hopefully there's no fights. But you know, we'll see what happens. Thank you so much for joining us.
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