Assessing the Carolina Panthers roster with Vashti Hurt

This is the best of the Adam Gold Show Podcast brought to you by Coach Pete at Capital Financial Advisory Group.

Visit us at capitalfinancialusa.com. This is the Adam Gold Show. Yesterday the Carolina Panthers had to get down to 53 men on the roster. There will be some juggling as Sam Darnold goes on IR. We know that Zane Gonzalez was placed on IR. Somebody who is, as far as I know, relatively healthy and not headed for IR. Our friend Vashti Hurt from carolinablitz.com who's been everywhere with the Panthers throughout the preseason.

Thank you very much for the time. I'm glad you made the 53. That's good. Let me ask this question. In your opinion, were there any surprises in the cuts from yesterday?

Not really. Maybe Justin Burr, who got a lot of minutes at safety last season, but they just announced that they brought him back on the practice squad. That might have been only a slight surprise, but other than that, it was pretty much what we saw in camp, what we expected to be the 53. That's what it was. It leads me to this question.

I didn't want to bury the lead on this. Is it a good sign or a bad sign that essentially there weren't any, other than on a human level, because on a human level a lot of these cuts are painful. But in terms of a player personnel level, is it a good sign or a bad sign that there weren't a lot of tough decisions? I think that it's a good sign. I think that that means that Matt Ruhle and his regime, based on what they feel put together a good team, I guess they feel like they've done a good job in the draft and in free agency, getting the guys that they want to execute their plan. The only downfall would be the release of Deontay Brown, who was a draft pick just last year, who has struggled with weight issues, but he was brought back to the practice squad as well. I think that that's a good thing. It means that they're performing well in the draft and free agency and getting guys that they think can contribute to the team. Well, it could be worse. It could be the Las Vegas Raiders who don't have any of last year's three first round picks and three first round picks from, I think, the 2019 draft.

None of them were offered, were given their fifth year options. I saw that. Unbelievable indictment of the John Gruden, Mike Mayock era. Vashta, I heard, carolinablitz.com, you can follow her on Twitter, at keepblitzen. It's Eddie Pinero. How do you feel about that? And obviously, Zane Gonzalez was a complete revelation last year in terms of his emergence as one of the best, most reliable kickers in the sport. Obviously, it's a big deal, but what do you think about Eddie Pinero? You know, they call, I think they call him Eddie Dinero because he's money.

I found that that was his nickname. We'll see if that's the case. He had a decent 2020 and then 2021. I'm sorry, he struggled in 2020 and then had a decent 2021 where I think he made eight of nine kicks.

I'm not quite sure if that's the correct stat that I read. But, you know, we'll see. We'll see how he does. And, you know, I don't know a ton about him and special teams and kickers are so important. Panthers learned that with the ups and downs of Joey Fly and everything that they went through, you know, last year before they settled on Zane Gonzalez.

So, you know, it's yet to be seen. But listen, I don't think that rule and company will have any hesitancy to pull the plug if they see that, you know, he's not working out. I guess the good thing is that if I'm not, I think I read this right, that Gonzalez isn't necessarily out for the entire year. They expect it to be long term, but it was waited until after the 53 to put him on the aisle, the injury reserve, so he could come back this year.

Is that right or no? I thought it was season injury. Okay, so never mind that. Then forget Zane Gonzalez ever existed for at least a year. So PJ Walker's the quarterback, Sam Darnell will be back whenever that is a month, six weeks. The injury looked a lot worse than it actually ended up turning out to be. But Jeremy Fowler yesterday floated the idea that the Panthers had discussed internally bringing back Cam Newton.

I mean, can I just go what? Honestly, Adam, I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised at all. Listen, Cam Newton has a hold on this city on the Panthers franchise and on Panthers fans. And honestly, this is a make it or break it year from that rule. And if something were to happen with Baker Mayfield, you don't want your job to end on the play of PJ Walker. So I think that what the Panthers are doing is instead of last year where they brought Cam in and he had to get acclimated with the playbook really quickly, they're looking at formidable backups in advance. So if you do bring in a Cam Newton, at least he has time to try to familiarize himself with McAdoo, with his system, instead of trying to be a plug and play type situation. So I'm not surprised. I'm not surprised at all. I mean, I don't wish that on Baker Mayfield, to be perfectly honest, because Cam's the son.

He just is. And I really don't think that would be fair. Look, maybe they don't value Baker Mayfield. I have no idea how the organization views Mayfield and his future. I think they would love it to work out well enough this year that they keep Mayfield around at the very least to be the safety net if Matt Corral doesn't work out.

But to me, man, Cam Newton is too much of a son, too much of an alpha there. One thing, we're talking to Vashti, I heard from carolinablitz.com, at Keith Blitzen on Twitter. When I looked at the final roster, I was really encouraged by the fact that all the names that they hoped would be ready to go at the start of the season on the offensive line are all there. They haven't suffered any major losses there. Bozeman, who was hurt for a lot in the preseason, is practicing, might be ready for the opener.

How does that unit look to you as you've seen him up close? Bozeman told us on Monday that he will be ready for the opener. Whether he's technically ready or not, he will be ready and available to play. I think that the offensive line was clearly one of the areas where the Panthers had to get better, and I think that they did get better. I think that obviously drafting Icky, who I think will go through some rookie bumps and bruises but will probably settle into that role just fine, is a good player. Moving Brady Christensen to left guard, where he's had some success, was an important thing to do.

And then of course you have Taylor Moten, you have Bozeman. So I think that that unit got better, and that was clearly a focus of the Panthers this year. And they have depth. You have A'Kade Mays, who they drafted, who can play basically any position along that line.

So they have depth, they have versatility, and they have more talent. And that's what they really had to do given how porous that line was last year. Yeah, there will be times where they're going to have to give, maybe a lot of times, where they're going to have to give Icky Iquanu some help at left tackle, helping him double-team some EDGE rushers.

But the future looks pretty good. I think that give it four or five weeks of the regular season, I think you can see a totally different offensive line as we get further into the season. Hopefully they stay healthy. Your quick read on Leviska Chanel, the new wide receiver. Is he going to essentially jump in front of a Robbie Anderson or a Terrace Marshall as the number two wideout? Honestly, Adam, that was a really weird signing to me. I think it took everybody off guard because wide receiver was one of their deepest positions as far as, okay, you know, trying to measure who might not make the cut.

And then to sign him right before roster cuts or to trade for him right before roster cuts, I was like, please. I don't know. I guess, you know, I don't think that he's going to be that two wide receiver immediately. I think that, you know, Baker has been practicing with DJ. He's been practicing with Robbie. I saw them going over routes together when we were at practice on Monday. He's been practicing with Shy Smith. He already has a rapport with Higgins.

We played with in Cleveland. So I just think as of right now, Chanel is going to have to get in where he fits in. And, you know, being new to the system and new to the playbook, although he's familiar with Ben McAdoo, you know, we'll see. Maybe he'll be a weapon on. No, I mean, I don't think you bring in a guy like that to be a special teams type guy.

I'm still perplexed by that. That will be a question that we asked that rule. We speak to him later on today. Why specifically bring him in when you have a deeper position like wide receiver. But I think that the guys that they have right now, they're safe in their spots. And Chanel is going to have to prove himself and prove why he should catapult one of the guys who has already been there. I'm looking forward to seeing what Shy Smith can do this year. I think there's a little bit. Yeah, there is a big play ability for Shy Smith. We'll see if the Panthers can unlock any of that.

Speaking of big plays, Vashti Hurt, CarolinaBlitz.com at Keith Blitzen. You're the best. I will talk to you very soon. Keep doing it. All right. Thanks, Adam. You got it.

Vashti Hurt, hardest working woman in show business. Hi, I'm Golden Studio with my man Coach Pete DeRuder with the Capital Financial Advisory Group. We are talking retirement. Coach, let's say I have more than a million dollar balance in my 401k. Congratulations.

Thank you very much. How can that actually come back and bite me? Well, because, and this is a thing that we, it's a mirage. You see mirages.

I've written in the desert before. You see what's water ahead, but it's not there. Well, your financial mirage is thinking that that total balance in your 401k or your IRA is yours. We have two people that want to get ahold of it. Two uncles.

Uncle North Carolina and Uncle Sam. Right. Both of them are going to do some damage to that balance depending on what kind of other income you have. You could lose 40% of your value.

So if you're looking at a million dollar IRA, maybe it's only worth $600,000 to you. So how do we get around this? Well, you don't get around it because you end up in jail if you try to do that. But you can do tax planning to minimize the effect of taxation into the future. The tax train is coming, Adam. We need to make sure to minimize the effect of the derailment of our financial accounts. And for the next 10 people, we'll do it at no cost or obligation.

Put together your very own tax and retirement plan. Call 1-800-661-7383 or text ADAM to 21000 for Coach Pete DeRuta. Off of the crossbar and the Hurricanes have won the Stanley Cup. June 19th, 2006. But it all started May 6th, 1997 with the announcement that the Hartford Whalers were coming to North Carolina.

It's a story of transition, of heartbreak, of figuring it out on the fly. Here's a Canes Corner look at the 25th anniversary of the move presented by the Aluminum Company of North Carolina. Listen now.

Find Canes 25th Anniversary wherever you get your podcasts. My wife does a lot of Pandora when she's doing work around the ranch. Okay. And it doesn't matter what Pandora she puts in. She could put in Neil Diamond Pandora. She could put in Robert Plant Pandora. Van Morrison.

Doesn't matter. This guy shows up. Chris Stapleton. Chris Stapleton shows up no matter what Pandora you put on. Chris Stapleton shows up. Mostly this song.

It's a great song. Yeah. First time I saw this was he and Justin Timberlake doing it live.

Really? Is it an MTV Music Awards maybe? Okay. Which was on 14 different channels the other day. Oh. It was like on, are they owned by Paramount? MTV?

Maybe. Via, whatever they're owned by. Like all the other networks that they own, the MTV Music Awards were on that network. Alright. It was on everywhere. Okay.

Chris, that version when Timberlake who gave I guess Stapleton a lot of legitimacy that maybe he didn't need but maybe needed at the time because he is that good. Anyway, that song is, it crosses all over different boundaries in music. Alright, let's get to our NFL City. Foxboro yesterday, there was like a house you could visit and then the day before. Those are Bass Pro Shops. Do not forget about the Bass Pro Shop.

And there was a Dunkin Donuts which again is excellent. And then the day before was Raljohn, Maryland which is now known as Landover. Greater Landover.

Greater Landover. Here's a patch of land in PG County. Look, don't knock PG County, man. Just don't, don't. Don't get the PG County people mad at you. They'll come out of the wood, out of the woodworks after you.

Don't get them mad at you. Alright, so what do we got? Alright, first thing you have to do when you get to Nashville. Nashville? Nashville, a lot of great stuff going on in Nashville.

I mean, it's not, it's not. Definitely, you have to go to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Okay. Gotta go to the... Do I have to? Yes, you do. Yes, you do.

You know, Ryman Auditorium, the Grand Old Opry, gotta go watch shows there. Yes, you do. Is there a, are they doing an episode of Hee Haw? Sure.

I would go see that. Okay. Not, not gonna lie.

Kind of liked Hee Haw as a kid. That doesn't shock me. Really? I don't know. You said that negatively. No. No, no, you did.

You said that, you said that with like, like, like, ill will in your heart. I've never seen Hee Haw, so I wouldn't know. You've never seen it?

Oh, come on. It's a, have you ever seen Laughin'? No. Okay, the same, they're variety shows and comedies. Yeah. So it was sort of a, it was a, you know, a country version of Laughin'. But Hee Haw was very funny.

Okay. Yeah, and they played good music. If you like, Roy Clark is an incredible guitarist, right? They, they had legitimate musical acts on that show.

And it was just, you know, good ol' wholesome country comedy. I believe it. I like it. I can believe it.

I like it. Well, you should visit those places. Certainly a lot of opportunities to go see live music in Nashville. Okay. Music city for a reason. Yeah, well, absolutely.

You know, you go check out a Predators game. I had a good, a good buddy of mine who now lives in Raleigh, is a musician. Okay.

His name is James Dunn, who lived in Nashville for a while. Alright. And still has, I don't know, he's got a bunch of records.

But did a lot of, a lot of his songs ended up on TV. Like, used in network shows. Nice. Yeah. There you go. Good dude. Get that syndication. Good dude. His kids might be listening, by the way. A big thing you need to do as well, you have to crash someone's bachelorette party in Nashville.

Oh, that is hard. It is the bachelorette party capital of the world. That is not hard to crash a bachelorette party in Nashville. Now, there are easy ways to detect when it's a bachelorette party. You know why?

Several things. If you see a group of young women wearing sashes, it's a bachelorette party. Yeah. Now, who the bride is, pretty easy to detect. She's gonna have a crown on her head, it's gonna be a big white sash, and she might be in a white dress of some kind.

Like a white sundress type attire going on. Sounds like, sounds like a party. Yes, and all the other ones, don't be surprised if all the other bridesmaids are ones who are wearing all the matching color together. So, okay, that's an easy way to detect a bridal party. Second thing is, there are different people you're gonna find in a bachelorette party, all right? Okay. So, you're always gonna find the one who's always gonna have a drink in her hand, even when she's not drinking. That's all of them. No, no, no.

Some of them don't always have it. No, no, no. It's just a drink in her hand, it's got a massive straw that's three feet long, and she's not even drinking it, but she has it in her hand.

A three foot long straw? Yes. Just go with this, all right? Okay. Just roll with it here.

Never seen that. All right? It's, you know, it's got the big drink, it might be swirling and twisting around, but everyone out there listening knows exactly what I'm talking about. I've never seen a three foot long straw. I'm slightly exaggerating here, but play along, all right?

It's part of the gimmick. Okay. All right? So, you're gonna see that person. You're also gonna see the one who's just gonna be, whew! You're just gonna, that's all you have to hear, that is like a call sign of bachelorette parties here. Whew! That's how you know, they're on every corner just about in Nashville. And the last one is, you're always gonna find the one that is still single, and is gonna complain about it.

Like, hey, you know what, but it's fine, I'm so glad you're happy. Wow. What? That's what you're gonna find typically in a bachelorette party. See, this doesn't seem like a party I wanna hang out with now. Oh, it is.

Because here's the thing, you get to leave it and never have to come back. Well, that's true. I may or may not have crashed a bachelorette party once in my life. Or more than once. It's a great time. I don't believe I have ever crashed a bachelorette party. Oh, it's so fun. But, I have been out when a bachelorette party just sort of plopped down in our vicinity.

Just make your way over there. I didn't have to, it just was around us. So, the bachelorette party just sort of formed around us. Yeah.

I don't think they were going after us at all. No, no, no. But it just, we didn't have to crash it. It just became, we just became part of it. That's even better. Yeah. When you're just there, you just become it. That's even more fun. That's effort. Yes.

They will find you too. It will happen. Okay.

So, after you've crashed the bachelorette party. Right. Go eat some hot chicken. Nashville hot chicken. Nashville hot chicken. Very good. Like it. Now, a lot of cayenne pepper in these.

Sure. Make it, again, make it hot chicken. Nothing wrong with cayenne pepper, man. Apparently, Prince's Hot Chicken Shack is the standard bearer when it comes to hot chicken in Nashville. I like that. Also, a common order of restaurants in Nashville is what's known as just a meat and three. It's just one meat, three sides.

Okay. That's what it's called. The name around there is called a meat and three.

It just sounds like a restaurant. Oh, yeah. It is, but it's just a common item. It's like a meat and three. Okay.

This is how they label it. What's your meat and three? What's your go-to? Well, it all depends on where I am, but let's go with typical southern food place. Well, give me barbecue brisket. Okay. Give me brisket. All right.

Brisket's a good choice. Yeah. Then give me sweet potato fries. Okay. And then I like cooked apples. All right.

I'm a big fan of cooked apples. Then just give me a green vegetable. Give me the asparagus. All right.

Asparagus should go too. Did that bother anybody? No.

No. It's borderline healthy. Maybe asparagus. I know. It's borderline healthy.

The apples are not healthy for you. For me, give me some dark meat chicken. Okay. I'm going to go that. Got to have mashed potatoes.

I probably got to go mac and cheese and green beans. I'm not a mac and cheese guy. That's unfortunate. I understand.

That really is unfortunate. I understand. Yeah. It is disappointing.

Yeah. I 100% agree with you. It really is. It's just never been... I don't dislike it.

Same thing with mashed potatoes. I don't dislike it, but I never choose it. Ever. Hmm.

Also very unfortunate. Bro, you get breakfast. More for you. Exactly. If you want some... Maybe you can get hot chicken on some waffles, but breakfast at Gulch is the local spot to go to. Gulch? Okay.

All right. You know goo goo clusters? The candy? No. You never heard of a goo goo cluster? No.

I have not. It's like a nougat filled candy. Anyway.

What is nougat? It's the thing. Yeah. Exactly.

No, no. You said it. Exactly. It's not really discernible.

No. That's a very good point. That's a really good point. But anyway, goo goo clusters were actually created in Nashville. Oh, okay.

Kind of like Hershey bars in Hershey. Kind of like the guy from Foxborough who invented patent leather. Yes. Maybe. Maybe that's what a nougat is.

The guy also invented nougat. There you go. It was somehow unlisted. Also, being in Nashville, you have to drink some whiskey because it's Tennessee whiskey. You have to do it. That's why you played that song. Exactly.

Okay. So there's a Hidden Lake. There's actually a place called Hidden Lake in Nashville. So you get a chance to walk around Hidden Lake. If you want to get outside a little bit, get away from a little bit of the city, but it's still in the city itself.

Also, I know we're going non-sports typically related here, at least non-NFL related here, but if you want to watch SEC football or watch good SEC football, cheer for the away team at Vanderbilt. That's good. Also in Nashville, you can take a sledgehammer to a car. Really?

Yeah. That's like one of Bridgestone Arena. That's like one of the traditions for Smashville. For Smashville Predators games, they take a sledgehammer to a car.

I've done some work on some Predators games for my job with Bally. Right? Yeah. Fun team for the city. Predators Twitter is not as fun as Caine's Twitter, I'm just going to say that.

You know what? I don't have to deal with Caine's Twitter right now for another two weeks. But Caine's Twitter can be fun.

Like honestly, at least for me, doing this stuff with Bally, it can be fun. It can be. I'll take your word for it. But yeah.

But wait, that's like, Pred's Twitter is just boring. It's not existent. I'll take your word for it.

Anyway. Get some donuts at Fox's Donuts. Fox's Donuts? Fox's Donuts. You got away from the chain donut stores. That's good.

Yeah, because I don't want to send people down that path. I want local donut spots. Unfortunately, Dunkin' Donuts is local in Fox's world.

We're in a real city though. Yes. You get local options. Fox's Donuts? Fox's Donuts.

More cake-style donut. Excellent. All about it. Oh, by the way, we're down to very few cities.

Very, very few. We are finishing on Thursday next week. With Charlotte. With Charlotte. What are we getting tomorrow? All right. Tomorrow, pulling this out of the Dunkin' Donuts cup. Oh, we're going to Pittsburgh.

Oh, man. Let's go. We're putting fries on it. Yes. In Iron City beers, going down a casino, men. Very nice.

All right. We're putting- A double-day restaurant, by the way. I hope it's still around. Very good burgers there. We're putting fries on it tomorrow. This is the Adam Gold Show. Off of the crossbar, and the Hurricanes have won the Stanley Cup. We'll be right back.