The Carolina Panthers season is almost over…thankfully

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Start having the most fun ever at ChumbaCasino.com No purchase necessary. Joke person from the athletic at Joseph person on Twitter. This season is almost over, sir. So the light is there right there at the end of the tunnel. Sum up what 2023 has been. Well, I guess hearing you mention that what came to mind is euthanasia and putting putting this season out of its misery.

Right. And honestly, I mean, it feels like there have been not that it's necessarily show. It kind of did last week at Jacksonville, but I haven't necessarily seen guys mailing it in, but just the sense in the building, as you can imagine, from about from about Halloween on has been just one of kind of dread and let's get this over with. And and I'm speaking for a group of sports writers and sportscasters, too. So, um, yeah, it's been awful.

There's no other way to put it. And you know that the thing that stinks and we've talked about this before is they don't even have the silver lining of the number one overall pick and that the most years like I did story a couple of weeks ago. Is this the worst team in Panthers history? And the two others in contention were 2001, one in 15, 2010, two and 14. Well, the old one team yielded Julius peppers with the number two pick David Carr went first because expansion franchise in Houston and then obviously 2010 yielded Cam Newton. What's this year going to yield at the number 33 pick?

And they better use it wisely. Joe Person from The Athletic is joining us here because here's my my take that this is not the worst team. They've had worse teams they've had.

And I said this after the Jacksonville game. They've had worse games than, you know, losing 26 nothing regardless of shutout. And it had been X amount of years since they had been shut out. They've had worse. They've played worse games.

They've had worse teams, but I'm not sure that this isn't rock bottom because of other factors. And I understand and I'll use air quotes here that David Tepper is passionate about about the team, but this became sort of a circus that had nothing to do with football. No, it did. It did. And I went down. We were in Hilton for a couple days between Christmas and New Year's. So I was halfway to Jacksonville, so I made the track down there and sitting in the press box. First of all, I had already texted my editor, you know, at about at about 19 to nothing and said, What is why did I come to this? Well, we're back in the press box and about ready to start writing.

I've been doing some transcribing of the interviews and then all this. And then one of the Jacksonville guys yelled down. There were only two of us left at the on the Panthers side of the press box at this point. Did you all see this about the Panthers owner? I'm like, Oh, OK, this is sad.

I may not be making it back to Hilton head for for New Year's midnight, you know, whatever. Right. But yeah, it was bad. But but it was somehow fitting, right? That was my that was my column that it was. It was an embarrassing season at every level from firing the coach 11 games in the Game of Thrones culture that existed on the coaching staff before Frank writes firing. And and then David Tapper put the cherry on top by by throwing a drink.

Too bad it wasn't like some cherry milkshake. And it really would have been an apt metaphor. But yeah, frankly, he's lucky he didn't get fined a little more and even suspended a game. I thought it was deserving of him sitting out week 18. But really, maybe the penalty is he gets to watch this team has to watch this game one more time.

Because, again, these are all jokes, right? My my thought was the NFL, the NFL understands that David Tepper right now is punishment enough that it is it is so toxic at this point that the NFL like we can't do any more damage to them than he's doing to his own franchise right now. Look, I've always said this about owners, it takes time, it takes time to get it takes time to know how to back off and let your the people that you hire do their jobs. And he, you know, this is year six and all that. And maybe he'll get it one day certainly hasn't yet. But it's not like we're at the point where the NFL is going to try to force him out where it took how many years to get them to at least apply a little bit of pressure to Daniel Snyder. And what David Tepper has done isn't even on the radar screen of what Daniel Snyder has done. He's just one of those guys. He's one of those billionaires that thinks that they have all the answers.

And it's just going to be as easy as everything else. Joe Person from the athletic is joining us. Has your opinion of Bryce young changed from the start of the season to now?

That's a great question. I'd have to say yeah, I was expecting more. I really was. I mean, first overall pick. I've done big things in Alabama. Yes, yes, we all were writing and talking about the durability. And that's a remarkable thing. He's he held up under the weight of 59 sacks this year, which is more than any other rookie quarterback is absorbed except David Carr, whom I mentioned earlier.

And so yeah, buddy, buddy, buddy keeps getting up. But I just, you know, I have really been reserving judgment because he doesn't have great weapons. The past protection has been terrible with Icky Aquinas regression in the in the turnstile at both guard positions. Yeah, I get it. But I just feel like I we with the exception of the Green Bay game, which they lost. It's just I don't I've been waiting for some special moments and and evidence where it's like, okay, and I did get and you did feel that against Green Bay.

But like, it's not like he has a rocket arm. With lucky land slots. You can get lucky just about anywhere. Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today. Has anyone seen the bride and groom?

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See website for details. It's not like he runs the ball much, if at all, but barely, and so I don't know. I think he can still be a solid, maybe in a maybe even a very good quarterback in this league. But I would have liked to have seen a little more at some point where to where if you're the number one pick where you take your talents and you're able to pull the team up above the muck that of the, you know, the right raise the level of your teammates.

And I really hadn't seen that much. No, I, I, I, I agree now. My, my, if you had asked me that same question, I would say that my opinion has not changed of Bryce young simply because my opinion of the players around him has changed. And I am appalled at the lack of ability around him. And I don't think the coaching helped at all this year, but I, again, I could very simply be, this is what I believed then.

And I don't care what my lion eyes are telling me because, because you're right. We have seen very little to be encouraged about apart from a flash here, a drive there. There just hasn't been, and there's been more inaccuracies than I thought we would have seen with, with Bryce. What's the biggest hole you see in the roster. And I know there's, it's a roster full of holes, sort of like a screen door.

But what is the biggest area of need? If you were heading into the off season and said, this is what we must do first. So I don't know that this is an area of need, but I will say, I think the most alarming development for me this season was Icky Aquana, who I already mentioned because God better thought he had solved the offensive line. He, I mean, I've seen people tweet and, and commentate about, Oh, well then maybe they should have addressed the offensive lines. They did like that. They, they deliberately wanted to get that line in order, or at least what they thought was in order. And you know, they used a top eight pick on Icky Aquana and his rookie year. You're thinking, okay, this looks like a hell of a pick and you've got your, your franchise left tackle whom they have lacked since Jordan gross retired, which was a long time ago. Um, but then this year happened and, you know, talking to people around the league, um, and in the building, they last year when that rule was there, but also, you know, when Ben McAdoo was, was calling the plays that under Steve Wilkes late in the season, they gave Icky some help as a rookie. And I thought it was telling yesterday, Thursday in Charlotte, the offensive coordinator, Thomas Brown, I asked him about Icky Aquano.

And he said, you know, in retrospect, I probably could have helped him more. And, and here's the thing. Okay. Yes. But if you have your franchise left tackle, you shouldn't have to help him that much.

And that to me is, is the most, again, do they have other needs? Yes, because they're not going to cut Icky Aquano, but that was the most alarming development for this, for this entire season for me, a hundred percent agree it to the point where I started remembering all the people who said that he was better cut out to be a guard than a tackle leading into the draft last year. Uh, even though I have been team Icky, I was team Icky leading up to the draft.

Uh, he's an incredible kid and I hope it works out for him, but man, it was a, uh, it was a very, very difficult year. Finally, Joe Person from the athletic I've been on this and I think you and I have already talked about it. I think it's malpractice that they didn't trade Brian Burns for two ones and a three last year. Um, but going into this off season, knowing that they don't have a first round pick, even though they have the best second round pick you can have, should they be trading assets like Burns, maybe a JC horn, anything you can get, anything you can trade to compile day one and day two draft picks?

Yes, I would. And those two guys you mentioned are the place to start two first round picks. Um, you know, Burns has been to a couple pro bowls. JC horn, if he's healthy, has what most people think is pro pro bowl talent. So yeah, absolutely.

I would. I mean, JC horn last week, and this got lost under the, under the, uh, the drink toss, but, but, but, you know, JC horn was active for that game where he had a toe injury during the week and practice some and, you know, limited, but, but the coaches expected him to play and start that game. And during warmups, he kind of tapped out and he was like, I, I, I speaking with Shaquille Griffin, who ended up starting that game.

Well, I asked when, when did you know you were going to start, uh, like 20 minutes before kickoff, uh, during, you know, during the last phase of warmup. So that just was, that was a bad look. I realized that looks in Jacksonville. That was another one. So yeah, I mean, it now could, this is what could happen if you trade JC horn, the Christian McCaffrey scenario could, could happen all over again, where he goes somewhere and he does stay healthy and he does become a pro bowl player.

Uh, nevertheless, I'm doing it. Um, I think this franchise has to damn near start over, you know, tear it down to the bones and figure something else out. Yep. I think, uh, Derek Brown is the only core guy I would absolutely keep. And Frankie Louvoo, I'm so team Frankie Louvoo.

I love everything about that guy. Uh, as I do you, Joe person, I appreciate your time. Uh, happy new year to you.

Uh, the season is almost over. Then the real work begins. So I appreciate it. I appreciate you, man.

Happy new year and look forward to talking to you soon. So let's make a list of the assets. This is sort of like a, uh, not that I've been through this.

Uh, this is sort of like a divorce. Oh yeah. Right. All right.

What are the assets? Very similar. Who is the China? Right. Who is the, uh, the new, the new, the, well, that was, that was an easy one.

Uh, I'm not trying to bring up personal baggage here. Uh, it's a big decision. So it was an easy one. Yeah. Let's go back to it. It was an easy one. Uh, shouts to, uh, Lucy RIP. Hello, it is Ryan and we could all use an extra bright spot in our day.

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