The Drive with Josh Graham - Overreaction Monday - 9/9/19

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It's brilliant. It is an overreaction Monday for the National Football League. Panthers fans, breathe in, breathe out.

It's going to be okay. I was in Charlotte for the game and even though I don't really subscribe to the idea of moral victories at all, yesterday's loss was not a bad result for the Carolina Panthers. The three biggest problem areas going into the year seemed to be improved upon. The offensive line. How many times did you hear Aaron Donald's name called yesterday? I forgot he was there most of the time until I started looking off the ball and just seeing all the ways this line worked together to try and neutralize him. With tight end play, Chris Manhertz I thought had a really good game and pass protection. But talking about offensive line and pass protection, it's just not a sexy thing to do on radio. That's why you're seeing most TV talking heads and radio shows spending time talking about Cam Newton's inefficiency and Cam Newton not throwing the ball so well. Well, I'm glad that's what's being discussed versus Cam Newton's health. I thought Cam held up pretty well. Ron Rivera met with media today and said that he's talked to Cam, he evaluated the tape, he thought that he held up pretty nicely. And Cam even said after the game that it was a relief to go through a full football game and to do so without being concerned of his arm capability. Just sheerly being capable of making the throws down the field intermittently. Remember, his last game he couldn't throw a ball further than 15 yards. That's not what we were dealing with yesterday and that's a huge plus for the Panthers.

So here's Cam Newton commenting on that. That's what I'm most optimistic about and happy. Being able to not necessarily gauge the throws.

I think that's what you were kind of hinting to. My body feels fine and whatever play called, I felt confident. I didn't even think about my shoulder at no particular point so I think that's a good sign.

But I still got to stay on top of it as well as my foot. So, the offensive line seemed improved. Cam Newton, the narrative has changed from Cam's health to it being, okay, is this going to be who Cam is forever?

Overthrowing targets and being inaccurate at points. That is a legitimate conversation to have. That's been a conversation with Cam when he was right for years prior. But I'm glad that's what we're discussing versus is Cam Newton unhealthy? Can Cam get through a complete game?

Because it very well could have been the other way. I do think he has a way to go with his feet. Something's going on with that foot. That's why you only have one designed run the entire game. He scrambled twice the entire ballgame. But those are two problem areas from a year ago that without any pushback, I can say, seem improved.

I don't know. You could be the most critical person there is of the Carolina Panthers, but you cannot deny that the O-line and Cam Newton looked improved from the end of last year. Then there's the pass rush. That's something that nuked Carolina's season. They couldn't get to the quarterback. So they replaced Eric Washington with Ron Rivera. They got rid of Brady Hoke. They got rid of the secondary coach. And we saw a much improved pass rush and secondary.

There were some untimely penalties. The turnovers on offense hurt Carolina, but the pass rush with Brian Burns was good. Bruce Irvin was hurt, couldn't play. Burns, he was active. Almost on every single drive, Burns did something, and that was his debut. The secondary was excellent. They went deep to Brandon Cook. So the first drive, Dante Jackson snuffed that out.

Then they tried some creative play action with movement at the line. Robert Woods seemed to be wide open. Action Jackson there again to break up a pass. James Bradbury had one interception last year. He broke on a ball, picked off a pass at a key point in the game.

You got to feel pretty good about that. The Panthers, they aren't going to be a playoff team right from the jump. That's not how it's going to work with how many different parts there are moving within this offense and defense, moving within this organization.

It just wasn't going to happen that way. New defensive scheme, many different players within that scheme. Cam Newton easing himself back into competitive football, different targets, different offensive line. If they played the Rams in October, I think Carolina wins the game. I said this on Friday that I thought the narrative would likely be close game. Carolina is probably going to lose because of lack of execution.

The Rams are just going to execute a little bit better and make fewer mistakes. And surely enough, Carolina had untimely turnovers. DJ Moore, careless with the ball. He had a case of the fumbles last year.

We saw that again yesterday, unfortunately. He's a second year player and the lack of awareness not to jump on that ball in the first half hurt Carolina as well. But it's not that urgent to win week one. Carolina won week one last year. Where did they end up? The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Panthers in the opener.

Where did they end up? Look at the season. Look at the schedule. The way it breaks for Carolina, you got Tampa on Thursday night. That should be a win for Carolina.

Panthers are a better football team. They're going to be at home. Then you're playing the Cardinals with extended preparation time. The Texans on the road, that's a tough ball game. The Jaguars at home with the news that Nick Foles has just been put on IR.

It's going to be Gardner Minshew likely playing quarterback for the Jags. You got to think advantage Carolina Panthers. Then it's the Buccaneers again in London. That's a pretty good slate of games for Carolina. So, Panther fans, take a breath.

It's just fine. Just because you lose doesn't mean it's all bad. You could pull positives out of the loss without it being the air quote moral victory. Carolina looked improved and that's what I wanted to see yesterday at Bank of America Stadium and I saw it. Another thing I really want to see. This 30 for 30 that's coming out.

Antonio Brown had such an interesting offseason. They decided to make an ESPN 30 for 30. We've obtained the trailer for this.

Exclusively here on the show. Mac Brown, by the way, going to join us in just a few minutes. North Carolina head football coach after the Tar Heels start 2 and 0.

They beat Miami over the weekend. But I'm just fixated on this audio trailer we've acquired for the 30 for 30. Raiders offseason. I didn't really get a title for this 30 for 30. I guess we'll find out what it is right now.

Hit the trailer. What if I told you that the only thing colder than Antonio Brown's feet is his soul, man. That this is the worst the Patriots have gotten us since the tuck rule. That it was actually Frank Caliendo's voice on that YouTube video. That we're completely fucked, man. That of course the Patriots would want a guy who secretly records things. That I was really looking forward to running Spider 2 Y Banana with that guy. That wearing a gold Hollywood Hogan mustache was the most normal thing AB did this offseason. That I actually agree that Mike Mayock's a cracker, man. That I don't know if he could float like a butterfly, but I sure as hell know he can sting like AB.

Knock on wood if you're with me, man. ESPN presents the 30 for 30 production. Son of AB.

A story about a man with a big chest of cold feet. That looks really, that sounds really good. That does sound really good. I'm excited to see it. I feel like Mike Mayock is never going to live this down. Like that's going to, that's going to become his nickname now, no matter what he does in his life going forward. What's that?

You know, what's his nickname? What is it, dude? No, I ain't doing it. I ain't doing it. It's a trap. It's a trap.

I can't believe Jon Gruden already out here saying those things. It was quick. Wild. Quick turnaround. Wow. Big chest, cold feet.

Mr. Big Chest. UNC head football coach Mac Brown will join the show next. It was a wonderful sight. Saturday night, Keenan Stadium, North Carolina selling things out against Miami, but you know how these things go sometimes. You see the sellout number and you just begin to wonder, okay, is that just tickets sold?

Is that what the actual attendance is going to be when they kick these things off? And the Tar Heel fans, I got to give them all the credit in the world. They delivered and on top of that, when Sam Howell threw that game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter, all the fans were still in the seats.

And the man who helped engineer North Carolina to a 2-0 start is Mac Brown, the head coach of the Tar Heels, joining us now on Sports Hub Triad. Coach, it was your first home game in Chapel Hill in over two decades. How did expectation meet reality coaching in that stadium again? Josh, I thought even after my 10 years here that that was the best and the most excited and loud crowd and environment that I've ever seen here.

In fact, at taxis anywhere else, I've never seen one any better. I was talking to Eric Church after the game and he said, man, I got good crowds for my concerts and I've seen a lot of good sporting events, but nothing ever has matched this. So credit to the Tar Heel fans. Miami fans came out.

They were strong. They were loud, but our fans were loud from start to finish. And you want your fan base to make a difference in the game and help your guys win.

And we had some bad plays. We had some tough times and our fans never got down. They never booed. The fans were like the players. They kept playing hard and cheering hard throughout the game.

So proud of them and want to thank them. You walked into the press conference after the North Carolina South Carolina opener with a sheet of paper that just had a bunch of scribbling on it. There was no room to write anything on that paper. You said this is all the mistakes, but I'm going to enjoy this because Sally, I made a promise to Sally that I would enjoy even the ugly losses. How much shorter was that list of mistakes in game two versus game one?

It was still a lot longer, Josh, than we want, but it was much shorter than the first one. We cleaned up a lot of things, but we can still be a much better football team than we've been for the first two games. And I'm glad that our guys kept fighting. I'm glad that the guys had the will to come back in the fourth quarter in both games and win.

But we as coaches need to do a better job because we can help them a lot more during the game. Sam Howe, two starts, two fourth quarter go-ahead touchdown drives. And you know, it's an interesting thing when you talk about true freshmen. The last time we spoke, coach, you were telling us that freshmen today are much more prepared coming into college football than they were even 10 years ago. But when did you know Sam Howe possessed what is required to lead a team in the fourth quarter at this level?

Josh, you never know that moment for sure until you get them in a game. But we tried to figure out, we had the three good quarterbacks, Jase Reuter and Cade Fortin and Sam for the spring game. And we were trying to figure out, because we weren't going to have a starter in the spring, we were trying to figure out how to get the first guy out there and what's fair.

So Coach Longo goes rock, paper, scissors to see who we're going to start the spring game and Sam wins. So he comes out in the first play as a skinny post. And even in a spring game, his first time in college as a true freshman, he lifted up me.

He threw a dart for the skinny post and didn't even flinch. And I thought, oh, this guy may be good. And you've coached some very good quarterbacks who have similar skill sets. I think when you look at Sam Howe, he was seen to be the number three dual threat quarterback coming into college football, according to recruiting sites and all of those things, depending on how much stock you put in those. But you had two very good, I'd say, dual threat quarterbacks at Colt McCoy and Vince Young.

Is it something where you think the offense that you like makes it easier for a dual threat quarterback to be successful? Or what have you liked in Sam Howe, considering the great quarterbacks you've coached in the past? Josh, the winningest coach in Texas football history won three national championships.

His name was Darrell Royal. And he came out and he watched Vince Young play for a little bit. And he turned to me and he said, Coach, he's got it. I said, what does that mean, Coach?

He said, it is just a factor that other people don't have. They make the team follow them. They're going to win the game late.

They're going to do whatever they need to do to win the game. When they walk in a room, everybody stops and starts talking to them. And Colt McCoy had the same attributes. And I feel like Sam has the same. He's quiet. He's very humble. But he's very confident.

And when he says something, our team believes it. And even after two sacks on Saturday night with a fourth and 17, most young guys would have been nervous. They would have scrambled out. They would have worried about being sacked. They would have thrown the ball underneath the chains and not made the first down.

But Sam knew where the chains were. And he threw just enough to get the fourth and 17. And then comes down, throws the ball to Bo Corrales that we should have caught for the touchdown. That one's dropped. He's not frustrated at all.

He doesn't show any type of disappointment or bad body language. He comes back the next play or two and throws it to Dez Newsome. And he's the third choice right on the money for a touchdown.

So the guy's just a winner. Mac Brown, North Carolina head coach with us here getting set for Wake Forest Friday night. It's a short week for your team. It is a non-conference game between North Carolina and Wake Forest Friday.

I know that's confused some people, but it was scheduled a few years ago. And it's a six o'clock game as well Friday at BB&T field between the 2-0 Deacs and your 2-0 Tar Heels. The number one thing that stands out to you about Wake Forest is what? They're well coached. They don't make mistakes. They're smart. They're tough.

They're physical. Because you look at their stats. They very seldom ever turn the ball over. And they have very few penalties.

And they're sound in the kicking game. And those are usually things that if you're doing, Josh, you're going to win games. And Dave's done a tremendous job in all those areas. So he's recruited smart kids. He's recruited kids to play to assist them. His quarterback's very good. He's got older offensive linemen that know exactly what to do and what he wants. He's got a couple of really good running backs. So they're going to run up and run the football and make you put enough people around the line of scrimmage to stop the run. And then they've got the two tall basketball playing, football playing receivers outside that make it very difficult on you.

So then they've got Hinton really in the slot. So they've got a lot of different things they do offensively. They do it very well. They play a very sound defense, very similar to what we're doing. And Dave's had a lot of those guys with Elko and Jay's worked for him, our defensive coordinator up at Richmond. He's had a lot of great coaches come through the app right now doing as good a job as anybody on defense in the country. Sam Howell told us after the game, Coach, that the first time he led a game-winning drive was as a freshman in high school. And he says he's done it a number of times leading up to this season and, of course, leading come-from-behind go-ahead TD drives in the fourth quarter, his first two starts. On the other side of things, though, Jamie Newman has started six games in his collegiate career. And three of them, he's had the lead game-winning drives, including road games at NC State and in a bowl game, I should say, at Memphis. And he told me after the state game, that was the first time ever in his life he had the lead, a game-winning drive, and it came in his first career start. So, what do you see in the Deke starting quarterback, who's putting a ton of numbers up, Jamie Newman?

First, I see ability in Jamie. He's big, he's very strong, so he can run the ball in their system, but he's also hard to get down, and he's fast enough he can break contain, hard to tackle. Secondly, he's got a really strong and accurate arm, so he can get the ball deep. He's got a strong arm, quick release to give it to the big guys on the slants and the hitches and those type things.

But thirdly, for a guy that hasn't been around as long as most as a quarterback, he's very confident, and he's a very good leader, so it's easy to see why he's had so many comebacks. It's North Carolina head coach Mac Brown with us. Let's get to the important stuff. David Cutcliffe, Duke football coach, was with us last week, and he had something to say about your season-opening win against South Carolina.

This was part of our conversation last week. Are you a better dancer than Mac Brown? Well, we may have to find out sometime, but I'll take him home, I promise you. I'm not afraid. Your reaction? He's got to be a better dancer than me because everybody in the country is a better dancer than me, Josh. So I'm going with David if it comes down, and I will say this, whatever David does in dancing, he's going to have to compare it to my South Carolina dance because nobody will ever see me dance again.

Never? You said you wiggled a little bit on Saturday, coach. I did, but we never got to a point where it would be classified as a dance. They wanted me to. I was really excited.

They were in the middle of the field. They waited on me. They called me out, but I stood much stronger this time, Josh, than I did last time when I gave in because Sally said, don't be making promises to those kids when you get excited. Don't shave your head. Don't take your shirt off. She said, and let's don't dance anymore.

I think you've already done that deal. So I stood strong after the Miami game. You told me after the game, you said that you would have been divorced if you danced again. So it leads me to believe after seeing the videotape, Sally had something to say about your South Carolina dance. She did, but she also understood if it helped us win, it's okay.

So if she thought that me dancing would help us beat Wake Forest, she would not like it, but she would do it because she knows that our lives are much better when we win. Coach, you're the absolute best. Congratulations on starting 2-0. We'll see you in Winston-Salem on Friday. Thank you, Josh.

See you Friday. He's the best. I mean that. And he's already forfeited the dance competition to David Cutcliffe.

So we can crown him. We can crown Cutcliffe right now the dance champion among North Carolina football coaches because Mac, he already knows the deal. I didn't see videotape of Cutcliffe dancing Saturday. He said if they beat North Carolina A&T, it's customary after the press conference with one of the staffers that work inside the Duke football office that he would be captured dancing. So I'm not saying it didn't happen.

I'm just saying I didn't see it over the weekend. But what a scene that was inside Keenan Stadium. It is the loudest. I remember seeing Keenan Stadium and I was at the Hakeem Nicks game when North Carolina beat Miami. I want to say 2010. One of Butch Davis's last years.

And this topped it. It's going to be exciting stuff inside BB&T Field Saturday. And we'll be there, of course. Continue to follow us on Twitter at sports.

I've tried the drive brought to you in part by your friends at Twin Peaks restaurant Haines Mall Boulevard. You can find the perfect place to watch Monday Night Football tonight. Texas Saints also got the Raiders and the Broncos. I'd give you picks for those games, but Austin Dillon already stole my thunder. The driver in the number three Chevrolet joined us earlier in the show and he said that I've got the picks here. I got the Saints to beat the Texans and I like an upset. I like the Raiders to beat the Denver Broncos. Everybody's talking about Antonio Brown and AB is not there anymore.

So the Raiders could have come out on top, according to Austin Dillon. That's those are his picks. If you missed that conversation or any of our show, be sure to subscribe to the best of podcasts. SoundCloud, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Google Play.

That's the place to go for the podcast. That's where did you end up watching North Carolina, Miami on Saturday? You still don't have the ACC network, do you know? And I didn't get a chance to watch much of this game because I was working. So I've basically seen highlights and read the the recaps and whatnot, but didn't get a chance to sit down and experience this yet. And with them playing Friday, I'm not going to watch that either because I'll be working doing high school football.

So there you have it. The first quarter and change, I think, was on ESPN News because Florida State was going long, went to overtime with U.L. Monroe and U.L. Monroe was thinking about going for two with it being 45-44. They decide to kick the extra point in overtime and the PAT goes awry.

Tough way for a game to end there. The most unpopular thing that you can do today, I believe, is say anything nice about Antonio Brown and compliment him and compliment the New England Patriots for acquiring him because of how polarizing AB has become and how polarizing the Patriots have been the last two decades. And I'm less interested in talking about AB, the person, because I think that's been well covered even on this show. We've gotten into his intellect. We've gotten into some of his decisions. And I'm less interested in that piece and more interested in what this is going to look like now that he's wearing a New England Patriots uniform. I think him joining the Patriots is great for the NFL.

I see everybody, it seems like today, say, oh, this is awful. There might have been meddling. Bill Belichick might have helped coach AB to leave the Raiders in order to sign him. This is going to make New England overwhelming. This is the way I view it. You've got the most polarizing player in the sport right now playing for the most polarizing team.

It's going to be like NWL. The New England Patriots, they're already the most hated team. Now you've got the most hated player. It just fits. And as a result, we love villains. Why do you think in Star Wars the most popular figure in that series, one of the most popular series in the history of film, if not the most popular, why do you think the most popular figure is Darth Vader? Because we like villains.

We like villains, we like the dark side of things. And the New England Patriots, they represent just that. That's why the Patriots and the Cowboys, they're going to be the biggest draws in the NFL this year. The Cowboys just because they're America's team and fans are everywhere for that team. Also, they seem to have a very good team, probably the best roster they've put together since 2007.

So it's been about a dozen years. With New England, it was almost getting boring. Oh, the Super Bowl was 13 to 3. Now they don't have Gronk and that's what made them fun and interesting. Belichick's just going to give no answers to anything.

Tom Brady never says anything either. So they're just going to win and we're just going to have to hate it. It's going to be boring the entire time. Now, New England is going to be the favorite to win and they're going to win.

I picked them to win the Super Bowl before AB signed with them. Now it's going to be interesting every single step of the way. They just became more interesting. I love watching great players on great teams.

This is an unpopular opinion, I'm sure. But I love watching Alabama and Clemson. When Clemson was waxing Texas A&M, I enjoyed every bit of that. I get excited watching the best players make great plays.

You might say, oh, this is just too overwhelming and dominant for me to enjoy it. I love watching excellence before me. Trevor Lawrence rolling out of the pocket, completing that pass to Justin Ross in Death Valley. UConn women's basketball. I was broadcasting East Carolina hoops and I went on the road with the women when they went to UConn. And there were 14,000 people in a snowstorm.

A record snowstorm in Connecticut inside the XL Center where they play in Hartford. And it was just a marvel to watch. Seeing what Gino Ariema did game to game. How he keeps his team sharp even as they're up 35, 40 points at a basketball game. I love watching excellence. The Golden State Warriors when they had Kevin Durant. The Miami Big Three with LeBron, Bosh, and Wade. Even if you might view these teams as villains and dislike that they come together, that amount of talent together in one place.

I appreciate the greatness more than anything else. And I see this a little bit with the Patriots. I don't think it's going to make New England overwhelming. They already had a great wide receiver, wide receiving corps. I don't think their offense is going to change all that much. Like the New England Patriots, I think they've become a half point better with Antonio Brown, a wide receiver.

I don't think this changes any of the narratives we had before. I don't think it changes the New England Patriots. There is another scenario though, which again I think would be positive for the NFL and appease all the people that hated this move and hate the Patriots. Maybe could torpedo the Patriots from within. I mean, if he did it to Pittsburgh, who's to say he can't do it with New England?

We've heard these stories the last few years. New England, the story with them is not that they just win and they do so without any drama. It's that they do so with drama within their organization. Seth Wickersham puts out the story about Brady being uneasy with Jimmy Garoppolo being on the roster and might have had a hand in him being traded. Bill Belichick maybe wanting Brady to move on sooner so they could get to the Jimmy Garoppolo era. There was the drama within the Patriots, but their biggest skill, their best attribute is that they were able to put that aside and when you got on the field, be able to execute. And they did.

And they won the Super Bowl yet again. I'm not sure if AB is going to respect anybody. If he doesn't respect Ben Roethlisberger, who's going to be a Hall of Famer, Mike Tomlin. I don't know.

I'm not going to pretend to know what's going to happen moving forward. I just know this is good for business. If you're looking at the NFL, this is good that Antonio Brown's on the team because you just added the most polarizing player to the most polarizing team. We don't have to stay up late and watch this Monday night football game tonight.

So thank God for that. Broncos and Raiders. I'm not staying up to two in the morning unless Antonio Brown is playing in the game. And I love watching great players on great teams.

So I don't think this is a bad thing. I mean, I totally agree with you in terms of sports. Sports need a big dog.

Someone someone either for everyone to root for or for everyone to root to get knocked off. There's a reason why the Duke Blue Devil men's basketball team is typically voted the most hated team in America. But their games are usually the most highest rated, you know, every single season.

And that's that goes along the lines of what you're saying. And they're one of the best teams. No, no, no. Duke. Yeah. Every year they're one of the best teams. One of the best teams Duke is. You've got to accept that. Come on. North Carolina is two.

Thank you. But Duke is also one of the best teams. You feel better now that I made sure to bring up North Carolina? That was not the point you were trying to make.

So I was trying to stay on your your original point. Let's let's get to North Carolina because I want to scratch Des's tummy and make sure he feels good. Thank you.

You're welcome. Let's have Matthew McConaughey scratch your tummy. He was in college game day Saturday.

This was the highlight of my weekend. I love McConaughey. His voice is iconic. All of his characters seem to be Matthew McConaughey. Like, I'm not sure how much acting there is. If you go back and watch Days to Confuse, is that Matthew McConaughey playing a character or is that just Matthew McConaughey?

I don't know the answer to that, but I love that movie and I almost love everything he's in. Even the rom coms. I watched How to Lose a Guy in ten days Friday. No shame.

I love rom coms. But he rolled on to college game day in a Lincoln, driving in between fans, one hand on the steering wheel, a horns up out the window. My guy is a professor now at UT, and he was just making bold picks. Like he was the lone dog three different times.

And here's the thing. He was right all three of those times, including North Carolina football. The Tar Heels facing Miami. This is Matthew McConaughey on college game day.

Couple of things here. Mack Brown has a victory last week against one of his former defensive coordinators, Will Muschamp. Now this week, who we are? Another DC.

Manny Diaz. That's right. If the Tar Heels can catch their breath after the victory they had last week, which was an emotional Mack's first game, if they caught their breath press reset, I'm going with the Tar Heels.

So he's one for one. Good analysis there. Mack Brown facing Will Muschamp and then Manny Diaz. Can North Carolina play former Mack Brown assistants every single week?

Please. Not getting that this week. At Wake Forest, first road game, short week.

We'll have plenty of time to talk about that game. But needless to say, I'm leaning Wake Forest at the moment. The biggest upset of the day was BYU going into Knoxville and beating Tennessee.

The volunteers, they are 0-2. There's no way that Matthew McConaughey could have possibly picked BYU, right? Isn't this a mental game, an effort game?

Oh, yeah. I mean, on both sides, even more than Tennessee. Here comes Tennessee into the season.

We are reborn. Absolutely. All over it. Lady Egg, what are we doing?

What happened in the mines there in Tennessee, in Knoxville, over this last week? Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. I know BYU. I'm betting BYU does show up to play. Yeah.

I'm going to take BYU. Wow. There it is.

Pretty impressive. Matthew McConaughey, he only got two picks wrong. Unfortunately, the one everybody remembers was Texas, and they lost to LSU. But I'm convinced McConaughey knew we had to pick Texas in that circumstance. No one ever, as the guest picker, comes in and picks against the school that they're repping. Like, you're an alum. You're brought up there because Texas fans love you.

You've got to make a business decision there. I believe that Matthew McConaughey actually thought LSU was going to win. He had to pick Texas.

I was going to say, you know what? It would have been a lot cooler if he did pick LSU. Well done. One of the other more surprising results from the weekend.

Maybe the most surprising result in the ACC was that Syracuse not only lost to Maryland, but Maryland rolled Syracuse. Take it from here, Matt. Okay. Now I've got inside info. Uh-oh. They lock. Yeah? They lock.

They're fighting Scott Van Pelt. Oh, yeah. Oh, wow. Maryland. I'm taking them. I love his voice.

I love his picks. Maryland just taking Syracuse behind the woodshed, and now Syracuse has to get ready for Clemson this weekend. Good luck. Good luck with that. Yeah.

That's just so great. He could pick games with any top college football expert out there. That's the funny thing about picking games. We don't do a lot of predictions. We have our picks on Friday. By the way, we were two and one again this weekend when it comes to my best bets. We don't do a lot of it because I feel like so many can do that as well as the pros can.

Okay? You can bring in Matthew McConaughey, and he could come in and pick a lot better than Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreet, and Desmond Howard do. There are a lot of athletes I feel like that could step up to the plate and do the same thing. But one of those people is Austin Dillon. Austin Dillon is a massive sports fan. When Wake Forest won on Friday night to go 2-0, Austin Dillon is tweeting about Dave Clausen. He's in his race yesterday.

He's finishing top 15 yesterday in Indianapolis. But you know, and we'll ask him in just a bit, he's following his Carolina Panthers. He's from Welcome, North Carolina. It just seems like there's motor fuel, motor oil that comes out of his veins considering how he was brought up.

There was just no doubt he was going to be a racer. But, big Carolina Panthers fan last year at the All-Star race. It's him, it's Christian McCaffrey, Jarius Wright, Trey Turner.

They're all out there having a good time. So, I want to get his analysis. We got two Monday Night Football games tonight. It's the Raiders and Broncos, it's the Saints and Texans. I want to get Austin Dillon's picks. He is the driver of the number 3 Chevy. And he's going to join us next on the Drive.

Let's get started. This is the Sports Hub at AM600, AM920. Now back to the Drive with Josh Graham. So, we'll get back to the Carolina Panthers and the Los Angeles Rams game from yesterday in just a little bit.

We got locker room sound from Bank of America Stadium. As that was happening though, Austin Dillon, the driver of the number 3 Chevrolet of Richard Childress Racing was just notching another top 15 finish. And Austin is kind enough to spend some time here with us now in the Triad, a North Carolina native. And I understand as well, Austin, you're a Carolina Panthers fan too.

So, where were you? When did you finally get a chance to catch up on the Panthers' performance? Man, I always get to my phone after the race on Sundays when football season is going.

And I open it up hoping to see some really good news. And that's the Panthers' W, but it was close, man. After I got out of the car, I saw that we lost by three.

I wanted to immediately see what happened and how we played. It looked like CMC had a great game. And close one, man.

A couple things far away. We probably beat the team that made it to the Super Bowl last year. So, I feel there's still a lot of promise in this season. We'll get it together. And I feel like there'll be a solid team to be reckoned with. The Bank of America Roval 400 is coming up in a few weeks in Charlotte.

We're certainly looking forward to that on the 29th later this month. But sticking with football, when did you become such a Panthers fan? Because last year, I remember you coming out at the All-Star race. And it's Christian McCaffrey, Trey Turner, and others who are joining you in your entrance. Man, I've always been a big Panthers fan. And when Christian got drafted a couple years back, I had already direct messaged him when he was at Stanford. And I was like, man, I think the Panthers are going to draft you this year.

When you get to Carolina, we need to get together and hang out. And sure enough, he direct messaged me back. And we started kind of chatting.

And he got drafted. And we got to hang out a couple times. And I got a bunch of boys over there that I'm friends with, Darius Wright. We've had a lot of fun times together, Trey, Mario Addison, all those guys. Some of them are big race fans and just sports in general.

And we like to hang out. It's Austin Dillon, driver of the number three Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. But it almost sounds like you're a scout. You knew that Christian McCaffrey was going to be the guy. And the Panthers took him number eight. And we saw what he was capable of doing last season and yesterday against the Rams. We were playing sound of Matthew McConaughey talking about football.

And he was picking all the upsets correctly over the weekend. We got the Saints and the Texans tonight, the Broncos and the Raiders. Any picks for these games you can bring for us?

Give us some of your expertise. Yeah, man, thanks, Texans. That's a tough one. I like Drew Brees. He's just got too much experience. That team is solid. Good coaching staff there. Deshaun Watson, he can toss the rock.

I love watching him when he's at Clemson. And he's got a great receiving core, I feel like, this year. And they picked up a good offensive tackle. But I got to take the Saints against the Texans. I just feel like they're running games a little better. Then you got the Broncos, Raiders. Wow, Raiders took a blow this week. I don't think Joe Flacco is that great.

I don't know. That's a hard one to pick. I feel like it's going to be a defensive game. Not a lot of scoring. I feel like Jon Gruden and the Raiders come out on top on this one, though. Raiders win over the Broncos.

Wow, there you have it. Austin Dillon's picks. He's got the Saints over the Texans.

He's got the Raiders over the Broncos in Monday Night Football. But getting into your background a little bit, Austin. Obviously, I mean, your name, it's NASCAR royalty. But I want to know, the first time you remember being exposed to racing.

Because it's not just Richard Childress. It's your brother, and it's pretty much your entire family that's vested in the sport. Yeah, I'd say it was a pretty young age, going to the track with my dad and my grandfather. Being at the track, go-kart racing from a young age. Anything with a motor and four wheels, man, we've met with.

A lot of memories over the time, period. What's the most competitive the Dillon household got when it comes to racing, within siblings? Wow, I mean, every weekend we race against each other. It's pretty competitive. But one of our first races a long time ago in Kentucky, my brother wrecked me for, like, six in a bandolero. It was, like, a small race.

And I remember my mom having to separate us, put us in one up front and one in the back on the way home from the race, from the car. Bank of America Roval 400. We're chatting with Austin Dillon here on Sports Hub Triad. A reminder that adult tickets start at just $49 for the Bank of America Roval 400. Kids 13 and under get in for just $10 with an adult ticket purchase.

And then on top of that, make sure if you want the most convenient way to buy tickets, you go by calling 800-455-FANS or online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com. Do you have a good Richard Childress story you can share with us? Multiple.

Let me think of a good one, though. When we were little, Robbie Gordon used to drive for us. I don't know if you know who that is. Off-road truck racer. Heck of a wheel man. He brought a trophy truck out to the farm one time, and he put me in the front seat, and we went, like, 180 miles an hour down, like, a dirt road on these trucks. I don't know if that was the correct mile per hour, but it felt like it. And my grandfather drove it and actually ended up flipping what we thought he flipped. It was just a cloud of dirt, and he came back. He had it on two wheels, and he came back and he said, When in doubt, stay in the gas.

And he was able to save it and brought it back, but that was a quote he always used. When in doubt, stay in the gas. The Bank of America Roval 400 in a few weeks at September the 29th at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Austin, what makes this Roval track so unique? Well, there's only one like it. I mean, we used banking of the main track and then cut through the infield. I mean, it probably wasn't built originally for this concept, but it works.

And they did a good job with it. It turned into an entertaining race last year. I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks for the time, sir. Best of luck leading up to the Bank of America Roval 400 in a few weeks. I bet it's a lot more fun when, one, the Panthers are winning, getting to follow what's happening in your home state, racing in your home state. I bet it's the same feel, too. It is.

It's always nice to have friends and family at the track, and that's always a good one to be at. Thank you so much. We'll chat sometime soon, Austin. Thank you. You got it.

That is Austin Dillon, kind enough to spend some time with us. It's the Roval 400 in just a few weeks. And it really is a big weekend when you have the Bojangles qualifying day on Friday, the Xfinity Series as well on Saturday.

And it's just a slugfest. That's probably the best way to put it with the Roval, 109 laps. It's a unique track. It's not rare where you have others that kind of mirror it.

It's just completely unique what you're going to see here. It's the combination of fast, high banked, oval and tight racing. Then you have a technical road course thrown into the middle of it as well.

Seventeen turns, two and a half miles or a little bit less than two and a half miles. So it's one of the more fun races to follow right here in the heart of NASCAR in the state of North Carolina. Austin Dillon, a top 15 finish yesterday, a big Carolina Panthers fan as well, as we just learned. And he's got some picks tonight. He likes the Saints over the Texans. He likes the Raiders over the Broncos. If McConaughey giving his picks and only missing two out of the ones he gave on college game day serves as any type of a precursor, maybe Austin Dillon knows what he's doing here.

And he's the guy that we lean on when it comes to giving quality picks for the NFL. The drive brought to you in part by our friends at Pie Guys Pizza and More. Try the Gram Slam Pizza, Buffalo Chicken on top of a Texas Pete base, some bacon on top. Don't know what more you can ask for from a pizza. It's our favorite pizza here. Support the people that support us, the Kinnaman Village Commons, right off of Lewisville, Clemons Road. In Clemons, it's Pie Guys Pizza and More online at pieguys.com. Coming up, locker room sound, including Cam Newton dunking on me in the postgame press conference. That's next on the drive.