Sam Hartman Revenge Tour (9-7-23)

So glad to have you on this Thursday Drive. It is WSJS News Talk Sports for the Triad where the NFL season has officially arrived. Somebody who knows a thing or two about calling NFL games is Sean McDonough, who will be on the call for Notre Dame NC State this weekend, a game we'll get to in a second.

He'll be here in about 15 minutes. But looking at the NFL game we have tonight, Lions Chiefs is a classic example of season opener where the anticipation is bound to be much greater than the game ends up being. Because that's something that happens more times than it doesn't with opening night. Excitement is at its peak. You have people scrambling to get their fantasy lineup set.

Many people have had this date circled back since May, maybe even back as far as February. Can't wait for the NFL season to start. The NFL is king in this country and we get it. Nothing else is going to come close to the number the NFL draws tonight.

And meanwhile, you could just ask a coach about this. Teams have a lot of uncertainty in their first game. There's a lot of sloppiness that comes along with your first game. And that's why since 2008, and you're talking about a 15 year sample now, there have been six games where teams have combined for 31 points or fewer. 31 points or fewer.

You're talking about 1310 games and 1714. Not because the teams playing aren't any good. You're talking about defending Super Bowl champs in pretty much every scenario. So don't be surprised if that's something we see because there are real concerns to have about both these teams playing tonight.

Take the Chiefs for example. Most obviously they're missing Chris Jones, who's their best defensive player. Travis Kelce, he's banged up too.

We learned that a couple of nights ago. It looks like that he's going to play still, but it's a hyperextended knee a couple of days before your first game. How effective can he be while he's out there? You're replacing Juju Smith-Schuster out wide a year after you replaced Tyreek Hill. So that continued churn of skill position players happens in Kansas City. I have no doubt that they're going to be okay and probably still win that division. But does that mean they're going to be firing on all cylinders right out of the gate?

Probably not. Plus there's always a motion that comes along with the season opener when you've won the Super Bowl and you're seeing the banner drop and there's nostalgia associated with that. This is another thing that annoys coaches. Something that coaches in college do not like about senior day, for example, because the nostalgia doesn't really mix with the mentality you generally want your players to be, the mental headspace you want your guys to be in when you're getting set to play a football game. So there could be some element of that.

And we've seen examples of it. The defending champs getting rolled off the field on the night that they're celebrating their Super Bowl. Last year, the L.A. Rams were bludgeoned by Buffalo 31 to 10.

So that's the chief side of it. Then you have the wildly overrated Lions. Now they're likable. No one's rooting against them, but they're still the Detroit Lions. Why are they so hyped? Well, they finished strong at the end of last year after starting one in six or two in six.

But none of those games were really nationally televised. So you look at it and you see, wow, look where they were in the standings. And, oh, this guy did pretty good for my fantasy team. And I watched Hard Knocks a year ago and that Dan Campbell, I'd love to play for Dan Campbell and fire it up. But then you look at the details and you're like, well, Ben Johnson's going into his second year as the play caller. We've seen wonderkind coordinators impress in their first year, but then fall off in their second year. Just ask Panther fans with Joe Brady how that went.

Defensive coordinators, they make quite a bit in the NFL and they're pretty good at adapting to what you like to do. So we shall see what answers the Chiefs might have defensively for the Lions offense. I mean, even last year, Steve Wilkes, he found some answer answers when the Panthers trounced the Lions on Christmas Eve. What might that look like tonight? We're talking about the Lions with a lot of hype and the Chiefs who are missing some dudes on the night that they're playing the that they're going to be celebrating their Super Bowl win last year. It all just strikes me as being a game where neither team is going to live up to the offensive expectations that are set before them based on how both performed last year offensively.

So expect an ugly game tonight. I still have Kansas City winning by a touchdown, Kansas City 24 and the Lions 17 on Twitter at WSJS radio. If you want in on the show, that's where we're streaming video.

In addition to YouTube and Twitch 3 3 6 7 7 7 1 600 is the phone number. DJ Turner is the producer of this show once again and Will Dalton's dead. And it's days like today that I'm happy you're here rather than WD because it's good to have a producer who actually knows movies. Have you seen Kill Bill one and two? Yes. Multiple times. Excellent movie. One of my three or four favorite Quentin Tarantino movie. Looking at Notre Dame NC State this week, all I could think about is Uma Thurman as the bride and kill Bill because in a football sense, Sam Hartman is Uma Thurman and NC State is the first task on the revenge tour in front of them.

Why? Last year at Wake Forest, Sam Hartman lost five games. Four of those five opponents he lost to are on Notre Dame schedule this year. NC State, Duke, Clemson and did I already say Louisville?

NC State, Duke, Clemson and Louisville are the four teams. All four of those games are going to be on the road, by the way. So games that Sam Hartman lost a year ago, he has a chance to right those wrongs and potentially hand it to some of these teams. And he's doing so with a better supporting cast now that he's in South Bend.

Here's what's interesting about this week, though. Sam has never won at Carter-Finley Stadium. He's 0-2 and that building is a starter and both games are memorable. Back in 2020 during the COVID season, Sam and Wake lost 45-42.

Generally, when you score 42 points, you think you're probably going to win the football game. Not that night. And then last year, he threw three interceptions the week after the Louisville debacle and they lost to a true freshman quarterback and MJ Morris making his first start. You might think, well, Josh, wasn't Hartman around for that 2018 season? Well, I recall him starting as a true freshman. He did, but the game before the NC State game, Sam got hurt, which opened the door for Jamie Newman to make his first start at Carter-Finley, spoiling Ryan Finley senior night that Thursday night where Jack Fruitenthal had a touchdown in the final two minutes to win the game for the Demon Deacons, one of their better wins under Dave Claussen, which led to a run at the end of the year and them getting into a bowl game.

Sam Hartman did not win that game, though. There's a lot of familiarity here, which is why Dave Doran spoke so highly about Sam Hartman and can speak very highly of him with first-person recognition, first-person observations about what Sam brings. He's a really good player. He's been a really good player for a long time.

He's a winner, you know, champion in high school and we all know what he did at Wake. And so you can see his confidence and how he manages their offense and, you know, gets the ball to the right people, makes plays with his feet when he needs to. And he's got a nice cast around him, you know, so they're definitely able to help him in other ways, you know, with the run game and big tight ends and things that they do.

So a great addition to their offense and obviously they're playing well with him. I'm glad he brings up the supporting cast because if Notre Dame wins this game, it'll likely be because of someone not named Sam Hartman. Notre Dame has always been about running the football first in their pro-style offense and that's no different this year, even as they have the ACC's career touchdown leader and Sam is off to a fantastic start. NC State, the one alarming thing we saw from their opener a week ago in Connecticut was that UConn ran over them a bit. UConn ran on them pretty successfully and that's UConn, all due respect, not Notre Dame. So that might be a problem for NC State. There are a couple of numbers that conflict with each other.

Dave Doran has won 23 straight non-conference home games with the pack and Notre Dame meanwhile is 28-2 since 2018 against ACC opponents. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Kill Bill, remember that. Thank you.

It's pretty good. The revenge tour begins for Sam Hartman in Raleigh. The great Sean McDonough will join us ahead of calling NC State Notre Dame next on The Drive. I don't know how much me and our next guests have in common but we might be the only two people on the planet or at least one of the few who were at North Carolina, South Carolina Saturday, Duke and Clemson Monday and will be at NC State and Notre Dame this coming Saturday as our next guest is Sean McDonough who will be calling the game at high noon on ABC.

Appreciate you spending the time with us Sean McDonough. You've had quite the week in our state. Yeah, it's been fun. You know college football is back in full swing so I might as well jump right back in and immerse myself. A fun couple of days as you said in Charlotte watching the Battle of the Carolinas and then watching that Clemson-Duke game in Durham on Monday and sitting here in my hotel room in Raleigh now getting ready for Notre Dame and the Wolfpack. When you're calling a game you're essentially telling a story and when you look at the storylines for Notre Dame and NC State how high up on the list is Sam Hartman's return to the state of North Carolina?

Oh, I think that's really high. Maybe the most important storyline in the game. You know he's obviously off to a great start. Hasn't had to do a lot. You know they've played interior opponents and dominating Navy and Tennessee State but you know as you know Josh this will be a really good defense at NC State that he's playing as one of the best in the country last year.

So it'll be a challenge. He hasn't fared very well when he was at Wake Forest against NC State but you know the Wake Forest offense was different. Obviously these are two different teams as well so it'll be interesting to see what happens but obviously you know not only just in this game but his transferring to Notre Dame I think is one of the big stories of the year in college football because he's a terrific quarterback, leading active quarterback in college football at the FBS level and touchdown passes and yards. You know he got a terrific career at Wake Forest on a very well coached team there and he's having a off to a terrific start at Notre Dame. You say that but the national reaction you still see from many people is whoa this Sam Hartman guy is pretty good but guys like you who called many Wake Forest games and you know had seen it were the reaction by those who actually paid very close attention. We know exactly what he's capable of but you've watched a lot of Notre Dame too and called some pretty big games they've been a part of. Was there any doubt to you the translation from what Wake did with Sam to Sam transitioning to more of a pro style offense at Notre Dame that he was going to be this successful?

Did you have those doubts? No I mean not really just because I think he's super talented and smart and you know he has all the intangibles you want in a quarterback. He's a leader and a fiery competitor and you know so I don't I don't think it matters. I mean maybe if they had him running the options you'd wonder about it as a fit but you know this this style of offense should suit him very well and it seems like it does. Sean McDonough is with us here as you mentioned you were calling South Carolina North Carolina on Saturday and during that broadcast you chose to speak for a moment critically about the Tez Walker situation as many have and we have the news today that his final attempt at relief and getting the waiver from the NCAA has been denied he's not going to play this year. Why did you feel so strongly about this to say what you did on air first off and how do you react to the NCAA once again saying no? Well I'm really surprised I was hoping today with his hearing was going to be the day that the NCAA would finally come around and do the right thing and I think the Tar Heel people coaches his teammates were optimistic that that was going to happen too and obviously it hasn't which almost defies logic but you know that's the NCAA you know they've been around for a long time they do a lot of things that don't make any sense you know they're they're it's I'd like to say they're irrelevant in college athletics so there's been a lot of predictions that they might go out of business at some point and not be the governing body anymore you know and and maybe this will accelerate that but they're not irrelevant when they can take a young man like this and have not played for the year you know it doesn't make any sense you know he he only played at one school Kent State you know they're saying he's a two-time transfer rule you know the history Josh and I'm sure a lot of your listeners do too so I don't need to rehash it and you know the fact is he transferred on I believe enrolled there January 9th and they didn't even announce this this rule change until January 11th so to me he should have been grandfathered in you know maybe he would have stayed at Kent State if they had announced that he was going to be considered a two-time transfer and would have to sit out a year so I think it's an absolute joke but it's just kind of in line with so much of what the NCAA's history is and I feel terrible for him you know it's a really rough thing I can't imagine that the people on that committee who heard this today feel good about going to bed at night knowing that this kid's not gonna play college football for a year getting to the game grace yeah I'm right there with you getting to the game you were at as a spectator on Monday Duke and Clemson what was the bigger story from Monday the Blue Devils historic win or the state of Clemson well it seems like nationally at least in the follow-up reading bunch of stuff it's you know Clemson's demise they certainly didn't look very good I've read a couple articles saying you know that's what Dabo gets for not dipping into the transfer portal and you know being like just about everybody else in that regard so you know I do think you were there Josh you know it was no fluke you know if you didn't know the histories of these two programs you would have thought Duke was Clemson and Clemson was Duke I mean I thought Duke controlled the game much of the night if they didn't have those two really bad lost fumbles in the first half they probably would have been at the head at the half and one even more comfortably than they did so I thought they were the better team and you know I think it's because they are a really good team I'm not sure if they played ten times Duke would win more than five or maybe not even win five but on that night they were clearly the better team I think they were a really good team Mike Elko's done a fantastic job you know they have an outstanding quarterback they certainly had the better quarterback in that game which is often the most important thing in a football game so impressed by what Duke is doing I do think you know Clemson was the preseason pick to win the ACC I think after one weekend given what we saw with Florida State and what they did to LSU I would have to say now that that's probably flipped to Florida State being the favorite and I feel bad for North Carolina because you know I think they'd be a contender a better contender with Tez Walker you know they still have a chance but when you take a guy out who is going to be your best receiver and you know Mac Brown told us before that game last weekend he was the second best player on their offense after Drake May it's you know it's really a shame Sean McDonough with us here he'll be on the call for Notre Dame NC State this week what's your favorite golf course in the state of North Carolina just curious well yesterday I played at Old Chatham here in Raleigh I guess maybe it's technically in Cary but in the Raleigh Durham area and it's fantastic you know there are a lot of great golf courses in this state obviously you could go to Pinehurst and find a lot of great places you know there are a lot of them but I would say Old Chatham might be my new favorite after yesterday I had played there a couple years ago but they were doing major renovations and it was kind of ripped up and yesterday was just as pristine as it could be and you could and as much as you could enjoy golf with while the temperature was a billion degrees out which it was but still a beautiful day the US Open gonna be at Pinehurst next year write that down Sean McDonough maybe we can yeah well last time it was there when the men and women both played the US Open in back-to-back weeks I was part of the broadcast team for that I don't mean to diminish Pinehurst it's obviously fantastic with a number of outstanding courses there but yeah after yesterday I would say Old Chatham has become my new favorite I gotta throw this your way on the way out because NHL schedules were announced in the last week and 11 national games for the Carolina Hurricanes probably the most I've seen for them at this point going into a year and there are some places that are saying that they're the favorite to win the Stanley Cup going into next year where where would you place the canes right now now that the dust seems to have settled on the offseason well I think they're gonna be really good again I mean they've been one of the best teams in the NHL for several years now under Rod Prindamore you know playing that style and I think the schedule is a reflection that that's the way the people in the NHL offices and certainly the TV programming departments feel I love coming here to do games you know it's a very lively atmosphere as a matter of the last time I was in Carter-Finley Stadium was for the outdoor game the stadium series game this past hockey season it was a unbelievable scene a great spectacle and the crowd was just electric so I'm happy that they're gonna be on national TV a lot and I think they will be going into the playoffs as well because I think they you know they're poised to have a deep run you know certainly in the Eastern Conference you know I don't think Boston is gonna be anything here where what they were last year you know they lost a lot of key players and it would be hard to come anywhere close to what they did anyway I mean they set the record for the wins and points in a regular season so I think the East is open to them and there are a few other teams I think New Jersey's gonna be really good again in the East the Rangers will probably be good so it'll be fun but the canes are terrific and it's this is always a great place to come I hope you have time between now and kickoff on Saturday to get 18 more in Sean McDonough that's all done we're hunkered down today sitting here doing my chart just watching the tape of Notre Dame and Tennessee as you got Tennessee State as you guys call me and then tomorrow we're meeting with both teams which will take up most of the day in person so the golf clubs will be set aside till at least the beginning of next week maybe maybe somebody I've heard all the reports for now like a year about the rib necklace that Sam Hartman has maybe somebody on television can figure out a way to wear the rib necklace on television maybe it's Sean McDonough maybe Sam Hartman will not be me but maybe Molly McGrath she's an intrepid reporter stylish stylish yes it's yeah it's an interesting story when we first heard it he kind of asked us not to tell it I guess it's gotten out and so he's a neat kid I'm looking guys you know he's not really a kid anymore looking forward to seeing him and talking to him tomorrow when Notre Dame rolls into this lovely state and we'll look for you know on the other side Brendan Armstrong that's a great story too right kind of a similar situation a guy who had a lot of success at another place although last year obviously was a really rough year for him at Virginia with a new coaching staff but you know reunited with Robert and I think the feeling was he could recapture the magic and really didn't happen in the first game you know watching the tape of their game against UConn they were they were not really electric on offense but you know first game of the season against the UConn team that's well coached on defense so we'll see what happens this week against obviously a really good Notre Dame team that's number 10 in the country Sean McDonough thanks so much for squeezing out squeezing in the time to do this and we'll see you on Saturday thanks so much again my pleasure Josh anytime have a great evening the drive with Josh Graham there are a ton of big games and college football this weekend that matter to people here in the state of North Carolina NC State Notre Dame a game that'll be called on ABC by Sean McDonough who will be joining us at 5 35 that's a high noon kick my East Carolina Pirates open up home against Marshall Wake Forest is facing Vanderbilt but no game in the triad do people care about more this week than app state North Carolina and Chapel Hill it's two in-state teams going head-to-head their schools with large fan bases which is all the more reason why you better savor this matchup because Saturday could be the third and final time we see the heels and mountaineers play ideally you'd love for it to be something that's played often again I went to East Carolina there's nothing better than my Pirates face the ACC schools in the state but in reality the future is going to make it harder even more harder than it is today to get something on the books let's not forget the ACC just added Cal Stanford and SMU if that means the ACC is likely going to bump up its conference schedule from eight conference games to nine well that's one fewer game on the schedule that you have in non-conference play that could make things difficult plus college football could be heading to a place where it becomes a couple of Superleagues NFL style that are going head-to-head the Big Ten and the SEC I have no doubt if college football heads to that place that there will be a place for North Carolina geographically in this state that's going to be a valuable market to either the Big Ten or the SEC and obviously North Carolina is a massive brand but does that mean you get to play non-conference games does that mean you get to go up against App State nobody really knows obviously but even if this isn't it between North Carolina and App it is it for a long time like the next meeting would not happen anytime soon Carolina's booked up through 2027 they only have one more slot for 2028 and again that assumes that we're not going to see three non-conference games moving forward for the ACC with the additions of those West Coast schools that's going to make things tough and then if Carolina has the space are they going to want a schedule app Mac Brown made this joke at his press conference when he was talking about all the positive things that come along with in-state teams playing each other like app and North Carolina there might be some incentive coaches reasonably have about scheduling the mountaineer specifically here was Mac just an amazing program and it's good for this state I like the fact that if we're going to make money for somebody let's make money for for schools within the state universities and and I think we play UNC Central next year and we play Charlotte and so if we're going to play a team that's not in our league I like it when we play in state schools I'll be glad when we never play because they're too good Mac a former app state coach saying that and there might be whoever's after Mac Brown because Mac's 72 the oldest coach in college football might feel the same way might not say it out loud but might think why would we schedule them they could beat us we don't want to get beaten in our non-conference games hopefully the rubber match that we have on Saturday is as good as the first two Vegas doesn't think it's going to be 19 19 and a half point spread depending on where you look but the first two meetings 2019 came down to a block field goal at the very end I know because I was on the field and standing next to app state ad Doug Gillum when it happened and Eli Drinkwitz giving me a huge high five as he was coming to the sideline celebrating that win that was one of the craziest games I had seen until last year I was down on the field 63 61 I don't think I told this story on air but I think I made the greatest mistake that I've made at a football game during that North Carolina app game North Carolina you might remember was leading by a point and they missed that two-point conversion chase Bryce threw it over the receiver's head when he was open so doing math in your head okay North Carolina's up by a point you have to go for the onside kick and if North Carolina gets it game's over well North Carolina not only got the onside kick Bryson Nesbitt the tight end ran it in for a touchdown so I'm thinking oh well the game's definitely over now so I left my seat to go down to the field and I was walking through the back of the end zone when my East Carolina education dawned on me my lack of math math ability dawned on me looking up at the scoreboard and seeing chase Bryce drive towards me oh a touchdown plus a field goal or an extra point seven and they were only up by one an eight-point game means the app still has a chance my goodness and I'm carrying all this equipment in my hands and literally the next play was the touchdown and it happened right in front of me and I'm thinking this is nuts do I go back to the press box if they tie it up and then North Carolina snuffed out the two-point conversion and ended up winning the game one of the craziest things ever so those two games set a pretty high bar for what we hope we get on Saturday and let's hope it's a great game because it might be the last time we get North Carolina and App State yes DJ no I'm good I love that story that's amazing yeah it happened I mean you're right down in the end zone when it happens yeah so did you take a picture yeah I got video and in the final five minutes of games I usually head into the end zone unless it's tied which case it's like all right well if it goes to overtime you just want to stay in your seat so I usually go down to the field just like I did for the Duke game and on Monday that final touchdown I was texting our GM Tom Hamilton I sent him a picture and as I was sending him the picture I realized in the photo the running backs coming right towards me and it was the touchdown and I had a bunch of people then text me hey I see you on TV I'm like how could you tell me apart from everyone else it's like there's one guy wearing khakis it's like like everybody there is hot and they're wearing like athletic gear and then on the screen is a guy wearing khakis what are you wearing Jake from State Farm khakis and khakis let's get to some Panther clips real quickly while I'm thinking about it Bryce Young he seems prepared for the NFL he seems prepared for the grind like we hear about processing and his mental acuity and all these types of things but the fact of the matter is some doubt he's gonna be ready because you were coddled with everything at Alabama every game you played in almost you had more talent than the team on the other side you're not gonna have that anymore same thing at modern day is last few years of high school football in Southern California you're not gonna have that so when you don't what's it gonna look like somebody even argue it was a cakewalk for you in college and in high school your career up to this point Bryce Young would disagree with that I definitely wouldn't say my career has been a cakewalk I think you know again whatever people look at it from the outside but you know there's always ups and downs throughout a season there's there's highs and lows you know there's there's times where you know you feel great there's times you feel like there's you know there's a bunch of stuff you gotta improve on and work on and you know I feel like that that's that's something that has been consistent for me obviously this is a new experience a new level there's gonna be challenges and again I know everything's not gonna go perfect no it's not it's not gonna go perfect it might not go perfect this week Bryce is nice I heard you the first time are we he always says the right things yes he does he's so smart and kind of boring but you know quarterbacks are politicians nowadays like you need to be the guy who doesn't if you say something that that could be used against you if you say nothing then that's don't give the media anything and he doesn't the panthers aren't speaking of not saying much the panthers are not saying much about brian burns listen to how illuminating this answer was from panthers defensive coordinator ejiro evero when asked about brian burns his status how did brian burn look in practice yesterday and are you preparing though he's gonna play on sunday he looked great and uh you know we'll just take that day by day that's it that's it done ejiro evero we'll take it day by day cool thanks that's the sports equivalent of somebody when you ask him hey what type of music do you like saying a little bit of everything cool thanks don't be that person who says a little bit of everything i would have liked to have seen or heard the uh grammar school follow-up to that question what do you mean i'd just like to see what b-dot would have thrown out there or what he would have challenged you with follow up that question with what question when the guy answered about oh you wanted you wanted b-dot in the press conference room right asking a jiro evero follow-up a follow-up i don't know if i want that honestly like dot so coach uh you want to talk about your drip today i don't know like i i feel like dot wouldn't do very well with the acceptance of non-answers dot might be like come on man what seriously that's it day by day what does that even mean and i thought we were tight day by day get out of here with that you can listen to charlotte fc soccer on wsjs and to the voice of our next guest who joins us each week will pelagic the voice of charlotte fc dropping by you could go as far willie p and i'd be interested to see if you would argue this that perhaps the dc united match in charlotte this weekend is charlotte fc's most important match one team right on the fringe of the playoff standings of the eastern conference the other team slightly in as of right now how far are you willing to go and saying the importance of this match stating it i'll say it i think it is the most important match charlotte fc has played to this point uh given the fact that they are on the precipice of the playoff line with eight games remaining i think a lot of it also kind of depends on how dc's game goes this weekend it's interesting dc is going to have to play during what is typically an off week for a lot of teams there's not a full match slate this weekend because of the international break but some teams are playing and dc is one of them they play a pretty tough opponent in san jose that should be very interesting result for charlotte fc fans to look at this weekend but if that goes charlotte c's way and dc comes up empties and that is what we call in the business of six pointer as in it can go three points either way and would definitely feel like a definite leg up for charlotte c to get them in their building we know charlotte c last year erased a three nil result against dc a year ago and got a victory in their own building so they'll be trying to uh duplicate that trick once again this season will pelagic joined by jess charman on charwood fc broadcast they do a tremendous job since you are in the queen city we were just talking about expectations for the panthers and the way i've described it to people maybe this is just me throwing a wide net out there so it's you know you're not the less precise you are the the better chance you have of being right on things but the way i see it is i can't see carolina winning fewer than six i can't see them winning more than nine so they're likely a seven or an eight win football team i have them at eight wins the saints winning the division what is your expectation for the panthers in terms of wins i'm a tad more bullish than you uh josh uh i feel like from carolina's perspective i know there's a lot of question marks especially with what we saw in the preseason i think they intentionally were very deaf with what they showed or didn't show but i think that the back half of this schedule allows for some definite growth for bryce young and some opportunity for this football team i think that you know provided that brian burns is on the field on sunday i like the panthers chances against what i think is maybe the third worst quarterback in this division and i think you know from the standpoint of where the panthers sit the rest of this division is not what i would call scary yes the saints probably have a better roster top to bottom the panthers do but we did see the panthers kind of handle their business with new orleans last year and don't let me start it on tip of a being a team that's very much in a rebuilding mode and uh the only team other than maybe the uh arizona cardinals who's literally trying to figure out who their quarterback is for next year uh all the way on the in september of this year so in my opinion i don't look at this division as being very imposing i think after the first six games of the season the panthers of opportunity i think they can get double digit win i think they can win the division and i think they should go to the playoffs and i i know that people will say that that's very optimistic and that's maybe a little bit too optimistic but i like this team this team was a game away from getting in the postseason a year ago and i think with an even tougher schedule so from from my standpoint i like what this team has brought together and uh is it a perfect team no but i do feel like that there's reason for optimism for carolina panther fans don't get me wrong don't separate the two things i do think there's a lot of reason for optimism i remember watching every game of that 2011 season where carolina went six and ten and it wasn't it was a great season there was tons of optimism because you knew what you had in the quarterback and i just have a feeling that people conflate two things where it's can you win the division yes does that mean you're gonna win double digit games probably not i feel like the entire off season's been can they win the division which the answer to that is of course you can that division's up for grabs and people conflate that with being either a contender or being a double-digit winning team that's just the way i feel and i and i understand that and again maybe my win total is is a little bit bullish but i do feel like when it comes to where the panthers sit i feel like they have the ability to do what they do in their division i i like the the cross conference matchup that they have i mean they play houston and indianapolis for crying out loud i'm looking at those and saying okay those are you know like licking your chops i thought it was going to be a lot of juice in that chicago bear game on thursday night i know it's a short week but i feel like there's a lot of motivation in that building to get that done and also on the opposite side for dj more to do that as well i i think there's there's plenty of opportunity and the thing i like to do is that this coaching staff is going to have this unit prepared one of the things we've seen over the course of the last couple months just how professional this unit has operated and i feel like that's something that we've talked a lot about over the course of the month of training camp but i feel like it'll come out and bear itself out in games they need help to happen i mean that's the having two guys who didn't practice today from the wives your position is not something that i want to see with with stealing and shark not being out there but i do feel like if healthy and given the a little bit of injury luck carolina can go far this year narrowing it down to one game how do you like the matchup in atlanta i like it uh i think that there's holes in the atlanta side of the football i think that you know their defense while it is improved i think can be attacked by this panther offense i think you can run the football with mild sanders and i think they're going to make things somewhat easy for bryce young uh from a game plan standpoint but also allow him some variability to take some shots to think uh it can be done against the vulnerable back end uh i'm not sold on desmond redder i think it'll be interesting to see how uh john robinson looks and how whether or not the panthers with that new revamped pass rush involving burns and houston can get themselves some advantages against an atlanta offensive line that i've seen built from the beginning and saying that it's awful imposing i don't know where all the atlanta love is coming from i really don't but uh i feel like this is a game the panthers can win and i'm not going to say they went comfortably because what is comfortable in the national football league you know one and a half few scores i don't think it's that necessarily from that standpoint but i think the panthers can win week one which sets up a very juicy match on monday football a week from monday against new orleans willie p i hope you're right that makes things a lot more fun if that were the case i appreciate you spending the time with us we'll talk to you next week have a great call charwood fc dc united saturday thanks man appreciate it there he goes will pelagic joining us here and we have breaking news into our studio from north carolina tes walker has had his waiver denied again as we prepared you for yesterday this is something that was to be expected north carolina released a statement saying quote we're absolutely crushed to learn that tes walker's eligibility has been denied for this season and he won't be able to play i don't know that i've ever been more disappointed in a person group of people or an institution than i am with the ncaa right now it's clear that the ncaa is about process and it couldn't care less about the young people it's supposed to be supporting plain and simple the ncaa has failed tez and his family and i've lost all faith in its ability to lead and govern our sport they've messed so many things up as it's related to college football and now their failures have negatively impacted the life of one of our own just imagine what it's like for tez to be so excited to come home and have a chance to fulfill his childhood childhood dream a plan for north carolina in front of his family and friends only to have it taken away despite doing nothing wrong i can't begin to understand how this happened the decision makers at the ncaa and the committee should be ashamed of themselves for doing this to this young man as has been clearly documented test should be eligible for a number of reasons not the least of which is the mental health issues he's faced during his time in college and with this decision the ncaa has placed an unnecessary burden on him he's had to go he's had a rough go of it and this will surely make it worse how dare they ever speak about mental health and student athletes welfare again we've got complete rosters overhauled through the transfer portal players playing in their eighth year of college players playing at their fourth school and the list goes on yet tez walker who only played football at one school isn't eligible it makes no sense and it never will moving forward our family at north carolina is strong and we need to wrap our arms around tez lift him up and make sure we do everything to support him he's continued to work on and off the field and remains an amazing member of our football program throughout this ordeal i know that we will continue or i know that will continue to happen because that's the kind of person he is despite the setback tez's future remains bright and will continue to do everything we can to help fulfill all his dreams shame on you ncaa shame on you hot coming in hot not fencing words at all but while what mac says i agree with still not all that surprising that this happens and it seems like as public as mac made this as public as they decided to go with this it the ncaa's response was to dig their heels in and say oh you're gonna make this a a media circus well we're the ones with the leverage here and we're gonna use what little leverage we have left to make an example out of tez walker and what this does and again i don't think this is right i'm not certainly endorsing this i think he should be eligible to play what this does now is send a message to anybody else who's on the fence of yeah i think i can get through with the waiver and transfer to a second school if tez walker isn't becoming eligible odds are you aren't either this that's the message that the ncaa has sent here and that's about as strongly worded of a statement that you're going to read you hear people say scorched earth the definition of scorched earth is you it's so hot it burns the soil underneath the ground to disallow anything from growing on that ground again that's what scorched earth means and it's hard to go back when it turned when it comes to having any type of relationship with the ncaa when you go as strong as mack brown went there