LETDOWN: Rams CAN’T Overlook the Carolina Panthers! What Rams MUST Avoid, Keys to Victory, & More!

LETDOWN: Rams CAN’T Overlook the Carolina Panthers! What Rams MUST Avoid, Keys to Victory, & More!

The Panthers are looking to keep pace in the NFC South title race. While the Rams are looking like the best team, not just in the NFC, but in the entire NFL. It’s Panthers Rams on this locked on NFL crossover Thursday edition of Locked on Panthers and Locked on Rams. You are locked on NFL Crossover, part of the Locked On Network. your team every day. Welcome in to another edition of the Lockdown Panthers and Locked On Rams podcast, part of the lockdown podcast network. I’m Julian Council, the host of Locked On Panthers. He is Doug McCain, one of the two hosts of Locked On Rams, and we talk Panthers and Rams every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and yes, of course, Friday. Your team every day. That’s our motto here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network right here in America and perhaps the world. Today’s episode is here on Crossover Thursdays presented by Prize Picks. Download the Prize Pix app today and use code lockdown NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. And also, thanks for checking us out here on YouTube and listening wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Carolina Panthers sitting at 6 and six facing off against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon inside Bank America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte. And Doug, the Rams are looking good, man. They’re looking like the best team in the league. And I’ve been saying this for a couple of weeks now when I’m doing my weekly spot on lockdown NFL with Tony Wiggins, host of Lockdown Jags. I’ve been saying the Rams are the best team in the league. They’re going to win a Super Bowl and this is probably not a great spot for Carolina coming off that Monday Night Football loss. How you doing? And how you feeling about the Rams? I feel good. I love hearing it, but at the same token, every time I hear it, I just cringe a little bit because I’m like, are we peing too early? Like Shawn McVey said after the win over the Bucks, who remembers the top team in the NFL after week 12 last year, right? I mean, some people of course talk about the Eagles and yes, you always got the Chiefs, the the zombie Chiefs and no one could kill. But look, the truth of the matter is this is a Rams team city at 9 and2 that if it weren’t for two block field goals in the fourth quarter, something you never see, something hadn’t happened since the 70s and overtime loss to the 49ers, this team could be undefeated. You’ve got someone in Matthew Stafford, the quarterback that’s running away with the MVP. You got the defense that is past the Texans for points allowed per game at 16.3. Yeah, all is right. in Rams land. I’m just hoping that they’re not peaking too early. I’m not too worried about that. I would say this time last year, very clearly the Lions were the best team in the league, which the problem with the Lions was they lost Aiden Hutchinson, they lost Elie McNeel, they lost basically everybody on that defense. And then Jared Goff, of course, didn’t have a great day in the playoffs once it all came to pass. So, I think as long as the Rams keep Matthew Stafford healthy, which I know is a concern entering in the season with his back, seems to be all well from at least my side of the country here, it seems to be fine. And obviously, the receiving duo y’all have there and Puka Naku, Devonte Adams, that has been awesome for you. And yes, the defense is fantastic. So, I’m thinking the Rams are going to be okay. I don’t think they’re picking too much right now. But as far as this week 13 matchup, what’s the biggest storyline surrounding the Rams at this point in time? I would say the biggest storyline is just continuing to fire on all cylinders on both sides of the football. I think for this Rams t kind of one of the things you’re looking for is what is their weakness? And for the last couple of weeks, it was okay. You’re seeing an offense that can win in a couple different ways. You can win in a rock fight, but you can also score more than 30 points per game. Now, we’re seeing a defense that creates turnovers. You’re seeing scoring turnovers. But the big weakness, the pimple on the supermodel was the special teams unit. You had one of the worst special teams operation in the National Football League. You had people calling for Shawn McVey to fire Chase Blackburn who runs the special teams unit and all of a sudden they found the thicker kicker. Harrison Meas made a 52 yder. They elected to not kick it at 57, which is a little interesting. But now that you have a kicker that it feels like you can at least trust to make the makeable kicks 40 and 50 yards, not really hurt you as a field goal kicker, you feel like, okay, the storyline is just continuing to build on some of the deficiencies and not fall into these traps. Look, I mean, this is a Panthers team that yes, they’re not the juggernaut that the Rams appear to be, but they’re still playing for something. They’re at home. This is the NFL. It’s an early kickoff for the Rams. Anything can happen in any given Sunday in the National Football League, but for the Rams, it’s 100%. Can you can you have those power rankings on Monday and still be firmly at the number one spot? And if you go into Carolina, you take care of business, that’s going to be the top story line. The Rams after week 13 are the best team in the NFL. Yeah. And you got to make a cross country trip and it’s during the holidays as well. So, you can never discount that no matter what time of the year it is. And you’re right, Carolina sitting at six and six. They’re in a spot where if you talk to any Panthers fan before the season and told them going into Thanksgiving, you’re going to be 500. You’re going to be a half game out of first place in the NFC South, I sure as hell would hope that every single one of them would have signed up for that, especially after starting 1 and seven the last two seasons. It’s been bleak here, man. They have not been to the playoffs since 2017. They have not really even been close since 2022. And that was primarily because they play in the NFC South and division one so bad that year and able to turn things around when Steve Wils took over as the interim. I love that you brought up Harrison Mever Mas the thicker kicker. He was here last year briefly before he was kicking job and then Chase Blackburn, former Panthers linebacker, also former Panthers special teams coordinator. And I do recall when he was here, there were a lot of calls about firing him as well. So, I’m surprised that Shawn McVey, as good of a coach he is, has Chase Blackburn as his special teams coordinator. We’ll see how that works out with them in the long term. But for Carolina heading into this week, again, they’re six and six. They’re a half game behind Tampa Bay. And things have gotten interesting as in that game on Sunday where the Rams just absolutely destroyed Tampa. Baker Mayfield got injured in that game. Now, it’s an AC joint sprain in his non-throwing shoulder. He’s going to be fine. He may not play on Sunday. They should still beat Arizona whether it’s going to be Teddy Bridgewwater or Baker. And the Bucks have a pretty easy schedule, but they do have two games remaining against Carolina. So Baker is not going to be out, but still Carolina’s in this thing. And this is a game that I don’t feel really good about them really even being competitive in, but they found a way to go out and beat Green Bay a couple weeks ago. Now the Rams are a lot better than the Packers, mind you, but still it’s a home game. It’s a cross country road trip for LA, so it’s certainly possible. So trying to keep pace with Tampa. That’s really the story for Carolina. The offense was awful on Monday against San Francisco. There’s been plenty of questions pretty much every single time the Panthers lose about whether Bryce Young’s the future, whether Dave Canal should be the play caller. And quite frankly, I don’t really want to do it this week. I don’t have the energy. I just want to be thankful that this team isn’t complete ass this year and that there’s something positive to talk about which being six and six is pretty good around here especially seeing how things have been since David Ter has owned the team. So overall good vibes but kind of concerning with the injuries that we’ll talk about more on the show later on heading this game on Sunday. Look, Julian, I am old enough to remember December 23rd, 2020, the 9 and3 Rams going and playing the New York Jets and losing to an 0 and13 Jets team. You had Sam Darn. You saw Frank Gore towing the rock for the Jets. So, look, there’s a million reasons to not take any team lightly in this league, let alone a home team, an early kickoff that has something to play for that’s kind of muddied up some games this season. So, look, trust me. I I know the thing about Rams fans, one thing you have to worry about is Rams fans getting overconfident or or people taking losses or wins in any different way. They don’t take wins for granted. And Shawn McVey stresses that in a major way. And look, hey, we watched that game on Monday night very closely where Brock Pery did not have the most success against that Panthers team where you did cause those turnovers and you were able to intercept him. And look, you you held them to 20 points. And I think that is kind of the world that the Panthers need to live in is find a way to keep this game close, keep it into the second half, into the fourth quarter, and hope that somehow someway Matthew Stafford blinks and flinches just a little bit and you force him to an interception here and there. Look, I mean, truth is this is a this is a Rams team that really on both sides of the football is doing a lot of things very well, but I mean, if there’s someone that uh that could fall just a little bit just if he’s not on his heater, Matthew Stafford, if it’s this game, I don’t expect it to be. That has to be the path to a win for the Panthers. Trying to keep this one close somehow some way and hope that the Rams just kind of fall out of god mode for just a quarter there, right? Fall out of god mode. I love that. Yeah. Sam Darnold uh costing the New York Jets number one overall pick. he was still on his way out of town down here South Carolina after that season in New York. So, we’ll see if uh maybe Bryce Young can keep himself in town for another year and get a big win for Carolina on Sunday. A team that’s had their moments where they’ve fallen flat and then bounced back to next week. This would be the biggest bounce back thus far this season if they can pull off the upset at home against the Rams. Julian Council, Doug McCain, we’re talking lockdown Panthers. Lockdown Rams talk about this Panthers Rams game on Sunday. Let’s take a look at some of the matchups that can decide this game on Sunday. We’ll get back to that here on this lockdown NFL crossover Thursday edition of Locked on Panthers and Locked on Rams. The NBA is back and there’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the start of the game or want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team’s making that late push. Right now, FanDuel is giving new customers, and that could be you. $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So, do this for me. I’m going to help you out, guys. Friday night, Indiana 11 and0 playing Purdue two-9. Boiler Makers are awful. Just put $5 on the Hooers and that’s $300 in bonus bets. That’s free money you can bet on. Thank me later. So head to fanduel.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Back here on this locked NFL crossover Thursday edition of Locked on Panthers and Locked on Rams. Let’s talk about the Panthers Rams matchup this Sunday afternoon, 1:00 Eastern time, 1000 a.m. bright and early on the West Coast this holiday weekend. Doug, looking at some of these matchups in this game, I’m concerned defensively for how Carolina’s going to stack up against the Rams. What’s a matchup you’re looking at on Sunday that could shift the tide in the Rams favor? I think for me it has to be the pass rush of the Panthers. They haven’t been able to get home as much as you would have hoped if you’re a Panthers fan this season. One of the worst in that category. And you’ve seen Matthew Stafford dominate even against the Blitz this year. But if you give him time, he will carve up a secondary. And you look at guys like Jared versus Byron Young, they combine those almost as many sacks as the Panthers have as a team. So I look at can you get a pass rush? Can you get to Matthew Stafford? Will he have time to throw? And if he does, I look for this Rams offense to start to lead with the pass and then you kind of cook with the running game throughout. That’s kind of the recipe for them is to really get a more efficient running game with Kenya Williams and Blake Corm, which you’ve seen a better Blake Corm last couple weeks. Kyle Williams has been efficient. So if you don’t get if you don’t make things kind of kind of kind of mucked up for Stafford and that and he’s vertical and that jersey is clean all day, it could be a rough afternoon. That’s kind of where I’m starting at is kind of the Panthers defense. I This ain’t Brock Pury, right? This ain’t Brock Perie. This is Matthew Stafford. Of course, I say that as a as a as a Rams fan is not like the San Francisco 49ers. In the words of Aaron Donald, I hate the 49ers, but uh this is going to be a much different test for that Panthers defense than what they saw Monday night. Yeah. And looking at the Panthers pass rush, which uh doesn’t exist, looking at True Media, you have a 28.7 PFF pressure percentage, which is just god awful. So far this season, as far as just sacks getting home, they’re sitting 30th in the league with 16. So yeah, it’s not been good. And I told Panther fans going into the season, I didn’t expect it to really get much better. Now, they did in day two of the draft, on day two of the draft back in April, select Nick Scon in the second round, put Allen in the third round to be futures there at the edge rusher spot. And so far, they really haven’t gotten there yet. But as the season progressed, I figure they get better. And that has been the case with Scorton. It just is not going to really be there this season. Maybe next year that will happen. But uh yeah, I don’t think it’s going to suddenly appear on Sunday against this Rams team, which is bad news because one matchup I’m really concerned about is the Panthers secondary versus in particular, not just Matthew Stafford, uh but Dvonte Adams and Pukinua. Those guys have just been dogs this year. And Carolina is probably not going to have JC Horn. And that’s this is the problem with playing on Monday night. You have any injury and you have a short week, it’s going to be tough to get guys turned around, especially with the concussion protocol. a little bit different if you have an ankle injury than like your brain. There’s not really anything you can do to get around concussion protocol in the NFL nowadays. So JC sounds like will not be out there on Sunday, but that’s still TBD. Cory Thornton, who ended up starting at nickel the last couple weeks, had to replace JC at outside corner on Monday night. He broke his leg, so he’s done for the year. So entering into this week, Mike Jackson, Shaw Smith Way to Caleb Caleb Evans, and then Kaylin King who’s on their practice squad were the only four healthy corners that Carolina had. Now, since then, they picked up a couple former Rams. Robert Rochelle, they signed him off to Cowboys practice squad. Uh David Long, he’s now signed the Panthers practice squad. So, we’ll see how those guys potentially could factor into Sunday. And they’re also knocking out Javon Mer because he decided to punch Jawan Jennings into the family jewels on Monday night. He appealed. I I don’t know the result of that appeal at this moment in time. I’m sure he lost. But yeah, I’m concerned about this secondary going against Devonte Adams who has 12 receiving touchdowns, the most in the league. Puka tied with Jackson Fith and Jigma for the most receptions in the league and also third and receiving yardage. Yeah, this is going to be potentially a long day for the Panthers secondary, especially if JC Horn is not able to play on Sunday. I was going to say on behalf of all of the Ramly and Rams Nation, we do not think that he should be suspended. We think that uh he should definitely get uh an extra game of an extra game check actually according to to Rams to the Ramly and and Rams fans everywhere. But uh of course the only kid but yeah you mentioned the secondary and that’s kind of what I was looking at. I mean you saw how they were able to force three interceptions out of Brock Pury and an 87 ratings and and you’ve seen this kind of year that he’s had. JC Horn is the Panthers best cornerback and he’s if he’s not available, if he’s out with that concussion, that kind of takes a major ball hawk from that Panthers defense and that’s an advantage to this Rams team that has really started to find that chemistry which what that something that really works with Devonte Adams and Pukanua. There’s Devonte Adams who’s probably one of the best receivers in NFL history as you know as far as getting separation in small windows and especially towards the goal line. When they get to that red zone, there’s just this connection developing between Stafford and Devonte that I haven’t seen since Stafford and Cooper Cup in 2021. And then Puka, you’re seeing all kinds of creative looks, some jet sweeps of keeping him in motion, going through the C gap, just confusing defenses. And it feels like with the emergence of both those guys being on the same page with Matthew Stafford and Puka’s near a thousandy season and Devonte leads the league in touchdown receptions. Those guys are cooking and then you have this 13 personnel package that the Rams have been running. That’s been just a revelation where you have different looks and different tight ends that can bring different things and different dynamics to the field. If you go with rookie Terrence Ferguson, you go up to C, maybe a stretch, maybe something like a fade to kind of take the top off the defense. And then Davis Allen and and Kobe Parkinson who a lot of Rams fans were using the B- word for him last year, which is bust. He’s come around. He started to be productive. So really what you’re seeing from Shawn McVand this offense is what you kind of saw back in 2018 and 2019 where when 11 personnel really started getting cooking. It was just kind of the illusion that there was creative, but really it was just keeping defenses off balance. And now he’s doing it with a mixture of 11 personnel, 12 personnel, 13 personnel where it it’s it’s a great quarterback. He’s having an MVP season playing some of the best ball he has at age 37 combined with the play calling of Shawn McVey, keeping defenses off balance where it’s a very very difficult thing to stop. Last eight games for Stafford, 25 touchdowns, no interceptions, 30 touchdowns, and two interceptions on the season. the the Panthers need to find some way to to get something to feel good about on the defensive side of the football early just like they did against San Francisco. And then you can get some momentum and start to make this Rams think team wonder, hey, could this be their day? This is a Panthers team that beat the Packers, right? This is a Panthers team that had Bryce Young throw for 448 yards, but then also 169 yards. So, it feels like the variance of the Panthers has to be extremely frustrating, but at least we know that there is a version of the good Panthers that can make things interesting against a really good team. Yeah, it’s the wild swings, Doug. They go from starting 0 and2 to beating the brakes off of the Falcons to getting destroyed by New England to winning three straight games to then getting destroyed at home by Buffalo then to beating the Packers to losing to a one- win Saints team to then Bryce having 448 yards through the air to what happened on Monday. It’s just like it’s a roller coaster and we’ll see cuz this is just not a matchup defensively cuz you look at just not the injury that JC Horn like the scheme they play a lot of zone at Jerro Vera who of course has plenty of experience haven’t been there in LA with the Rams they often keep JC just on the boundary and have Mike Jackson on the field side. So even in games earlier this season when George Pickkins was the only out the receiver of the pair with him and CD Lamb it was Pickkins was killing the other side until at the end of the game JC is like enough of this let me take care of this guy they get the stop they win the game and had JC if he is healthy it’s still going to be a concern because at least on one side of the ball is going to be another excellent receiver against Shaw Smith Wade and the nickel or Mike Jackson and then linebackers they’re possibly going to have Trevon Wallace back this week, but the Panthers have not been great in coverage against guys at like tight ends this year. And then you take out Tron Mer, it’s just a recipe for it likely to be a disaster defensively for them on Sunday, unless they can get those takeaways. Now, the offense has to do something with them. And that’s another matchup, just the Rams defense versus this Panthers offense this season. Looking at just some numbers, the Rams defensively are third in the EPA per play. They’re seventh in success rate, ninth in total defense, and sixth in yards per play. For the basic stats, the Panthers are 26th in EPA per play offensively. 16th in success rate, 22nd in total offense, and 27th in yards per play. So, it’s a top 10 defense versus a bottom 10 offense, which you don’t know what you’re going to get out of them any week. They were running the ball well, but in recent weeks, that’s not really been the case. They only gave the running backs nine carries on Monday night. Dave Canal, Spaners head coach and play caller, admitted on Tuesday that yeah, my bad. I gotta be better. We’ll see if that will happen against what’s still a pretty good defensive front in LA on Sunday. So, I just really don’t know where the advantage is for Carolina unless they’re able to find a way to get some takeaways and then just all of a sudden find some balance in the passing game and the run game offensively, which has not occurred all year long. Yeah, I mean this is a a defense that is continuing to improve because one, you’ve got young studs, the Jared Versus, the Byron Young’s, the Kobe Turners. They just continue to get better and better and we still haven’t reached the ceiling or the max potential for those guys. And last week, we had a big Jared Vers game. He had two sacks. The pressures were there. It was his best game in a while. Byron Young was productive, but really it was just stifling and overwhelming that Bucks team early. They held the Bucks to 1 for5 on fourth down, 1 for three in the red zone. They pressured Teddy Bridgewwater at a 38.9% clip. They pressured Mayfield at a 33.3% clip. They’re not a team that blitzes a ton. And when they’re getting pressure from their front four and those edge rushers are just being game recorders and being disruptive, then you’re seeing the thing that has taken this defense to the next level. And I don’t know if you know this, but I want to send a big shout out and a special thank you to the Washington Commanders for giving up on Emanuel Fors because they picked him up and they have turned him into not just a a pro bowler, but I mean someone that I think that when he’s on his best, he almost gives all prolevel a level performance. He had the highest PFF grade of any quarterback last week. Him and Kobe Durant were huge. Both having interceptions. Kobe Durant for a pick six. And I think what that allows this Rams defense to do is you can trust that the secondary is not going to get overwhelmed like they did against the Eagles where the Eagles came back. It was AJ Brown having a size advantage over Darius Williams. Forbes and Durant, they’ve been really the two best quarterback tandemss that they’ve had this season for the Rams. And then you add that to the pass rush. Guys like Nate Lman, who I know that you probably know a little bit about from being in that division. Nate Peanut Punch Lambman who just got a big nice extension for himself. Really, we’ve seen this Rams team be good in several units the last couple years, but the difference this year is we’re seeing them being good at all three levels. And Chris Schula, by the way, I don’t know if you’re looking for a head coach. Already has a perfect name for an NFL head coach. They’ll probably get him a job in most places anyway. Yeah, we’re gonna enjoy him while we can. And uh when Raheem Morris gets fired from the Falcons, can’t wait to have him back. But yeah, the defense has been absolutely stout for the Rams and uh they’re a problem and it’s it’s just because guys got also too, you talk about stopping the run. They added Puna Ford who’s done a much better job than Bobby Brown the third did last year. You’re seeing them not get dominated by running backs like they did. They’ve had success against McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor and Saquon Barkley and they just look like a complete unit that doesn’t have a lot of holes. Yeah. and Bobb’s now here and I think he’s done a good job for Carolina especially considering this was the worst run defense in the NFL. Now the Rams they’re undoing really was unable to stop the run especially in that divisional round game in the snow against Saquon Barkley and the Eagles where still almost almost Rams had him there late in that game. So we’ll see how things shake out on Sunday. And yeah, Land Man season 2 is out and new contracts apparently for the linebacker there in LA. So he’s landlocked. Okay, I’ll show myself out. I’ll show myself out. I’ll show myself out. Love it. He’s landlocked. All right, so we looked at some matchups. We talked about storylines. What about the Keys victory? How does Carolina get over the top on Sunday? How do the Rams just keep the good times rolling? We’ll talk about that here in just a moment on this locked on NFL crossover Thursday edition of Locked on Panthers and Locked On Rams. Back here on Locked on Panthers and Locked on Rams. Let me go ahead and pull up FanDuel to make sure to see what the line is for this game on Sunday. I already told y’all a winner for y’all to go ahead and get that $5 bet in and win $300 in bonus bets. But looking at this game on Sunday, the Panthers are currently Oh my god. Uh 10 and a half point home dogs. Goodness, that is that’s tough. That’s that’s how much better Vegas thinks that the Rams are. And I being someone who covers this team on a daily basis, have not necessarily shed a lot of positivity. Um, as far as the Panthers outlook going into this game, and my listeners know, I’m not going to lie to them. If I don’t think the team’s going to win a game, I don’t think they’re any good at something. I think they’re good. I’m going to tell you this does not appear to be uh the day for Carolina and just really the week for them because of the injuries that we talked about and even the way the offense looked on Monday and just how well LA’s playing. But that’s kind of the times in football and in the NFL in particular where something that you didn’t expect happen happened. So, how can the Rams avoid that? What are the three things that the Rams need to do on Sunday to come home with a victory yet again? I would say the first thing is you continue this trend of turning the ball over. The Rams have four plus games in a row where they have two or more turnovers. That’s the longest streak in the NFL. They have 20 takeaways on the season. We know Bryce Young, he can and will turn the football over. Don’t let this be the game where Bryce Young has just a kind of a great almost like late coming out party for this season against the number one team in the NFL. I think that there’s this long-standing narrative about Bryce Young. Is he the guy? Isn’t he the guy? Do they pick up that fifth year option? Kind of how do fans feel about him? The last thing you want is to to let a guy who’s he’s uh you he was in Southern California for a while. We know him very well to kind of have a game, a statement game against the Rams. force him to turn that ball over one or two times and continue this trend where they’re scoring less than 20 points per game and then you are winning by a large margin on the offensive side. So really you kind of want more of the same from that. But I do want to get a quick thought on on Bryce Young because look Alabama the career he had. We know how much potential that he had coming out of college. I mean just kind of what’s the consensus from Panthers fans? Is he is he playing for his Panthers career down the stretch of this season? Do you still see glimpses of a guy who could be the guy? I mean, what’s the insider’s perspective on Bryce Young? Yeah, Doug, as far as the fan base, the feelings change. It seems like every week if they win, everyone’s like, “All right, Bryce headed towards that extension if they or the fifthear option at least. If they lose, it’s okay. Are the Panthers going to move on for Bryce Shung?” And just my overall position is let’s just let the next five weeks play out. And after that we’ll have three years of a sample size, two of those with Dave Canal. So we have plenty to see and know about Bryce Young to make hopefully what should be a very easy decision. Now in totality obviously it’s not been good. His rookie season was fooar. When you look at the situation, no receivers. I mean, they traded away McCaffrey and DJ Moore so they could get up to get to number one to get Bryce. So, that put whoever is going to be the quarterback in a bad position anyways by not having two of those dynamic playmakers in the offensive line was an injured disaster that year as well. And Frank Reich was calling the plays, then it was Thomas Brown, that was Frank Reich, then Thomas Brown because Frank Reich got fired. They did they didn’t do right by Bryce year one. Year two, everything was better except Bryce came out and looked awful, but then he came back in the second half of the season, looked good. And then it’s just the this the consistency people were hoping to see has not happened this year outside of just fact that the passing game has not been really even average since he’s been the quarterback in Carolina. Is that the play caller, Dave Canales? Is that the weapons around him? Those are questions that we ask ourselves on a weekly basis here. And what has me exhausted nearly crashing out on the show on Wednesday because I’m just so over the conversation about whether Bryce is the right guy or not. I’m not not throwing at you at all. It’s just I don’t know. We’ll find out if they find a way to the playoffs, which they’re not going to make the playoffs unless Bryce plays really well in these final five games when you have the Rams this Sunday. You have uh Seattle at home, you have two games against Tampa, and a Saints team you already lost to. he’s going to have to play really well. So, if you get to the playoffs, I’m guessing the quarterback played well. So, yeah, he’s going to come back next year. You probably give him the fifth year option. If you miss it, which I think is the likeliest option to happen, it depends on how he looks. So, I don’t know. We’ll find out. But for from a talent perspective, like his flashes are still still there. I mean, it feels like the way he can spin it looks pretty when when he’s on. It’s how much of it is do you think there’s a change of scenery or is it dysfunctional from within or do you think that no this is a guy’s got so many opportunities he needs to take advantage as as far as where he’s at this part of his career? Yeah, I I feel like you should throw out his rookie season. Yeah. And look at last year’s year one and this year is year two. The problem is contractually that’s not really how it works out and they have a big decision to make with the fifthear option. And you see how things worked out after Sam Darnold left here and after Baker Mayfield left here. And for Carolina as an organization, they can’t live in fear of, oh, Price goes to greener pastures and it works out. Sam wasn’t in a good situation. Neither was Baker when they were here in Carolina. Bryce this year and last year has been in a much better situation than either one of those guys played in, I believe, when they were in Carolina. Maybe it could have worked out had Sam ended up not getting injured in that preseason game and had won the quarterback battle. Maybe that’s the the great what if for Carolina. So, I see the talent. There’s no way you can throw for 448 yards in an NFL game and not have the goods to be a solid quarterback in this league. It just not it just hasn’t happened. And aside from that, there’s a game against Atlanta at the end of last season. There’s a game against the Packers his rookie year. Those are like the three games you look at. It’s like, man, this guy can be really good. But every other game outside of that, it’s like uh but then he has 10 gamewinning drives since he entered the league, which is more than any other quarterback. So, it’s just it’s it’s confounding. I don’t know. He’s one of the most enigmatic quarterbacks I’ve ever had to cover and talk about. So, I think the talent’s there. I just don’t know what it is. I I I’m kind of leaning it’s the coach and play caller that’s kind of keeping him holding him back. I’m also leaning maybe the youth at receiver is playing a factor in it as well. I I don’t have an answer and I wish I had an answer and I they got to figure it out for me as well. Look, I the NFC South is bad. There’s no doubt about it. But despite that loss to the 49ers, you’re just a game behind the NFC South. You’re sitting at six and six. Six wins is the most for the Panthers since they went seven and 10 in 2022. Progress is progress. I mean, progress is progress. I know it’s been a bad schedule, but I mean to answer your question about the number one key in this one is if the Rams just if the Rams can probably play their Bminus game based on how they’ve played in the last six weeks and win this one. They probably can on all all facets of the game. Ideally, you go in there and you’re crisp, you’re aggressive, you’re intentional on both sides of the football and things continue like they have. But it would it would really take a I would say a Kairen Williams fumble, right? a a Stafford interception on on their end of the field and things got to get kind of weird for them to lose this football game based on how they’ve been playing of late. But look, this is the NFL. Anything can happen. I think the number one key for the Rams is you don’t turn the football over and you have a good chance of of stopping and winning that turnover margin against Bryce Young and and the Panthers, you end up winning this football game. Will it be a 30 plus point game? Are you looking 3110, something like that? that’s in the cards, but also could see something a little weird where it’s it’s it’s like a 28-20 game or something in that realm. Early start for a West Coast team. It feels like before you blink, it’s halftime and it’s like seven to three for some reason, right? So, I still got the Rams winning this one. How convincing we’ll see, but I think they have so much momentum right now and they want that one seed. They do not want to go to Philly and they want that buy and I think this team is as focused and as determined as I see the Rams team since covering them because they know as great as Stafford is, this is not like a 10-year window, a 5-year window. I mean, he could win a Super Bowl right from the sunset for all we know. So, the focus is there. The the health is there for on their side in this game, too. I think you have an advantage there. And I got the Rams win this football game. But, uh, fascinating glimpse. For some reason, I just live for like the the top quarterbacks and like how the fan base feels about them. Bryce is always going to be this fascinating case because naturally, you don’t you don’t get your quarterbacks in free agency. You rarely get them via trade like the Rams were able to do. If there’s any chance you could be the guy you want to sign that extension like you said that, but uh hey, hopefully this is not the game where Panthers fans do a complete 180 and go buy Bryce Young jerseys if you haven’t. So hopefully they can uh maybe make him feel that uh maybe they don’t want to have him back, but uh we’ll see. Yeah. Well, hopefully for the sanity of this podcast host over here, this is the game that people do a 180 from last week and want to go by by Bryce Young uniform. So, we’ll see how it plays out. But yeah, the best thing for Carolina, especially looking at the quarterback options after this season, is for Bryce to be the guy again next year and to show in these next five games that he should be the starter and for LA even like hell, if they win a Super Bowl, that’s all well and good, but probably want Stafford for at least another year, get the 2027 draft before looking to get another quarterback. So yeah, for Carolina, find a way be balanced offensively for the first time all season. guys got to step up, especially if Jay-Z Horn’s not going to play in this game. And you can’t turn them all over because that’s been costly for them all season long. But that’s how we look at things heading into this week 13 matchup between the Panthers and Rams. That’s going to wrap up this lockedown NFL crossover Thursday edition of Locked on Panthers and Locked on Rams. By yours, Julie Julian Council and one of the hosts of Lockown Rams, Doug McCain also does that show with Travis Rogers. So check us out all over on YouTube and wherever you listen to every podcast every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. And we’ll be back with y’all on Black Friday talking more about this game that we have coming up on Sunday. In the meantime, be safe, be happy, be whole as always. Keep pounding. I don’t know what the Rams thing is, but uh we’ll talk to y’all on

D-Mac and Locked on Panthers host Julien Council preview the Rams week 13 matchup with the Carolina Panthers!

Follow on X: @DMAC_LA
Follow on X: @TravisRodgers
Follow the show on Twitter: @LockedOnRams

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LORams?sid=You…

Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

Upwork
Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free to connect with top talent and grow your business today!

Skylight Calendar
Right now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch Calendars by going to Skylightcal.com/NFL.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4k
Did you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)