Chris? Preseason’s done, baby. Preseason is officially over with under the regular season. Let’s go. After this, uh, everything is going to count, and I hope that, um, I’m not too sad this upcoming season. You and I both, let’s get this sucker started. Get dialed in Panthers fans. Here comes an in-depth look at your team. Exclusive interviews, locker room insight. Let’s huddle up for Panthers Playbook. Here are your hosts, Dennis Cox and Chris Lee. Welcome back to another episode of Panther’s Playbook. That’s Chris Lee, Dennis Cox here with you. By the way, leave your thoughts again. I know earlier today. Earlier today, we dropped an episode for you all regarding our initial 53 man roster, who we think is gonna make it after this third preseason game, there are a couple of names that might tweak in and out there. Chris, we, we’ll drop a couple of names that might actually make the 53 based off of some signals we’ve been given. But a name that really obviously we know is gonna make the team, 4th round draft pick out of Ohio State, Lang and Ransom. I love seeing the physicality from him today. Obviously, I thought the physicality from the Panthers as a whole was really, really noticeable. But really seeing him make some plays today, including that interception as well, it’s like, ah, that little flash of what potentially could be for, for the Carolina Panthers and Latham Ransom, Chris. I absolutely love what I saw from him and reminded me of the conversation that I had a couple of weeks back with somebody who covers Ohio State football. Jay Richardson used to play for Ohio State, used to play in the league for about 6 years, uh, most of that year, most of those years with. Raiders, and he said it he reminds him of another former Ohio State um safety who also used to play for the Carolina Panthers and Kurt Coleman, and he said, just watch at some point. He’s gonna be snagging balls out the air. And I was thinking, you know, maybe it’s gonna be later on the season once he gets comfortable, but he read that route very well, snagged going out the air, got a nice interception. The main thing that we’re always talking about that this defense needs is to have some takeaways and to make sure that you are flipping the field for your offense and that you’re keeping the other offense off of the field. And, uh, if you can continue to do this, if Lathan Ransom can end up being that guy. Maybe he’s gonna end up starting, uh, next to Trayvon Merrick. Uh, we’re gonna see what happens. That could be a big plus. The only thing though, he, I think he did have a couple of rookie moments, right? Back to back plays, missed tackles, one didn’t count because there was a, uh, a penalty on the Steelers, but I, I felt like he went for maybe a college tackle there. That’s OK. It’s preseason. Uh, he’ll eventually get into his, uh, regular season form, mid-season form when it comes down to tackles in the NFL. But other than that, I thought he had a very solid day, some hard hits, fast to the ball, uh, you know, looking at coverage, you know, just seeing what, uh, what’s happening, and he didn’t just like pick off another rookie. I mean, not that Mason Rudolph is like the best guy ever, but Mason Rudolph is an NFL veteran. That’s who we picked off. So, um, I’m, I’m happy that Mason, um, I’m sorry, not Mason Rudolph, happy that Lathan Ransom, uh, got that pick and uh looked good while doing so. He’s gonna bring, uh, a great dimension to the Carolina Panthers defense. Chris, you’re allowed to say that you’re happy Mason Rudolph threw an interception to Laths in the right. So you’re. 100% allowed to say that. That’s perfectly valid for you to do. Uh, I thought, um, I, 100% agree with you on the missed tackles and stuff for ransom, but again, you, you, you saw the flashes of what potentially can be. Now it’s all about the consistency. So I don’t think this game, in my eyes, I didn’t really feel there were any players that solidified. Or changed my mind mostly on the 53 man roster, except when Bryson Tremaine didn’t play today. Now Dave Canales did say after the game that a little bit of soreness, but they felt like they saw enough work from him to make a decision. If he was really on the cusp of not making this team, he would have been out there playing through that soreness. In in my eyes, Chris, that’s how I view it. It feels like if they do keep 7 wide receivers, Bryson Tremaine might be that 7th guy and David Moore might be the odd man out Chris. If you didn’t play today, you are either seriously injured to where you couldn’t play, or you are making the team. And it didn’t feel like uh Bryson Tremaine, as you said, seriously injured to where he just really couldn’t step on the field, so that was definitely some a, see the cute doggie in the background. Oh yeah, that’s Mr. Popper, Mr. Popper, that’s cool. Um, but yeah, it was, uh, sorry, this isn’t Panther’s Playbook Dog podcast, but um I I I thought that was a very interesting. Um, I changed my mind on somebody, and that was Cam Jackson, man. Oh, I’m telling you I’m Jackson. I shouldn’t have Cam, I apologize, I shouldn’t have been off the train from the beginning. Uh, I just was thinking maybe for this Panthers defense that You know, needs to get better. Maybe Veterans was there, but boy, my man looked quick, he looked fast, he looks strong. Um, he was getting after the quarterback a lot in this game. Uh, so if I can go back in today’s earlier episode, and I’m I’m gonna change that. Kim Jackson’s making this 53 man roster, um, and I would say I I saw the flashes from Chris Barnes. I still don’t know if he makes it. I think he does. Chris Barnes uh had some flashes that I thought were really cool. Little worried about uh Princely Uman Melen, um, got a little bit nicked up there, uh, so hopefully he’s OK. And let me tell you this, Raheem Blackshear looked pretty good running the ball. But because he got injured, I, I wonder if the front office is gonna play a few little games right there, right? Like, hmm, he’s injured, maybe we could wave him and bring him back, and then put him on IR or something or stash him over on the um on the practice squad or something like that, uh, to still keep him because it feels like they they still value him to a certain degree, but after today’s injury, For my 53 man roster that I made in the last episode, it doesn’t feel that Blackshear is gonna be there. Maybe that’s the spot for Bryce and Tremaine. Uh, so we’ll have to see what ends up happening. James Mitchell, I had him making the roster. Uh, he had caught that touchdown. I don’t know how he got that wide open, but there was nobody, like literally within 10 yards around him. It was crazy, uh, but, uh, really good showing from a lot of folks, uh, here for the Carolina Panthers, guys that need to show, um, you know, their. Worth at, at the lower end of the roster. I thought it looked pretty good. Yeah, I think some, some things were solidified in that regard. I think uh, Barnes does make the roster. Uh, I had him on my initial 53 because not only has he been pretty good in special teams, but because he does have a lot of starts under his belt as an off-ball linebacker. If you have an injury to Roseboom or Wallace, you want to have someone that can step in and that has that experience as a starter and also speaking on those lines that it was good to see Clarin Cheerless out there as well. He look I know, yeah, he looked, he looked pretty good again. He had a little bit of a groin injury. So it was good to see him back out there as well. So again, we’re talking about some depth roster pieces. Um, you mentioned the, uh, injury to Princeley Uma Mel and he actually Uh, came on the interception against, uh, by, by Latham Ransom. He actually said that, uh, yeah, turned to go block Darnell Washington, who’s a tight end for Pittsburgh, and Renan is quote him, his big ass. It’s a quote Princeley Umami yelling after the game, but the X-rays were clean, he said. But he’s gonna get an MRI tomorrow. So hopefully things are OK with him. He said it didn’t feel that bad, but again, to be determined, I hope things are OK with Princeton Umam Yellen because they get a little bit of injury bug there on the outside linebacker position because DJ Johnson’s battle a little bit of that hip injury as well. He might not, he might be a, an IR candidate, uh, initially as well. Then Nick Scororton’s got the collapsed lung, now the shoulder for Uma Melen. But hey, you know what? Thomas and Com. You’re making this roster, bud. Like Tomas and like Thomas and Coom, you are making this roster. I, I 100% I’m saying that with conviction that this dude’s gonna make this roster. I have a question for you. Tip me. There’s a couple of times you’ve said Tomas. You know, uh, you know, it’s, is the, is the incum like messing you up? Like, because I feel like you put an extra emphasis on a coon, but are you trying to make sure you’re not saying. Trying to make sure you’re not saying it with an N. No hard R’s here, Chris. Uh, no hard ends at the end of. I, I don’t know why, but the, the name Ium, I for some reason I feel hockey with it, so Tomas. As opposed to Thomas, uh, anyway, I don’t know why that kicks into my head, but anyway, maybe, maybe he does go by Tomas, but Thomas and Coom for sure. Tomas and Thomas and Coom are making this team. That’s for darn sure. Couple, couple other things that I noticed, um. I thought it was a bad game for Shamar Bartholomew. I didn’t think he did himself any favors. No, he didn’t. It’s it’s just 2 straight games, by the way, 2 straight games we’ve seen him get cooked for a touchdown. And, and, you know, he did on that double move, uh, and, and gave up that touchdown, um, you know, to the Steelers, and I’m kind of wondering if there’s another, uh, Another cornerback that maybe to the to the uh coaching staff that’s kind of stood out in games. I can’t quite pick one, another person that I say really stands out. I feel like if you’re gonna carry 5, then maybe it is uh Bartholomew, but boy, um, he’s probably not gonna be activated and you’re probably trying to search um the uh the waiver wire for for maybe just a little bit better. Um, but I, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not on the roster come week one. Maybe he makes the initial 53, or maybe he’s, maybe just waive them just so they can take their shot at the waiver wire to see what happens. So I, I, I don’t know, but it’s, I think that’s the, that’s the one person I think that maybe hurt themselves, uh, in this game, and that’s, that’s Bartholomew. Yeah, because actually it was interesting how Steve Smith actually pointed out on that play. Cory Thornton, if you go back and watch the Touchdown. Corey Thornton actually at the top of the screen was guarding Scotty Miller, who’s a veteran NFL receiver, and jammed him up at the line of scrimmage like in the slot, and I was like, oh, OK. He’s like, oh man, I was like I was watching Corey Thornton, you know, jam up Scotty Miller in the slot and I went back and rewounded. I was like, oh yeah, like he didn’t allow Scotty Miller to get a clean release, and then, you know, Bartome gets beat. I mean that’s, that’s back to back weeks where Bartholomew’s gotten beat for touchdowns and that’s just. You are gonna get beat as a defensive back. It’s just, it’s gonna happen. But when you have limited opportunities, you have to maximize them. And unfortunately, Bartholomew hasn’t shown that yet. Now, maybe he’s the, again, Corey Thornton is the initial backup, but you’re, you’re real thin at that position. Maybe a Caleb Evans is the guy that makes the team initially over Bartholomew and they still try and go the waiver wire or try and make a trade. I think the trade activity, Chris. Whether it’s involving the Panthers going after a defensive back, a linebacker, whatever it might be, or they, they, they trade Adam Thielen, whatever it is. I don’t think we’re gonna see that until after this third set of preseason game wraps up because obviously teams are gonna wait and see if guys get injured, um, you know, who might step up and shine, whatever it might be. I think we won’t see those flurry of trades obviously until. My guess is probably Monday next week is we’re really gonna start seeing those trades really starting to take place, but, uh, because teams are gonna want to get ahead of it. They don’t want to have to try and, you know, wait for the waiver wire. They want to try and go ahead and get somebody now if they can. We’ve seen a couple of wide receivers get traded in the last couple of days in the NFL. We’ve seen a defensive tackle from Minnesota get traded away as well. So the, the activity is starting to pick up, but I think we really might see a flurry of moves on Monday. It’ll be interesting to see uh what happens. Um, couple more things I wanna bring up, um. Jack Plummer, um, I was kind of disappointed with him. Uh, yeah, that interception was unfortunate. You know it’s not even just the interception. He threw a lot high or away from a lot of guys like he threw some hospital balls out there today. Like I thought he got, uh, uh, I was gonna call him Curtis Renfrew. I don’t know what Curtis comes from him too. I thought he was gonna get Hunter Renfro hurt. It’s like, this guy just had ulcerative colitis. Don’t make this guy get hurt like we need him on the team, and the passing yards weren’t great. Um, you know, I can give Bryce Perkins a pass because like he literally just joined the team and he looked a little nervous. He joined a team like 5 days ago and he’s playing and, and trying to remember everything and they kept things pretty vanilla for him, you know, for that reason. Um, but, you know, only 84 total passing yards. Rushing though was a lot better, uh, thanks to Blackshear, uh, thanks to, um, Trevor ETN, uh, those guys are good, um, with the rushing guards, that was one of the things that we said we didn’t like in the first two preseason preseason games. 171 yards on the ground. I like seeing that, um. 3rd down efficiency a lot better, 9 of 16, um, and the other thing, even though these aren’t starters that that have played, it’s very, uh, I, I like the fact that you have the backups backups who are playing. And they look like they held their own a little bit against some of the Steelers starters. Steelers had some starters play in this game. There are quite a few, quite a few. So it’s looking like, you know, you’re starting to build that depth, especially on the offensive side of the ball. There’s something to be desired for on the defensive side of the ball. Especially like end of the second half, like, you know, basically stop the Steelers for that one play, and you don’t put them in position to kick a field goal and all, you know, all of a sudden they give up the long pass play, uh, out there. And I thought that was a, that was kind of unfortunate there, but, um, it feels like the offense building is building some, um, Some momentum and um if they are building that momentum and you have somebody like Bryson Tremaine, somebody that me and you really haven’t really talked about at all, like he could possibly make the roster, um, that’s cool for the Carolina Panthers that, you know, maybe the offense is going to be heading into the right direction. So excited to see what that potentially looks like week one versus Jacksonville. We’ll see. 2, basically 2.5 weeks, Chris. 2.5 weeks we’ll be there. I think 17 days from, well, I guess now, now it’s Friday morning now. 16 days for, uh, we’ll, uh, be looking forward to actual games being played. And I, you know, I’ll say I, I like the physicality overall from the team today. I thought it was really, really good. Again, like you said, the Steelers were actually playing a good amount of their starters, obviously not some of their stars. But a good amount of their starters, uh, today as well. So Jalen Ramsey, Jalen Ramsey played, I mean, but you know, no TJ Watt, no Cam Hayward, no Aaron Rodgers, no DK Metcalf, but Jalen Ramsey played, Darius Slay, Joey Porter Junior, uh, you know, Peyton Wilson, there’s Patrick Queen. There’s a bunch of guys that played, um, Pat Fry and Muth was playing. There’s a whole bunch of dudes out there that were playing, including most of the starting offensive line too. Can I say something? Hit me. We really, really, really should have got Peyton Wilson last year. I just wanna say, he, I know the injury concerns, but boy, my guy pops. If only he had an ACL in this one knee, that’s knee. He doesn’t, yeah, he doesn’t have an ACL on one of his knees. But yeah, that dude is, uh, special, but yeah, that. There’s a reason why I fell to the 3rd round is just because, you know, his, his medical history. It’s that’s simply what it was. But we were, we were blessed to see him here in the state of North Carolina. I gosh, I remember watching actually Paul plays for him when he was in high school, um, when he was at Orange High School out in Hillsboro. Sometimes you just gotta give it a good 5 minutes for him if he can give it a good 5 years in the NFL, that’s really all we need give us a good 5 years, bro. And then go and take care of your degenerative knees after that, because you’re gonna make enough money to possibly do that, uh, because boy, like that that dude pops, man. He’s he’s a special special talent, special talent indeed. That dude was huge. I saw him this summer at uh at um Drake not Drake May, Drake Drake Drake Thomas’ and The Thomas’s camp. That’s a big man. Yeah. He, he could be a defensive end. Massive individual. Chris. Go get some sleep We’ll have another episode for you guys. Next week, we’re gonna react to not only the 53 man roster and the waiver moves and things along those lines. We’ll have all that for you guys next week. We’re getting ready for week one, Chris. Bye Mr. Popper.
