Chris, first to say happy Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving. Thankful Thanksgiving pilgrims Family Guy, you know, I get the reference. I get the reference, um. I was about to have a serious moment, but all right, let’s go. Let’s just go and get this. Happy Thanksgiving pilgrims. Get dialed in Panthers fans. Here comes an in-depth look at your team. Exclusive interviews locker room insight. Let’s huddle up for Panther’s Playbook presented by Wake Orthopedics, a wake med physician practice. 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. Big shout out to our sponsor, Wake Orthopedics for sponsoring Panthers Playbook. And also thanks to you. Happy Thanksgiving to you watching this year on Thanksgiving. Thursday morning, you might be watching it on Friday or Saturday, but whatever day you might be watching it, but it is Thanksgiving that we’re dropping this episode. So thank you for watching and always tapping in with us every single week. And also thank you when you leave the comments. We actually really enjoy it. Chris, Chris and I read through all the comments that you guys post after we upload every episode. We read through them, we interact with you all there, and we really do appreciate the, the conversations that we get to have online with you all. You all are part of this community. And we want to make sure that you continue to grow the community. So like, share, subscribe. also leave a comment about this coming Sunday against the Rams. What’s your outlook? Cause I’m not gonna lie, Chris, my outlook ain’t that high, especially when you have uncertainty on your defense going against probably the best offense in the entire NFL and the Rams. Because JC Horn had the concussion on Monday night. Don’t know if he’s gonna be able to play this coming Sunday. Claude and Cheerulus, who was filling in already for Trevon Wallace and Christian Roseboom played pretty well. Also had a concussion, so you have a, you’re an already thin spot. It just got even more thin. I know they signed Isaiah Simmons. Then Trayvon Merri gets suspended. Corey Thornton’s out for the year because he broke. Bone in his leg. All of a sudden it’s like wait a second, got all these injuries on defense. We gotta try and slow down Matt Stafford with Pukanokua and Devonte Adams and Sean McVeigh calling plays, and I don’t think I trust the offense to keep pace, Chris. I just don’t, I, I, I hate to bring up old stuff, hate to bring up old stuff. This is why you take care of business against the New Orleans Saints. That’s exactly what I was gonna say. I was saving, but you, you read my mind, Chris, go on. Um, you know, it’s it’s one of those things where it’s just like, man, like you realize like certain mistakes now, uh, and when you’re in the moment, there’s a reason why you take care of business because you don’t know what the future holds. And this game, as of right now, as we’re recording this, we don’t know who’s gonna take the field for the Carolina Panthers on defense. And for a team that had the worst defense in the league last year, and statistically one of the worst defenses of all time, let’s be real here. When the defense has been playing well, it’s literally what’s been winning games for the Carolina Panthers this year. Just about, yeah. And so, um, you know, the, here’s the one thing though, if we’re able to have, you know, a decent amount of people. Um, to play, that gives me a little bit of solace, but then it kind of gets, you know, erased, right? Um. The Dallas Cowboys at one point was the #1 offense in the in the league, and we beat them, but at the same time they had the worst defense. So you’re able to score points along with them as that was happening. Now, Enrico Dowdle had the most yards from scrimmage from a running back in Panthers history in that game. Right. Uh, 123456789, the Rams right now, as far as uh total defense yards allowed, um, our ninth in the NFL, uh, the 9th best team. So it’s gonna be hard to score points against them, and um it’s gonna be tough to keep them uh uh from from scoring points, like literally. Everybody from top to bottom, practice player, every single coach, everybody needs to be on their A game. There there’s literally no room for mistakes in this, in this game. If you want to come away with the win. That’s Dave Canalis, that’s Bryce Young, that’s Ikey Akanu, that’s anybody that’s out like literally there’s there’s zero room for mistakes if you wanna try to stay above 500. You have to make sure you come away with no mistakes this Sunday. And, and the Rams’ defense, like you said, yards allowed, 9th in the NFL, but here’s actually where they’re bet. I, again, I, I, this is why I look past yards in terms of total defense. I, cause I look at points per game, they’re best in the NFL, just 16.3 allowed in the entire NFL. Third down conversion percentage defensively, they’re 4th best in the NFL. Redstone scoring defense, second best in the NFL. That to me is, yeah, you’re one of the. To defenses in the entire league. You have to, in my eyes I look even just beyond the yards. They don’t allow points. They don’t allow you to score in the red zone. So that to me is just, it’s a tough recipe and a tough pill to swallow. And like you said, the opportunities that this Panthers team has had over the last couple of weeks to take advantage of teams that were vulnerable, they simply didn’t do it because like you mentioned, against the Saints, we’re a bad football team. And you didn’t capitalize. Just go back to a couple nights ago Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers. Your defense gave you opportunities, gave you opportunities. 3 turnovers in the first half, you come away with 3 points. You had opportunities twice in the last 3 weeks. And you laid eggs. Oh yeah, I know you had the big game against Atlanta, but you lost two of the last 3. Well, you had opportunities to win those games and you didn’t because the offense was just bad. The offense really is what’s been most of the season. Just, just, it didn’t capitalize on their opportunity. So I’m, I’m wondering, Chris, if this team is. I don’t think I’m wondering, I think I’m now realizing this team really just isn’t quite there yet. They’re in the conversation, but they’re not quite there yet to learn what it takes to to take advantage of those opportunities that they’ve had again, against New Orleans and against San Francisco. I mean, against San Francisco, you had every opportunity to go on the road and put the pressure on that team and you let them off the hook. Now I sound like Dennis Green. Let him off the hook. Um, you know, um, As you were saying that, as you started off, uh, at the beginning is talking about, you know, points loud, red zone, points, those things like that. I, I just had an image of my in my in my mind, and uh I, I don’t want this to look like the Bills score, and I feel like it could potentially look like the Bills score. It’s like really shaping up to look like that, and I really want the Carolina Panthers to prove me wrong. Like, really, like please prove me wrong. But it’s it’s shaping up to look like a potential build score type of game. Like it, like the Rams could get into the 40s. I mean, if you don’t have JC Horn at on at least Puka Nur or, you know, um uh Devonte Adams. And you got Mike Jackson out there with, you know, Shaw Smith, Wade and whoever else they sign off the street. And like we and we don’t know they signed Isaiah Simmons, but who knows if he’s gonna be ready? Like they signed him Tuesday. Is he gonna be ready to play in 5 days? No, I mean, so I’m I’m not sure if I’m counting on that at all. So like. You know, what’s What’s gonna happen with that? And then no Trevon Merrick because he decides to give somebody a low blow being, you know, stupid, uh, which he deserves that that suspension. I ain’t gonna argue against it. It’s uh this this doesn’t look good at all, man, and, um, you know, besides that front four, I don’t know what’s gonna happen behind that. So, you know, I really hope. That this is like the best pass rushing day ever for uh guys like Princeley Uman Melen, for guys like Nick Skorton, for guys like DJ Wanam, for guys like Derek Brown. I hope that this is the best pass rushing day ever. Because boy, if anything that gets past them. It, it just might be gone. It might be going to the house. That is a lot of pressure to put on a front 45, depending on what the front is, but like, you know, it’s gonna be tough. The Rams are 3rd best in the NFL in terms of their offense, allowing sacks. They only allow sack less than 4% of the time, 3rd best in the NFL and the Panthers are. 31st in the NFL and sack percentage. I need to know. A big part of that though is having a quarterback that’s decisive and knows when to get it out and, you know, it helps, you know, helps. I mean, offensive line for sure, but another big part of that that we don’t really talk about is, is the quarterback. Panthers are, I’m sorry, 30th in the NFL in sack percentage of the season, 30th in the NFL as, as much as the as as. Much as the defense has improved, and it really is, it’s far beyond better than what it was from the defensive side. I was thinking like from the defensive side for the Panthers. I was thinking I was like, man, offensive line’s been pretty good this year. Yeah, I, I’m talking defensively for the defense of the Panthers is far improved from where it was last year, far improved. There’s still holes in their game and they again, they don’t generate a lot of pressure. Their leader in sacks this season, two guys. It’s Nick Skorton with 3 and Derek Brown with 3. We’re 12 games in. Like they just don’t generate a ton of pressure as is. They’re bend but don’t break, but I don’t think that’s gonna be able to hold up against a team that is in the red zone, especially you get inside the 5 yard line. Matt Stafford or Devante Adams is might as well just go and cash it in right now. Like it’s just, it’s automatic with the way those guys are converting on in inside the red zone. This team. This Panthers team, if they can somehow implement the strategy that they had against the Green Bay Packers, that’s the only way I can see them really keeping this thing close. Long sustained drives, grind it down to few possessions on each side of the ball. That’s the only way I can see him keeping it in. That’s the, that’s the the Rams allow 102 yards rushing per game, um, you know, it’s, it’s, um. I mean, pretty good to keep a team that low because you see a lot of teams in the 130s, 140s, you know, uh, 110s, uh, you know, areas like that. Um, but this is, this is one of those games where, you know, you kind of look at Dave Canalis and say, if you’re gonna be about the run, be about the run because the, the The part where you can help out your defense that is hurting right now. I mean, the defense, literally, as you just as you said, so eloquently a few minutes ago, gave you every chance to win Monday’s game. They’re hurting right now. You know, you have one person made a stupid decision, other folks who are just injured, and you’re gonna be with a lot of replacements. The way that you can help them out is to make sure that the offense keeps the ball, and Bryce Young has had his turnover problems. We saw 2 on Monday, and we’ve said before, if he has 1. He’ll have 2. How, how to keep him from doing that? Boy, run that ball and and be and really be about it and give them different types of looks. If you’ve been holding back anything this year when it comes to the run game. I don’t think they have, but if you’ve been holding back anything, if you’ve been waiting for the right moment to bring out certain plays, this is the week, you know, like, give us some jet sweeps, you know, give us, give us the crack toss, give us the the inside zone, give us the power. Give us every bit of the run game that you have. Use the thing you’ve been pounding the table for all season. Use two backs at the same time. The thing you’ve been pounding the table for on all season. All year you’ve been like, yo, use two backs at the same time. This, this is the time. This is it. This is, this is really the time right here to, to really do that. It, it don’t worry about it looking awful. Don’t worry about the game feeling slow or whatever. That clock is going to run, baby. If you can, if you can eat up, you know, 6 to 8 minutes every time you have the ball, guess what it keeps. The Rams from doing, running up the score with Matt Stafford. Because I don’t think they’re going to punt a lot. They’re not going to punt a lot on Sunday. So if you can keep their possessions down, if they only have like 5 or 6 possessions and and maybe like one drive stalls, another is a punt, and then you can hold them to a couple of field goals, you can keep this thing respectable, you know, because This this really can get ugly. This, this game is gonna show how much Dave Canales has grown as a play caller and as a game planner. Mhm. Depending on what the outcome of this is, if this is a blowout, if this is one of those like 42 to 7 specials right here. Dave, we’re gonna have to have some conversations. We’re gonna have to have some conversations, bro. Yeah, because let’s be honest, you’re Good luck trying to out scheme Sean McVeigh. But good luck trying to out scheme Sean McVe. Let’s also not forget that Jerrod Evero was on that staff. With Sean McVeigh when they won a Super Bowl. Sean McVeigh knows exactly what Ero is gonna do, and he knows exactly how to beat it. He knows exactly how to beat it. And again, especially if you’re gonna be down potentially your number one corner and the guy that would fill in for him. OK Kale Bevans, get ready, man. You’re gonna see the field a lot. You’re gonna see the field a lot. And I, and again, I don’t know how Evro and everyone’s gonna adjust the scheme because of again, the lack of corners that they’re gonna have available to them. Might get ugly. It might get ugly. But you know what? I could be surprised. I could be we could be surprised. That’s why that’s the NFL, I mean. Any given Sunday, you just don’t know, right? You don’t simply don’t know. I mean, we one o’clock on the East Coast for a West Coast team, you know, just saying. I didn’t expect, that’s a good point too. I did not expect the Green Bay outcome at all, because that could have been a blow blowout as well. So, you know, very well could have been a blowout. Not very optimistic, but, hey, if When we’re at Bank of America this coming Sunday, Chris, and we’re standing on the field at Bank of America and on, and on the scoreboard, it said Panthers win. I’ll sit there and point to that scoreboard and say, I was wrong. I’ll gladly do it. I’ll gladly eat Crow if that’s the case. But they need this one. I, every game from here on out, 5 games left, it’s, it feels like it’s a must win. I know you still got the Bucks twice. I know, again, everything is still attainable for this team. Everything is still attainable for this Panthers team, but The position that they’ve put themselves in, it’s just even more difficult. It’s even more difficult because the, the not, them not taking advantage of the opportunities they’ve had in two of the last 3 weeks to be ahead, to get ahead. Just imagine if you take care of business against the Saints, and you take care of business against the Forty-Niners, and you still have the injury issues that you have, you’re in control. We’re thankful for you. Again, leave your thoughts in the comment section. Shout out to Wake Orthopedics, the sponsor here of Panthers Playbook. Happy Thanksgiving pilgrims. I’m John Wayne Pilgrims. We’ll see you Sunday at Bank of America, which by the way, by the way, we actually had someone in our comment section, uh, this past Sunday said, hey, I saw you guys, um, outside of the Bank of America, one of the last home games. You guys were filming something on your phone, so I didn’t want to interrupt. If you see us at Bank of America, you’re always welcome to come up and talk to us. No matter what we’re doing, you’re always welcome to come up and say hey to us. We love, we love meeting you all. You’re always welcome to come and talk to us no matter what’s going on. Always welcome. And listen, just so we’ll usually pull up around 10:30ish. So if you’re outside of Bank of America on uh on Mint Street and all that, if you see us walking by to go to the media gate, holler at us. We’re for real. Y’all the real ones, we appreciate you all. We’ll see y’all on Sunday. Don’t eat too much meat. Oh
