Pat Welter and Chris Lea set the stage for Panthers Rams and give their predictions from Charlotte.
Pat, it’s been 10 years. Both of us weren’t at WRAL at the time, but that’s the last time the Carolina Panthers played a game here at Bank of America Stadium in the playoffs. Now they’re finally here, and it’s against the team they played just 6 weeks ago in the LA Rams, and the key stat there, probably the most important one, they won that game 31 to 28, 10.5 point underdogs in that one. Same spread again. Chris, do you think we’re going to see the same result? It just depends. Here’s one of the things that I think is going to be very interesting about this game. One, the Carolina Panthers showed in the 3rd quarter of that last game six weeks ago that they could do something with controlling the time of possession. They ran the ball a lot more. They had the ball for about 11 minutes. The Rams only ran 3 offensive plays in that 3rd quarter the last time around. Keeping them off the field is something that the Carolina Panthers could possibly do if they do that. It can help them with the win. But also, Matt Stafford isn’t really good playing. When it comes down to the weather, it’s supposed to open up. The skies are supposed to open up later on and rain. I can’t remember the exact stat, but 1 in 81 in 9, something like that that Matt Stafford isn’t snow and rain. So if it does rain, the Carolina Panthers might have the advantage. If you think about the anatomy of an upset, a lot of times it is kind of an outside factor, kind of leveling the playing field a little bit, and the Rams have one of the top passing offenses in the entire NFL. If you can ground them just a little bit. And then there’s the turnovers. Last game versus the Rams was the ultimate makeup of an upset when you force 3 turnovers, including 2 interceptions from Matt Stafford and a pick 6. Chris, this is a guy who’s touchdown interception ratio on the season. It’s 46 to 8, and the Panthers 2 of them, 2 of them plus plus the fumble. And then there’s the other thing we talked about this yesterday, Trey. Merrick didn’t play in that game. JC Horn didn’t play in that game. Christian Roseboom didn’t play in that game. And then offensively for Carolina, Robert Hunt is back on the offensive line. They’re due for a game to where like their run game kind of comes back alive. It’s kind of been non-existent over the last few weeks. Actually, the last really good time that they ran the ball was the Rams game. Um, both JC Horn and. Hubbard, I’m sorry, Chuba Hubbard and Rico Donald both had pretty good games that day. And so maybe that’s a good recipe for the Carolina Panthers for today, especially if it’s supposed to rain. You’re going to see a lot more running of the ball. That’s going to be a very interesting thing to look at. But also Robert Hunt, 6’6, 324 pounds. I mean, who wouldn’t want to run behind that guy right there? You could almost hide by. Behind him and to sneak your way through, maybe a DB and a linebacker wouldn’t know what to do with that guy in front of them, you know. Speaking of another big guy, Cam Newton. Yes, you saw him earlier today. I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there. Oh, you were there, but, but Brian Murphy and Luke Nostein were. They’re out there. He’s supposed to be pounding the keep pounding drum later. Panthers have not won a playoff game since Cam Newton was the quarterback. Bryce Young, the quarterback now, Adam Schefter breaking before the game. Panthers expected to pick up his 5th year option. A little vote of confidence before Bryce Young’s first playoff game, and how he performs in this one goes a long way into will Bryce Young truly be the quarterback of Carolina for the future, because picking up the 5th year option to me just makes financial sense and it’s something you just kind of do to maintain control. If you were to franchise tag him in his 5th year. Exponentially more than what it would cost to bring him back on this deal. It gives you a little bit of extra time if you’re the Carolina Panthers, right? He’s going to be heading into his 4th year next year, so you have that 5th year. You can give yourself some time. Maybe right now you don’t want to sink a bunch of money into Bryce Young because I mean, even though the Panthers are in this position, he’s not necessarily proven. He can go out there and pass for only 54 yards. We saw that game right here a few weeks ago versus the Seahawks, or he can go out there and get. 448. There’s not a lot of consistency when it comes to Bryce Young, but there is something there. We just have to figure out if there’s something there for the Carolina Panthers in particular. So if they end up doing that, it gives them a little bit of extra time to make that decision. But ultimately that’s a vote of confidence for Bryce Young, and maybe he can come out here and play a little bit more confidently. And look, he isn’t a perfect quarterback, but he is his best in the biggest moments. And if there’s a trade that you want to have. Kind of a replacement level quarterback. That’s a trait that you like to see because there’s plenty of guys in the NFL that might have better stats but that don’t come through in those moments, and he’s done it his entire career and he did it versus the Rams in week 13. His two touchdown passes came on 4th down, the one to Tederoa McMillan in the 4th quarter, a gorgeous throw, 43 yards to really seal the game. Well, here’s something else I’m looking at too, possibly in the past game, and we have to see what happens, who’s active, who’s. Not active. David Moore is coming back for his team now. David Moore is not a world beater, but he’s somebody who’s been with David Canales since Seattle, went with him to Tampa, followed him here with the Carolina Panthers. He’s been out most of the season with an injury along with Robert Hunt. He was able to come back and be activated. So if he is active for this game because he knows what Canales wants, he knows the scheme, and there’s been times where David Moore has shown some flashes here. He’s the 5th wide receiver on this. Roster, but he’s also the most tenured wide receiver on the roster. Maybe he can make some big plays for the Carolina Panthers and help them move the ball when it needs to, maybe on 4th down as you brought up, and maybe also on 3rd down. But we know we talked about what’s happening here on the field. Outside of the stadium though it’s just a party right now. I mean you have a stage, you have people performing, it’s packed. There’s people out there who are having such a great time, a lot of fans chanting, keep pounding. I don’t think I’ve ever, I’ve been covering the Carolina Panthers since 2016, the year after they went to the Super Bowl. I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve never seen anything like this. This city has been waiting for this for a very long time, and they deserve it. And I think you know we could talk about the fifth year option, what this means for the future of the Panthers franchise. I think today is the day that you just enjoy this. Absolutely. Obviously if you’re a Panthers fan, you want to see them win, but even if they don’t enjoy the moment, enjoy the game like. be some of those fans that are having a blast leading up to this because it’s been so long since you’ve had anything to cheer for, not just in football in this city, but just in the city in general. The Hornets are starting to get a little better, but Charlotte sports on the way up here, and this is something that win or lose, you’ve accomplished something. The Panthers have gotten back to relevancy. You’re playing the LA Rams. The entire league is here. I’ve got people wearing vintage starter jackets out there feeling nostalgic, and you know what? Yeah, the Panthers are, the 5th team to make the playoffs with a losing record, but guess what? They’re also one of the teams to win with a losing record as well. And you know what, it’s proof of concept. What you started off with right there is showing that what Dave Canales is bringing here can work. Now if the Carolina Panthers can continue to build, that front office can continue to make this roster just a little bit better, if these players can continue to get better, what an amazing. draft class. What an amazing class of 2nd year players. And I’d even say some of the 3rd year players as well. This team is building and they’re getting better. If they can continue to do that, maybe this is the norm for the Carolina Panthers, as Dave Canales and Bryce Young are here. We’ll have to see how long that lasts. But if it can last, this place, North Carolina and South Carolina will absolutely love it. Should we pick the game real quick? Here’s what I’ll say while you’re thinking, OK, I, I can’t really in good faith pick the Panthers to win this game. I will acknowledge it is certainly possible for a lot of the reasons we’ve already mentioned. What I will say is, OK, I would sprinkle a little bit on the money line. Let’s just say I’m gonna pick the Rams to win. I’m gonna say Panthers cover. I will acknowledge a Rams blowout as possible. What I’m saying sprinkle a little bit on the Panthers’ money line. So I’ll, I’ll say something like uh 24 to 17 Rams. Pat, I’m going to jump out the window here. Oh gosh, OK, don’t actually do that. I’m not going to actually stand on the ground for right now, but I’m going to jump out the window because against my better judgment, everything that you just said, everything we know about the Rams, their prolific offense and everything like that, he’s doing it. Because of the possible rain and because of the returning defensive players and because of the return of Robert Hunt and because of the return of Cam Newton banging the keep pounding drum. I don’t know, Pat. This might be the perfect opportunity and perfect setup, and nobody else is giving the Carolina Panthers a chance, so Chris Lee will. Panthers 27, Rams 24, Panthers move on to the divisional round. I’m just gonna say it. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. He did it. Save the tape, baby. Save the tape. Well, here’s a bet you can cash. My hair will not look this good after the game. We’ll see you tonight on WREL.