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Mac & Bone Show - Dave Helman Interview · Mac & Bone Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Our next guest knows a little something about a podcast.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: He works on the Athletic Football Show uh, and he
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: joins us from the Athletic Dave Hellman nice enough to
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: join us talk a little bit of Panthers, but take
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: a look around the NFL here in camp. Dave, thank
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: you so much for coming on. Man.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: How you doing.
• 0:20
  Speaker 3: Thanks for having me. I'll have to be here. I'm good.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Appreciate you man. So we are. We've been uh you know,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: we've taked. We've had a couple of key injuries that
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: have that have tested our uh you know, our positivity.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: But I will say this, it has been a long
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: time since we have been able to enter training camp
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: as defending division champs. And we don't care about the
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: record or the matter which we got in Dave, all right,
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: we want it. What do you think do you feel
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: the T shirts? Do you we do? The T shirts
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: are there? Do you feel like the Panthers can they
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: They've added three wins each year under Canalys. Do you
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: feel like this year can be another step? How do
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: you feel about that?
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: I'm happy to hear that y'all are regaining your optimism because,
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: like just from the thirty thousand foot view. I mean,
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: I'm really excited about the Panthers going into this year,
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: and so it killed my buzz so hard to see
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: what happened to s Gordon and Brazzle and all the
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: stuff that y'all have had to deal with. And it's
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: not to say it's going to completely derail the season,
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: but it's just such a down note to start things
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: off on. And I think it's one of those things
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: where like you're kind of a prisoner of the moment
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: during training camp and you're like, ah, like I was
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: really counting on Scordon to take this year two leap, Like,
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: are the Panthers really gonna, you know, reach their ceiling
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: without this guy? And with some of the other injuries
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: they've had to deal with, they've already got some issues
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: on the offensive line, but we know football season is
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: a long long time and things go in ebbs and flows.
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: You know, they'll get at least a couple of the
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: injured guys back, particularly thinking about offensive linemen, and so
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: I do still feel overall optimistic about Carolina. I'm optimistic
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: about seeing, you know, adding a talent like Jalen Phillips
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: to that pass rush and unlocking Derek Brown to an
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: even higher degree than he's already had. So I really
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: do think the Panthers can be a very spicy team.
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: I think the Panthers can repeat as the Vision Champs
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: and maybe even do it with a winning record. We
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: joke about it on our show all the time, though
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: there's just there's so much of it that hinges on
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: Bryce obviously, and I mean that's not really expert level analysis,
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: but you come to this repetitive place with the Panthers
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: where you're like, I want to believe so many good
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: things about them. How much better is Bryce Young going
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: to be? And if he can unlock even like, you know,
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: if you don't even have to play like a superstar,
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: but if he can just be the good Bryce on
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: a somewhat more consistent basis, this could be a really,
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: really good football team. And I think we're just waiting
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: to see if he can do that because there were
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: so many times, even last year when they won the division,
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: there were so many times where you know, you get
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: to the end of a Sunday and you're just like, ah,
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: Bryce Young, what was that?
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: Man?
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: Like I thought this was going to be the week
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: where you put two consistent performances together, and so I'm
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: waiting on that. I don't know if it's going to happen,
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: but if it does, I'm pretty ready to buy in
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: on Carolina.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: We're talking to Dave Helmand of the Athletic Football Show
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: here on the MAC and Boa Joe. Dave, this is
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: a very dangerous, difficult question to ask anybody, but how
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: do you ranked the teams in the NFC South entering
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: the season?
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: Ooh, it is? I mean, like the way I look
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: at it, I think, And don't get me wrong, the
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: way last season ended for them was really really bad,
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: and I get it if people are down on them,
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: but I still think the things that make Tampa a
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: very complete team are still there. And you're probably hoping
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: that a change in offensive coordinator, hopefully Baker Mayfield can
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: stay healthy. They had a very exciting draft class, you know,
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: adding Ruben Bain to that defense is very exciting. So
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: I probably give Tampa the edge just because I trust
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: their quarterback a little bit more. But I think Tampa
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: and Carolina are very much neck and neck. I know
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: we're all excited about New Orleans, but the quarterback there
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: with Chuck is it's still such an unknown that I'm
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: not willing to put too many eggs in that basket.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: So I would probably go Tampa just slightly ahead of Carolina,
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: and then there's a little bit more of a gap
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: before New Orleans, and then I would have Atlanta bringing
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: up the rear.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: It's interesting because where you have the Saints, because there's
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of Saints hype right the way the
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: Tyler Shuck came in and played and I mean, I
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: hate I'm trying to forget this, but he and the
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Saints swept Our Heinees last year, unfortunately, but there's a
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: lot of hype and I'm wondering. I see why they're
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: saying it because Shuck looked the part, but I kind
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: of do wonder is it a year or like, are
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: the Saint you know, maybe a year still away or
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: so from really being ready to contend for the division
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: you put them in third. How do you view the
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: Saints and the fact that they are getting, you know,
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: some trendy kind of hype out there nationally.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: Well, that's I mean, that's the type of thing that happens.
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: And I remember, not to pat myself on the back,
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: but the way the Saints finished the season. I looked
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: at my co host and I said, get ready for
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: the Saints to be the darlings of the summer. Because
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: when you go from you know, whatever their record was,
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: they were like two and they had you know, they
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: were like two and eight and they finished six and
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: eleven or whatever it was, Like, Tyler Shuck had a
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: really nice finish to the season. And when that happens
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: and you look at some of the other young talent
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: they have on their roster. They signed Travis a Chan
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: and the spring, it's understandable why people get excited. And
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: what makes them so interesting is that could be totally justified.
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: Like if Tyler Shuck just takes it and runs with
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: it and he's a better player in year two and
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: the Saints really hit on a franchise guy with pick forty,
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: then they could win the division and you know, maybe
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: we're talking about the NFC South belonging to the Saints
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: the way they used to again. You know, But I'm
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: I'm more of a show me first type of person
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: and I'm not ready to just jump on that bandwagon
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: without a little bit more evidence. But man, we talked
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: about it on our show earlier this week. If Tyler
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: Schuck is a dude. It is talent all over that team.
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: I mean, the offensive line has the potential to be amazing.
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: A chan is there now, They've got two really exciting
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: young receivers. They just locked the lave up like the
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: only thing stopping them from being a pain in everybody's
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: butt is Tyler Schuck. And so it's a waiting game,
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: and I'm a little more cautious than some others, and
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: that's why I have the Saints in third. But I'm
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: not going to be super surprised if we look up
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: in October and the Saints heard or one of the
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: stories of the season.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: Dave, you are your Chicago base So I wanted to
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: ask you about the Bears because that is the Panthers
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: opponent in week number one? What do you think about
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: the Bears entering this season? Had a big injury this week,
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: but what are you thinking about them year two under
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: Ben Johnson?
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: I mean, I think having been in Caleb In's place
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: makes the Bears one of the most exciting teams in
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: the NFL. And it's been so fun. I'm relatively new
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: to Chicago, but it's been so fun to live here.
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: While the Bears have actually been good because this is
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: such a football town even when they've been bad, so
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: for them to actually be one of the stories of
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: the NFL has been really cool. But I mean Ben
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: Johnson said it himself, they're one of the primary candidates
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: for regression. You know, they won so many zany games
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: last year. That defense, especially with Kobe Bryant getting hurt
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: in practice the other day, Like you said, not super optimistic.
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: The defense is going to be a lot better, and
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: it's a scary place to be knowing that you're counting
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: on the offense to be a top five, top ten
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: sort of unit if you're going to have any chance
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: of getting back to the playoffs. So, I mean, I
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: think I said, having been and Caleb there, I'm confident
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: the Bears are going to be a solid team. As
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: far as building on last year, I'm I'm a little
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: less confident. But man, that the whole NFC North just
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: feels like a total crapshoot. I mean, every team is good,
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: but every team is very flawed for one reason or another,
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: and I'm really not looking forward to picking the winner
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: of that division. When we get time to make our
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: prediction before the season, starts.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: It's it's loaded, man, it is loaded. It might be
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: the opposite. I can do this. We're NFC South ends.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: It might be the opposite of the NFC South. It
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: may be, it may be what a class of the NFC.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: Is it still between Seattle and LA essentially? I mean,
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: or does a Miles Garrett move and maybe Aaron Donald
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: coming back? Does it tip it to LA? What do
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: you who do you have at the top of the NFC?
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it's boring, and obviously we know a
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: lot can change during the course of the season, but
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: it's really those two teams for me and and I
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: think there's a pretty substantial gap and everybody else. Yeah,
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: I think, you know, we don't know if Aaron Donald's
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: coming back yet, but I think there's a pretty good
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: chance that it happens. And so yeah, like I lean
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: toward LA at least a little bit in that conversation.
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: But LA and Seattle, I think, I think have a
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: full head and shoulders on everybody else in the in
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: the conference right now. And I know we've been saying
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: that all year, but it's we say it for a reason.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: Right, Absolutely, no doubt about it, no doubt about it
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: all right, man, Well, hey, we appreciate it. Guys. Listen
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: to Dave and Robert Mays, the whole crew the Athletic
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: Football Show and check him out at all their great
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: NFL coverage. Yeah, we love Joe person his panther coverage,
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: but check out all they're great coverage of the league
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: at Theathletic dot Com. Thank you, Dave, Appreciate you man anytime.
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: Fellas.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: Thanks, all right, be good.
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: There you go.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: That is Dave Hellman.