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Mac & Bone Show - Eugene Robinson Interview · Mac & Bone Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Eugene Robinson, and he joins us on the Mack and
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Bone Show. Eugene, what's going on, man? How you doing?
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: I'm doing good, my brother, and I'm so excited about
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: the season, just like everybody else I.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Know, mann't can't wait to see these boys. We got
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: a division title to defend, Eugene. Do you think the
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: national media. I'm a little sensitive to this stuff, so
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: if you don't agree, you could let me know. But
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: like I just it feels like the Panthers improve themselves
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: in the offseason. They've improved themselves by three wins each
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: year under Canalis. They won the division last year, and
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: there they are in Vegas as the third choice to
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: win the division, and it just feels like hardly anybody's
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: picking them nationally. Do you feel like they're sleeping on
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: the Panthers nationally or not?
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: Really?
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: No, I think they're sleeping on the Thefts naturally. I
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: mean you you really think about how well we were
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: able to finish, and I think one of the litmus
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: tests that we had last year was the playoff game
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: against the Webs. The West took Seattle to test and
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: almost was you know, was there to go to the
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Super Bowl and what we did. We we took the
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: rafts to task and if you're looking at uh, if
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: there's any parallel with that, you got to say to yourself, man,
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: that Carolina Panthers on a up an upswing, on an
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: up move, and here it is too. We made some
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: really good addition what I thought from defensively that we
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: were lacking last year. I thought we made some really
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: good milestones. And in defense with Dayn Phillips and Devin Lloyd,
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: I said, wow, really bonify them, could really change the you.
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: Know, the our defense and well we didn't do last
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: week were lacking.
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: So I've upgraded. I really believed that we made some
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: really big improvement. And I think that the national media
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: is just not recognizing that.
• 1:49
  Speaker 5: E g Uh, Bryce Young, even though it's year four,
• 1:52
  Speaker 5: still evolving as a quarterback. Where do you expect the
• 1:56
  Speaker 5: most improvement for Bryce to come from this season from
• 2:00
  Speaker 5: where he was last year?
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: I think one of the best places you can look
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: at what we saw Hans King did in this first
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: preseason game. You saw an aggressive offense. You saw a
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: office called by Brad is it really pushing the temple?
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: You saw the ball go down the field deep down
• 2:20
  Speaker 4: the field, and I kept saying to myself, and that's
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: not even Bryson there. And so I really believe that
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: what we see what Bryce is going to be what
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: we're going to see with the office the coordinator. I
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: think the fact that he's aggressive, he's aggressive in his
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: play calling. We saw some boots and waggles. We didn't
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: see any dashes, but we saw the ball move down
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: the field twenty five thirty forty yards down the field
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: trying to hit a home run ball. When I saw that,
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: I'm like, Wow, this is a compliment of plays that
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: if Bryce is able to go ahead and be in
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: there and run the helm, well, it's gonna make him
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: look really, really good because he has the personnel to
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: get the ball to team match. He has a personnel
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: to get the ball to I'll tell you what. And
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: I like, but I see you. Jimmy Horran, I think
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: he is man. He kind of reminds me of Oac
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: King when he was with uh Tory Hot and then
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: Isaac Bruce Oza Kim was that that that slot guy
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: who gave people problems. Well, I think that Jimmy Horn
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: may be that guy who's gonna get people problems. So
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: I really believe that Bryce has a compliment of receivers
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: to go and get the work done. But I think
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: that han't. Is it at the helm and calling those
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: aggressive plates, watch out bright right? Is gonna be He's
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: gonna be something special.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: I love it, man, I love it. How are you
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: feeling about Jonathan Brooks? See, unlike us, Eugene, you actually
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: played sports at the highest professional level and we were
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: nowhere close. So you can give us an athlete's perspective
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: too on him coming back from a second torn acl
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: But how like, how do you feel about Brooks? Because
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: I don't think there's any denying that that burst that
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: he has, Like, that's it, That's something we don't necessarily
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: have in our backfield. He could be a huge X factor.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: How do you feel about his comeback?
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: So we had the legends go back to the stadium
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: and it was like one of the OTA's to watch
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: a practice, and we watching the practice and we look
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: back there you see number twenty five back. They're like, oh, man,
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: Jonathan Brooks. He's a big old dude. So we're just
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: kind of talking amongst ourselves, right, we just sitting there
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: just walking off and do their thing. When Bruce got
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: the ball made a cut hit up the field, I
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: was like, hold on, is this still making people look
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: like they're standing still? Do this? Dude? Just when you
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: talk about the dude got a burst And it wasn't
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: just me. So I said I was talking to you.
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: I'm not I'm watching. Somebody was talking to you. Hey, man,
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: do you see what I see? And they're like, dude,
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: this cat can move. Man, what's going on? Because now
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: you're talking about football players who are evaluating other football players, going, hey,
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: there's something special about this dude, all right. And so
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: the fact that they were wait for him to get
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: healthy like they did with Thomas Davis. And then you've
• 4:55
  Speaker 4: seen the legacy and the work that Thomas Davis being
• 4:58
  Speaker 4: able to put out. If Jonathan Brooks is able to
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: do just a modicum of that, I'm just a little
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: bit of that. I'm telling you he's special. The dude
• 5:07
  Speaker 4: got this peripheral vision. He kind of reminds me of
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: a mon Green a little bit, and got this dude
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: just got this thing. He sees the field and he
• 5:15
  Speaker 4: puts his foot in the ground and he's gone, and
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: then he's big. I didn't realize the dude was that big.
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: He stood next to him him like, hey, Bill, back
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: about me. May trying to my space. Man's going off.
• 5:26
  Speaker 4: He's a big running back. And so from that's standpoint,
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: I'm just telling you, you know, and I know I'm
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: bullets on the path and everybody's like, oh, man, the
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: Pethers are great in your mind. I'm just telling you,
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: as a football player and have an ability to get
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: back out there when you've been hurt and prove everybody wrong,
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: improve yourself right, and have the opportunity. Man, you better
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: watch out. Dude. You got to watch out because I've
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: been hurt and been a number of guys who've been
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: hurt and when they've come back may they've been sensational.
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: So I'm looking for this young man to be sensational.
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: And I hope he says I stole. I hope he
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: stays healthy because what I see in practice, I'm staying due.
• 6:03
  Speaker 4: He's able to translate that to the field. Watch out.
• 6:06
  Speaker 5: Eugene Panthers add Darren Waller to the offense here in
• 6:10
  Speaker 5: the last couple of days. How important do you think
• 6:13
  Speaker 5: adding a experience move tight end like that will be
• 6:18
  Speaker 5: for the offense and just your overall thoughts on adding
• 6:21
  Speaker 5: Waller to this team.
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: It sends a message to the room, that's what it
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: sends a message the room. I mean, if you're at
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: this juncture and you bring in another guy and as
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: coach Canala said, to challenge the room, essentially you're saying
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: that somebody's not gonna have a job. That's just just saying,
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: you know, and everybody understands that. And that's the landscape
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: that we live under. So we understand that. But when
• 6:45
  Speaker 4: you ask somebody's in the room, it means that you
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: got to pick your game up. So everybody in that
• 6:49
  Speaker 4: tide in the room has to put pick their game
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: up because now you've got a guy who was unexpected
• 6:55
  Speaker 4: in that room. You got another guy that you got
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: to go ahead and bond with, and now you got
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: to learn all that stuff and you got to do
• 7:01
  Speaker 4: that chemistry thing and this and that, and then you
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: realize that hey made the best man win when they
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: just brought another dude in and a guy that they
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: that they scouted, that they vetted, that they liked because
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: he played against the Panthers and so they like what
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: he's been able to do. So that since a message
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: to the room that you have been challenged and the
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: Gauntland is thrown down.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: Eugene, you you played defensive back. You played lots of
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: of of safety obviously in your career. What do you
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: think of the young safeties on this team, Guys like
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: Ransom and Wheatlee. What do you what do you see
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: from them?
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: I said, you better watch out for your job because
• 7:41
  Speaker 4: Lathan Ransom is deadly. That young man will hit you,
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: he will push you in him off. He reminds me
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: a lot of like like remember Ryan Clark when Marion
• 7:52
  Speaker 4: Clark was playing for Pittsburgh Hills and he's playing for
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: the Commanders at the time. He would just Ryan Clark
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: would knock you. The next week, he would just he's
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: gonna he's gonna put some on you. He's gonna make
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: an open field tackle. He might make miss you, but
• 8:05
  Speaker 4: if he hits you open field, he's gonna knock you out.
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: And that's what Latham Ransom brings to the table. I've
• 8:11
  Speaker 4: seen him make some incredible tackles, but I've seen him
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: make some hllacious hits, and I think that's the fact
• 8:16
  Speaker 4: that what he's bringing. So if I'm score, if I'm
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: Scott and if I'm a merit, I'm like, hey, dude,
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: I got a DoD back here waiting in the wings
• 8:25
  Speaker 4: that if you're hurt, or if you if if if
• 8:28
  Speaker 4: you don't have a good game, there's a guy waiting
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: in the wings. A couple of guys waiting the wings.
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: It's really that can take your spot. So I mean,
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: you like being the starter, but you got to prove
• 8:38
  Speaker 4: it every day. And you got a couple of guys
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: in the in the wings right now waiting to go
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: ahead and prove their approve their point. And I'm telling you, Ransom,
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: in my opinion, he has the goods. He has the goods.
• 8:50
  Speaker 5: Eugene, how important is tomorrow and really the rest of
• 8:53
  Speaker 5: cam gonna be for Trevin Wallace and trying to secure
• 8:58
  Speaker 5: that linebacker spot because while we're excited about this team
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: and this defense, we do have a little trepidation about
• 9:05
  Speaker 5: the depth of that linebacker area next to Devin Lloyd.
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and I know, and Cheerless has been making that
• 9:11
  Speaker 4: very very difficult. You already brought in Devin Lloyd, you
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: got Terrolest, so you've got a couple of guys already
• 9:15
  Speaker 4: in the mix. And then the one I think statement
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: grace that Wallace has is that he's I know, he's
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: been hurt last year and he's kind of been a
• 9:23
  Speaker 4: little bit in and out, but he knows the system.
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: And then don't forget he got the green dot. The
• 9:28
  Speaker 4: green dot is that when you're gonna get the plays
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: that come in not well, that means that if you're
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: the green dot guy, that you're really kind of orchestrating everything.
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: You're trying to be being that Luke Keithley type of
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: guy getting people in position. Well, that experience is gonna
• 9:43
  Speaker 4: you know that that's going that's gonna vote him. Well,
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: that's that's that's good experience for him. However, you got
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: to go in and produce, and don't forget you brought
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: in Devin Lloyd, a guy who could take that inside
• 9:54
  Speaker 4: line back the spot. You could also do the green dot,
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: and I understand to understood that Cheerless may have got
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: the green dot too. So the competitions are and this
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: is where you got to go ahead and show up.
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: You know this, there's no you know, you don't get
• 10:06
  Speaker 4: no no third and four prizes. You got to go
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: ahead and win a spot because you know there's only
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: a three point two years that a player is in
• 10:15
  Speaker 4: the National Football League three point two years, you got
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: to go ahead to be able to secure it. So
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: I think that Wallace can come through. I like the
• 10:22
  Speaker 4: way he plays. I like that he's a heavy player,
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: and I think we need more activity from that from
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: that linebacker group. But I think that the Panthers have
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: made strives for that. So hey, this is what the
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: competition is all about. And hey, let me just say
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: this too. I'm so happy that coach Canalyis is playing
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: the starters play. Let let me eat, let him eat.
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: Let him guys I didn't get their legs underneath. Let
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: the guy get the cars underneath. Let the guy get
• 10:47
  Speaker 4: the communication. Let the guys go ahead and work together
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: in the chemistry and see different different looks. Let him
• 10:52
  Speaker 4: smack a man in the mouth or get hit in
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: the mouth. You got to have that. Get your get
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: your sea legs under you. And the fact that coach
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: canalys Is gonna let those guys go ahead and play,
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: maybe get a couple of series there. Absolutely love that
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: going forward.
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: Oh, Eugen, we want to smack somebody right now.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: He got We're gonna do an in studio Oklahoma, drill,
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: Eugene after that space right now, by the way, Eugene,
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: I was looking at I'm looking at your football Pro
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: Football reference page, and the most amazing thing that I did.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: I had never noticed this before.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: Uh, you played sixteen years in the league, but you
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: played all sixteen games in all but.
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: Two of them.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: That is that's remarkable. I mean, man, what's the secret
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: eating your broccoli? Broccoli?
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: What?
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: What's what's the secret?
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: Hey, the Lord kept me healthy. I missed two games
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: of my entire career and forgetting then, I tell you something.
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: We had to strike. We missed three games, so technically
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: this five games, but we had a strike.
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, here, I'm sure, Okay, my bad, Yeah, I
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: hear you.
• 11:58
  Speaker 4: But from that standpoint, I used to you know, I'm
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: a free agent and so I'm undrafted guy, I'm like, look,
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: i gotta go ahead and work and put it in work.
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: And I've always loved practice, and I've always loved being
• 12:10
  Speaker 4: a part of the game, and i wanted to be
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: able to participate. So I was like trying to stay healthy,
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: trying to stay healthy. But the Lord kept me healthy
• 12:16
  Speaker 4: for the most part of my entire career. So I've
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: been able to play. But I love I love practice,
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: I love walkthroughs, I love learning. I love the academics
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: of football. And because I did that, I was able
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: to go ahead and navigate the game and then maybe
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: improve my athleticism because I was a smart footballer.
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: That's awesome.
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: Also, that fifty seven interception numbers for the dang sweet too.
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: He is Eugene, you pick off the most, Eugene, who'd
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: you get the most?
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: I think I got maybe John Alway four or five times.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: That ain't a bad one. That ain't a bad name
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: to be able to throw around away.
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: John Elwa got me too. Now you'll feel a couple
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: of touchdowns over my head. Yeah, no doubt about that.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: You're very honest, Okay, very honest. All right man, Well,
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: hey you Jay. We appreciate it. Thanks so much for
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: coming on. You always get us fired up about Panther football.
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: We appreciate you.
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: Thank you very much. I appreciate you. Guys,