The Rise Up, See Red podcast
2024 Cardinals opponent preview: Carolina Panthers with Natalie Miller
The opponent preview show series is complete! This is show No. 14 in 14 days about the Arizona Cardinals' 14 2024 opponents. It is about the Carolina Panthers, whom the Cardinals face on the road in Week 16.
Jess is joined by Panthers Wire writer Natalie Miller to discuss the Panthers' abysmal 2023 season, their coaching change and offseason moves and what they expect in 2024.
- Duration:
- 37m
- Broadcast on:
- 22 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
- Hi, I'm Dalvet Quince. One way to help manage type two diabetes is to regularly exercise. My exercise program can help get you into a routine that works for you. Keep in mind, managing butt sugar also takes the right. - Diet, hi, I'm celebrity chef Franklin Becker. Ever since I was diagnosed with type two diabetes, I've adapted my cooking style without sacrificing flavor. If you wanna learn more tips about diet and exercise, visit mytype2transformation.com. An official message from Medicare. - A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or a married couple who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. - Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. - Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. - Biza! - Three! - Biza! - Biza! - Three! - Biza! (upbeat music) - This is the Rise Up C. Red podcast. All about the Arizona Cardinals and the NFL. Featuring insider and outsider perspectives. Enjoy the best hour of Cardinals Talk on the web. Now, here are your hosts, Jess Root and Seth Cox. (upbeat music) - Hello Arizona Cardinals fans and welcome to the latest edition of the Rise Up C. Red podcast, the best hour of Cardinals Talk on the web. I'm your host, Jess Root from cardswire.com, USA Today NFL Wire Side that covers, of course, your Arizona Cardinals. And we are in the midst of the opponent preview series where we're doing 14 shows and hopefully 14 days. Talking to writers, reporters that cover the opponents of the Arizona Cardinals in 2024. And this edition of the show, the focus is on the Carolina Panthers, the Cardinals opponents on the road in week 16. And helping me with that is for end of the show. Natalie Miller, you can find her work actually all over the NFL Wire. Natalie writes for Panthers Wire. You can see Natalie's work as well on draft wire and touchdown wire. Are there another wire sites you're also writing for? - I write for the Panthers Wire, touchdown wire and draft wire. - Okay, so we got, that's two more sites. Like, that's all one more 'cause I also, I don't do the NFL Wire, so I do Cardinals Wire and I also do Sportsbook Wire, but that's a different world. Natalie, which actually a little bit optimistic about the Cardinals wrote the piece that said that Cardinals are a super sleeper team this year. So Natalie's a friend of the show. So let's talk about the Carolina Panthers. 2023 was a rough year. There was a lot of, there was a lot of intrigue going to that year, kind of as a year one rebuild. You've got a respected head coach in Frank Reich, a guy that I have always been a Frank Reich fan. I thought that he should have been in contention for other jobs that like when the Cardinals were hiring at, I think in 2018, I wondered why he wasn't in the mix. You draft the number one, have the number one pick overall in Bryce Young and, but then things just don't go well. They lose their first six games, then they lose another six in a row after interestingly enough, you know, beating CJ Stroud. (laughs) And then going at the total two and 15 on the season, worst team in the league. 31st out of 34, 31st out of 32nd, second to last, an offensive points scored, dead last in yards. They were technically a good defense, but not a good defense at the same time 'cause they were what, they were a top five team in yards, but 29th in points allowed. Tell me about that. How is that possible one? What was, what was, what made 2023, what 2023 was for the Panthers? - I mean, where do you even start? David Tupper sort of, you know, is not known for his patience. So he thought he would have a genius idea of bringing in a bunch of different coaches with different coaching styles, different schemes, different systems. So from the start, it's almost like, you feel like when the season started, you're like, okay, these are all good coaches. In a vacuum, that's true. But when you have all these different coaches come together and try to make a same scheme with players that don't fit the scheme and it doesn't really work and then you've had the problem of our drafting and you just haven't hit on anything. So your depth is terrible and it was almost like doom from the start, even though, you know, there was some intrigue going in the season. Like you said, it's, it fell flat really fast as soon as we lost two of our interior guys and we were essentially putting practice squad players at right guard and left guard. And then our center, his play just drops. So our interior offensive line was, I would say the worst I've ever seen in Carolina Panther's history. - Which is far, which is definitely not what you want when you have a not tall rookie mobile quarterback. If that probably would have been the absolute worst thing that could have happened for Bryce Young. - Yeah, I was a disaster 'cause you have interior pressure in his face right away and he's not able to seal that. So in the offensive system, you try to get the ball out quick. Where are you getting it out quick too? And there's a defensive lineman in your face. So you're asking Bryce Young to scramble and break tackles but he's not built to do that. So it was just a recipe for a disaster as soon as our interior line fell apart. - How, how was it that the Panthers could be so good in yards allowed but allow some of them, almost the most points in the league? - Well, when the offense doesn't move the ball then the field position for the other team is usually pretty great and we turn the ball over a bunch. So you have a good field position for the other team but you're not really stopping anybody in the red zone. The defense like just on tape was okay but they were just so often on the field and so often put in bad positions that like asking any defense to do anything with that is just a recipe for a disaster. - Yeah, for sure. What did you think of the play of Bryce Young? Obviously how he looked only 11 touchdown passes 10 interceptions. He was sacked almost the most in the league. Sam Howe was sacked 65 times to lead the NFL. Young was sacked 62 times. They didn't have a thousand yard rusher. They did get a thousand yards from Adam Thelin but averaging less than 10 yards a catch. What did you see? How would you evaluate Young's rookie here? Obviously you were telling me before the show people are already done. There's a good chunk of fans already done with him. You know, he's a bust. Honestly, I've heard the same thing here. People think any time you get a midget quarterback people don't believe in them. And so if there's any adversity at all, they get loud. - I wouldn't say it's like a throw away trying to evaluate his tape but it gets close to that because you wonder like any quarterback functioning behind that offensive line and receivers that are DJ-chark and Adam Thelin who cannot separate. I mean, Thelin did good separation like in the slot but there's not much to push the ball deep and then he wasn't even asked to because he had pressure in his face constantly. So there's only like two or three games where you're really looking at the tape and you're saying, "Okay, here's where Bryce Stone "is doing well, here's what he's not doing well "without his supporting cast crumbling around him." Did he play perfect? No, there's no shot you could even come close to that but there's games like against Houston and against Green Bay where you can look at his tape and you could say there's clearly something there but there's other times where you're like, this dude has a long way to go 'cause like his footwork wasn't clean and he just didn't have the ability to push the ball deep even when he was protected at times. So there's concerns but there's also, I wouldn't give up on Bryce Stone. I think he's gonna be a good quarterback. Sounds good. Any other, was there any positives that came out of last season? Any highlights at all? I think Derek Brown had like an incredibly underrated season. I thought he was right up there with like Dexter Williams and Chris Jones, like he was, he was a monster in the interior and he hard would cut that. Are we tackles from the interior? He's absurd. His tape is just monstrous. Like there's these triple teaming them and he's just blowing through them. There's nothing you can do to stop them and I don't think, I think he's super undersung as far as like interior defensive players 'cause I think he's one of the best in the league. And that was, you know, it took him a little bit but the sack production obviously wasn't quite, but when you get 103 tackles and 103 tackles from the interior position and only seven of them for loss, that's really interesting. That means he was not only, he was getting off the ball but then having to pursue like a linebacker. That's wild. It didn't help that has defensive ends including Brian Burns were not like super productive on the edges and they did not play contain well and they did not get to the quarterback. It was a group effort on the defensive line and Derek Brown and Shai Tuttle were really the only ones that were getting the job done. - Well, let's leave that season alone and come in and I'm next on the Rise Ups here at podcast if I start carting, let's talk a little. Let's move on and look at the off season. There's been changes. Let's come to next on Rise Ups, you read. - An official message from Medicare. - A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or a merry couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. - Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp paid for by the US Department of Health and Human Services. - Hi, I'm Dalvet Quince. One way to help manage type two diabetes is to regularly exercise. My exercise program can help get you into a routine that works for you. Keep in mind, managing butt sugar also takes the right. - Diet, hi, I'm celebrity chef Franklin Becker. Ever since I was diagnosed with type two diabetes, I've adapted my cooking style without sacrificing flavor. If you wanna learn more tips about diet and exercise, visit mytype2transformation.com. - As a veteran, I live with health impacts from my service. VA healthcare means you're in 100% control of your own medical care, your own benefits, and it only takes minutes to set up. A veteran should enroll in VA healthcare because it ensures that they get quality, high level care for the rest of their lives. My service was then, my benefits are now. - Get what you earned, visit chews.va.gov. Not all veterans are eligible for the type or amount of benefits mentioned here. - We're back on the rise-ups here at podcast, the best our Cardinals talk on the web. It starts with, and we didn't even talk about the fact that Frank Wright got fired mid-season of his first season, and wow, but going back to that, was the job that Reich did that bad, that he needed to be replaced without even giving us next season? - Once you see Bryce Young regress as a quarterback, and you hired Frank Wright with the idea of being a quarterback guru, you have to act fast, 'cause Tepper is a stockman. You see something fall, and he's like, "I gotta get rid of the stock." And it doesn't work the same in football, but it's one of the few times that I'm like, "Okay, I agree with Tepper on this move." This clearly is a dysfunctional organization. Like, you cannot have your rookie quarterback regress in a season where he needs to show something to be able to go into year two, year three. - And so they hired Dave Kanellis. They retain a zero-evero for the defense, so there is continuity there. What did you think of the hiring of Kanellis? Do you think that he has what it takes to not only lead a team, but help get Bryce Young on track? - It's hard to say. I was definitely on the Ben Johnson hype train, so Dave Kanellis was sort of off my radar when we made the hire, but I've done a lot of research on him, and seeing what I did in Seattle with Gino Smith, and seeing what he did with Baker Mayfield, there's definitely like reason for hope, and he watches offensive design. It's certainly interesting. I like how he progresses throughout the season, 'cause that's what we missed last year, where like changes in the offense, there was nothing. It was just do the same thing over and over again, and hope for the best. But Dave Kanellis constantly made adjustments on what he was wanting to do, and he always had like a theory on how he wanted to do it, but he was always willing to change, and that's super nice, and I think he fits the vibe of Charlotte pretty well. - And so we come back to free agency. I mean, the biggest move of the off-season, I think, for the Panthers is when they trade Brian Burns. Was there any avoiding that? Was there ever gonna be a good ending to the Brian Burns situation? - If you got on a time machine and traded on to the Los Angeles Rams for a two for a shrimp pick, sure. - But in free agency, aside from Burns, is there any loss from last season, any off-season losses that will be impactful, that'll be impact losses? - Not really, no, it seems like mostly Carolina's overhauled the roster more than anything. They sort of cut the fat to be one. - Well, the Cardinals went through this twice in the last few years, because it felt like after 2018, the Steve Wilkes year, that the Cardinals were actively just trying to just get rid of all the stink of the 2018 year. So it didn't matter, even the players who did pretty well, like Josh Buying's the linebacker, had a pretty decent season. I'm like, nope, they're not bringing it. They tried to, they basically tried to eliminate the stink of that year. They did the same thing this last year, so basically everything from 2022, they overhauled the roster completely. And the first, like, they spent the most money on the offensive interior at adding Robert Hunt and Damian Lewis. Hunt, who was, you could argue, the best lineman that Miami had. And Damian Lewis, who was, perhaps, the best lineman that Seattle had, both playing in those interior positions. Does that, do you think those moves alone, take care of the big problems that the Panthers had last season on the offensive line interior? - On the interior, yes, if they can stay healthy, they still have no depth behind those two starters, which concerns because it's still the same guys, Kade Mays and Chandler Zavala, buying those two. So if it's like, if one of those dudes goes down, you're putting yourself back into that problem. The other problem along the offensive line last year was Iki Aquano, who really struggled in that Frank Reich system. And he regressed a lot. And I do think he'll do better with the shorter setups with Dave Kanales. And he fits that scheme better, but it's not like that's a red flag that just goes away because you have a new head coach. If Iki Aquano is gonna struggle, then Brissum is gonna struggle again, even with the upgrades to interior offensive line. The defensive additions include Ashawn Robinson, Judevi on Clowney, Josie Jewell, cornerback Dane Jackson, cornerback, or safety Jordan Fuller. There's like, they do a lot. That the talent looks like it's definitely upgraded Ashawn Robinson under like, he's not a star, but he is a solid, did interior defender against the run. That pairing with him and Derek Brown should be nice. And then you add, now, Judevi and Clowney is old, but he's also coming off one of his more prolific sack years in several years. And DJ Wanam as well, an underrated pass rusher who played for Minnesota. How much do you think those guys impact the defense in this coming season under Jira Evero? - I mean, it doesn't, it's hard to get much worse than the pass rush was last year. Burns was not like horrible, but outside of him, there's just no depth. So adding guys, like you said, Ashawn Robinson and Judevi on Clowney, it's going to be better because they're good players. Just signing good veteran players and trusting you're one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. It seems like a recipe for success, especially when you get J.C. Hornback, who when he's healthy, he's a top 10 quarterback. - What other additions do you think will impact the 2024 season? In free agencies. - I like Dane Jackson from Buffalo. I think he's, I think he's really good. Troy Hill is another underrated guy that they brought back in. And I think he's going to fit really well at that nickel spot. They retained Xavier Woods, which I thought was a good move because he was one of the better safeties last year. I just think this defense as a whole is going to mesh really well. Like they all seem to have their strengths within this Evero system. And I think Judevi and Clowney is hopefully going to build on last year, but it's still going to lack the sack production you want. But you kind of just want this defense to just then not break. - Well, and one thing that has always been very good about Clowney's game is that even before he was getting much in terms of sack sacks, he was always very productive in the run game, very strong against the run and very disciplined. And if that's what you were missing last year, that that will help things immensely. We move on to the draft, the Panthers originally didn't have a first round pick, but move into the first round to land South Carolina's Xavier Laguette. Round two, they get Jonathan Brooks. They take it Trayvon Wallace, Trevin Wallace for their third round pick. Those three guys, are those the three guys that you anticipate making an impact in year one? How good do you think Xavier Laguette can be? - Well, to rewind it for a second, we're going back to free agency. A guy we totally missed on was Deontay Johnson from Pittsburgh, who's going to be our ex-receiver. He's going to help out Laguette and feel it a lot. You sort of have these designated roles now for each of these receivers. As far as Jonathan Brooks and Jitavian Sanders go, I'm not sure how much of an impact Sanders is going to make right now. It seems like Tommy Trimble is the lock-in certified starter, but Brooks does a lot of things that the Carolina Panthers are missing last year. Well, Chuba is like a fine pass catcher and he's a fine runner. He doesn't do anything exceptional. And as soon as Brooks is healthy, I expect him to just be the lockdown full-time starter and he's going to get a lot of catches, a lot of runs. He's going to, the offense is going to run through him. - And then you go, you add in the well in on day three, corner back, chow, Wade Smith, Deep Tackle, Jaden Cramidi, or Cramidi, I don't know how you pronounce that. And then line back, Michael Barrett to round things out. After you say the first, after Brooks, do you expect the rookies to make much of an impact this year or is this a year where they're leaning on veterans right now? - Definitely leaning on veterans kind of year, like Trevyn Wallace is a nice pickup for the linebacker position, but he needs to develop. He's like the linebacker we dropped at just last year who we almost seem to be ready to move off from, and DJ Johnson, but child Wade Smith is good for depth 'cause we don't have much corner depth besides the three veterans that are starting. So it more comes off to me as developmental and depth. - Coming to next on the Rise Up Series podcast, I start with Carlos talking a little bit let's move on and talk about the upcoming season. What is expected from the Panthers in 2024? Let's come to next on Rise Up Series. - An official message from Medicare. - A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero, and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year, or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. Paid for by the US Department of Health and Human Services. - Hi, I'm Dalvet Quince. One way to help manage type two diabetes is to regularly exercise. My exercise program can help get you into a routine that works for you. Keep in mind, managing butt sugar also takes the right. - Diet, hi, I'm celebrity chef Franklin Becker. Ever since I was diagnosed with type two diabetes, I've adapted my cooking style without sacrificing flavor. If you want to learn more tips about diet and exercise, visit mytype2transformation.com. - As a veteran, I live with health impacts from my service. VA healthcare means you're in 100% control of your own medical care, your own benefits, and it only takes minutes to set up. A veteran should enroll in VA healthcare because it ensures that they get quality, high-level care for the rest of their lives. - My service was then, my benefits are now. - Get what you earned, visit chews.va.gov. Not all veterans are eligible for the type or amount of benefits mentioned here. - We're back on the rise of Syria podcast, Mr. Arftalk, Cardinal's talk on the web, talking with Natalie Miller from Panthers Wire, Touchdown Wire, Draft Wire, but he's here talking about the Carolina Panthers. 2024, what is this year going to be about? We thought last year was rebuild year one, right? Is it just a reset? How much better do you think this Panthers team can be? - It's a year of expectations. It's what your expectations, not for this year, but for next year. You're setting the bar, like, okay, what do we see out of this day of Canales offense? What do we see out of Bryce Young? What direction do we need to go in next year? Because we have this talent around Bryce now. We fix the offensive line. We gave him weapons. We upgraded our defense. So this is not a team that's going to just say, we're going to rebuild, it's fine. It's a team that's going to compete and see where it needs to go for the future. And the talent on this roster is way better than last year's. Even if off the bat it seemed like last year's roster was okay, it ultimately ended up being just a nightmare roster with tons of players who are just not returning. So I think as long as Dave, Canales can show some improvement with Bryce Young and is able to sort of show, hey, this team can compete and I'm the guy to take it in the right direction and Bryce Young is the quarterback, then I think that's what you're looking for this year. - Do you have an interesting stretch on the schedule from weeks nine to 13 where you have essentially four home games in a row, split two home games, the bi-week and two more home games. The first two, which look kind of definitely winnable against the Saints and Giants. Then you come off the buy to play the Chiefs and then you get the bucks at home, which will be, that'll be Canales's, you know, his revenge game, he wasn't fired, but it's the first time he gets to go up against his former club. And those are always interesting match ups in that sense. What do you think it would be a, obviously two wins is never acceptable, but say the Cardinals last year, in 2022, they went four and 13, they fired everyone. New staff kind of rebuilding the roster, they still only won four games, but the way we felt about 2023 was way different than the way we felt about 2022. Is that sort of the sentiment for the Panthers in 2024, even if they, like two wins is bad, but say it's four or five wins. Does it, the way they went, the aesthetic of the wins, it matters more than the number of wins, right? You know, normally this would be an easy conversation to have, but with any other NFL owner, but David Tepper is the way David Tepper is. And if he looks at the schedule and he says, "Hey, we went four and 13, you're all fired." Even though Bryce Young improved, like that wouldn't be shocking to me at all. But for me, as an analyst and as an a fan, I wanna see Bryce Young look like an NFL quarterback consistently, and I want the team to show that they're willing to fight. And I wanna see Dave Canales put together that, "Oh, he's the offensive guru. Our offense needs to not finish in the bottom 10. Our offense needs to show some light and some why you hire in Dave Canales. Like, what is this offense gonna look like? The defense is gonna be good no matter what. Like, Jiro Evero's might be a head coach the next season, but this offense is the main focus, including Bryce Young. If Bryce Young falls flat on his face and they win four games, it wouldn't be surprising to see Dave Canales fire. Wow, that, you know, that does make hard for a franchise to, if you're hiring coach, firing coaches is mid-year and then after one year, that's a hard team to get a good candidate for. So hopefully that doesn't happen. What do you think is the ceiling for this team? Best case scenario, what do you think that this team can achieve in terms of wins? - I'm known as a bit of a Carolina Panthers optimist, and a bit of a Homer, and I look at this roster. - I know how that goes, trust me. (laughs) - And I look at the division they play in, and I don't see a team that I'm real scared of. I didn't, Atlanta was going good, but that dumpster fire of a draft pick really just set them back and their defense still is not respectable. I think your biggest threat is Tampa Bay. And if you took away their offensive guru hypothetically, it's not far-fetched to say with improvement from Bryce Young, this team could be a playoff team, maybe a nine win playoff team, but a playoff team no one. - Yeah, the NFC South can do. (laughs) - Yes. - Those 500 and below 500 Panthers' division championships under Ron Rivera, everyone. - Seven, eight and one. - Woo, and then they beat the Cardinals that year. Ew, nevermind. - Sure it is. - Let's not remember those years because those-- - That was up at John's skeleton year. Was it the Ryan Finley year? - That was the Ryan Finley year. That was the Ryan Finley year because, you know, Carson Palmer went down, then Drew Stanton went down and we were left that season. And that's one of the greatest what-if seasons. We had a potential Super Bowl caliber team wasted on Ryan Lindley, and I like Ryan Lindley, and so I hate to say it, but that season was wasted on a Ryan Lindley, and that was sad, and-- - I was a blood in the water game if I've ever seen one. - Oh my gosh, that was, it was a funny thing because the Panthers tried to lose that game too. They tried to lose that game, but the Cardinals were that bad. Oh my gosh. - Thanks for it. - Oh, and so eight win, maybe nine wins, is they're sealing, what is their reasonable floor? Not like everyone gets hurt, but like, it's a disappointing and things don't go well. - I don't think it's possible to hit the two win mark again. Don't quote me on that, I don't want to be on that, but- - I'm gonna say it's possible right there, they can't win, they can't win only two games this year. - It's the roster's too good to win just two games, barring like a Bryce Young meltdown. I would probably say their floor is the four win game, or four win, their schedule is kind of tough, like it's reasonable to think four wins is the thing. - They do have a nice stretch shaft in the second half where they have six games, six of seven games are at home, which is really weird how that. 'Cause they go- - If they can win two of those, I'm done. - And so ultimately, do you think this is kind of a five to seven win team, reasonable expectations? - I did the record prediction for them, and I had them at seven and 10. - Ooh, you are the optimist, you are the optimist. How do you view that game against the Cardinals? It's the last home game of the year, going into the Christmas weekend right there, at home against the Cardinals, and the Cardinals just have not been able to do anything against the Panthers in recent years, basically since they ruined Jake DeLombe. They ruined Jake DeLombe, and then that was it. They couldn't beat the Panthers after that. - The Jake DeLombe curse, yeah. It's funny, I look at, every time we talk to this, like Carolina bills their team to beat the Arizona Cardinals, like if that's how I could map it out, it's like, hey, we're gonna beat the Arizona Cardinals. And I think it's no different this year, where like I wrote my piece about the Cardinals, they're gonna be a run first, run second, run third, run fourth kind of team, and they're gonna run the ball down your throat, and they're gonna play real strong defense, and we built our defense to stop the run. We're gonna make teams beat us through the air, which I don't know if that's conducive when your offense doesn't match that, but if you're gonna have a tough time running against them, and they're gonna try to make teams one dimensional, but Kyler Murray is a good quarterback. I'm with you, I think columnaries are really good, franchise quarterback. And you know, if you can't put pressure on him, he's gonna put the ball down the field. But with Derrick Brown and H. Sean Robinson in the middle of the defense pressuring the interior, it might give Kyler Murray a little bit of a sit. - Do you view that game? So it's kind of an even matchup where you would say, it's not necessarily like you pencil in a win, but you don't see it as a team that, oh, we might lose that game, but that's a, they're fairly evenly matched. - Yeah, I would say it's evenly matched. I think our roster is a little better rounded, but I think your quarterback is way better than ours right now. - Makes, and this point, it should be. Kyler's been paid a lot. I'm a big believer in Kyler Murray, but we'll see, we'll see how that goes. So there we have it. We expect to, Natalie, expecting the Panthers to be roughly a seven win team. So, and with best case scenario, we could see a classic NFC South, barely 500 sub 500 division title. The NFC South's great at that. I don't think that's gonna happen that way. I am bullish on, on Atlanta, simply because of Kirk Cousins, because that team won seven games with Desmond Ritter and Taylor Heineke, and Kirk Cousins is so immensely better. And I think, well, I looked at you, look at the roster at Atlanta. I was thinking, their talent says they should be better, but the quarterback play was holding him back. It was like kind of the opposite of the Houston's. When you look at the roster, like there's nothing scary about that roster, and then CJ Stroud elevates it. I like Kirk Cousins that much. I think, I don't think they're gonna run away. I don't think they'll be winning like 12, 13 games, but I personally think that, that they're gonna probably be a 10, 11 win team and will be the favorite in the NFC South. But the NFC South is weird. As you well know, it's a weird place to play football. (laughs) - Yes, definitely, with the Saints pushing the cap back every single year, they're guaranteed to finish with eight wins, so that's the good thing for that end. - And then they got the, like, Derek Carr, bless his heart. He's the most mid quarterback, and he's, yeah, he's the most mid quarterback in the NFL. - It's the definition of a mid quarterback when you look at a fun Wikipedia, his picture comes up, but I agree. - All right, and with that, we will end this edition of the Rise of Sea Red Podcast. The best part of Cardinal's talk on the web. We'll be talking Carolina Panthers. The Cardinals will be on the road in Carolina on December 22nd in week 16. Hopefully we can get Natalie back on to talk, leading up to that game in a few months from now. Thank you so much for the time on the show, and we will be back again soon. Find Natalie's work all over the NFL. Why are you finding Panthers? Why are you finding on draft? Why are you finding a touchdown wire? I referenced a couple of Natalie's pieces on draft wire and touchdown wire just the last couple of weeks. So all over, Natalie is all over the place. Thank you for your time. That'll wrap it this end of the show, this bit of the show, and we will be back again soon. Thanks for listening as well. - An official message from Medicare. - A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero, and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year, or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov/extrahelp. - Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. - Hi, I'm Dalvet Quince. One way to help manage type two diabetes is to regularly exercise. My exercise program can help get you into a routine that works for you. Keep in mind, managing blood sugar also takes the right. - Diet, hi, I'm celebrity chef Franklin Becker. Ever since I was diagnosed with type two diabetes, I've adapted my cooking style without sacrificing flavor. If you want to learn more tips about diet and exercise, visit mytype2transformation.com. - As a veteran, I live with health impacts from my service. VA healthcare means you're in 100% control of your own medical care, your own benefits, and it only takes minutes to set up. A veteran should enroll in VA healthcare because it ensures that they get quality, high level care for the rest of their lives. My service was then, my benefits are now. - Get what you learned. Visit choose.va.gov. Not all veterans are eligible for the type or amount of benefits mentioned here. - Always. - Thanks for listening to the latest edition of the Rise Up C Red Podcast. Listen to previous episodes and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, audio boom, or many other podcast platforms so shows are delivered directly to your mobile device. Please give the show a five star rating and always support the sponsors who support the show. We'll be back soon for the best hour of Cardinal's talk on the web. Rise up Red Sea, B Red Sea Red, and of course, Rise Up Sea Red. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ Rise Up Sea Red ♪ ♪ Rise Up Sea Red ♪ ♪ Rise Up Sea Red ♪ ♪ Rise Up Sea Red ♪ - An official message from Medicare. - A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save too. With Medicare's extra help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. 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