00:00:19
Speaker 1: It's a really good team. Obviously made the playoffs last year. Coach Canales has done a heck of a job there. Uh, Dan Morgan, their GM is, is really built up that roster from, uh, where they were a few years ago. Um, quality, uh, opponent defensively, just looking at their numbers, um, the way they ended the back half of last season, they were one of the top 10 defenses in football and they, they did nothing but got better through free agency in the draft. So, uh, we'll have our hands full there. They've got, uh, really star power all across the field. It seems like on that side of the ball, uh, starting with Derek Brown, the corners are really good players. Safeties are really good players. I mean, I can go on and on and on, but, uh, you know, it'll be a, significant challenge right out of the gate.
00:01:04
Speaker 2: There you go that is ben johnson uh giving some uh praise to the carolina panther defense you know behind the scenes he's talking about how much he's gonna tear our defense up this is a dude that publicly bone has said this uh during this preseason our goal is to win every game and score the most points in the history of the nfl And he said yesterday when asked, does your offense have to, you know, if your defense, you know, struggles, does your offense, you feel like offensively you got to carry more of the load. He said the job of the offense is score a touchdown every time we have the football. This dude yaps. He talks such a big game and he's brilliant. He really is. But man, I would love our defense to show up and show out on Sunday, man, against them. Absolutely.
00:01:55
Speaker 3: It's going to be a tough matchup just because of how good Ben Johnson is as a coordinator. But we do get the Bears in week one, and there is going to be an adjustment, I believe, at the wide receiver spot. No more DJ Moore. They're going to put a lot on the young guys, Odunze and Luther Burden. That doesn't really put... Not that they don't have bright futures, but it doesn't really put the fear of God in me. The scariest part back about their offense versus the Panthers' defense, now it looks better now because they've upgraded the linebacker spot, but Colston Loveland, to me, is the guy that I have the most fear of with that offense.
00:02:33
Speaker 2: He was their leading receiver last year in yards. He's a monster.
00:02:36
Speaker 3: I think he's going to be a multi-time Pro Bowler, probably starting this season, honestly.
00:02:41
Speaker 2: And the Panthers. Well, Pro Bowler name, they don't actually really have it anymore. But yeah, they will be still naming, you know, which is what they probably should have done years ago. But yeah, he was their leading receiver last year. And I don't know if anybody's heard this before. The Panthers struggled against tight ends last year. Eighth most yards allowed to the tight end position. All right, real quick, let's do this. I want to jump into our first edition of Know Your Enemy. This is a Chicago Bears edition for week one. I will start with the Roma Dunze news situation. He's got an injury, lower body injury. They haven't really talked much about it. I don't know if you've heard, Bone. The injury report comes out today. So they have not had to disclose any information on it yet. But he was called day-to-day by Ben Johnson yesterday. So he said he's hopeful that he can play, but he's been called day-to-day. Their running backs both have had injury situations, especially Menungai, who's been out a month. Sounds like they're both going to be good to go. But again, I will point you, Bone, Dave Canales-style, to the injury report on Wednesday afternoon.
00:03:44
Speaker 4: All right.
00:03:45
Speaker 2: I will send everybody there. Let's talk about it. He's going to send us a Thursday. Let's talk about it, baby. Let's talk about this enemy coming in and man, are they an annoying enemy the way they have yapped at us post Bryce Young trade. I would love to beat them. And they're so high on the hog right now. I don't know if that is that the saying I'm looking for. Or are they on their high horse? What am I looking for? I think they're... I think you can.
00:04:11
Speaker 5: Be both high on the horse and high on the hog.
00:04:14
Speaker 3: Jenny, let's not have you interject here on this one. I believe Mac has a guy that's messed up analogies before. Which one am I looking for? They're feeling good. I think you're... I think you're... Are they high on the hog or on their high horse? High horse is like when you're overconfident, right? You're on your high horse. So maybe that's what I was looking for. High on the hog, I think, means like you're feeling good.
00:04:33
Speaker 4: I don't know.
00:04:34
Speaker 2: Is high on the hog like you're rich? Or you eat a lot. I don't know. My God, here I am disrupting a week one know your enemy.
00:04:42
Speaker 5: High on the hog was Willie after he ate that brisket.
00:04:44
Speaker 6: Okay.
00:04:44
Speaker 2: Hey, guys. All right. Anyway, let me refocus here. I'm sure the texters will explain to me what.
00:04:51
Speaker 3: My- High on the hog is when you live a luxurious lifestyle.
00:04:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, you're rich.
00:04:54
Speaker 2: You're rich.
00:04:54
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:04:55
Speaker 2: So I think I want to say they're on their high horse coming off an 11-win season. They have Caleb Williams and all these guys they got from the Panther trade, and I'd love to knock them off their high horse. There's no secret, Bone. They are an offensive-first football team. There is no secret about that whatsoever. Let's start with that side of the ball, Bone. Last year, they were ninth in the NFL in total offense. They were fourth in the NFL in scoring offense last year. Let's see here. I think I screwed that up. I think I'm high on the hog over here. I'm high on something. Fourth in yards per game, ninth in points per game last year. And for all the talk, Bone, about Caleb Williams and the passing game, and you mentioned Loveland, who I'm sure we're going to talk about here in a second, I feel like they are a run-first football team. I feel like the first thing you want to do is deal with the two-headed monster of Swift and Menungai. Those guys combined last year, Bone, for over 1,800 yards and 14 touchdowns last year. The bears were second in runs per game and third in rushing last year. So to me, people talk about Caleb Williams and you could throw his scrambles into bone, you know, to, to add to the run game. But I think the number one thing is, can you slow that run game down, man?
00:06:21
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:06:22
Speaker 3: Here are the two things to keep in mind when it comes to the Bears outside of just the name players like Loveland and Williams back. It is all about, I say all about, their 2025 was largely about what they did in the turnover game. They were plus 22 in the league in turnovers. They created 33. They gave up 11. They were the best on both ends of that. They turned it over the fewest, and they turned teams over the most. So the turnover battle here would be huge. Can you get them to force a few, maybe even one? That turnover battle would be so huge. And so, Mac, we'll third downs. The Bears were seventh in the league last year in converting third downs, but they were 30th. in stopping third downs. So I think so many times these NFL games are so close. It's turnovers.
00:07:12
Speaker 2: It's third downs. Those are the battles that I'm going to watch the most. I'm with you on that. Are you downplaying my running game? No, no, not at all. Because you know how you succeed on third down? You get into third and short. Yes, yes, sir. And their running game. I'm just saying for all the hype of the passing attack and Caleb Williams are a run first team. And I think that's a huge battle. And I feel better about it with, I would feel better with Skorton there, but Pat Jones is no slouch setting the edge and neither is Phillips. Your point about the turnovers is one we definitely have to make, Bo, because we've, and we've talked about it for weeks here. They were number one in turnover margin last year. They were third in giveaways, so they didn't turn it over much. And they were third in takeaways. And they are so dependent, to your point, on forcing turnovers on defense. Because their defense gives up yards, they give up points. So the only way their defense last year contributed in a positive fashion, Bone, is they would go take the football away. Last year, when they produced one or fewer turnovers, they were 3-7. They were 9-0 when they produced two or more turnovers. So if I'm looking at this from a Panther perspective, protect the damn football and give yourself a chance. They, to your point, Bone, relied on that last year. As good as their offense was, they relied on getting the ball and getting short fields and stuff like that.
00:08:38
Speaker 3: Now the only problem is, Bone... They didn't make a lot of mistakes on their end and they forced a ton on defense.
00:08:41
Speaker 2: The only problem is, we have been turnover machines in Week 1. Bryce Young, I said yesterday, has six interceptions, Bone, in the three season opening games he's played in, two in each game. So that's got to stop, man, or else we're taking an L, dude. I didn't print this out for myself. I actually handed it to you, Matt. Do you have what I gave you there? What's his name?
00:09:04
Speaker 3: Graham Benfield? Is that the tweet stat there? He's a fantasy guru. Very notable stat.
00:09:10
Speaker 2: Barfield. Graham Barfield. Who did I say? Benfield. Okay. Close. I was very close. I got you the name Graham there.
00:09:17
Speaker 3: Very interesting stat, though, on the Panthers' defense from last year, what their strength is, and what Caleb Williams' weakness is.
00:09:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, they're talking about disguise coverages, right? Like, Avero ran the most disguise coverages. He's very much into that. That was 46% of the time, and Caleb Williams is sixth worst among quarterbacks versus disguise coverages. So is it a good matchup in that respect?
00:09:44
Speaker 4: Woo!
00:09:45
Speaker 2: I like that little tidbit, Bone. And I think you should get Graham's last name right next time for providing such good information. When you look at Caleb Williams, right? Like, as we do, Know Your Enemy, Chicago Bears edition. When you um look at caleb williams bone um obviously the playmaking in terms of it's third and six no one's open i'm gonna take off and get it on my own you may have to spy them which takes someone out of coverage. That's something you might have to worry about doing. You also look at where he does damage. This is not good for our matchup. Caleb Williams had a quarterback rating of right around 110 last year when throwing over the middle of the field. What were we terrible at defending last year in the past game? The middle of the damn field. And a lot of it is, to your point, Bone, earlier about it's to those tight ends. Loveland and Comet combined for over almost 80 catches and over 1,000 yards, eight total touchdowns. And we were terrible last year against tight ends. We're going to find out right away, Bone, how much of a difference Devin Lloyd– And also Okereke make in terms of covering tight ends and covering the middle of that field in our zones, man.
00:11:00
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, this is big that Okereke is in there for this game specifically as well to get him in there early because Loveland is a matchup nightmare, which we had a guy that was a no commodity like that for the Panthers. But how can the Panthers offense back take advantage of the Bears defense? Because I do believe... They are vulnerable. 24 sacks last year during the regular season. They didn't have a great pass rush. It was a turnover-based defense. And how about this stat for maybe a potential day for the Panthers for TMAC if they want to use them this way? The Bears were one of the worst teams in defending the slot wideouts last year. They were not good against slot wideouts. They gave up 9.1 yards per pass attempt and 13 touchdowns just to slot wideouts last year.
00:11:55
Speaker 2: And they might be starting a rookie in the slot this year. That slot position is not sealed up this year. If you're going to use T-Mac in the slot, this is a great matchup for that. They got two secondary injuries. Kobe Bryant's out and Kyler Gordon's out. Two starting secondary players are out. And they lost Bayard. See, the thing about their defense is, I love the way you segued us to the defense, Bone. It's like, talking about the Bears' offense is getting a little scary, so let's just move this thing right on over to the fun part of the Bears. which is that stinky defense is coming in here. But like we talk about the turnovers and the intercept, there were second league and interception percentage. Their top two interception guys left from last year. Bayard is one of them. And I forget who the other one was, but did they combine for 12 interceptions between the two of them? They're gone. So I think that's something that's notable. Listen, other than forcing turnovers bone, they stunk at everything defensively last year. I mean, their offense was amazing defensively. ben johnson's the boy wonder on offense um the dude that said no i'm too good for you david tepper but on defense man they were gettable 29th in yards per game allowed 23rd and points per game allowed uh they were 26th in rush yards per game allowed they were 29th in yards per carry they're giving up 4.9 yards of carry last year 25th and pass yards per game 26th in yards per attempt. Listen, I know it's a different defense. They did bring in different guys, Bone. You brought up their pass rush. Other than Montez Sweat, I forgot his name. Other than Montez Sweat, who will probably be making Monroe Freeling sweat a little bit this weekend, but other than Montez, who had 10 sacks, Bone, they don't have a player back on the roster that had more than four and a half sacks last year because they traded that kid to I forget the kid's name. Devin something? He had six sacks. Garvin Dexter?
00:13:53
Speaker 4: Oh.
00:13:53
Speaker 2: Defensive lineman? Oh, my bad. I had him as Devin. Are you talking about the one that went to Atlanta? Yeah.
00:13:59
Speaker 3: Garvin Dexter. Garvin Dexter? Garvin Dexter. I call him Devin, though. His best friends call him Devin. That's the first time we got a name wrong in the last four minutes.
00:14:08
Speaker 2: Can you tell that once you get over 50, Bone, the names really don't matter anymore? I'm 42 and I'm giving up now. Once you get over 50, like I used to always wonder, why is my dad mess up all these sports names? It's because once you reach 50, you have sports name overload in your head. You can't remember the names. But anyway, the kid who you just named had six sacks last year, interior pass rusher. sounded like bone they just didn't want to pay him money eventually he got traded to the falcons he's a heck of a player so my point is bone they don't have anybody that had five sacks last year on this roster except montez sweat that's good for our offensive line man it really is i have.
00:14:49
Speaker 3: A number here i don't know if you've seen differently but i wanted to ask you what the panthers offense can do with this number they ran their nickel coverage max 74 of the time last year They are a primary. Their base and dimes, per what I'm reading here, did well last year. But their nickel coverage, which ends up being their primary defense, did not do well. How do you envision the Panthers offense and what we have attacking the nickel defense of the Bears?
00:15:18
Speaker 2: I mean, shoot, you can spread them out, run the football, get them six in the box and run the ball. Um, I, I, I think they are very, I mean, look at their numbers last year. I think they're very gettable in the secondary. I know Jalen Johnson's healthy this year and last year to start the season, he wasn't, but I just look at all those numbers bone. I think we should be able, I know people are down on the Panthers offense, the way they played in the preseason. I know the pay, I know fans are, people are down right on the way they play offensively and openers. They've scored 10 points in the last three openers each game. but this just feels like a matchup. Like T-Mac and Coker can't eat, man. Like you put Bone, we talk about the weakness of their nickel spot. You put T-Mac in the slot. You put Coker in the slot. Yeah. I mean, shouldn't they be able to eat? It all comes down to the pass protection.
00:16:11
Speaker 3: The Bears struggled mightily in matching up, Mac, last year against, like we said, the slot wideouts.
00:16:18
Speaker 2: Put those big dogs in the slot. Let them go to town.
00:16:21
Speaker 3: And the Panthers have a matchup nightmare in their own right in Darren Waller.
00:16:25
Speaker 2: Can they get him.
00:16:26
Speaker 3: Matched up on some guys there in the slot and take advantage of a Bears area of weakness? I'd like to see Darren Waller on some of these guys in the slot. You could put them all in there.
00:16:35
Speaker 2: I think that's a spot that the Panthers can attack. I think this defense they can attack if they can protect, right? Can they run? I think it's the offensive line-based stuff, right, that we're questioning. Because I think Bryce... can have success. I think the receivers we're talking about can have success, but it's a matter of do you protect? And it's a good thing that the Bears come in here, Bone, with one guy that we can game plan for. Like that Houston practice where they just left Monroe Freeling on an island. against a hunter and said, go ahead and have yourself a learning experience like that. That won't happen. They can go over there and they can slide the protections so that they're giving freely help. And they can basically say somebody else beat us from a pass rush perspective. Right. No doubt. Because that is Montez Sweat's side. He he played last year the heavy majority of his snaps over the right tackle. But I feel like they they're not one of these teams, Bone, like Houston comes at you with two of them.
00:17:35
Speaker 4: Right.
00:17:35
Speaker 2: And then you throw Clowney in off the bench. They are really one dimensional in the pass rush game. So I think that helps.
00:17:41
Speaker 3: And I know that you you've said this probably multiple times. I want to reiterate Romo Doomsday is hopeful to play on Sunday. So, I mean, I'm guessing that he will. Sounds like he probably will.
00:17:51
Speaker 2: But that's an.
00:17:52
Speaker 3: Area where, Mac, if he's not 100%, I don't consider right now the Bears' wideouts a strength of their team. It is going to be largely Odunze and Burden, the guys going forward. If Odunze is not fully healthy, that's huge for the Bears.
00:18:06
Speaker 2: Huge and a negative, I mean. I'm more worried about the tight ends in the run game. Yep, I would be too. I'm more worried about can we stop their run game, which was one of the best in the NFL, and then against the tight ends. Because I think Horn and Mike Jack have that young duo on lock. I know people like Adunze's talent and people like Luther Burton as well, but we got one of the best corner tandems in the league. I feel good about those matchups. I really do.
00:18:32
Speaker 3: When we come back, Matt, a guy we will not ask, did you play football? It's Preston Buckner. We know he plays football. He played at Clemson, so we'll talk about... Is he a gotcha guy? We'll talk about the state of Clemson. I'll let Mac ask him that. State of Clemson and also what we're talking about here, Bears-Panthers week one. What are we looking for in this game? And Buck's got a new podcast we have to promote. Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ.
00:19:11
Speaker 2: Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ. Mack and Bone with you. Shout out to the negative Panther. I'm doing air quotes here. Fans. Bone on the text line. You know who you are. It's not the majority, but you know who you are. Your segment is at 8 o'clock. Richie and Complainer and Chief. When we try to figure out, Bone, how we got from the high of last season, getting back in the playoffs, winning a division, playing a thriller where Bryce and Stafford went toe-to-toe in a duel with the bank completely jumping, feeling like the old days, how we got from that point to some of y'all's attitude. We will discuss that coming up at 8 o'clock on the show. And I always want to mention, especially this time of year. Once you got there, you play football.
00:19:59
Speaker 4: Exactly. Dabo.
00:20:00
Speaker 2: Tell him, Dabo. Tell him. I always want to mention this time of year, especially. I realize people are in and out. You actually got lives that don't revolve around your boys, Mac and Bone. And I can forgive that if you go listen to the podcast. So the hours you miss, you know, don't miss these Panther conversations. It's game week. It's go time. Don't miss another Dabo's getting criticized conversation, Bone. Or a what's going on with the LSU versus the SEC. Don't miss any of that stuff. Listen to what you missed. Is LSU still in the SEC as of this morning? Right now they are. Check with us later. But anyway, Apple, Spotify, WFNZ.com, wherever you get your podcast. Our next guest has a podcast, but we've got to give him a little bit of love here. Feels better when Buck's involved around here, doesn't it? The man is the host of the Buck Naked Truth Podcast. What a name that is. Brenton Buckner, former Panther and Clemson great, joins us on the Mac and Bone Show. Buck, how you feeling, man?
00:20:56
Speaker 4: I'm doing good. Thank y'all for having me.
00:20:58
Speaker 3: All right, Buck. Congrats on the podcast, Buck. What's it entail, Buck? A lot of sports, life. What's the Buck naked truth about?
00:21:06
Speaker 4: We're right there where entertainment and sports collide. So we talk about sports, we talk about entertainment, life in general, and just go inside and outside of what's going on. Me and No Limit Larry partnered together with it and just trying to bring the funny side of sports and entertainment out.
00:21:23
Speaker 2: Buck, we used to work. You know this. You were over there with us. We worked in the same building for a while with No Limit Larry. And I always thought he was the only dude in the building louder than me, Buck. I mean, this dude. You think I scream, No.
00:21:36
Speaker 3: Limit Larry, you scream louder than me. The elevator rides with both of them, I lost hearing for all of 2013, honestly.
00:21:45
Speaker 2: He was kind of like, I always thought he was kind of like the black version of me, Buck. You know what I mean? I kind of thought that.
00:21:51
Speaker 4: Y'all both need a governor on y'all voice. Governor. Oh, God.
00:21:56
Speaker 2: All right. Put that restricted plate on my mouth. All right. Let's talk. Let's start you off with the Panthers, Buck. I was going to go Clemson, but let's ease into it for you.
00:22:08
Speaker 6: All right.
00:22:08
Speaker 2: Let's ease into that stuff. Let's start with the Panthers. What do you think of this matchup with the Bears? What are a couple of things you think we need to watch that will determine who wins this game?
00:22:22
Speaker 4: I think you need to be able to watch, can the Panthers get after the quarterback? We know Williams is a very talented guy and probably one of the best off-palette throwers in the league where he can create with his feet, but can the Carolina Panthers hunt him? Can they not let him scramble around and make these miraculous throws that keep Chicago in the game or swing momentum? toward Chicago. And then, can Carolina run the ball? Can this offensive line get together after a preseason where many of them was hurt or didn't play? Can they come together and can they control the line of scrimmage and run the ball and make Bryce comfortable in the pocket? Because I don't think Carolina right now is built to just sit back in the pocket and say, we got to throw the ball all over the yard. Even though I think they got some young, good wide receivers like I think T-Mac is an ascending player. I think Bryce Young works better when he has a running game. You can play action pass. You can keep him off balance.
00:23:30
Speaker 3: How big, especially in this matchup, and he's not been here for long, but the Panthers on Bobby Okereke, how big will that be in this matchup because of how much the Bears like to utilize that tight end spot?
00:23:43
Speaker 4: Oh, it's going to be a big– it's going to be a big– Plus, if he can come out there and he can play, has he got caught up? Is him and Devin Lillard on the same page? And, you know, when you add a player, but you add them late, you worry about the chemistry right now. Do you worry about, do they got their language down? Do they got that little look? Do they understand one another? Like you saw Thomas and Akikli do, or Dan Morgan and Will Witherspoon, guys who have played together. you know, is it going to take one or two more weeks for them to jail? But anytime you've got a tight end that can stretch the middle of the field, you want to have a linebacker in there that can disrupt that. And we know he can, but has he caught up with the system yet?
00:24:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a legit question. I'll say this, though, Buck, you saw it last year. Devin Lloyd and a recently arriving Okereke is such an upgrade, though, over last year, right? What we had there in the middle.
00:24:39
Speaker 4: Yes, with Devin Lloyd, you've gotten so much bigger and so much athletic. I was in Jacksonville when we drafted Devin Lloyd, so I know what Devin Lloyd is capable of, and he's grown tremendously as a player, as a leader. His skills now are starting to come about because when he left Utah, he was a position as a player because he did so many things at Utah. When we got him to Jacksonville, we were just like, hey, you're a middle linebacker, let's concentrate here. And you've seen all the work and the effort and the growth he has as a player. And that spot right now has become a strength, I think, for the Carolina Panthers. And not to take enough from them guys last year, they did the best they could do, but their best just wasn't good enough to get the Panthers. where they wanted to go. But I think right now, with those two guys in the middle of your defense, you feel comfortable with entering the season.
00:25:29
Speaker 3: But when you were watching practice in person and watching the games, did any other young defensive players stand out to you outside of, we know the obvious star players, but did any young players, you think, man, I really like what blank player can be going forward?
00:25:45
Speaker 4: Well, I'm sitting there and I'm watching the guy, because I like pass rush. I was watching Prince Lee, and I was saying, this guy's going to develop into a player. There's a little bit of maturity that has to go on in that position when you start to understand what you're going to see as a pass rusher and have a pass rush plan in mind to attack those different blockers. And I just saw something in him that he could be one of those spark-type players where he might not be an every-down, outside linebacker right now, But I think he has the size to grow that. But he could be one of those guys that come off the bench, and you're looking at a five- to six-sack guy that's coming off the bench, and that's good because he's probably going to be your third outside linebacker because he's not going to play on rundown. And then I told you all before, I like the Hunter kid coming out of Texas Tech. You know, for me, it's kind of funny because most defensive linemen play better when they're playing on the edges, when they can play on the– on the shoulder of a guard or a tackle. He does his best work when he's head up a center because he uses his quickness. He's very disruptive. He's an old-school throwback guy, no tape on the ankles, no tape on the wrist, and he just plays hard. But those are the two young guys that really stuck out to me.
00:26:56
Speaker 2: Buck, you have been asked by a Panther fan on the text line if you could make an Aaron Donald-like comeback to the Panthers. But a Clemson fan also has asked if you have any more eligibility because it seems like everybody does. So, Buck, a Clemson or Panther comeback in the works?
00:27:14
Speaker 4: Man, the only thing I can be good at is tell you what waffle station is the best station to go to right now. You know, my football day is over. But I... Man, I wish I was in a spot like an Aaron Donald where I was that good enough, first of all, that they would hold a spot for me if I wanted to come back or I was young enough to come back and play because I think When you get to Aaron Donald age, I think a year or two off does the body good. You know what I mean? You can come back refreshed for a year and go ball, but I'm sorry, I can't help you right now.
00:27:48
Speaker 3: Buck, if you still got something in the system, though, you can Oklahoma drill Mack all you want to.
00:27:52
Speaker 2: I'll bring him over to you. I couldn't even handle– Buck, did you see that? I couldn't even handle Fitty in that drill. Fitty ran me over. Buck, was I happy with that?
00:28:01
Speaker 4: I saw it. I saw it, Mack. You got to sink your heels, Mack. You got to drive through, Mack. I was disappointed. But, hey– I'm not going to tell you enough of 50. He knew what he was supposed to do.
00:28:11
Speaker 2: Finney's a little bowling ball type back. You know those types, Buck.
00:28:17
Speaker 3: Finney's like our Tom Rathbun Buck back in the day.
00:28:23
Speaker 2: Oh my God, Tolbert. Finney is our Mike Tolbert, man. In personality and in frame. He dances as well. We're talking with Brenton Buckner here. So, you know, we got to talk Clemson buck for better or worse, man. How much did that kill you to see that happen on Saturday? And when you watch it, and then when you hear all the media commentary that man, this game's passed Dabo by, he hasn't adjusted enough to, to the, the, the modern game. Do you kind of feel that stuff too, or no?
00:28:57
Speaker 4: Well, you know, after sitting back watching it, you know, I'm looking at it. LSU probably wins that game 10 times out of 10. LSU is a great team. What Lane Kiffin has put together down there, you know, the coaching staff, the energy, everything that's going on is good. I kind of look at it from a point of view, you know, because I've been a coach. A lot of the things that Clemson suffered from, those weren't coaches' problems. it was a lot of player-led problems out there. You know, because no coach goes into a game not practicing what the other team do. You know, you try to perfect it. You try to give your team all the answers. The players flunk that test for most of them. Getting off blocks is an attitude. Being physical at the line of scrimmage. I can't coach you to be physical. I can give you the tools to help you become more physical than what you are, but going out there and competing against that other guy in front of you, that's all about the players. Dropping coverage, not pass protecting, missing Missing blocks. That's on players. Now, I was disgusted because I am a Clemson alum, and I want to see my team do well. Now, do I think, deep in my heart, do I think we were going to win that game? No. If I had to bet, I would have bet on LSU. But I did not expect it to be the way it was. I think that was the most disappointing part. And you can see that on the sideline, on the coaches' faces. Because they was like, I know we practiced this. You know, that's the worst thing as a coach. I know we practiced. I knew we knew this was coming. You got to go out there as a player and you got to work the game plan and you got to put it all together. I think it was more player let down than coach.
00:30:44
Speaker 3: But Colin came in yesterday, a guy you know well, and said to us off the air about the Dabo, you know, the fire Dabo people. Is that a be careful what you wish for scenario, though, from the Clemson side of let's not also forget what Clemson was in the Tommy Bowden years trying to find themselves and what Dabo has done to get this program where it was?
00:31:06
Speaker 4: Yes, I think it is. I think you have to be very careful what you ask for. And, you know, I'm not just going to say rest on the laurels of what he's done in the past, but let's give the man credit. Now, Clemson has always wanted to be a national contender on the mouth of everybody. When you talk about college football, they wanted to be mentioned with the blue bloods. And Dabo built that. He built it to where it is now. I've said this before. He's a victim of his success. Because Clemson's fans got spoiled. You know, I think nine ACC titles, two national championships, two other appearances, and they got used to it. We're going to be there. We're going to be there. Well, guess what now? It's been a shift. You're not there. But it took him time to build it. Now you might have given him time to rebuild it because he's got to look at himself in the mirror, too, and say, hey, there's some things I got to do better. But right now, we're just not getting the recruits that we normally get. You know, if you go back and look at our team, Clemson, when they were winning national titles, they dominated recruiting in the state of North Carolina with the Dexter Lawrences of the world. They're not doing that no more. You throw money in it and people who can pay more than you, you know, it's a different recruiting world. And, you know, and I think Clemson has to be very judicious in how they do things now because we don't have the big pot of money like a lot of teams, like the Texas teams or the LSUs. So you've got to be very careful how you use it, but you've got to use it the right way. The one thing that I can say that was disappointing to me is I don't think you can go into a season in today's NCAA season and not have a seasoned quarterback. I'm like, yeah, you might like a guy who signed with you, but he's been there three years. and nobody's come and get him. He hasn't made a push to start. You've got to bring in somebody that can compete with him. So when you go into LSU, you've got to load a gun, and you know exactly what you've got.
00:33:10
Speaker 2: Go spend money in the portal at that position, like so many big-time programs do. But Dabo has never done that at that position. You know, he hasn't. I also think a lot of their alums, Bone, a lot of their former players with the big bucks, guys that used to play defensive line for them, they need to come with that NIL money for Clemson, too. Don't you? By the way, Buck, I saw a bunch, I don't know if you follow, I'm sure you probably do, a lot of the former Clemson guys, a lot of the former Clemson guys were not happy on Twitter.
00:33:41
Speaker 4: Yes, I saw it.
00:33:43
Speaker 2: It seemed like they used to get, I mean, I guess it's a results-based business, but they're not shy about calling out Dabo anymore.
00:33:52
Speaker 4: I think it's more so they were just shocked that their team would get beat like that. You know what I mean? 51 straight points. They let it go. You don't have no rushing yards at halftime. You got a field goal. You just look and they're up the whole game. And so I think a lot of the frustration is coming out. Who's going to wear the hat for the frustration? The head coach. And I think, once again, Dabo is a victim of things. Like, he was stern against college football becoming what it is now. But now it's here.
00:34:30
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:34:31
Speaker 4: And I know, you know, he went into the portal this year. He got some guys. But I think you got to be all the way in there or all the way out of there. You know what I mean? Yeah. You can't walk the line with it. You got to jump in there like you just did. the quarterback position. If I'm going to spend money, I'm going to get that trigger, man.
00:34:48
Speaker 2: That's the most important one. Although at NC State, I'm wondering, did they spend so much money on the quarterback bone? They didn't have money for everybody else. But anyway, I digress.
00:34:57
Speaker 6: I'm sorry.
00:34:57
Speaker 2: Go ahead, Matt. I was going to say, the podcast is the Buck Naked Truth Podcast. Where do you get that? Just wherever you get podcasts, Buck? Where do you get that at?
00:35:06
Speaker 4: You can get IG. You can go IG. You can go YouTube. And we're coming to Apple soon. So I know we just started with... We're on our sixth show, and we're just telling our butt naked truth.
00:35:19
Speaker 2: I love it.
00:35:19
Speaker 4: I love it.
00:35:20
Speaker 2: Keep doing your thing, Buck. Thanks for hanging with us, man. We appreciate it.
00:35:23
Speaker 4: All right. One time for the one time. All right, Buck.
00:35:26
Speaker 2: One time for the one time. All right, Buck.
00:35:28
Speaker 4: All right.
00:35:28
Speaker 2: I don't know what that means. I like the way you acted cool there, though. You were hip to it. I mean, I just kind of naturally said it back. My old behind was like, what do I say to this? Buck thinks I'm cool. What do I say?
00:35:40
Speaker 3: All right, Mac, when we come back, we're going to talk more Dabo. Dabo getting worked up in yesterday's presser. Was his reaction fair or foul in the segment we've named Yabba Dabba Don't. Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ.
00:36:08
Speaker 2: Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ. Mack and Bone with you.
00:36:14
Speaker 4: Oh, man.
00:36:15
Speaker 2: There is so much going on right now. It's another early season dabble watch in the national media. And more happy fronts. We've got the Panthers playing football at the bank on Sunday. KB and I will have countdown to kickoff for three hours, 10 until 1. Getting you ready for this game. First time we've been in there for a game that matters. Sorry to that preseason. Sorry to everybody, Bone, that played in that preseason game. Or watched. I'm definitely sorry for all of us that watched. But anyway, first time, meaningful game. Since January, man. And that was, damn, that was so close to an epic night. We'll talk more Panthers coming up top of the hour at 8 o'clock when we ask, what is the appropriate level of Panther fan optimism? Considering everything, the season we had, the offseason acquisitions, but the injuries and the offensive line situation and the preseason. What's the appropriate level? We'll get into that. But we've got to... We've got to get into this Dabo thing. We did it in the first hour of the show. I know we've got different people listening right now. Dabo did it again, where one of his pressers and his reaction to a tough question has gone viral. And I want to know, and it seemed like in the first hour, Bone, people were all over the place on this. Some people thought it was a legitimate question, and Dabo is showing some real sensitivity right now with things going badly. And there were others that didn't like the question. So I want you to listen to this. This is Chapel Fowler from the state newspaper, covers Clemson day in and day out, asking Dabo about the result on Saturday. And do you feel like maybe that's an indication that your roster construction wasn't done correctly in the offseason? Listen to this back and forth.
00:37:59
Speaker 6: Do you regret anything.
00:38:00
Speaker 2: About your offseason roster.
00:38:01
Speaker 6: Construction right now? Chapel, you come with all these questions. I'll tell you, you're the gotcha guy. No, I don't. I don't, man. I regret being 0-1-1 right now. I regret that.
00:38:14
Speaker 7: But, no, we're– can you ask me that at the end of the season? You know, the season isn't over. I mean, we've got one game.
00:38:22
Speaker 6: We've got 11 more. What if we go 11-1? You promise me you'll ask me that then?
00:38:28
Speaker 4: Okay, good.
00:38:28
Speaker 6: I'll answer it. All right.
00:38:29
Speaker 4: But.
00:38:30
Speaker 6: I'm not answering questions like that, you know, Chapel.
00:38:33
Speaker 7: I know that's your role and that's in this environment, you know, to be the guy that wants to create all the controversy and ask the controversial questions.
00:38:42
Speaker 6: If that's who you are, that's fine. I get it. But I'll answer that. We played one game. One game. All right? Did you play football?
00:38:53
Speaker 4: No.
00:38:53
Speaker 6: Okay. Well, they give you 12 games. And at the end of the year, you count them up. All right?
00:39:00
Speaker 7: And, you know, that's when those type of questions are fair to me. You know, not after one game. Two, maybe the best team in the country. Maybe the best team in the country.
00:39:13
Speaker 6: All right? Other people have good teams and coaches and things like that, too. So I give them credit. We got 11 more games to go battle. And we'll count them up. Then you can ask me whatever question you want.
00:39:29
Speaker 2: All right, so there you go. What do you think, Bone? Fair or foul reaction from Dabo?
00:39:36
Speaker 3: I thought it was foul. First of all, Chappell was one of the best at what he does. He's an emerging star.
00:39:42
Speaker 2: He's a pro, man.
00:39:42
Speaker 3: He's not a gotcha guy. He's one of the best already at what he does. So for him to go after Chappell like that feels like... It was an old Saban trick, Matt, to go after a media member, but really you're talking through that media member for other people or the team. It felt like he was utilizing Chappell for a bigger picture of what's being said about him by everybody. But Chappell, because the answer there in that tone doesn't really match what the question was, does it? The question was not that big of a deal. You give up 51 points and you get destroyed like that when you're Dabo Sweeney. a prominent premier coach in this game, and your program was on top, you give up 51 straight points, what kind of questions do you want to happen?
00:40:28
Speaker 2: You want softball questions? What do you want to ask?
00:40:31
Speaker 3: That's a very fair question when your team gets destroyed like that. That was not fair to Chapel Fowler. That was a very fair question.
00:40:36
Speaker 2: It's fascinating to me the differences on the text line, the way fans see this, right? Because some people side with Dabo and say nothing wrong with the answer. This texter says the answer was fine until the football question. It got really condescending there. Like Chapel Fowler's not capable of looking at a schedule bone unless he played football as a kid. And figuring out there's 12 games.
00:40:57
Speaker 4: Yes.
00:40:58
Speaker 2: Like another texter says, sounds like a legit answer to me. It has been only one game. It's actually been more than one game. They've lost eight straight to the SEC. Their program has clearly declined from where Dabo had it. I think this is, like, if he says it's been only one game, if Chappell Fowler really wanted to be, you know, a gotcha guy and really wanted to be a tough guy, he could have said, actually, coach, it's been more than one game. This has been going on for a few seasons now, where there is an elite where you used to be, and you're so off the pace of the elite now. It's a downfall that's been in the crockpot simmering for a while. So, yeah, it's more than just one game. Yeah, I didn't like the condescending stuff. I also didn't like him trying to act like Fowler's a gotcha guy because I don't view him like that at all. I view him as a pretty professional, fair journalist. I think it was a hard question. Dabo and people down there in Clemson are used to some candy-ass media down there. They're used to some people that show up in jerseys to the pressers. They're used to people that cheer. the coach, and the pressers. And the fact that Chappell Fowler actually wants to be a legit journalist and ask a tough question rubs Dabo the wrong way. Dabo's so sensitive when things are going bad. If I'm a Clemson fan, some of you right now, like Bradley says, you're media, so you're biased. I'll tell you like I see it. Why do you suck? Boy, that's a really tough question. Answer it. I don't have any loyalty to the media. I just, you know, I don't. I will criticize media people just as fast. I'm calling it the way I see it. I think Dabo Salini is a sensitive dude that realizes I ain't got it anymore. I don't want my fastball. And I think he's frustrated, and I think he's out of answers. I think the answer is, you know, embrace the portal even more. Like Buck said, go all in. Use your phrase. But I just think you don't have to act like that. And I think when you act like that, I think your players see you act like that, and I think your players think, oh, my God, coach is losing it. Coach seems a little undone and sensitive. I don't think it puts on a strong front for your players.
00:43:01
Speaker 3: What he hid behind for so long, I say hide, I shouldn't say that, but what he.
00:43:06
Speaker 2: Used for so long was the resume. And you know what? He does have a great resume. There's no doubt whether you like that or not. He'll break that back out. next week don't worry.
00:43:14
Speaker 3: He would read off the resume so many times as like the defense mechanism well guess what i've heard more national people pointed out lately that dabbo does bring out the resume so now we all see through that he's done it too many times he's gone to that well too many times he can't do that and then when you start bickering with reporters that's not a good sign for where you are and where your program is because the past isn't working So now he's talking about the future.
00:43:41
Speaker 2: It was the past. Now it's the future, right? Pivot. He's pivoted. Do you think he's done with the resume? Because I have a feeling the next time they lose a game, he could still go back to resume. Maybe you're right. Here's the problem, though.
00:43:52
Speaker 5: The resume is getting outdated.
00:43:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, that, yeah.
00:43:55
Speaker 5: Like, you're referencing stuff that's almost five years ago.
00:43:58
Speaker 2: I mean, you had the CFP appearance.
00:44:00
Speaker 5: From a few years ago, but they lost, what, three games that year?
00:44:03
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:44:04
Speaker 5: And three losses in a year was not standard is the best or best is the standard. Whatever their mantra was, whenever they were competing for championships. So that's the thing is two years ago, the resume was still very relevant.
00:44:20
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:44:20
Speaker 2: Cause they were just starting to decline. That's a good point.
00:44:24
Speaker 4: This, this is.
00:44:25
Speaker 5: This is now the third or fourth straight year where there's a definite drop-off from where they were.
00:44:29
Speaker 2: That's a good point. Buckeye Dave says, Resumes outdated like Cowboys Fitty. There you go, baby. Cowboys Fitty is old news, baby. Panther Fitty is in now.
00:44:38
Speaker 3: There's also a defense mechanism, Mac, for some of our Clemson fans, and Fitty sees it, and they're doing it all summer, where their immediate thing is they go after me and the Gamecocks. Like, look, man, like, yeah, you've owned the rivalry for a long time, but your goals should not be to only beat South Carolina every year.
00:44:57
Speaker 2: Like, what happened to your program?
00:44:58
Speaker 3: If that's where you're at now, where you're only deflecting to South Carolina, then you've completely lost the plot of what your program is supposed to be, right? They come at me like, all right, what about your own program? I don't understand why, like, why are y'all defending him? Shouldn't you be pissed? Shouldn't you be pissed at.
00:45:14
Speaker 2: What happened to this program and where he used to have it and where it is now? and his stubbornness and his slowness to adjust to the times while other coaches have adjusted to the times and thrived. I mean, you got beat by a coach that is so modern, like completely embraces the portal and goes 40 plus player. I know it's a new spot, but it's the complete different approach to what Dabo tries to do there. And it scored 51 straight points against you. Here's the other thing too, Mac.
00:45:41
Speaker 5: If you compare other programs that have quote unquote regressed from where they were, What has Kirby Smart's regression been? Still winning SEC championships, making the playoffs. Bama, what was their regression under Saban? They were still competing for SEC championships, getting to the playoffs. It's a little bit different now.
00:46:00
Speaker 2: I would argue DeBoer could have a problem on his hands, depending on how the season goes. But your peers that have taken a step back in their age. But it hasn't been that bad.
00:46:08
Speaker 4: Exactly.
00:46:08
Speaker 2: It hasn't been that bad. I just want to say this, Bone. Does anybody else think when he says, gotcha guy, Does anybody else think that he should be doing finger guns? Sounds like something Jim Carrey would say. It's a gotcha guy. I feel like finger guns is the appropriate thing to be doing with your hands. You're the gotcha guy.
00:46:26
Speaker 3: Mag, we have a celebrity text here. It says, that resume's outdated. Sincerely, Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys.
00:46:34
Speaker 2: Oh, people are all, how'd the Cowboys get, well, you know when you get mentioned like the Cowboys, Gooch says he sounds like a Cowboys fan. This guy says, sounds like the 2009, oh, Yankees. Oh, okay.
00:46:44
Speaker 3: Anyway, how much of the 2026 season Panther fan negativity is warranted? How much is over the top? Well, what's the proper level of optimism? Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ.
Speaker 1: It's a really good team. Obviously made the playoffs last year. Coach Canales has done a heck of a job there. Uh, Dan Morgan, their GM is, is really built up that roster from, uh, where they were a few years ago. Um, quality, uh, opponent defensively, just looking at their numbers, um, the way they ended the back half of last season, they were one of the top 10 defenses in football and they, they did nothing but got better through free agency in the draft. So, uh, we'll have our hands full there. They've got, uh, really star power all across the field. It seems like on that side of the ball, uh, starting with Derek Brown, the corners are really good players. Safeties are really good players. I mean, I can go on and on and on, but, uh, you know, it'll be a, significant challenge right out of the gate.
00:01:04
Speaker 2: There you go that is ben johnson uh giving some uh praise to the carolina panther defense you know behind the scenes he's talking about how much he's gonna tear our defense up this is a dude that publicly bone has said this uh during this preseason our goal is to win every game and score the most points in the history of the nfl And he said yesterday when asked, does your offense have to, you know, if your defense, you know, struggles, does your offense, you feel like offensively you got to carry more of the load. He said the job of the offense is score a touchdown every time we have the football. This dude yaps. He talks such a big game and he's brilliant. He really is. But man, I would love our defense to show up and show out on Sunday, man, against them. Absolutely.
00:01:55
Speaker 3: It's going to be a tough matchup just because of how good Ben Johnson is as a coordinator. But we do get the Bears in week one, and there is going to be an adjustment, I believe, at the wide receiver spot. No more DJ Moore. They're going to put a lot on the young guys, Odunze and Luther Burden. That doesn't really put... Not that they don't have bright futures, but it doesn't really put the fear of God in me. The scariest part back about their offense versus the Panthers' defense, now it looks better now because they've upgraded the linebacker spot, but Colston Loveland, to me, is the guy that I have the most fear of with that offense.
00:02:33
Speaker 2: He was their leading receiver last year in yards. He's a monster.
00:02:36
Speaker 3: I think he's going to be a multi-time Pro Bowler, probably starting this season, honestly.
00:02:41
Speaker 2: And the Panthers. Well, Pro Bowler name, they don't actually really have it anymore. But yeah, they will be still naming, you know, which is what they probably should have done years ago. But yeah, he was their leading receiver last year. And I don't know if anybody's heard this before. The Panthers struggled against tight ends last year. Eighth most yards allowed to the tight end position. All right, real quick, let's do this. I want to jump into our first edition of Know Your Enemy. This is a Chicago Bears edition for week one. I will start with the Roma Dunze news situation. He's got an injury, lower body injury. They haven't really talked much about it. I don't know if you've heard, Bone. The injury report comes out today. So they have not had to disclose any information on it yet. But he was called day-to-day by Ben Johnson yesterday. So he said he's hopeful that he can play, but he's been called day-to-day. Their running backs both have had injury situations, especially Menungai, who's been out a month. Sounds like they're both going to be good to go. But again, I will point you, Bone, Dave Canales-style, to the injury report on Wednesday afternoon.
00:03:44
Speaker 4: All right.
00:03:45
Speaker 2: I will send everybody there. Let's talk about it. He's going to send us a Thursday. Let's talk about it, baby. Let's talk about this enemy coming in and man, are they an annoying enemy the way they have yapped at us post Bryce Young trade. I would love to beat them. And they're so high on the hog right now. I don't know if that is that the saying I'm looking for. Or are they on their high horse? What am I looking for? I think they're... I think you can.
00:04:11
Speaker 5: Be both high on the horse and high on the hog.
00:04:14
Speaker 3: Jenny, let's not have you interject here on this one. I believe Mac has a guy that's messed up analogies before. Which one am I looking for? They're feeling good. I think you're... I think you're... Are they high on the hog or on their high horse? High horse is like when you're overconfident, right? You're on your high horse. So maybe that's what I was looking for. High on the hog, I think, means like you're feeling good.
00:04:33
Speaker 4: I don't know.
00:04:34
Speaker 2: Is high on the hog like you're rich? Or you eat a lot. I don't know. My God, here I am disrupting a week one know your enemy.
00:04:42
Speaker 5: High on the hog was Willie after he ate that brisket.
00:04:44
Speaker 6: Okay.
00:04:44
Speaker 2: Hey, guys. All right. Anyway, let me refocus here. I'm sure the texters will explain to me what.
00:04:51
Speaker 3: My- High on the hog is when you live a luxurious lifestyle.
00:04:54
Speaker 4: Yeah, you're rich.
00:04:54
Speaker 2: You're rich.
00:04:54
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:04:55
Speaker 2: So I think I want to say they're on their high horse coming off an 11-win season. They have Caleb Williams and all these guys they got from the Panther trade, and I'd love to knock them off their high horse. There's no secret, Bone. They are an offensive-first football team. There is no secret about that whatsoever. Let's start with that side of the ball, Bone. Last year, they were ninth in the NFL in total offense. They were fourth in the NFL in scoring offense last year. Let's see here. I think I screwed that up. I think I'm high on the hog over here. I'm high on something. Fourth in yards per game, ninth in points per game last year. And for all the talk, Bone, about Caleb Williams and the passing game, and you mentioned Loveland, who I'm sure we're going to talk about here in a second, I feel like they are a run-first football team. I feel like the first thing you want to do is deal with the two-headed monster of Swift and Menungai. Those guys combined last year, Bone, for over 1,800 yards and 14 touchdowns last year. The bears were second in runs per game and third in rushing last year. So to me, people talk about Caleb Williams and you could throw his scrambles into bone, you know, to, to add to the run game. But I think the number one thing is, can you slow that run game down, man?
00:06:21
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:06:22
Speaker 3: Here are the two things to keep in mind when it comes to the Bears outside of just the name players like Loveland and Williams back. It is all about, I say all about, their 2025 was largely about what they did in the turnover game. They were plus 22 in the league in turnovers. They created 33. They gave up 11. They were the best on both ends of that. They turned it over the fewest, and they turned teams over the most. So the turnover battle here would be huge. Can you get them to force a few, maybe even one? That turnover battle would be so huge. And so, Mac, we'll third downs. The Bears were seventh in the league last year in converting third downs, but they were 30th. in stopping third downs. So I think so many times these NFL games are so close. It's turnovers.
00:07:12
Speaker 2: It's third downs. Those are the battles that I'm going to watch the most. I'm with you on that. Are you downplaying my running game? No, no, not at all. Because you know how you succeed on third down? You get into third and short. Yes, yes, sir. And their running game. I'm just saying for all the hype of the passing attack and Caleb Williams are a run first team. And I think that's a huge battle. And I feel better about it with, I would feel better with Skorton there, but Pat Jones is no slouch setting the edge and neither is Phillips. Your point about the turnovers is one we definitely have to make, Bo, because we've, and we've talked about it for weeks here. They were number one in turnover margin last year. They were third in giveaways, so they didn't turn it over much. And they were third in takeaways. And they are so dependent, to your point, on forcing turnovers on defense. Because their defense gives up yards, they give up points. So the only way their defense last year contributed in a positive fashion, Bone, is they would go take the football away. Last year, when they produced one or fewer turnovers, they were 3-7. They were 9-0 when they produced two or more turnovers. So if I'm looking at this from a Panther perspective, protect the damn football and give yourself a chance. They, to your point, Bone, relied on that last year. As good as their offense was, they relied on getting the ball and getting short fields and stuff like that.
00:08:38
Speaker 3: Now the only problem is, Bone... They didn't make a lot of mistakes on their end and they forced a ton on defense.
00:08:41
Speaker 2: The only problem is, we have been turnover machines in Week 1. Bryce Young, I said yesterday, has six interceptions, Bone, in the three season opening games he's played in, two in each game. So that's got to stop, man, or else we're taking an L, dude. I didn't print this out for myself. I actually handed it to you, Matt. Do you have what I gave you there? What's his name?
00:09:04
Speaker 3: Graham Benfield? Is that the tweet stat there? He's a fantasy guru. Very notable stat.
00:09:10
Speaker 2: Barfield. Graham Barfield. Who did I say? Benfield. Okay. Close. I was very close. I got you the name Graham there.
00:09:17
Speaker 3: Very interesting stat, though, on the Panthers' defense from last year, what their strength is, and what Caleb Williams' weakness is.
00:09:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, they're talking about disguise coverages, right? Like, Avero ran the most disguise coverages. He's very much into that. That was 46% of the time, and Caleb Williams is sixth worst among quarterbacks versus disguise coverages. So is it a good matchup in that respect?
00:09:44
Speaker 4: Woo!
00:09:45
Speaker 2: I like that little tidbit, Bone. And I think you should get Graham's last name right next time for providing such good information. When you look at Caleb Williams, right? Like, as we do, Know Your Enemy, Chicago Bears edition. When you um look at caleb williams bone um obviously the playmaking in terms of it's third and six no one's open i'm gonna take off and get it on my own you may have to spy them which takes someone out of coverage. That's something you might have to worry about doing. You also look at where he does damage. This is not good for our matchup. Caleb Williams had a quarterback rating of right around 110 last year when throwing over the middle of the field. What were we terrible at defending last year in the past game? The middle of the damn field. And a lot of it is, to your point, Bone, earlier about it's to those tight ends. Loveland and Comet combined for over almost 80 catches and over 1,000 yards, eight total touchdowns. And we were terrible last year against tight ends. We're going to find out right away, Bone, how much of a difference Devin Lloyd– And also Okereke make in terms of covering tight ends and covering the middle of that field in our zones, man.
00:11:00
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, this is big that Okereke is in there for this game specifically as well to get him in there early because Loveland is a matchup nightmare, which we had a guy that was a no commodity like that for the Panthers. But how can the Panthers offense back take advantage of the Bears defense? Because I do believe... They are vulnerable. 24 sacks last year during the regular season. They didn't have a great pass rush. It was a turnover-based defense. And how about this stat for maybe a potential day for the Panthers for TMAC if they want to use them this way? The Bears were one of the worst teams in defending the slot wideouts last year. They were not good against slot wideouts. They gave up 9.1 yards per pass attempt and 13 touchdowns just to slot wideouts last year.
00:11:55
Speaker 2: And they might be starting a rookie in the slot this year. That slot position is not sealed up this year. If you're going to use T-Mac in the slot, this is a great matchup for that. They got two secondary injuries. Kobe Bryant's out and Kyler Gordon's out. Two starting secondary players are out. And they lost Bayard. See, the thing about their defense is, I love the way you segued us to the defense, Bone. It's like, talking about the Bears' offense is getting a little scary, so let's just move this thing right on over to the fun part of the Bears. which is that stinky defense is coming in here. But like we talk about the turnovers and the intercept, there were second league and interception percentage. Their top two interception guys left from last year. Bayard is one of them. And I forget who the other one was, but did they combine for 12 interceptions between the two of them? They're gone. So I think that's something that's notable. Listen, other than forcing turnovers bone, they stunk at everything defensively last year. I mean, their offense was amazing defensively. ben johnson's the boy wonder on offense um the dude that said no i'm too good for you david tepper but on defense man they were gettable 29th in yards per game allowed 23rd and points per game allowed uh they were 26th in rush yards per game allowed they were 29th in yards per carry they're giving up 4.9 yards of carry last year 25th and pass yards per game 26th in yards per attempt. Listen, I know it's a different defense. They did bring in different guys, Bone. You brought up their pass rush. Other than Montez Sweat, I forgot his name. Other than Montez Sweat, who will probably be making Monroe Freeling sweat a little bit this weekend, but other than Montez, who had 10 sacks, Bone, they don't have a player back on the roster that had more than four and a half sacks last year because they traded that kid to I forget the kid's name. Devin something? He had six sacks. Garvin Dexter?
00:13:53
Speaker 4: Oh.
00:13:53
Speaker 2: Defensive lineman? Oh, my bad. I had him as Devin. Are you talking about the one that went to Atlanta? Yeah.
00:13:59
Speaker 3: Garvin Dexter. Garvin Dexter? Garvin Dexter. I call him Devin, though. His best friends call him Devin. That's the first time we got a name wrong in the last four minutes.
00:14:08
Speaker 2: Can you tell that once you get over 50, Bone, the names really don't matter anymore? I'm 42 and I'm giving up now. Once you get over 50, like I used to always wonder, why is my dad mess up all these sports names? It's because once you reach 50, you have sports name overload in your head. You can't remember the names. But anyway, the kid who you just named had six sacks last year, interior pass rusher. sounded like bone they just didn't want to pay him money eventually he got traded to the falcons he's a heck of a player so my point is bone they don't have anybody that had five sacks last year on this roster except montez sweat that's good for our offensive line man it really is i have.
00:14:49
Speaker 3: A number here i don't know if you've seen differently but i wanted to ask you what the panthers offense can do with this number they ran their nickel coverage max 74 of the time last year They are a primary. Their base and dimes, per what I'm reading here, did well last year. But their nickel coverage, which ends up being their primary defense, did not do well. How do you envision the Panthers offense and what we have attacking the nickel defense of the Bears?
00:15:18
Speaker 2: I mean, shoot, you can spread them out, run the football, get them six in the box and run the ball. Um, I, I, I think they are very, I mean, look at their numbers last year. I think they're very gettable in the secondary. I know Jalen Johnson's healthy this year and last year to start the season, he wasn't, but I just look at all those numbers bone. I think we should be able, I know people are down on the Panthers offense, the way they played in the preseason. I know the pay, I know fans are, people are down right on the way they play offensively and openers. They've scored 10 points in the last three openers each game. but this just feels like a matchup. Like T-Mac and Coker can't eat, man. Like you put Bone, we talk about the weakness of their nickel spot. You put T-Mac in the slot. You put Coker in the slot. Yeah. I mean, shouldn't they be able to eat? It all comes down to the pass protection.
00:16:11
Speaker 3: The Bears struggled mightily in matching up, Mac, last year against, like we said, the slot wideouts.
00:16:18
Speaker 2: Put those big dogs in the slot. Let them go to town.
00:16:21
Speaker 3: And the Panthers have a matchup nightmare in their own right in Darren Waller.
00:16:25
Speaker 2: Can they get him.
00:16:26
Speaker 3: Matched up on some guys there in the slot and take advantage of a Bears area of weakness? I'd like to see Darren Waller on some of these guys in the slot. You could put them all in there.
00:16:35
Speaker 2: I think that's a spot that the Panthers can attack. I think this defense they can attack if they can protect, right? Can they run? I think it's the offensive line-based stuff, right, that we're questioning. Because I think Bryce... can have success. I think the receivers we're talking about can have success, but it's a matter of do you protect? And it's a good thing that the Bears come in here, Bone, with one guy that we can game plan for. Like that Houston practice where they just left Monroe Freeling on an island. against a hunter and said, go ahead and have yourself a learning experience like that. That won't happen. They can go over there and they can slide the protections so that they're giving freely help. And they can basically say somebody else beat us from a pass rush perspective. Right. No doubt. Because that is Montez Sweat's side. He he played last year the heavy majority of his snaps over the right tackle. But I feel like they they're not one of these teams, Bone, like Houston comes at you with two of them.
00:17:35
Speaker 4: Right.
00:17:35
Speaker 2: And then you throw Clowney in off the bench. They are really one dimensional in the pass rush game. So I think that helps.
00:17:41
Speaker 3: And I know that you you've said this probably multiple times. I want to reiterate Romo Doomsday is hopeful to play on Sunday. So, I mean, I'm guessing that he will. Sounds like he probably will.
00:17:51
Speaker 2: But that's an.
00:17:52
Speaker 3: Area where, Mac, if he's not 100%, I don't consider right now the Bears' wideouts a strength of their team. It is going to be largely Odunze and Burden, the guys going forward. If Odunze is not fully healthy, that's huge for the Bears.
00:18:06
Speaker 2: Huge and a negative, I mean. I'm more worried about the tight ends in the run game. Yep, I would be too. I'm more worried about can we stop their run game, which was one of the best in the NFL, and then against the tight ends. Because I think Horn and Mike Jack have that young duo on lock. I know people like Adunze's talent and people like Luther Burton as well, but we got one of the best corner tandems in the league. I feel good about those matchups. I really do.
00:18:32
Speaker 3: When we come back, Matt, a guy we will not ask, did you play football? It's Preston Buckner. We know he plays football. He played at Clemson, so we'll talk about... Is he a gotcha guy? We'll talk about the state of Clemson. I'll let Mac ask him that. State of Clemson and also what we're talking about here, Bears-Panthers week one. What are we looking for in this game? And Buck's got a new podcast we have to promote. Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ.
00:19:11
Speaker 2: Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ. Mack and Bone with you. Shout out to the negative Panther. I'm doing air quotes here. Fans. Bone on the text line. You know who you are. It's not the majority, but you know who you are. Your segment is at 8 o'clock. Richie and Complainer and Chief. When we try to figure out, Bone, how we got from the high of last season, getting back in the playoffs, winning a division, playing a thriller where Bryce and Stafford went toe-to-toe in a duel with the bank completely jumping, feeling like the old days, how we got from that point to some of y'all's attitude. We will discuss that coming up at 8 o'clock on the show. And I always want to mention, especially this time of year. Once you got there, you play football.
00:19:59
Speaker 4: Exactly. Dabo.
00:20:00
Speaker 2: Tell him, Dabo. Tell him. I always want to mention this time of year, especially. I realize people are in and out. You actually got lives that don't revolve around your boys, Mac and Bone. And I can forgive that if you go listen to the podcast. So the hours you miss, you know, don't miss these Panther conversations. It's game week. It's go time. Don't miss another Dabo's getting criticized conversation, Bone. Or a what's going on with the LSU versus the SEC. Don't miss any of that stuff. Listen to what you missed. Is LSU still in the SEC as of this morning? Right now they are. Check with us later. But anyway, Apple, Spotify, WFNZ.com, wherever you get your podcast. Our next guest has a podcast, but we've got to give him a little bit of love here. Feels better when Buck's involved around here, doesn't it? The man is the host of the Buck Naked Truth Podcast. What a name that is. Brenton Buckner, former Panther and Clemson great, joins us on the Mac and Bone Show. Buck, how you feeling, man?
00:20:56
Speaker 4: I'm doing good. Thank y'all for having me.
00:20:58
Speaker 3: All right, Buck. Congrats on the podcast, Buck. What's it entail, Buck? A lot of sports, life. What's the Buck naked truth about?
00:21:06
Speaker 4: We're right there where entertainment and sports collide. So we talk about sports, we talk about entertainment, life in general, and just go inside and outside of what's going on. Me and No Limit Larry partnered together with it and just trying to bring the funny side of sports and entertainment out.
00:21:23
Speaker 2: Buck, we used to work. You know this. You were over there with us. We worked in the same building for a while with No Limit Larry. And I always thought he was the only dude in the building louder than me, Buck. I mean, this dude. You think I scream, No.
00:21:36
Speaker 3: Limit Larry, you scream louder than me. The elevator rides with both of them, I lost hearing for all of 2013, honestly.
00:21:45
Speaker 2: He was kind of like, I always thought he was kind of like the black version of me, Buck. You know what I mean? I kind of thought that.
00:21:51
Speaker 4: Y'all both need a governor on y'all voice. Governor. Oh, God.
00:21:56
Speaker 2: All right. Put that restricted plate on my mouth. All right. Let's talk. Let's start you off with the Panthers, Buck. I was going to go Clemson, but let's ease into it for you.
00:22:08
Speaker 6: All right.
00:22:08
Speaker 2: Let's ease into that stuff. Let's start with the Panthers. What do you think of this matchup with the Bears? What are a couple of things you think we need to watch that will determine who wins this game?
00:22:22
Speaker 4: I think you need to be able to watch, can the Panthers get after the quarterback? We know Williams is a very talented guy and probably one of the best off-palette throwers in the league where he can create with his feet, but can the Carolina Panthers hunt him? Can they not let him scramble around and make these miraculous throws that keep Chicago in the game or swing momentum? toward Chicago. And then, can Carolina run the ball? Can this offensive line get together after a preseason where many of them was hurt or didn't play? Can they come together and can they control the line of scrimmage and run the ball and make Bryce comfortable in the pocket? Because I don't think Carolina right now is built to just sit back in the pocket and say, we got to throw the ball all over the yard. Even though I think they got some young, good wide receivers like I think T-Mac is an ascending player. I think Bryce Young works better when he has a running game. You can play action pass. You can keep him off balance.
00:23:30
Speaker 3: How big, especially in this matchup, and he's not been here for long, but the Panthers on Bobby Okereke, how big will that be in this matchup because of how much the Bears like to utilize that tight end spot?
00:23:43
Speaker 4: Oh, it's going to be a big– it's going to be a big– Plus, if he can come out there and he can play, has he got caught up? Is him and Devin Lillard on the same page? And, you know, when you add a player, but you add them late, you worry about the chemistry right now. Do you worry about, do they got their language down? Do they got that little look? Do they understand one another? Like you saw Thomas and Akikli do, or Dan Morgan and Will Witherspoon, guys who have played together. you know, is it going to take one or two more weeks for them to jail? But anytime you've got a tight end that can stretch the middle of the field, you want to have a linebacker in there that can disrupt that. And we know he can, but has he caught up with the system yet?
00:24:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a legit question. I'll say this, though, Buck, you saw it last year. Devin Lloyd and a recently arriving Okereke is such an upgrade, though, over last year, right? What we had there in the middle.
00:24:39
Speaker 4: Yes, with Devin Lloyd, you've gotten so much bigger and so much athletic. I was in Jacksonville when we drafted Devin Lloyd, so I know what Devin Lloyd is capable of, and he's grown tremendously as a player, as a leader. His skills now are starting to come about because when he left Utah, he was a position as a player because he did so many things at Utah. When we got him to Jacksonville, we were just like, hey, you're a middle linebacker, let's concentrate here. And you've seen all the work and the effort and the growth he has as a player. And that spot right now has become a strength, I think, for the Carolina Panthers. And not to take enough from them guys last year, they did the best they could do, but their best just wasn't good enough to get the Panthers. where they wanted to go. But I think right now, with those two guys in the middle of your defense, you feel comfortable with entering the season.
00:25:29
Speaker 3: But when you were watching practice in person and watching the games, did any other young defensive players stand out to you outside of, we know the obvious star players, but did any young players, you think, man, I really like what blank player can be going forward?
00:25:45
Speaker 4: Well, I'm sitting there and I'm watching the guy, because I like pass rush. I was watching Prince Lee, and I was saying, this guy's going to develop into a player. There's a little bit of maturity that has to go on in that position when you start to understand what you're going to see as a pass rusher and have a pass rush plan in mind to attack those different blockers. And I just saw something in him that he could be one of those spark-type players where he might not be an every-down, outside linebacker right now, But I think he has the size to grow that. But he could be one of those guys that come off the bench, and you're looking at a five- to six-sack guy that's coming off the bench, and that's good because he's probably going to be your third outside linebacker because he's not going to play on rundown. And then I told you all before, I like the Hunter kid coming out of Texas Tech. You know, for me, it's kind of funny because most defensive linemen play better when they're playing on the edges, when they can play on the– on the shoulder of a guard or a tackle. He does his best work when he's head up a center because he uses his quickness. He's very disruptive. He's an old-school throwback guy, no tape on the ankles, no tape on the wrist, and he just plays hard. But those are the two young guys that really stuck out to me.
00:26:56
Speaker 2: Buck, you have been asked by a Panther fan on the text line if you could make an Aaron Donald-like comeback to the Panthers. But a Clemson fan also has asked if you have any more eligibility because it seems like everybody does. So, Buck, a Clemson or Panther comeback in the works?
00:27:14
Speaker 4: Man, the only thing I can be good at is tell you what waffle station is the best station to go to right now. You know, my football day is over. But I... Man, I wish I was in a spot like an Aaron Donald where I was that good enough, first of all, that they would hold a spot for me if I wanted to come back or I was young enough to come back and play because I think When you get to Aaron Donald age, I think a year or two off does the body good. You know what I mean? You can come back refreshed for a year and go ball, but I'm sorry, I can't help you right now.
00:27:48
Speaker 3: Buck, if you still got something in the system, though, you can Oklahoma drill Mack all you want to.
00:27:52
Speaker 2: I'll bring him over to you. I couldn't even handle– Buck, did you see that? I couldn't even handle Fitty in that drill. Fitty ran me over. Buck, was I happy with that?
00:28:01
Speaker 4: I saw it. I saw it, Mack. You got to sink your heels, Mack. You got to drive through, Mack. I was disappointed. But, hey– I'm not going to tell you enough of 50. He knew what he was supposed to do.
00:28:11
Speaker 2: Finney's a little bowling ball type back. You know those types, Buck.
00:28:17
Speaker 3: Finney's like our Tom Rathbun Buck back in the day.
00:28:23
Speaker 2: Oh my God, Tolbert. Finney is our Mike Tolbert, man. In personality and in frame. He dances as well. We're talking with Brenton Buckner here. So, you know, we got to talk Clemson buck for better or worse, man. How much did that kill you to see that happen on Saturday? And when you watch it, and then when you hear all the media commentary that man, this game's passed Dabo by, he hasn't adjusted enough to, to the, the, the modern game. Do you kind of feel that stuff too, or no?
00:28:57
Speaker 4: Well, you know, after sitting back watching it, you know, I'm looking at it. LSU probably wins that game 10 times out of 10. LSU is a great team. What Lane Kiffin has put together down there, you know, the coaching staff, the energy, everything that's going on is good. I kind of look at it from a point of view, you know, because I've been a coach. A lot of the things that Clemson suffered from, those weren't coaches' problems. it was a lot of player-led problems out there. You know, because no coach goes into a game not practicing what the other team do. You know, you try to perfect it. You try to give your team all the answers. The players flunk that test for most of them. Getting off blocks is an attitude. Being physical at the line of scrimmage. I can't coach you to be physical. I can give you the tools to help you become more physical than what you are, but going out there and competing against that other guy in front of you, that's all about the players. Dropping coverage, not pass protecting, missing Missing blocks. That's on players. Now, I was disgusted because I am a Clemson alum, and I want to see my team do well. Now, do I think, deep in my heart, do I think we were going to win that game? No. If I had to bet, I would have bet on LSU. But I did not expect it to be the way it was. I think that was the most disappointing part. And you can see that on the sideline, on the coaches' faces. Because they was like, I know we practiced this. You know, that's the worst thing as a coach. I know we practiced. I knew we knew this was coming. You got to go out there as a player and you got to work the game plan and you got to put it all together. I think it was more player let down than coach.
00:30:44
Speaker 3: But Colin came in yesterday, a guy you know well, and said to us off the air about the Dabo, you know, the fire Dabo people. Is that a be careful what you wish for scenario, though, from the Clemson side of let's not also forget what Clemson was in the Tommy Bowden years trying to find themselves and what Dabo has done to get this program where it was?
00:31:06
Speaker 4: Yes, I think it is. I think you have to be very careful what you ask for. And, you know, I'm not just going to say rest on the laurels of what he's done in the past, but let's give the man credit. Now, Clemson has always wanted to be a national contender on the mouth of everybody. When you talk about college football, they wanted to be mentioned with the blue bloods. And Dabo built that. He built it to where it is now. I've said this before. He's a victim of his success. Because Clemson's fans got spoiled. You know, I think nine ACC titles, two national championships, two other appearances, and they got used to it. We're going to be there. We're going to be there. Well, guess what now? It's been a shift. You're not there. But it took him time to build it. Now you might have given him time to rebuild it because he's got to look at himself in the mirror, too, and say, hey, there's some things I got to do better. But right now, we're just not getting the recruits that we normally get. You know, if you go back and look at our team, Clemson, when they were winning national titles, they dominated recruiting in the state of North Carolina with the Dexter Lawrences of the world. They're not doing that no more. You throw money in it and people who can pay more than you, you know, it's a different recruiting world. And, you know, and I think Clemson has to be very judicious in how they do things now because we don't have the big pot of money like a lot of teams, like the Texas teams or the LSUs. So you've got to be very careful how you use it, but you've got to use it the right way. The one thing that I can say that was disappointing to me is I don't think you can go into a season in today's NCAA season and not have a seasoned quarterback. I'm like, yeah, you might like a guy who signed with you, but he's been there three years. and nobody's come and get him. He hasn't made a push to start. You've got to bring in somebody that can compete with him. So when you go into LSU, you've got to load a gun, and you know exactly what you've got.
00:33:10
Speaker 2: Go spend money in the portal at that position, like so many big-time programs do. But Dabo has never done that at that position. You know, he hasn't. I also think a lot of their alums, Bone, a lot of their former players with the big bucks, guys that used to play defensive line for them, they need to come with that NIL money for Clemson, too. Don't you? By the way, Buck, I saw a bunch, I don't know if you follow, I'm sure you probably do, a lot of the former Clemson guys, a lot of the former Clemson guys were not happy on Twitter.
00:33:41
Speaker 4: Yes, I saw it.
00:33:43
Speaker 2: It seemed like they used to get, I mean, I guess it's a results-based business, but they're not shy about calling out Dabo anymore.
00:33:52
Speaker 4: I think it's more so they were just shocked that their team would get beat like that. You know what I mean? 51 straight points. They let it go. You don't have no rushing yards at halftime. You got a field goal. You just look and they're up the whole game. And so I think a lot of the frustration is coming out. Who's going to wear the hat for the frustration? The head coach. And I think, once again, Dabo is a victim of things. Like, he was stern against college football becoming what it is now. But now it's here.
00:34:30
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:34:31
Speaker 4: And I know, you know, he went into the portal this year. He got some guys. But I think you got to be all the way in there or all the way out of there. You know what I mean? Yeah. You can't walk the line with it. You got to jump in there like you just did. the quarterback position. If I'm going to spend money, I'm going to get that trigger, man.
00:34:48
Speaker 2: That's the most important one. Although at NC State, I'm wondering, did they spend so much money on the quarterback bone? They didn't have money for everybody else. But anyway, I digress.
00:34:57
Speaker 6: I'm sorry.
00:34:57
Speaker 2: Go ahead, Matt. I was going to say, the podcast is the Buck Naked Truth Podcast. Where do you get that? Just wherever you get podcasts, Buck? Where do you get that at?
00:35:06
Speaker 4: You can get IG. You can go IG. You can go YouTube. And we're coming to Apple soon. So I know we just started with... We're on our sixth show, and we're just telling our butt naked truth.
00:35:19
Speaker 2: I love it.
00:35:19
Speaker 4: I love it.
00:35:20
Speaker 2: Keep doing your thing, Buck. Thanks for hanging with us, man. We appreciate it.
00:35:23
Speaker 4: All right. One time for the one time. All right, Buck.
00:35:26
Speaker 2: One time for the one time. All right, Buck.
00:35:28
Speaker 4: All right.
00:35:28
Speaker 2: I don't know what that means. I like the way you acted cool there, though. You were hip to it. I mean, I just kind of naturally said it back. My old behind was like, what do I say to this? Buck thinks I'm cool. What do I say?
00:35:40
Speaker 3: All right, Mac, when we come back, we're going to talk more Dabo. Dabo getting worked up in yesterday's presser. Was his reaction fair or foul in the segment we've named Yabba Dabba Don't. Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ.
00:36:08
Speaker 2: Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ. Mack and Bone with you.
00:36:14
Speaker 4: Oh, man.
00:36:15
Speaker 2: There is so much going on right now. It's another early season dabble watch in the national media. And more happy fronts. We've got the Panthers playing football at the bank on Sunday. KB and I will have countdown to kickoff for three hours, 10 until 1. Getting you ready for this game. First time we've been in there for a game that matters. Sorry to that preseason. Sorry to everybody, Bone, that played in that preseason game. Or watched. I'm definitely sorry for all of us that watched. But anyway, first time, meaningful game. Since January, man. And that was, damn, that was so close to an epic night. We'll talk more Panthers coming up top of the hour at 8 o'clock when we ask, what is the appropriate level of Panther fan optimism? Considering everything, the season we had, the offseason acquisitions, but the injuries and the offensive line situation and the preseason. What's the appropriate level? We'll get into that. But we've got to... We've got to get into this Dabo thing. We did it in the first hour of the show. I know we've got different people listening right now. Dabo did it again, where one of his pressers and his reaction to a tough question has gone viral. And I want to know, and it seemed like in the first hour, Bone, people were all over the place on this. Some people thought it was a legitimate question, and Dabo is showing some real sensitivity right now with things going badly. And there were others that didn't like the question. So I want you to listen to this. This is Chapel Fowler from the state newspaper, covers Clemson day in and day out, asking Dabo about the result on Saturday. And do you feel like maybe that's an indication that your roster construction wasn't done correctly in the offseason? Listen to this back and forth.
00:37:59
Speaker 6: Do you regret anything.
00:38:00
Speaker 2: About your offseason roster.
00:38:01
Speaker 6: Construction right now? Chapel, you come with all these questions. I'll tell you, you're the gotcha guy. No, I don't. I don't, man. I regret being 0-1-1 right now. I regret that.
00:38:14
Speaker 7: But, no, we're– can you ask me that at the end of the season? You know, the season isn't over. I mean, we've got one game.
00:38:22
Speaker 6: We've got 11 more. What if we go 11-1? You promise me you'll ask me that then?
00:38:28
Speaker 4: Okay, good.
00:38:28
Speaker 6: I'll answer it. All right.
00:38:29
Speaker 4: But.
00:38:30
Speaker 6: I'm not answering questions like that, you know, Chapel.
00:38:33
Speaker 7: I know that's your role and that's in this environment, you know, to be the guy that wants to create all the controversy and ask the controversial questions.
00:38:42
Speaker 6: If that's who you are, that's fine. I get it. But I'll answer that. We played one game. One game. All right? Did you play football?
00:38:53
Speaker 4: No.
00:38:53
Speaker 6: Okay. Well, they give you 12 games. And at the end of the year, you count them up. All right?
00:39:00
Speaker 7: And, you know, that's when those type of questions are fair to me. You know, not after one game. Two, maybe the best team in the country. Maybe the best team in the country.
00:39:13
Speaker 6: All right? Other people have good teams and coaches and things like that, too. So I give them credit. We got 11 more games to go battle. And we'll count them up. Then you can ask me whatever question you want.
00:39:29
Speaker 2: All right, so there you go. What do you think, Bone? Fair or foul reaction from Dabo?
00:39:36
Speaker 3: I thought it was foul. First of all, Chappell was one of the best at what he does. He's an emerging star.
00:39:42
Speaker 2: He's a pro, man.
00:39:42
Speaker 3: He's not a gotcha guy. He's one of the best already at what he does. So for him to go after Chappell like that feels like... It was an old Saban trick, Matt, to go after a media member, but really you're talking through that media member for other people or the team. It felt like he was utilizing Chappell for a bigger picture of what's being said about him by everybody. But Chappell, because the answer there in that tone doesn't really match what the question was, does it? The question was not that big of a deal. You give up 51 points and you get destroyed like that when you're Dabo Sweeney. a prominent premier coach in this game, and your program was on top, you give up 51 straight points, what kind of questions do you want to happen?
00:40:28
Speaker 2: You want softball questions? What do you want to ask?
00:40:31
Speaker 3: That's a very fair question when your team gets destroyed like that. That was not fair to Chapel Fowler. That was a very fair question.
00:40:36
Speaker 2: It's fascinating to me the differences on the text line, the way fans see this, right? Because some people side with Dabo and say nothing wrong with the answer. This texter says the answer was fine until the football question. It got really condescending there. Like Chapel Fowler's not capable of looking at a schedule bone unless he played football as a kid. And figuring out there's 12 games.
00:40:57
Speaker 4: Yes.
00:40:58
Speaker 2: Like another texter says, sounds like a legit answer to me. It has been only one game. It's actually been more than one game. They've lost eight straight to the SEC. Their program has clearly declined from where Dabo had it. I think this is, like, if he says it's been only one game, if Chappell Fowler really wanted to be, you know, a gotcha guy and really wanted to be a tough guy, he could have said, actually, coach, it's been more than one game. This has been going on for a few seasons now, where there is an elite where you used to be, and you're so off the pace of the elite now. It's a downfall that's been in the crockpot simmering for a while. So, yeah, it's more than just one game. Yeah, I didn't like the condescending stuff. I also didn't like him trying to act like Fowler's a gotcha guy because I don't view him like that at all. I view him as a pretty professional, fair journalist. I think it was a hard question. Dabo and people down there in Clemson are used to some candy-ass media down there. They're used to some people that show up in jerseys to the pressers. They're used to people that cheer. the coach, and the pressers. And the fact that Chappell Fowler actually wants to be a legit journalist and ask a tough question rubs Dabo the wrong way. Dabo's so sensitive when things are going bad. If I'm a Clemson fan, some of you right now, like Bradley says, you're media, so you're biased. I'll tell you like I see it. Why do you suck? Boy, that's a really tough question. Answer it. I don't have any loyalty to the media. I just, you know, I don't. I will criticize media people just as fast. I'm calling it the way I see it. I think Dabo Salini is a sensitive dude that realizes I ain't got it anymore. I don't want my fastball. And I think he's frustrated, and I think he's out of answers. I think the answer is, you know, embrace the portal even more. Like Buck said, go all in. Use your phrase. But I just think you don't have to act like that. And I think when you act like that, I think your players see you act like that, and I think your players think, oh, my God, coach is losing it. Coach seems a little undone and sensitive. I don't think it puts on a strong front for your players.
00:43:01
Speaker 3: What he hid behind for so long, I say hide, I shouldn't say that, but what he.
00:43:06
Speaker 2: Used for so long was the resume. And you know what? He does have a great resume. There's no doubt whether you like that or not. He'll break that back out. next week don't worry.
00:43:14
Speaker 3: He would read off the resume so many times as like the defense mechanism well guess what i've heard more national people pointed out lately that dabbo does bring out the resume so now we all see through that he's done it too many times he's gone to that well too many times he can't do that and then when you start bickering with reporters that's not a good sign for where you are and where your program is because the past isn't working So now he's talking about the future.
00:43:41
Speaker 2: It was the past. Now it's the future, right? Pivot. He's pivoted. Do you think he's done with the resume? Because I have a feeling the next time they lose a game, he could still go back to resume. Maybe you're right. Here's the problem, though.
00:43:52
Speaker 5: The resume is getting outdated.
00:43:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, that, yeah.
00:43:55
Speaker 5: Like, you're referencing stuff that's almost five years ago.
00:43:58
Speaker 2: I mean, you had the CFP appearance.
00:44:00
Speaker 5: From a few years ago, but they lost, what, three games that year?
00:44:03
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:44:04
Speaker 5: And three losses in a year was not standard is the best or best is the standard. Whatever their mantra was, whenever they were competing for championships. So that's the thing is two years ago, the resume was still very relevant.
00:44:20
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:44:20
Speaker 2: Cause they were just starting to decline. That's a good point.
00:44:24
Speaker 4: This, this is.
00:44:25
Speaker 5: This is now the third or fourth straight year where there's a definite drop-off from where they were.
00:44:29
Speaker 2: That's a good point. Buckeye Dave says, Resumes outdated like Cowboys Fitty. There you go, baby. Cowboys Fitty is old news, baby. Panther Fitty is in now.
00:44:38
Speaker 3: There's also a defense mechanism, Mac, for some of our Clemson fans, and Fitty sees it, and they're doing it all summer, where their immediate thing is they go after me and the Gamecocks. Like, look, man, like, yeah, you've owned the rivalry for a long time, but your goals should not be to only beat South Carolina every year.
00:44:57
Speaker 2: Like, what happened to your program?
00:44:58
Speaker 3: If that's where you're at now, where you're only deflecting to South Carolina, then you've completely lost the plot of what your program is supposed to be, right? They come at me like, all right, what about your own program? I don't understand why, like, why are y'all defending him? Shouldn't you be pissed? Shouldn't you be pissed at.
00:45:14
Speaker 2: What happened to this program and where he used to have it and where it is now? and his stubbornness and his slowness to adjust to the times while other coaches have adjusted to the times and thrived. I mean, you got beat by a coach that is so modern, like completely embraces the portal and goes 40 plus player. I know it's a new spot, but it's the complete different approach to what Dabo tries to do there. And it scored 51 straight points against you. Here's the other thing too, Mac.
00:45:41
Speaker 5: If you compare other programs that have quote unquote regressed from where they were, What has Kirby Smart's regression been? Still winning SEC championships, making the playoffs. Bama, what was their regression under Saban? They were still competing for SEC championships, getting to the playoffs. It's a little bit different now.
00:46:00
Speaker 2: I would argue DeBoer could have a problem on his hands, depending on how the season goes. But your peers that have taken a step back in their age. But it hasn't been that bad.
00:46:08
Speaker 4: Exactly.
00:46:08
Speaker 2: It hasn't been that bad. I just want to say this, Bone. Does anybody else think when he says, gotcha guy, Does anybody else think that he should be doing finger guns? Sounds like something Jim Carrey would say. It's a gotcha guy. I feel like finger guns is the appropriate thing to be doing with your hands. You're the gotcha guy.
00:46:26
Speaker 3: Mag, we have a celebrity text here. It says, that resume's outdated. Sincerely, Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys.
00:46:34
Speaker 2: Oh, people are all, how'd the Cowboys get, well, you know when you get mentioned like the Cowboys, Gooch says he sounds like a Cowboys fan. This guy says, sounds like the 2009, oh, Yankees. Oh, okay.
00:46:44
Speaker 3: Anyway, how much of the 2026 season Panther fan negativity is warranted? How much is over the top? Well, what's the proper level of optimism? Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ.
