Wes & Walker

The Panthers might be 0-4, and Charlotte FC's playoff hopes might be fading away, but there might be another pro team in the Queen City that can make you proud. Believe it or not, the Hornets will tip off their 2023-24 season later this month, and they have high hopes for being a playoff team after injuries made it hard for the team to compete last season.

Former Charlotte Observer writer, and now Vikings beat reporter, Ellis Williams joined the Wes & Walker Show yesterday, to give us the Vikings perspective ahead of Sunday's game at Bank of America Stadium. He tells you what makes Justin Jefferson such a hard matchup for the Panthers secondary, what areas Carolina has the advantage in on the field, & more. 

After missing last week's game at Seattle, it looks like Bryce Young is set to start this Sunday's game against the Vikings. Young, who suffered an ankle injury in the Monday night loss to the Saints in Week 2, hopes to use the week off to get his rookie season off and running. 

Earlier today on the Wes & Walker Show, Duke's play-by-play broadcaster, David Shumate joined the show to set the scene for Saturday's Duke/Notre Dame game. He talks about the importance of College GameDay being in Durham, for the game, and the chances the Blue Devils take down the Irish 

After an 0-3 start to the 2023 season, it is fair to say that nobody in the Panthers organization saw this coming. While there are still 14 games to be played, it is hard to imagine the Panthers end up competing for the NFC South division title, and or challenging for a Wild Card spot. What makes that an even harder pill to swallow, is that the Panthers traded away their first-round pick for the 2024 NFL Draft, making it harder to add talent to the roster. The only way that the Panthers can get a first-round draft pick is to obviously either trade away even more future draft capital or move a player on the current roster, that would demand such an asking price. 

After an 0-3 start, it is harder to see the vision that Frank Reich has for the Panthers this season, and beyond. When you look at the upcoming stretch of games, at home against the Vikings, and at the Lions and Dolphins ahead of the bye, an 0-6 start isn't out of the question for Carolina. And if that happens, an already on the edge fan base will only continue to implode all over the place. But is it still okay to have faith that Reich, will turn out to be the right hire?

After an 0-3 start to the 2023 season for the Panthers, there is a lot of vitriol from the Panthers fan base, and they are seeking to find someone to blame. After firing Matt Rhule, and hiring Frank Reich, the belief was that the losing the franchise had endured since 2017 was going to come to an end, and the winning football that Dave Tepper promised when he bought the team, was on the horizon. While that still may be true, it is hard to see that with the current brand of football we've seen so far in 2023, and the schedule is not going to do them any favors with a strip to Miami looming before the bye.

On Friday, the legendary Dan Patrick, joined the Wes & Walker Show, to promote his new book "The Occasionally Accurate Annals of Football", he also shared some of his favorite memories from his time at ESPN, if he still has the same competitive drive now, he had when he first broke into the business, & more. 

With all of the focus entering Sunday's game on the health of Bryce Young, who has been ruled out of the Week 3 contest, you may have overlooked the fact that there is a game to be played, and even Seattle is dealing with injuries of their own. The Seahawks, who are 1-1, after opening the season with a loss to the Rams, before winning in Detroit last weekend, boast one of the more efficient offenses in the NFL, even with Charles Cross not 100% healthy. Cross, was not a participant in practice today, and if he's not able to go, that opens the door for Brian Burns to feast all game long.  

Believe it or not, after an 0-2 start, the season is in fact not over for the Carolina Panthers. although to hear the fans say it, it might as well be. Sure history might not be on Carolina's side to win the NFC South or make the postseason as a wild card, but were those ever realistic expectations, for a franchise that hired a new head coach, and drafted a rookie QB? Now look, it is fair to say that you may not have expected the offense to look as bad as it has to start the season, or you didn't think the team would miss Austin Corbett as much as they have, but it still doesn't justify the outrage and frustration after two weeks. Whether the Panthers admitted publicly or not, this is a franchise in transition, and that is exactly what we're seeing on the football field.