ATLANTA — Even though the Carolina Panthers aren't aren't in the Super Bowl, several members of the team, including head coach Ron Rivera, are in Atlanta for the big game.
Rivera took time to sit down with NBC Charlotte's Kelsey Riggs to discuss what he learned during a midseason slump, how it feels being in Atlanta despite not playing in the Super Bowl and of course, Cam Newton's shoulder.
Rivera joked that he was bitter to be at the game and not playing.
"Yeah, that'd probably be the best way to put it," he said. "We've been to the mountaintop but we haven't stood on top of it and that's what I want to do.
"And I believe we have the makings of it, I really do."
After a red hot 6-2 start, the Panthers lost seven games in a row. It all started with a devastating 52-21 loss in Pittsburgh. Rivera said that loss triggered doubt in his team's heads.
"I think the Pittsburgh game put us in a situation, where for a couple of games, we kind of felt like, 'oh, OK, something bad is going to happen,'" Rivera said. "It was just going to be an avalanche or it was going to be that snowball going downhill that we couldn't stop."
Rivera said it bothered him as the head coach to not recognize his team's mindset and get them out of that funk. He said those missed opportunities were what he took away from a disappointing 7-9 record.
And the Panthers were dealt more than just a lopsided loss in Pittsburgh. It was around that time that Cam Newton started to favor his right shoulder. Newton was pulled from the team's final two games after it became apparent he lacked the velocity on his throws.
Rivera believes Newton will be good for next season, saying the 2015 NFL MVP told him he felt better after his surgery.
"I just happened to be in the training room when he was there for one of his first rehab sessions and he said he was already feeling like he had some extra flexibility," Rivera said. "From the time he and I talked after the Saints game to now, I could see that the frustration was gone."
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