Good read from Scott Fowler :Are Carolina Panthers on the verge of a miracle?

[ladypanther]

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/scott-fowler/article45657654.html

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On Nov. 7, the night before Carolina played Green Bay in Charlotte, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera saw an opportunity.

Everyone knew Rivera had a very good Panthers team – a 7-0 start had shown that. But Green Bay had the history, and Green Bay had last year’s NFL Most Valuable Player, and Green Bay was favored to win.

Rivera, though, understood something else about the development of quarterback Cam Newton, linebacker Luke Kuechly and a handful of other homegrown stars. He already knew that the Panthers had a chance this season to reach heights they never had before.

He just needed to make sure his team knew that. So the Panthers coach reached for a miracle.

Specifically, he reached for “Miracle” – the 2004 movie based on the true story of the 1980 gold-medal U.S. hockey team and its remarkable Olympic upset of the seemingly invincible Russians.

Rivera loves the movie, especially Kurt Russell’s portrayal of U.S. head coach Herb Brooks. In one of the most famous scenes, the hockey coach gives a stirring pep talk just before the U.S.-Russia game in which he tells the American players: “This is your time! Their time is done. It’s over!”

Just before the Green Bay game, Rivera instructed the Panthers’ video crew to intersperse some of the team’s best highlights of the 2015 season with clips of the coach’s speech from “Miracle.”

 

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Something had been brewing for awhile in Spartanburg between the two. When Newton threw an interception one day to Norman and Norman showboated while running it back, Newton got angry. The quarterback tried to tackle Norman, who stiff-armed him. Suddenly, Newton was in Norman’s face, Norman was knocking off Newton’s helmet and the two had thrown each other to the ground.

It could have been nasty – the beginning of a year-long schism between the Panthers’ defense and the offense. Rivera knew it was a delicate moment. He had a “We Have To Get Past This” speech loaded up for the next team meeting.

He never used it.

“I’m all set to give this great speech about teamwork and togetherness and family and what we’re trying to build inside the locker room,” Rivera said. “And then Ryan Kalil, Thomas Davis, Greg Olsen, Charles Johnson, and Luke Kuechly, basically all the captains (except for Newton, since he was involved in the scuffle), came up and said ‘Coach, we got this. We’ll take care of it. We’re good.’ So I never talked to the team.”

 

  

               Damn, I love these guys

[mpugh6]

I love Ron Rivera.

[t96]

I love everything about this team.

[DaveThePanther2008]

A couple weeks back they were talking about Rivera.  What he brought from SD and Chicago under Lovie Smith.   Then they mentioned how the team toughness was like his days with Chicago under Mike Ditka.  Ditka might be one of the toughest men to ever play football and no one needs to mention how tough his defenses are.  

You take Rivera's defensive genius and the toughness of MIke Ditka you can see why this team is so hard to beat.  We have a flavor of the great Chicago Bears of the 80s in our team.  BTW that should be a compliment to us.

Many of us have been skeptical about Rivera but if you look back.  We have brought in Rivera type players.   Now this team is honorable, tough and hard to beat.

 

Go Panthers 

[rodeo]

It's even more brilliant when you think of what very easily could have been. Head Coach Rob Ryan. Quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Mark Barron instead of Kuechly. This organization has made some very tough choices over the past few years and it has made the correct ones. We could easily be the worst team in the league if some of these decision went the other way.

[Khyber53]

Good people, good decisions, good team, good football.

[SOJA]

great article 

[UpstatePanther]

2 hours ago, ladypanther said:

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/scott-fowler/article45657654.html

  

               Damn, I love these guys

This may well be the greatest Panther team thus far with regards to teamwork, integrity, grit, determination, and excitement. One could argue the Panthers have had more talented teams in the past, but I feel like we'd be hard pressed to find a greater overall team. Not even the 2003 team went 9-0....

[B.BERSIN]

Winning Super Bowl this year is not a miracle for us, it's reasonable expectation.

[PhillyB]

wonderful

[Kevin Greene]

'Merica!

[Chaos]

9 hours ago, rodeo said:

It's even more brilliant when you think of what very easily could have been. Head Coach Rob Ryan. Quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Mark Barron instead of Kuechly. This organization has made some very tough choices over the past few years and it has made the correct ones. We could easily be the worst team in the league if some of these decision went the other way.

I just threw up in my mouth a little. 

[lightsout]

This team is about to hit other dimension good. It's late November, historically great Rivera comes out. This could be scary.