FLOWERY BRANCH — Carolina coach Ron Rivera spoke via conference call to the Atlanta media on Wednesday.
The Panthers (14-0) play the Falcons (7-7) at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Georgia Dome.
Here are some of Rivera’s comments:
Q: How are you all focusing on the Falcons?
A: "We are trying to make sure that we're focused in and make sure the players know what this is all about. It's the opportunity to get the No. 1 seed all the way through (the playoffs). We've got to be on our game. Atlanta is coming off a big win and they have a little bit of momentum. They are still in it, so we are looking at it like these guys are coming to play and we know who they are. They are a good football team."
Q: After soundly defeating the Falcons just two weeks ago, how do you get them to focus?
A: 'Well, I like to believe that in the past we have a couple of games where we had big leads and they slipped. The thing we have to do is handle our success. When you have a little bit of a lead, you've got to continue to pound away. We have to be better at it."
Q: How do you guard against that kind of letdown like you had against the Giants.?
A: "We had a couple of positions that didn't play very well. We have to be on top or our game all the way through."
Q: How much have you enjoyed this group this year? When did you know you had a special team?
A: "What is interesting was I thought things were rolling very nicely through OTAs and minicamp. I thought we started training camp really well and then we had the Kelvin Benjamin and Stephen Hill things where both the guys suffered knee injuries. That really just kind of took the wind out of our sails for a while. But as we progressed through the (exhibition) season, we went 3-1 and did a lot of good things. I just felt good. I felt we had a chance to win the division if we played up to our abilities. I really felt comfortable and confident about it. Where we are right now and doing something that might be special, I can't honestly say, I knew that would happen. But I did feel that this was a good group of guys and I felt real good and strong about our locker room."
Q: What do you make of cornerback Josh Norman and his erratic behavior?
A: "There is fine line. It doesn't matter who you are playing, when you are playing or where you are playing, there is a fine line and guys do try to take it to a specific point. And they go from there. I think unfortunately, in some instances the line got crossed and it has happened before. Not just in that game (Giants), but in previous games. You as a player and coach have to know that and know when to reign it in and when to be smart and is some cases when to just flat out stop it. It's one of the things that we talked about. Josh enjoys playing. He loves the game."
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