It boils down to this: The Panthers, as a team will continue to play hard and hold out hope no matter how difficult the challenge seems.
Greg Olsen: ‘Satisfying Knowing Everyone In World Counted Us Out’ " The Morning Show – CBS Sports Radio
"It was satisfying knowing that everyone in the world counted us out," said Olsen, who led Carolina in receptions (84) and receiving yards (1,008) this season. "Guys in the locker room continued to believe that we had a chance, and things bounced our way. We got a couple breaks here and there with other teams losing and whatnot, but we handled our business. Three of the final four (games) were division games, so we took care of business. It was unconventional. It wasn’t how we dreamed it up. But we made it. We made it the second round, and we’re a couple mistakes away from pulling one out up in Seattle, so it was a good year."
There are certainly many other aspects involved to be a successful head coach in the NFL than just pumping up your players. Yet if you can motivate a team that sits at 3-8-1 to win their final four games that says a lot. It's also not like this is the first time Rivera had them playing well in December. We've already discussed the fact on this blog Rivera has an awesome December record with the Panthers (17-3 I think). Even in his first year, a 6-10 endeavor the Panthers went 4-2 down the stretch. Rivera was preaching to everyone the Panthers had a chance well before any of us really thought it was possible.
More from this interview with Olsen, which I really enjoyed. He first talks about the 'the light switch coming on' before their four game winning streak to wrap up back-to-back division crowns. More interesting is his answer when questioned about Cam Newton:
But how is Newton as a teammate? How is he in the locker room? Do guys legitimately like him?
"He’s been a great teammate since he came (into the league)," Olsen said. "And I think a lot of the scrutiny that he was under when he first got here was out of his control. He kind of flashed on the scene the year before with the Heisman Trophy, going undefeated and (the) next thing you know he was a household name . . . with a team (Auburn) that was’t really good the year before or after.
"I think he got a lot of scrutiny and a lot of pressure being the No. 1 overall pick, coming to a team with only two wins, a new coaching staff – all those things combined. People wanted to pick him apart. They wanted to see if this guy was for real, and I think he’s done nothing but deliver."
Though Olsen praises Newton, something Olsen has done many times before, he doesn't really answer the question. I'm not saying it was an intended dodge but I think it speaks to my previous assertion that Cam Newton is very misunderstood. It's simply that he doesn't have a magnetic personality (but he does have a magnetic smile), he's approachable but he doesn't read other people very well and that he's not a great public speaker, ie...rah rah guy in the huddle. He leads by example, not by words.
At the same time he definitely is not the conceited, aloof, self-centered diva much of the media and other fan bases try to make him out to be. In fact he is quite the opposite of the national narrative, a narrative that is slowly being torn down. The more his teammates volunteer to speak out positively about Newton like Olsen has the more it will improve. Only then will these types of questions stop coming up in interviews.