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Analyzing Rivera

Mr. Scot

By Mr. Scot,
in Carolina Panthers

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Mr. Scot Grand Master

Mr. Scot

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Bits and pieces gleaned from reviewing the on-site videos of new Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera...

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- Good Lord, the man is intense. I feel like I can't slouch even while just watching clips of him. The military family background comes through loud and clear. You get the feeling he sleeps at attention.

- Also get the feeling anyone who was hoping the team would ease up on analyzing player character issues is likely to be disappointed. It actually won't surprise me if that emphasis gets even stronger under Rivera. When he talks about how players need to be role models and that they need to conduct themselves "like Carolina panthers should", he sounds pretty serious about it. Whether or not that affects the draft prospects of Nick Fairley? Hard to say. Will say this though: I have doubts as to whether anything which might be perceived as "dirty" will be tolerated on the field.

- Something else I'm not sure we'll see much of on the field: showboating. Rivera is all-business in how he conducts himself, and teams naturally tend to take on the personality of their head coach. Yes, the Chargers had guys like Merriman doing "lights out" and all, but Rivera wasn't the head coach there. I'd say it's at least possible that he'll ask the team to be like the Bill Walsh 49ers in their on-field conduct. We'll see.

- I was already of the mind that the team would be signing a veteran free agent QB this offseason. I'm more convinced of that now, based on the fact that Rivera isn't a fan of young quarterbacks playing without having gone through the "maturation" process. Mind you, I don't think that means he's given up on Clausen. If I were Jimmy though, I wouldn't necessarily place a huge bet on being the starter this season.

- Now before anybody reads that and screams "oh my gosh, John Fox all over again", keep in mind that quarterback isn't the same as other positions. One of the things Rivera liked about coming to the Panthers was that they are, overall, a young team. Likewise, it's extremely unlikely that an owner who last year cut a bunch of veterans to spite a coach who refused to play young players would turn around and hire another head coach who was going to do the same thing.

- And last, I expect the character of training camp to be fairly different this year from past seasons. Rivera definitely strikes me as someone who will want to run a tight ship in practices, maybe even a "boot camp" type atmosphere. That's not to say he'll be a slave driver, but "discipline" is a word the players should definitely get used to hearing. As a side note, I do also wonder if he might not encourage the players to be as fan-friendly as possible.

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Again, all in all, I'm intrigued to see what this season holds. Here's hoping the philosophy translates to success.

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JawnyBlaze Grand Master

JawnyBlaze

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Yea, good points Mr Scot. I got some of the same impressions, and you also made some good points I hadn't thought of. I think you're right about the showboating, he seems like the anti-Rex Ryan. Anyone who was hoping for more personality out of the coaching staff and/or team will probably be disappointed. Should translate into a better product on the field though, and that's what's important.

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Jackofalltrades Community Regular

Jackofalltrades

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You dance a fine line by being a hard nosed coach. Coughlin is a perfect example, many were and are still tired of his rigid style. These are pro's, not high school or college kids that will just lie down and take a beating.

What does encourage me is that Rivera has been referred to as a players coach.

Rivera has been around for a while, learned leadership in a military family and should be a good coach who does command respect, but dulls it out willingly as well.

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Highlandfire Newbie

Highlandfire

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You dance a fine line by being a hard nosed coach. Coughlin is a perfect example, many were and are still tired of his rigid style. These are pro's, not high school or college kids that will just lie down and take a beating.

What does encourage me is that Rivera has been referred to as a players coach.

Rivera has been around for a while, learned leadership in a military family and should be a good coach who does command respect, but dulls it out willingly as well.

The problem with the NFL is you still have kids saying they are men and they arent. Im sorry at 28 you are still a kid, married with kids or not and when you hit 40 you realize it.

Look I am a man, but I do what the hell my boss says and I STFU about it. Missed in all this is coaches are their BOSSES and they need to respect them as such. I am sure Rivera will let them know an old Military saying 'you may not respect the man but you MUST respect the Rank'

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Jackofalltrades Community Regular

Jackofalltrades

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The problem with the NFL is you still have kids saying they are men and they arent. Im sorry at 28 you are still a kid, married with kids or not and when you hit 40 you realize it.

Look I am a man, but I do what the hell my boss says and I STFU about it. Missed in all this is coaches are their BOSSES and they need to respect them as such. I am sure Rivera will let them know an old Military saying 'you may not respect the man but you MUST respect the Rank'

That old military saying will only get you so far, especially on a pro sports team where quite a few players are more popular and wealthier than the coach, in particular a new HC who hasn't proven anything.

Great leaders get people to WANT to follow them into battle, not because they said so.

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