By Eric Gilmore, The Sports Xchange
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Carolina Panthers defensive end Jared Allen said he initially saw red when coach Ron Rivera told him he would be held out of the NFC Championship Game against the Arizona Cardinals to rest his injured foot.
“I obviously respected it,” Allen said Tuesday of Rivera’s decision. “I’ll always respect coach’s decision because I respect the heck out of him. It was a loud event. It took my 12 hours or whatever it was to be angry and then you go about it. So, hindsight, yeah, great, awesome. My foot feels great, and I’m ready to rock and roll.”
Allen said expects to be on the Levi’s Stadium field Sunday against the Denver Broncos to play in a Super Bowl for the first time in his 12-year NFL career. Allen, who has 136 career sacks and is tied with Julius Peppers for ninth on the NFL’s all-time list, said he hasn’t decided whether he will play another season, so the Super Bowl could be his last game.
“I really don’t know,” Allen said. “Those are conversations I’m going to have with my wife, my kids and the family. That will be what it is when it is. I am honestly just present. I am focused on the moment, and I want to go out and have the best game I can possibly have, best game of my career, on the best stage and help our team win a football game.”
Allen has eight career double-digit sack seasons, and he led the NFL in sacks twice, first in 2007 with the Kansas City Chiefs (15 1/2), then in 2011 with the Minnesota Vikings (22). His 22-sack season is tied for second all time, half a sack behind former New York Giant Michael Strahan’s record 22 1/2 in 2001.
This season, Allen, who came to Carolina from the Chicago Bears in a September trade, has only two sacks, both with the Panthers.
“This year has been so humbling,” Allen said. “Worst numbers, most success.”
The Panthers are 17-1, and Allen has a chance to win the Super Bowl in his backyard, just a few miles from Los Gatos, Calif., where he played high school football.
“This is it,” Allen said. “This is where it all started.”
Davis on the mend: Carolina starting linebacker Thomas Davis continues to make solid progress in his recovery from a broken right arm, Rivera said. Davis was injured in the NFC title game against Arizona and had surgery the next day.
“I thought Thomas really looked good in practice (Monday),” Rivera said. “He used that hand, that arm, and one of the concerns with it really is just what would happen if he had to deliver a blow. He used it to deliver a shot. He seemed to weather that yesterday very nicely.
“Today he came in and got his normal set of treatment like he gets in the morning. He’ll probably come back in the early to mid-afternoon, get a little treatment. Then he’ll probably come back later in the evening … and get another dose of treatment. He seems to be responding very nicely to it. He looks good and, again, I won’t doubt Thomas.”
Robinson’s warning: Rivera said he wants his players to enjoy Super Bowl week, but they were warned about the dangers of losing sight of the ultimate goal. Before the Panthers flew to San Jose on Sunday, former Atlanta Falcons safety Eugene Robinson, now a radio and broadcast analyst for the Panthers, told the team about what he calls the worst night of his life.
On the eve of Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999, Robinson was arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover police officer. He played the next day against Denver but gave up an 80-yard touchdown pass to quarterback John Elway in Atlanta’s 34-19 loss.
“It was shocking to most,” quarterback Cam Newton said. “I know a lot of guys didn’t expect that, but for him to have that attitude to open up his life and his story for us, we knew who he was and what he did for the Panthers. It just shows you what type of organization we have. A lot of guys wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable telling everyone their story, but he did and he told us, and I think a lot of guys kind of stepped back and understood the value and the importance of staying focused in an environment like this.”
Underrated receivers?: The Panthers’ wide receiver corps is flying far under the radar approaching Super Bowl 50. There is not a single 1,000-yard or 50-catch receiver in the bunch. Tight end Greg Olsen is the team’s most dangerous pass-catcher with 77 receptions for 1,104 yards and seven touchdowns.
Among wideouts, Ted Ginn Jr. had the most catches (44), yards (739) and touchdowns (10) in the regular season. Jerricho Cotchery had 39 catches for 485 yards and three scores. Devin Funchess had 31 catches for 473 yards and five TDs, while Corey Brown caught 31 passes for 447 yards and four touchdowns. Brenton Bersin caught nine passes for 119 yards.
Newton, however, is a huge fan of his wide receivers.
“Those guys have been playing lights out since Day 1, to say the least,” Newton said. “From Ted Ginn, who was a bust for so many people. I heard Jerricho Cotchery was washed up 10 years ago. ‘Philly’ Brown had no hands. Devin Funchess was too high of a pick for the Carolina Panthers. Brenton Bersin, who knows who he is?
“We didn’t let anyone else dictate to us. We knew what we were capable of. It’s a very close-knit group and guys selling out for each other.”
Right place, right time: Ron Rivera interviewed with the St. Louis Rams for their top coaching position in 2006. He spent the previous three seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears — a team he helped win Super Bowl XX over the New England Patriots (46-10) in 1985 as a linebacker for the famed “Monsters of the Midway” defense.
The job eventually went to Scott Linehan, who had been offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach for Minnesota and Miami. Rivera would have inherited a team in major transition. As it turned out, Linehan was fired four games into the 2008 season after compiling an 11-25 coaching record.
“Well, back then, I thought I was ready. In retrospect, when you look back at it, I’ve grown a lot on this job, so I might not have been ready looking at it now, from this perspective.” Rivera said.
“At the end of the day, (St. Louis) decided to go with an offensive coach. It was their decision because at the time they felt they wanted to emulate what they had with the Greatest Show on Turf. In hindsight, I might not have been ready for that.”
Considering that many believed Rivera would be fired by Panthers owner Jerry Richardson after a 1-3 start in 2013, Rivera is happy he was allowed to prove himself as a leader of this team.
“All I can say is that I’m very fortunate to have an owner with a lot of patience,” Rivera said.