After losing Super Bowl 50, Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he hoped his players would find inspiration from the guys celebrating amid the confetti in Santa Clara, Calif.
The Denver Broncos had been blown out by Seattle in the New York/New Jersey Super Bowl, but made it back to the game two years later and won the Lombardi Trophy in Peyton Manning's final game.
Having endured a miserable 2016 season that fell apart under the weight of injuries, the stubborn decision not to keep Josh Norman and Cam Newton's regression, Rivera has found a reference point that's closer to his south Charlotte home.
Rivera and general manager Dave Gettleman replenished the roster this season with an eye on the 2015 Panthers, whom they still hope will follow the path of the '15 Broncos.
Specifically, Rivera pointed to the offseason additions of three veterans _ safety Mike Adams, cornerback Captain Munnerlyn and defensive end Julius Peppers _ and noted parallels to Roman Harper, Charles Tillman and Jared Allen, who played the same positions as the aforementioned group.
"You go back to the Super Bowl year and you look at what we had with Roman, Charles and Jared Allen. Those three veteran guys right there. And then you look at what we did with Adams, Munnerlyn and Julius," Rivera said this week at the NFL owners meetings.
"Are we trying to copy what we did? You're darned right. We really are," Rivera added. "I'd love to be able to get back to that type of situation."
That "situation" in 2015 was a veteran-laden defense that got even older when the Panthers added Allen and corner/nickel Cortland Finnegan during the season.
