Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera was disappointed in his defense on Sunday after a 31-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, in which his team gave up 442 yards _ including 170 rushing.
So much so, in fact, that after calling his team's rushing defense "terrible" on Sunday, he used a description on Monday morning for the group's errors that he seldom, if ever, has before.
"It was a little bit of physical nature, a little bit of mental nature," he said. "A couple of times not knowing how to fit or where to fit, and a couple of times playing behind, playing a little lazy.
"And we can't accept that and we won't tolerate that."
Rivera's phrasing will likely be motivating for the Panthers' defense, which finished last season ranked No. 3 in the NFL against the run by allowing just 88.1 rushing yards per game.
Carolina also had not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 21 games, an NFL-best streak that was snapped by Tevin Coleman's 107 yards on Sunday.
The Panthers front seven is full of veterans who haven't had a habit of making mistakes. In fact, Carolina's defense is more known for causing them.
"I was disappointed last night, as you can tell by my tone," Rivera said. "We have a standard. The standard has been here since (former defensive coordinators) Sean McDermott was here with us, Steve Wilks was with us and now Eric Washington. And we're not going to tolerate it. We're going to put players out on the field that we believe are doing it our way, playing hard, and giving us every opportunity to succeed."
