Ron Rivera tries to stop talk of 'TieGate'

CHARLOTTE -- Because Chargers' home games typically kick off in the 4 p.m. ET window, quarterback Philip Rivers has a Sunday night routine. He records the prime-time game on NBC and then catches up when he gets home. But this week, Rivers' 8-year-old son broke the big news as soon as his dad walked through the door.

Reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton, while healthy, didn't start against the Seahawks.

"Dad, the other quarterback came in and he threw a pass the first play of the game,'" Rivers recalled on a conference call with Carolina-based media Wednesday.

"I was like, 'Come on, what are you talking about? No, he didn't.'"

Oh, yes he did.

Perhaps if fullback Mike Tolbert had hung onto Derek Anderson's pass, "TieGate" wouldn't have become a thing. But heading into the Panthers' home game this Sunday against the Chargers, it still is.

"It's unfortunate that I threw a pick," Anderson said, "but if we go three-and-out and punt, you're like, 'Oh he missed the first series, that's not a big deal.' But there's a turnover, and you guys have turned it into something way bigger than what it needed to be."

The number of reporters who cover the Panthers daily is so small, calling it a media contingent is almost an exaggeration. So it's not just "you guys" that have turned Newton's dress-code violation into the nuttiest NFL story of the week.

Even head coach Ron Rivera admitted he knew "a feeding frenzy" would chew up any rational thought that the benching lasted just one play and had little effect on the 40-7 blowout. But Rivera apparently had enough of the rumors and false reports by the time he stepped to the podium for Wednesday's post-practice press conference.

"Apparently, doing what you're supposed to do doesn't seem to explain the situation," an obviously irked Rivera said. "So I'm going to address this one last time. OK?

"Again, I made a decision based on rules. Treat everybody the same. The reason you do it, especially when you're having a tough season, is because if you don't, chaos can consume your football team. The idea was to do the right thing, treat everybody the same. I've done it before where I've had to treat people the same, and that's all I've done. That's the end of it."

For now.

Newton wasn't made available to the media, even though Wednesday is when he typically talks during the week. So the drama - as silly as it still appears - will likely have legs for at least one more day.

"Please, as a football team, we would like to move forward and start focusing in on the San Diego Chargers," Rivera continued. "So I'm going to ask you not to start asking questions. I want to talk about the Chargers. I want to talk about our football team going forward.

"Thank you."

--Greg Olsen has a unique talent. He can roll his eyes - verbally.

So when the Panthers' tight end was asked about growing internal strife - an idea that's popped up on various media outlets after head coach Ron Rivera benched Cam Newton at the start of Sunday's loss in Seattle - it was surprising Olsen's eyes didn't actually move toward the top of his head.

"I think the 'splitting of the locker room' thing has been a media-driven storyline," he said. "There's been zero quotes or comments that I've seen that have been anything other than supportive and positive. The idea that has been spit around that there's a divide and a faction of the locker is complete and utter nonsense.

"I think those make for fun storylines. I think that allows guys to go on radio shows and follow up and talk about it, but I think there's zero legitimacy to it."

Case in point: What happened on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" Wednesday afternoon. Peter Schrager, a respected and typically accurate national reporter, claimed to have new information on the Newton benching.

"On Saturday night before the game, Ron Rivera told him, 'If you don't wear a tie to the game, I'm going to bench you for the first series,'" Schrager said. "Cam Newton heard this, slept on it, and showed up on Sunday without a tie on."

Schrager then wondered out loud: "What does this tell you about his respect for Ron Rivera?"

The thing is, that timeline is inaccurate. Everything happened on Saturday.

Now, Newton was aware he could face something like a fine for not wearing a tie on the flight from San Jose. But it's not like he was sleepless in Seattle while having visions of rebelling against his coach.

That sounds spicier though, especially on a show whose host has been spitting some hot Newton narratives lately.

"I've been around for a long time. I understand how it works when things are bad," Olsen said. "It makes storylines more juicy. It almost makes it easier to cover. It makes it easier to write things, follow-ups. I get it. I understand how that works."

And this week, we're all getting another reminder of how much of the sports-talk sausage is made these days.