An extra oomph — in years past, you could always bet on that from Carolina Panthers quartebarck Cam Newton the week his team traveled to Atlanta.
It’s his adopted home versus where he grew up, clashing and mashing in an always-significant divisional showdown. And given Newton’s connections to both, it only made sense that he’d circle that particular game every year when the schedule dropped.
But now in his eighth professional season, some of that extracurricular shine appears to have worn off.
The glitz of “playing Atlanta,” if Newton’s press conference Wednesday was any indication, isn’t as big a deal anymore.