‘Thieves Ave.’ takes Panthers far
Secondary helps pave way to big game with interceptions, fumble recoveries
It’s not too hard to find the defensive backs in the Carolina Panthers locker room.
Just look for the street sign marking “Thieves Ave.” — it hangs above the group of players who have accounted for 15 of the team’s 24 interceptions this season, plus another six fumble recoveries.
“It’s a way of life,” cornerback Charles Tillman said of the defensive backs’ penchant for stealing the ball. “That’s what we do. The secondary is the best secondary in the league.”
Players said the “Thieves” nickname came from defensive line coach Eric Washington, although they disagreed on whether it caught on during the season or started in offseason workouts. Either way, the street sign is a recent addition.
At first, it was a crude cardboard sign taped above the lock- ers that said “Thieve Ave.” It was missing an S on the end.
That was quickly replaced by a graffiti art sign made by head coach Ron Rivera’s daughter, Courtney, who does social media and Snapchat for the team.
“She put one together and donated it to the guys,” Ron Rivera said.
Then someone sent the players a Thieves Avenue street sign worthy of the Public Works Department, and it seems to have stuck.
“(It changed) three times in like three days,” safety Tre Boston said. “I’m happy with the last two we’ve had. We hope to have more. We might have one sent to Santa Clara. We’ll see.”
Kurt Coleman, who tied for the NFC lead with seven interceptions, said it wasn’t as simple as just taking the existing Thieves Avenue sign with them to California. Thievery does travel, he said, but the sign does not.
“That would be vandalism if we stole that,” he said. “That is a federal crime if you take that sign. But don’t worry, we have extra signs. We’ll have things out there that will be symbols of the thieves.”
It’s lighthearted fun, of course, but it’s also a mind-set. Tillman says everything the Panthers do is about “takeaways, takeaways, takeaways.”
The goal is to be +2 in turnover margin. Not just generating two turnovers, he said, but having two more than the other team. Tillman cited statistics that show winning the takeaway battle results in a victory roughly 70% of the time but having two more takeaways than the other team boosts that number over 80%.
“Thieves be thieving,” cornerback Josh Norman said. “It’s been cool, just riding on it throughout the season like this. People are catching on to it.”
Cornerback Lou Young, whose locker is apart from those of the rest of the secondary, has Courtney Rivera’s sign above his locker. There’s an arrow pointing to the main district of Thieves Avenue.
“It’s like showing you our journey to the big time,” Young told USA TODAY Sports. “Last year at one point we were 3-8-1. That’s the big-time sign over there, and we’re heading to the Super Bowl. This is where we started, and that’s where we’re headed.”
Directly across the locker room, Luke Kuechly and his fellow linebackers have a great view of Thieves Avenue. Kuechly is waiting for the linebackers to get a street sign, but they probably need a nickname first.
“Hey, you can’t give yourself your own street sign,” he said, smiling. “They got nicknamed that by somebody, and it’s a great nickname for them. It looks good right there.
“I think those guys are in charge of the street signs. If they think we deserve one, maybe we’ll get one.”