After a lighter practice and with fewer reporters around, Ron Rivera's Friday afternoon media availability is less formal than a typical press conference.

The Carolina Panthers' head coach and a few reporters typically sit around a table, and when injury updates and other game-related topics are taken care of, Rivera often shares stories. A couple that came up ahead of this weekend's game with the Falcons are worth passing along.

First, here's Rivera's response when asked if he plays fantasy football:

"I don't. I have no idea about it. But I've had people call me about it and ask my opinion.

"One year [when I was in Chicago] some guy was just going through the phone system and got me, I just happened to pick it up. He said, 'How you doing coach? What's going on?' I said, 'Who is this?' He said, 'This is Joey. Listen, you're my fantasy defensive pick this week. What do you think? Do you feel comfortable?' We were playing the Jets, and I said, 'I think we should be ok.'

"It turned out we did really good, so he calls me back up on Monday. I'm working and all of a sudden the phone rings. Somehow I recognized the number, and I'm like, 'Hmmm.' So I picked up, and he said, 'Hey, coach, this is Joey again. Listen, just to let you know, thanks, man. I got a whole bunch of points off you guys.'

"That was it. That was my only brush with fantasy football."

The only time Rivera faced the Jets as the Bears' defensive coordinator was in Week 11 of the 2006 season. And Rivera's right, his unit was good that day. Chicago shut out the Jets, holding quarterback Chad Pennington to 162 passing yards and picking him off twice.

Now, onto story No. 2, one Rivera shared half-jokingly. 

Even though the Panthers' 12-0 start has him in position to win NFL Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons, one persistent pundit remains:

"My mom's become more and more critical; she's always been my hardest critic. Now it's not just about winning; now it's about doing things better.

"She knows the game. She's been around it her whole life. She usually has some pretty good insight about things. One of her favorite things is for us to blitz."

At least Dolores Rivera isn't blowing up her son's phone with suggestions:

"She waits for me to call. If we play really well, I'll call her right away. Probably on Monday. If we don't play really well, I usually wait till Wednesday or Thursday. Usually, I'll catch her as she's headed out to Bingo, so she'll talk to me quickly."

As sweet as all that may sound, Rivera admits his mom has made him think:

"I'm serious — she knows the game. She'll go, 'You know, in that red zone, you guys were playing a lot of zone.' I'll say, 'How do you know that?' She goes, 'When I see guys facing the ball. You guys have to match better.'"