Cam Newton still salty about Panthers' loss to 49ers

Cam Newton was the picture of bliss during the first ever Pro Bowl draft on Wednesday, looking and acting like a man who has an amazing life.

This makes sense, because he does. But Newton admitted that the Carolina Panthers' divisional playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers wasn't easy to shake.

"It was hard. I was salty, and still am to a degree," Newton said, via the Charlotte Observer. "There's been times when I didn't even come out of the house, didn't want to come out of the house. Didn't want to watch ESPN, didn't focus on the game that they played because it wasn't important to me.

"But having that same taste in my mouth will be the driving force to my preparation in the offseason."

The Panthers laid an egg against the 49ers, getting outplayed on both sides of the ball in a 23-10 loss in Charlotte, N.C. Newton played a big part in that, throwing two interceptions.

Still, it was a successful season for Carolina, which won the NFC South and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Newton and Co. will head into 2014 with something they've never dealt with before -- expectations.

We handed out awards for the 2014 coaching class and talked all the latest headlines in the latest "Around The League Podcast."