With 32 teams in the NFL, each week there are players facing their former teams and having strong familiarities with them.
That holds true for the Carolina Panthers. Last week it was Mike Davis and this week it’s quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
On Sunday, the Panthers face the New Orleans Saints, who they not only have familiarity with because of the twice-a-year matchups as division rivals, Bridgewater was their backup for two years and is now the starter in Carolina.
In addition to Bridgewater, offensive coordinator Joe Brady spent time in New Orleans two years ago as an offensive analyst, creating the obvious assumption that the Panthers have more insight on what to expect from the Saints defense than most opponents.
But Carolina isn't buying into the storylines surrounding the game or the reunions taking place. The Panthers are sticking to their weekly process.
"I think those connections, they probably matter for us, but they probably matter for them, too," Carolina head coach Matt Rhule said. "It's unique, but it can bog you down if you get too caught up in it. I really believe football comes down to the team that plays the best. If we just go out there and do our thing and practice well and play, we'll give ourselves a chance to play on Sunday."
Rhule is right in that the similarities will also be there on New Orleans’ side, and that's why the Panthers offense will have to be prepared for anything thrown its way.
"I think you're familiar with some of the players, but I think (Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen) is a great coach and a great coordinator and I think he continues to evolve the identity of the defense," Brady acknowledged. "It's different from when I was there and they've done a great job at identifying personnel and getting the matches they want from the defensive standpoint.
"I think everybody knows how good (defensive end) Cam Jordan is and being familiar with that or not you know they're gonna be dynamic upfront and we're gonna have to trust what we see on tape and go from there."
That doesn't mean there won't be any insight given from Bridgewater about what New Orleans (3-2) might put on the field, but the defense has to figure a lot of it out on its own.
"We all have a job to do," linebacker Tahir Whitehead said. "It can take all day, every day and every day of the week to pick their brain and have them sit in our meeting. Teddy’s got a big job to do himself. He’s gotta go out there and call our offense.
"You just kind of pick their brain throughout the week whenever you cross paths like, 'Hey, what does this mean?' Minor stuff. 'What type of guy is this?' That's really the extent of it.
“As far as sitting in meetings, there's not enough time in the day. Everybody has a job to do and we all have to make sure we're committing a lot of time to our film study to make sure we're prepared to go out there and execute."
Bridgewater has all the confidence that his defense will be prepared for the Saints high-powered offense led by future Hall of Famer Drew Brees, from whom he spent the last two years learning.
"We have a group of veteran guys who played some ball in this league and they know how to use your resources," Bridgewater said. "We've just been doing a great job at trying to communicate with each other on different things. Each week you play an opponent and you may have a guy on your roster who played for the team that we're playing who may be able to give a little insight, but at the end of the day, you just have to line up there and play."
Sunday's game will have plenty of hype surrounding it, but at the end of the day, the true preparation will end up resonating on the field.
"New Orleans happens to be the next opponent on our schedule and we try to take this one week at a time," Bridgewater said. "It's the most important game because it's the next game."