Sweet Caroline: Why the Panthers Will Bring Home the Title in Super Bowl 50
by Tyler Crum
The stage is set, Super Bowl L is nearly upon us, and football fans will finally get to witness the conclusion of a season filled with wild finishes, record-breaking performances and more than its fair share of drama on and off the field.
You couldn’t ask for a better match-up. It’s East versus West, it’s the league’s most feared defense against a juggernaut offense and it’s all headlined by the showdown between a Hall-of-Fame quarterback in the twilight of his career and the talented new face of the NFL.
The Broncos are the embodiment of the age-old saying that “defense wins championships,” and as much as people like to joke about Peyton Manning belonging in a retirement home, the 17-year veteran proved in the AFC championship that he still has plenty of fight left in him.
The Panthers, on the other hand, are proof that you can make your own luck. Week after week, Carolina found a way to win games, whether in complete blowouts or overtime thrillers. They aren’t football bluebloods, they joke around in the locker room and take touchdown celebrations very seriously, but the team has progressed through the entire season with a quiet confidence and determination as simple and profound as the team motto: Keep Pounding.
No one has embodied this swagger more or done as much to take it upon themselves to lead the Panthers to the victory this season than team leader and MVP-candidate Cam Newton. He’s engineered three fourth-quarter and overtime comebacks along the way to a historic 15-1 season for Carolina. Newton’s performance this postseason has been nothing short of exemplary, and the combination of his leadership and a strong Panthers defense are driving forces behind my prediction of a Panthers win in Bowl L.
I think the Bronco’s defense can keep the game close — for a while — but the Denver defense hasn’t faced a quarterback as talented or as mobile, save for maybe Alex Smith, all season, who handed the Broncos their second loss in Week 10 and lost by just a touchdown in Week 2. In fact, the two quarterbacks are relatively comparable, both averaging QBRs in the upper 90s this season, both averaging a little more than 200 passing yards and 30 rushing yards per game.
But with the way Newton has taken over in the postseason — racking up 496 passing yards with a 70 percent completion percentage, rushing for 47 yards against a staunch Seattle defense and averaging a 113.4 QBR in two big wins over the NFC’s best teams — I have no doubt he’ll be much a much tougher test for the Broncos defense than Smith ever was.
Even if the Broncos find a way to contain the league’s top scoring offense, the Carolina defense is no pushover either, boasting the NFL’s sixth-best defense during the regular season, and the Broncos offense is going to have to completely turn it around if they stand a chance of winning the game. Against the Patriots and Steelers, Denver really struggled to get the passing game going, with Manning completing just 55 percent of passes for an average of 199 yards in both playoff games. This will undoubtedly be the key to winning the game, as they won’t be getting much on the ground against the NFL’s fourth-best rushing defense.
The Panthers haven’t had a great deal of postseason success with Newton at the helm, being knocked out in the first round by San Francisco in 2014. But for Cam Newton and the rest of the Carolina team of destiny, the third time’s going to be a charm, and I’m predicting the Panthers will bring home their NFL title to Charlotte.
@tylerfcrum
Manning Will Lead Broncos and Hoist Lombardi Trophy One Last Time
by Brock Jensen
Another year of football has come and gone. It’s been a great season, filled with memorable moments and games. And now, it comes down to just one game for all the marbles between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos on this upcoming Super Bowl Sunday. These are two quality teams that have earned the right to be where they are, both as No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences.
It’s interesting to note that both of these teams have undergone recent changes in their football philosophies. All one needs to do is look back to a couple of years ago, or even just last season, to notice the differences in what carried each team.
The Panthers’ defense has been a force in recent years. That’s what propelled them to win games. And while the defense is still really good this year — they’re leading the league in forced turnovers — the offense has carried them by leading the NFL in scoring.
Now look at the Broncos. Just two years ago, when they were in the Super Bowl, it was all about their high scoring and efficient offense. Now what’s the story? It’s the league’s best defense in yards per game. Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and the rest of that defense, including the secondary, have given the Broncos the opportunity to play for another Super Bowl ring.
I believe this Bronco defense is going to show up and be the story of this game, leading Denver to the Super Bowl victory. If they play at a high level for the entire game, Peyton Manning, or the Sheriff, as some like to call him, is going to be standing at the podium one last time and will ride into the sunset of an illustrious career.
It was clear to John Elway and the rest of the Broncos following their 43-8 Super Bowl XLVIII loss to the Seattle Seahawks that they needed to change some things. So they did just that by getting talented guys like Ware and Aqib Talib in their building and creating a defense that can shut opponents down.
The Manning-led offense is just a supplement to the defense, and Manning realized this during his time recovering from injury toward the end of this season. Manning understands he doesn’t have to win this game all on his own, like he’s had to at times in his career. He just has to do enough to give his defense a shot at slowing down a talented Carolina team.
It isn’t going to be an easy task, and that is why the Panthers are favored by about 5.5 points right now, but I believe Denver has the tools to beat Carolina.
And that is the most concerning thing right now. Whether the Broncos will actually play to their potential is still up for questioning, and we will have to wait until the actual game to get the answer.
I don’t think a Denver upset in this game is as crazy as some people are thinking right now. Yes, the Panthers have probably played an overall better season, but as we’ve seen plenty of times, the best team doesn’t always win on the biggest of stages.
Manning is going to have a chance to go out on top. He, and his team, are going to have to play 60 minutes of solid football, but I think if the Broncos play like they are capable of and don’t make mistakes, the Sheriff will have his storybook ending.
@brock_jensen02