This
Sunday, eyes worldwide will tune into CBS for the most unofficial holiday there
is. The Super Bowl. The NFL’s golden Super Bowl has arrived with no shortage of
storylines and anticipation. More people call into work the day after the Super
Bowl than any other Monday of the year. Whether you tune in for the game, the halftime
show, or just to watch the commercials, there is something for everyone to
enjoy.
There is no doubt that these two teams earned their chance at
taking home the Lombardi Trophy, here is how they got here:
Carolina Panthers
15-1, 1st in NFC South
From start to finish of the 2015 season, the Carolina Panthers were one of the
most complete teams, if not the most complete team, in the NFL. Many coaches in
the past have tightened their grip the week of the Super Bowl, but not Ron Rivera.
He let the players decide their nightly curfew, no coach comes around for bed
check, the players check in with team security officials much like checking
into a hotel. The players appreciate that kind of trust and it lets the team
take responsibility for themselves. Rivera’s defense is hardnosed and nasty,
keeping up with the offense in terms of making big plays. It should be no
surprise that this team has landed itself in Super Bowl 50, with a good chance
to fly the Lombardi Trophy cross the country back home to Charlotte. Ron Rivera
isn’t given enough credit for the job he has done. His team reflects his style
of coaching; keeping things loose, while still keeping an emphasis on getting
the job done.
Offensively the story starts and ends with one name, Cam Newton. The boy having
fun playing a game has morphed into the man having fun playing a game. He
guided this team to the highest scoring offense in the league. The hype that
follows him is justified, Newton accounted for 79.6% of the total yards gained,
and was responsible for a whopping 83.33% of the offensive touchdowns this
season. As hard as it is to remember when looking at those stats, we have to
remember this is a team game, and the men Cam is throwing and handing off too
are equally as important. Newton’s favorite target is tight end Greg Olsen, who
had another year of top tier production. One could make the argument that he is
the best tight end in football. With Olsen commanding so much attention, the
most underwhelming group on the team, the wide receivers, enjoyed a nice
season. Ted Ginn Jr in particular had somewhat of a career renaissance, leading
the team with 10 touchdowns. The group has a decent mix of talent with veteran
leadership, which helped Newton flourish throughout the year. But the unsung
hero of the team is running back Jonathan Stewart. Carolina took a gamble
letting DeAngelo Williams walk in free agency, sticking with the oft injured
Stewart. In doing so, they also elected to buck the trend of a running back by
committee, which most of the league uses these days. The gamble paid off,
Stewart only missed three games this season (2 as a precaution), falling just
11 yards short of cracking 1,000 rushing yards for the year. Because of the
effectiveness of the run game, the offense was able to keep defenses on their
toes and honest.
The defense was equally as impressive, being led by their field general Luke
Kuechly. Finishing the season as the 6th overall
defense, this unit excelled all year. The defensive line is the key to the
success this season, with Kony Ealy, Kawaan Short, Jared Allen, and Star
Lotuleilei constantly getting pressure into the backfield. When the line
performs at that level, Thomas Davis and Kuechly are free to roam from sideline
to sideline in the middle of the field from the linebacker positions. They are
both vastly underrated as cover linebackers, though this season more teams were
exposed to Kuechly’s downfield coverage. The pressure line creates helps out
the secondary the most, which is a good thingbecause if the defense has a
weakness, the secondary is it. Josh Norman is still young, but has emerged as
one of the league’s better cover corners, closing off half of the field. As the
season went on, the rest of the secondary steadily improved. Safeties Roman
Harper and Kurt Coleman really stepped up and provided some stability for whichever
corner was starting opposite Josh Norman. Defensive coordinator Sean McDermott
has a knack for getting the best out of his players. Ron Rivera was a member of
the 1985 Monsters of the Midway defense in Chicago, his influence on McDermott
and this defense is evident. They play their defense, with minimal adjustments,
forcing the offense to adjust to what the defense is giving them.
Denver Broncos
12-4, 1st place AFC West
2015 was different from the previous 4 years for the Denver Broncos. After all
of us here in Denver were spoiled watching Peyton Manning and this offense
carve up defenses in previous seasons, 2015 came in and gave us the pleasure of
watching a defense dictate and control games. As a matter of fact, it’s the
biggest reason this team earned a number one seed and is playing for their
third Lombardi trophy.
The heart and soul of the 2015 Denver Broncos is the #1 ranked defense in the
NFL. All season this group has been a terror for teams to game plan for. All
the success for this defense starts up front with DeMarcus Ware, Malik Jackson,
Derek Wolfe, and Von Miller. The havoc these four cause is world beating good.
For all the praise Cam has received this season, these four deserve an equal
amount. Von and DeMarcus get all the press, but the dominance of Jackson and
Wolfe on the inside is what drives this defense. With offenses having to
account for their pressure, it allows at Ware or Miller to get one on one with
a tackle on the outside, which is never a good situation for the offense. The
AFC championship game was one of the most impressive games any of us have seen
from a defensive line. Of course, that’s just a piece of the defense. Denver
has an embarrassment of riches as far as talent goes at every other level of
the defense as well. Linebackers Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall are the
“weakness” of the defense, which is to say, they don’t really have a weakness.
They were 1 -2 on the team as far as tackles go, but both have been seen
spreading out wide to cover tight ends and running backs in passing situations;
it doesn’t matter the situation, they play up to the talent around them.
Once
you get passed that level, you are looking at the best secondary in football.
Aqib Talib, Chris Harris Jr., Bradley Roby, T.J. Ward, and Darian Stewart have
meshed so well this season, they even look alike when making a play on the
ball. Darian Stewart replaced David Brouton (fractured fibula), and the defense
didn’t miss a beat. Wade Philips has been a talented coordinator in this league
for a long time, but for the first time, he has the exact players that fit
every position in his scheme.
Offensively the story all season has been quarterback play. Peyton Manning
entered the year the unquestioned starter, starting the season 7-2 despite
having one of the worst seasons of his career. Manning threw for 9 touchdowns
and 17 interceptions, before finally revealing he had been playing with a torn
plantar fascia in his left foot. Foot injury aside, Peyton didn’t look
comfortable making pre-snap reads of the defense from under center, an
adjustment he had to make with head coach Gary Kubiak preferring his offense to
Peyton’s spread style. Peyton was sent to recover, which worked out for both
parties. Manning was able to get some rest on the injury while studying the
offense more, and the Broncos were able to get a good look at backup QB, Brock
Osweiler. Osweiler went 5-2 during his time as the starter, he showed great
promise, and could eventually take over this franchise.
The
strength of this offense resides in its pass catchers. Demaryius Thomas and
Emmanuel Sanders are one of the top duos in the league, supported by a strong
cast of talent behind them. Jordan Norwood, Andre Caldwell, Cody Latimer and
Bennie Fowler all had catches and games that helped this team get to where they
are. Throw in Owen Daniels, Virgil Green, and Vernon Davis at the tight end
position, and this team has a bunch of offensive talent that is hard to account
for.
The questionable parts of the offense are the running backs and offensive line.
This team lived and died based on the play of them this season. Both positions
play better when Manning is calling the shots, which is mostly due to his
knowledge and experience. There isn’t a defense he hasn’t seen, which allows
him to make the correct protection, audible, and quick throw; which helps the
line play better.
Super Bowl
Panthers
Cam
Newton – Cam Newton – Cam Newton. Carolina has not seen a defense as good as
the Broncos all season, they will rely on their MVP leader to have his best
game of the season. Newton needs to be patient and be aware of where those
defensive ends for Denver are on every play. A key matchup will be Panthers
wide receiver Corey Brown lined up in the slot. Expect to see a lot of him. His
speed can neutralize the defense, opening some underneath routes for Olsen to
sit on. With that, they will need to run the ball well. If there is a way to
beat this defense, it’s keeping them on the field. Continue to #KeepPounding
and wear the defense out, by the fourth quarter they will get tired and you can
open the offense up.
On the defensive side, you have the 6th ranked
defense in the league. They need to continue to do what they have done all
season. The Panthers personnel is the exact profile that gave the Denver
offense fits all season. Get pressure on Peyton Manning. Carolina’s secondary
cannot keep up with Denver’s wide receivers, so the faster you can get to
Manning, the lesser the chance he has to find the open target.
Broncos
Much like Cam Newton never seeing a defense like Denver’s, Denver’s defense has
never seen a talent like Cam Newton. He is bigger, stronger, and faster than
every QB they faced this year. Don’t be surprised if Danny Trevathan is set up
to spy Newton throughout the entire game. With dominate corners, Denver should
be able to line up in man coverage, allowing the defensive line and safeties to
focus on keeping Newton contained. The struggle is going to come from Greg
Olsen. Rob Gronkowski lit this defense up in the AFC championship, but it was
hardly an aberration, Denver struggled to cover tight ends all season. Chris
Harris should get the call, letting Brandon Roby covering the number 2
receiver.
On offense Denver will need to run the ball effectively. One key to stopping Cam
Newton is to keep Cam Newton off the field. In Carolina’s lone loss this
season, they only controlled the ball for 24 minutes. Denver should do everything
they can to score at least 28 points. Denver’s defense holds their opponents
offense to 5 points less than the teams average points scored, which in this
case that number would be 27. Peyton Manning is a tense guy, and he gets
tighter when it comes to bigger games, but he seems to be much looser this time
around. That’s a good sign for Denver fans. Manning will have had two weeks to
prepare for Carolina’s vaunted defense, which is enough time for him to have
found tape on Josh Norman in high school and find the negative tendencies in
his coverage. One has to wonder if Kubiak will open up the offense a little
bit, much like they did in week 8 against Green Bay. That would catch Carolina
off guard and blow this game wide open.
X-Factor
Turnovers.
These are two offenses going against two dominate defenses, this game is going
to come down to whichever team can force turnovers and put their offense in
good position to score some points.
Prediction
Denver 26 Carolina 20
Cam
Newton is going to win a lot of football games, but not this one. Defense wins
championships, and Denver’s defense is not only built to win championships,
they are the most capable defense to defend SuperCam.
Folks, be safe, after this game Federal Boulevard is going to be wild with
cruisers, downtown Denver is going to be a madhouse of gleeful drunks, and the
airport is going to get packed with people waiting to welcome their champs back
to town. Gross.
