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Panthers-Broncos NFL season opener 2016

The Broncos inspired few believers before Super Bowl 50, and even after the Von Miller-led Denver defense dominated in a 24-10 victory, the song remains the same. Denver has sold out 357 straight home games.

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Get ready Panthers fans, it’s game day! He is no heir to Manning as Nicki Jhabvala would have you believe.

Denver also used Trevathan to spy Newton and blitz when the Panthers quarterback stayed in the pocket.

The Carolina Panthers take on the Super Bowl Champions Denver Broncos in Denver on WETM-TV (NBC). But a lot of it is.

Carolina and Denver hooked up for a sloppily played Super Bowl, but the action off the field was better than ever. But he is already one of the most unique players the game has ever seen and now “the top player in football”, according to Denver coach Gary Kubiak. We get to watch history in the first game of the regular season.

Siemian has never thrown a pass as a pro. “We’ve got the same defense as a year ago. I can’t get (him) hurt'”. He is a dynamic talent, certainly, nearly impossible to defend.

A win on Thursday won’t change anything about the way last season ended for the Panthers.

With the game on the horizon, we had the staff make their predictions for Thursday’s juggernaut of a matchup. He really doesn’t care. I know I will.

I will say though previous year I didn’t do so bad at throwing Saints on the wall and seeing if it sticks, hitting in at the 60% range (better than Aguayo) and that would have placed me higher than many National Football League “experts”. And I’m true to my roots. They will need to force Siemian into mistakes by attacking the offensive line. Newton’s interviews with local media in Charlotte have been short and perfunctory. “He was the MVP in the Super Bowl”.

Outside of this game, there’s plenty to be excited about across the NFL.

“No, sir”, Newton said matter of factly.

It does matter, of course.

But things should be different Thursday night. And if the Panthers do lose, he won’t wear a black hoodie to his press conference and walk out of it abruptly.

Newton is one of the NFL’s biggest stars and previous year he was league’s very best player.

“I think that’s just a preview of what’s to come this year”, Bogdanovich said. He’s a guy who can manage the field, manage everything around him but still have fun. It’s a lot tougher to beat a team the second time around.

That reverence is mutual, Newton said.

His misfit cast of pass-catchers has gotten a huge boost this offseason with the return of 6-foot-5, 245-pound wideout Kelvin Benjamin. Carolina did lose Josh Norman after rescinding his franchise tag and he has since moved to the Washington Redskins, but the Panthers defense will still be very solid anchored by Luke Keuchly and against a Denver offense that is starting Trevor Siemian they should be able to make their presence felt.

The only diamond-encrusted championship ring you’ll see around team headquarters is the one in the big trophy case in the lobby, subbing for the Lombardi Trophies that are on display elsewhere in the city this week. We have set up a weekly pick ’em contest. Bruce Arians is in the discussion for best head coach in the league, while Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, Chris Johnson and other forgotten veterans have experienced career resurgences in the desert.

“When you look at what they did and how they did it, it’s all things that we’re anticipating for this game”, Panthers coach Ron Rivera told reporters this week.

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Siemian, the Broncos’ quarterback, deflects attention, leans toward boring, while accenting his unprovocative demeanor with a smile.

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports