When Super Bowl Sunday begins this weekend, bars and parties will be filled with football fans, as well as those who come to just watch the commercials and halftime show.
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Yesterday it was reported that Peyton Manning was “on fire” during practice, and he continued that during today’s practice session.
That’s the question. Because everything tilts Carolina’s way.
When you look at the names on the Carolina offensive line, it doesn’t quite make sense.
In the playoffs, they have been even more explosive in piling up 80 points in two routs, including a 49-15 blowout of the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship game that sent them through to their second Super Bowl. The team is led by #18, Peyton Manning, who led the 2007 Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl victory.
Never has a young, charismatic one overflowing with fun energy tried to ascend the national stage against another quarterback trying for one final, surprising win before retiring and heading to the Hall of Fame. They were seven-point underdogs against the New England Patriots in 2004, losing 32-29 on a last-second field goal.
The Panthers defense may not be as good as the Broncos defense, but they don’t have to be.
Any Denver win Sunday starts with those ideas. He’s been the primary guy assigned on defense to cover the opposing tight end because he has enough speed to stick with them in coverage but also the size and physicality to match as well. The collective turnover differential of the winning team in the last 20 Super Bowls: plus-37.
“There’s usually one session during the week when they are over the top”, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said.
Kubiak has changed a lot of things from two years ago when the Broncos reached the Super Bowl under John Fox and were blown out by Seattle.
Then there’s the incongruity of little brother Eli Manning having twice as many Super Bowl titles as Peyton.
That means it’s really up to the Denver defense to keep this game in check. He scored forty-five touchdowns between throwing and running. Even the Dolphins’ David Woodley (69.8) and Baltimore’s Trent Dilfer (76.6) were numerically better. Manning could very well retire. The odds are also in Cam’s favor… according to ESPN quarterbacks making their Super Bowl debut have won 4 straight over QBs with some Super Bowl experience. For the great majority of Germans, American football is hard to understand. He may not be great on Sunday, but his career will be the epitome of it.
While he wasn’t picking sides, he did joke that the Panthers would win by a longshot: “I think they’re going to win by about 100 points”.
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Manning is under contract with the Broncos for the 2016 season. Your head says Newton is ready.
