Who Are Four Staters Rooting to Win Super Bowl 50?

I don’t expect to see another 35-point Denver defeat, but I’ve now watched Carolina simply overwhelm three opponents with across-the-board dominance: Thanksgiving against the Cowboys, the Divisional Round against Seattle and the NFC Championship against Arizona.

“I can’t imagine a season when he’s not there, just knowing my big brother’s not playing in a game”, Eli said after a press conference for the three finalists for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, which will be handed out on Saturday night.

Fans rioted after Denver’s Super Bowl victories in 1998 and 1999, setting bonfires, breaking windows and flipping cars.

That would be the Carolina Panthers.

The mystery of Peyton Manning.

I think the Panthers are going to pull it off Sunday and will have a parade in Charlotte a couple of days later. His ability to extend plays should also present problems for the Denver secondary. All numbers were run with the Broncos healthy on defense and Manning healthy, which basically eliminates Weeks 10 to 15 for Denver when it was not a healthy team. I also don’t trust Manning’s limited arm strength against a ball hawking secondary.

Denver, who have 39-year-old future Hall of Famer Manning at the helm of their offense, are seeking a third title in their record-equalling eighth Super Bowl appearance.

The Panthers have had good defenses for the last few years under head coach Ron Rivera and defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, who was the Eagles’ defensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010.

“He’ll have a decision to make after the season, he’ll probably decide on how his body feels, how his foot’s feeling, how the mind, everything, if he wants to go at it again”. I had more neck surgeries than snaps that year.

Although Denver has won four straight and seven of nine, they are only 7-4 over their past 11 games, and a couple of those wins were real squeakers. I would go right to his knees.

No, I’m not talking about Cam Newton and Peyton Manning.

If you think Carolina is going to win the turnover battle by two or more, then obviously you should be betting on the favorite.

“Half of me tries to be as professional as possible, but the human in me just wants to take it all in”, said Newton of Sunday’s showdown. I predict someone like Von Miller or Emmanuel Sanders will be more deserving, but the writers still give Manning the MVP trophy.