Broncos are going to get killed in the SB

patsrulenfl said:

As we have seen past games and performances have no effect on the next game. Any give Sunday. I wouldn't count out Denver yet as many did before the today's game. Denver defense is good enough to win the SB for them and it's a new territory for the Panthers team whereas the Broncos have lots of veterans who have played the big game. Not that it mattered against Seattle.
I hope Manning goes back to his 2013 SB self which would guarantee a Carolina victory.

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2015 Manning is merely a shell of 2013 Manning. Denver's D has gotten them this far, but against a team like Carolina the ride will end abruptly. The only team that could beat the Panthers is the weeks 2-3 Patriots.

I thought Carolina would lose against the Hawks, and then lose against the Cardinals. The Panthers did neither. They have made a believer out of me after the last two games, and I really don't like their act so will not love it if they destroy the Broncos because we get to listen to that noise for the next 7 months.

Much like the damaged Pats playing the Hawks in 2013, I expect the Pats would give them a better game but would call it a very tough game to win as presently built. The Donkeys, however, away from Denver and with the pressure of Manning's last run (and his history of playoff failures) and a recent beat-down on that biggest stage? That could get really ugly.

I like the Panthers act a lot. Frankly, if one team had to win the Super Bowl that isn't the Patriots, I'm glad it could be them. I think it's going to get ugly, and after last night I was sort of half glad the Patriots lost this game so I didn't get my hopes up and crushed for the Super Bowl.

I can't for the life of me see how this can be a competitive game. Denver's defense got to Brady on every single dropback, had the worst running game in the NFL to defend, was at home, and still only won by a missed PAT. I can't remember the last time I looked at a SB and just couldn't imagine how one of the teams could realistically pull it off. 2006 maybe? 1998?

For the record, I don't hate Denver or Manning. Just baffled by a 4-point spread here.

fair catch fryar said:

2015 Manning is merely a shell of 2013 Manning. Denver's D has gotten them this far, but against a team like Carolina the ride will end abruptly. The only team that could beat the Panthers is the weeks 2-3 Patriots.

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His D will make it a competitive game. The panthers WRs aren't bad, but they aren't great either. What Denver has to look out for is Cam's ability to run out of the pocket and extend the drive.

I hate to say it but I honestly think Denver is on a mission to win it for Manning before he retires. You can't factor that in into the Xs and Os analysis.

TommyBrady12 said:

His D will make it a competitive game. The panthers WRs aren't bad, but they aren't great either. What Denver has to look out for is Cam's ability to run out of the pocket and extend the drive.

I hate to say it but I honestly think Denver is on a mission to win it for Manning before he retires. You can't factor that in into the Xs and Os analysis.

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The Panthers offense has been playing lights out and has been incredibly vertical with Cam running for huge yards and extending plays while coverage breaks down. I don't see how the Denver pass rush doesn't get tired as hell chasing Cam around all game and breaks down by the end of the game.

I will seriously be surprised if Denver gets more than 10 points in the Super Bowl.

TommyBrady12 said:

His D will make it a competitive game. The panthers WRs aren't bad, but they aren't great either. What Denver has to look out for is Cam's ability to run out of the pocket and extend the drive.

I hate to say it but I honestly think Denver is on a mission to win it for Manning before he retires. You can't factor that in into the Xs and Os analysis.

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Any team that gets to the SB is always on a "mission" so that notion is a wash because Carolina is on their own mission. The fact that Denver's secondary will have to play "safe" in order to try and contain Newton will make Carolina's "average" receivers that much better. Besides. Olsen is no Gronk, but he's pretty damn good. Carolina will be able to convert 3rd downs at will with Cam, control the clock and Denver's D will be running ragged come 3rd quarter.

Remember this Panthers team was a Julio Jones grab away from vying for the title of "Greatest Team Ever". They're 17-1. They just embarrassed a good Cardinals team.

Crown their asses

The Broncos offense will have to be extremely careful against Carolina. They have a stout defensive line that can totally collapse an O-line from the interior with Kawann Short. They have a solid secondary led by Josh Norman. And they have great linebackers (although it's too bad that Thomas Davis broke his arm). They are also ballhawks having intercepted the ball 24 times in the regular season. If Manning isn't careful and tries to do too much with his broken arm the Panthers will pick it off and head the other way with it.

A lot will depend on the start. The Panthers are a team that can come out red-hot and put points up in a hurry as Seattle and Arizone experienced. If Denver falls into the same hole they will be heading for a 2013 redux. Manning's arm at this stage won't bring them back, it will only put them into a bigger hole. On the other hand, if they can weather the storm and keep it a close, low-scoring affair, then Denver has a good chance.

I realize that some of the responses here saying Denver stands a chance are a direct reaction to an outcome yesterday that was not anticipated. The truth is Denver is 1/2 a super bowl caliber team. Their offense is not very good at all. They don't stand a chance in this game unless there are some major injuries to Carolina between now and then.

And we were not a SB caliber team with our terrible O-line either. I think the KC victory got everyone hoping things were back to normal but they weren't.

Can't see Denver competing. Their offense is horrible, Manning looked as bad as I expected. And Carolina offsets the Denver pass rush by running a ton and having a mobile QB.

The Broncos defense will keep it close in the first half then the Panthers will run away with it. The Panthers have lit up two pretty good defenses and can actually run the ball.

On another (not so serious) note, I wonder what face Manning will make when he has Kawann Short in his face the entire game.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is what fear looks like <a href="Patrick Barron on Twitter">pic.twitter.com/3RIELkgEIp</a></p>&mdash; Patrick Barron (@MGoDrone) <a href="">January 24, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

cscirpoli said:

As well as the Panthers are playing right now on both sides of the ball, I don't see manning throwing for less than 200 yards is going to win them that game.

Hell, I don't think the pats could win that SB with their line issues. So at least we get to watch Denver get creamed again.

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I REALLY hope you are right, but most of us said Denver had no chance to win the AFC Championship Game either.

The Panthers do look scary good though.

It's in the best interest of the NFL that the Panthers win. They need a new generational QB, to pick up the mantle when Peyton and Tom retire. It appears more and more that that QB is Newton and not Luck. Peyton is most likely retiring after this year but Brady has a few good years left (at least). If the Patriots can shore up some offensive line issues and grab a decent deep threat and all down RB, there should be a chance for a Newton/Brady Super Bowl over the next few years.

Thread Title: Famous Last Words department...

I was worried from the moment that Mark Schlereth said "there's no way I see the Broncos winning this game" when he was speaking about yesterday's contest.

Same thing holds for the SB. To quote the hooded one, I "never, ever ever underestimate Peyton Manning." He wasn't spectacular, but did just enough to win yesterday, with the help of a great D and a Patriots' cardboard cutout O-line. He could do it again in two weeks.

VectorPrime said:

...

Basically there was no logical reason to be optimistic about the Patriots going into Denver...

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Completely disagree.

As long as Tom Brady was playing like he played in his prime and Bill Belichick was coaching with all his mental faculties, there were, no matter what the historical record has been in Denver, plenty of reasons to be "optimistic" about the Patriots chances going into yesterday's game...not overconfident, as too many out here were, but optimistic, yes.

In the end, they were a missed XP away from taking into OT a game they could have kissed goodbye a dozen times yesterday afternoon. That game goes into OT after the Broncos led all day, the Bronco's don't recover and the Patriots win it.

brdmaverick said:

I REALLY hope you are right, but most of us said Denver had no chance to win the AFC Championship Game either.

The Panthers do look scary good though.

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I always thought the Broncos had more than an outside shot of winning the game. Mainly because of our Oline issues (not Championship protection) and the fact that the team never, ever plays well in Denver. That stadium is just Patriots kryptonite for whatever reason.

Panthers have tremendous offense. And their defense is pretty good as well. They rank #6 overall. Denver is #1.