Columnists Mike Bianchi, George Díaz discuss who will win and why.
So my comrade Mike Bianchi thinks the Carolina Panthers will defeat the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl?
As the little one in my life likes to say, “Seriously?”
Bianchi must be getting all his NFL updates from Peyton Manning-hatin’ Al Jazeera or Bianchi’s BFF Tim Tebow, the guy he thinks would make a great NFL quarterback.
Sorry, my friend, but Manning will do what Tebow couldn’t do in his 15-minutes-of-fame deal with the Broncos back in the 2011 season:
Lead the Broncos to a Super Bowl victory.
Check that. Manning, now 39 and possibly playing in his final NFL game, is a like a cowboy in his final rodeo. The real wild horses in the Broncos’ stable are DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller and all the other guys on the vaunted Denver D.
They are the ones who will get it done.
Fun facts: The Denver D is No. 1 in the NFL in total defense (283.1 yards per game), passing defense (199.6), sacks (52), No. 3 against the run (83.6), No. 4 in scoring (18.5) and No. 3 in defensive touchdowns (5).
“It’s the best I’ve ever seen with the way they play and with the speed they play,” said former Broncos great John Elway, now the team’s general manager. “They’ve given
us a shot all year and we are here because of them.”
And they will win the Super Bowl because of them.
Remember how everybody thought just a few weeks ago that Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the rest of the Under-Inflaters would rise up once again as the Evil Empire in the
Super Bowl saga?
We — me included — thought wrong. We underestimated the power of the Denver D. Ask Brady, who probably still has some cleat marks all over his body. The Denver D laid the smackdown on Brady, hitting him 23 times in the AFC title game. And they did it despite blitzing on just 16 percent of the snaps.
The Broncos will get pressure on the edge and force Panthers QB Cam Newton to get happy feet. The Broncos will then need to get to him before Newton uses his improvisational skills to hurt them.
Carolina won’t go down as easily. Its offensive line is solid and Newton will pose a much more elusive threat than the immobile Brady. The Panthers also have the threat of a running game, something the Patriots use as an afterthought.
But that just makes the game plan harder, not impossible.
On the flip side, Denver’s offense will need to be in grind-it-out mode. Manning does not need to throw for 300 yards for the Broncos to win. He needs to dink and drive and hand it off to C.J. Anderson.
Fun fact: Denver is 9-0 when rushing for 105-plus yards. Will it be easy against Carolina’s front seven? Of course not, but there isn’t another quarterback in the business with more ring savvy than Manning.
He gives the Broncos more than just a puncher’s chance with his ability to read defenses, adjust and improvise.
Keep things short and sweet, eat clock, move the ball and keep it away from Newton.
And let’s not forget that Denver has the stronger kicking game with punter Britton Colquitt and kicker Brandon McManus.
It’s not going to be a high-scoring deal, but it will be a Mile High celebration. Sorry, comrade Bianchi, but much like the Panthers, you won’t be a winner on Super Bowl Sunday.
Denver 23, Carolina 20.