Panthers’ Davis, Allen appear good to go against Broncos
Defenders had been injured in playoffs
SAN FRANCISCO — Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis and defensive end Jared Allen will start Sunday against Denver, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said Friday.
Both players said all week they expected to start in Super Bowl 50 after getting injured during the playoffs.
“I really was real pleased with what we got from both those guys. I’m excited about having them back on the football field,” Rivera said. “The only last hurdle obviously is the conversation I have to have with the doctors just to make sure and that they’re feeling comfortable. But I’d be surprised if it was anything different.”
Davis broke his right forearm during the NFC championship game against Arizona, a game Allen missed after breaking a small bone in his right foot in the divisional round against Seattle.
Friday was the Panthers’ final practice before Sunday’s game, although they’ll have a walk-through today.
During a brief conference call with Charlotte reporters Friday afternoon, Rivera said the Panthers had a smooth week in San Jose and there were no issues with the team’s self-imposed curfew.
Rivera said his players were able to soak up the experience while focusing during meetings and at practices.
“I really do appreciate that one minute we’re sitting there and they’re enjoying themselves. They’re doing the media. They’re doing the other little things,” Rivera said. “And then the next minute we’re in the meetings rooms, we’re on the practice field and they’re focusing in on the thing that we need to do.”
SHULA ABOUT CAM: Don Shula said Cam Newton is pretty hard to tackle.
But the Hall of Fame coach still thinks Larry Csonka was even tougher to bring down.
“I don’t think anyone could be tougher than Csonka,” Shu- la said of the former Dolphins running back. “Cam has more maneuverability, but Csonka is just going to grind you to the ground.” Shula was on hand to present the league’s High School Coach of the Year award Friday.
On Sunday, he’ll be on hand to watch son Mike, the offensive coordinator for Carolina, coach in the Super Bowl.
Don, 86, said he regularly watches Mike’s team on TV from his home in the Miami area from his recliner “cuddled up” in a Panthers blanket along with a Dolphins pillow.
ELI: If Peyton Manning does in fact retire after Super Bowl 50, Eli Manning offered some career advice.
“I offered, if he wants to come be a quality control (coach) for the Giants, maybe he can earn a little respect and see if he can do anything to help out a quarterback in the quarterback room,” Eli Manning said on Friday. “I could probably make a call or two and find him a spot.”
It was, of course, a joke. But the reality of a life in which Peyton Manning is not playing football for the first time in his life is beginning to hit Eli.
“I can’t imagine a season when he’s not there, knowing
my big brother is not playing in a game,” Eli said. “It was awkward the year (in 2011) that he was injured and he missed a season, but he was still around football and knowing he was going to come back.”
EX-BRONCO: Former Wisconsin and NFL running back Montee Ball was arrested Friday after a woman reported he threw her, injuring her leg.
According to Madison, Wis., police spokesman Joel DeSpain, officers were called to the Hampton Inn & Suites in Downtown Madison shortly before 4 a.m. for an incident in one of the rooms.
A woman, 20, told officers there was argument and Ball grabbed and threw her, DeSpain said. She cut her leg on a table and was taken to the hospital for stitches, he said.
Ball, 25, said he didn’t throw the woman, but said he pushed her, DeSpain said.
Ball was arrested on a charge of substantial battery.