(Chronological) Thoughts on Super Bowl 50/L

[Bryan]

*Denver's opening drive was surprising. It was also Denver's only sustained drive of the entire game.

*I thought Denver needed a defensive TD to win the game, and they got it early. I think it was the biggest play of the game because it put Denver up two scores right away, and took the pressure off Manning and the offense. I thought Newton did a poor job of protecting the ball...it looked like he saw Miller coming. That might have been the biggest moment of the Super Bowl, Newton allowing himself to fumble.

*After Carolina cut the deficit to 10-7, Josh Norman drops an INT deep in Denver territory. It would have been a somewhat difficult play, but still catchable. Norman had a couple other plays where he either dropped an INT or elected to bat the ball down instead of driving on the pass and picking it off. I thought that while the Panthers stonewalled Manning, their DBs didn't make enough plays on Manning's loopy throws.

*The Broncos punt return was unexpected. Denver's special teams had been terrible all year, and I thought it would be Carolina making the big special teams play in the Super Bowl. I thought the most impressive part of the play was the Panther DE chasing down the returner and tackling him from behind and saving a TD.

*The Tolbert fumble was pretty big, if only because the Panthers offense finally put together consecutive good plays and were in Denver territory.

*Carolina's two-minute drill at the end of the first half was when I started noticing that Cam Newton was completely gassed. Watching that drive was like watching Donovan McNabb in the Pats-Eagles Super Bowl. I guess the weather was unseasonably hot...perhaps Newton was overheated? He seemed worn out in the 2nd half, too. Maybe that's why he stopped running the ball. I have no idea.

*Despite everything, I thought the Panthers had momentum at halftime. They had played terribly on offense and were only down 6. One big play could put them in the lead. Carolina finally recognized Denver's man coverage and got Ginn open on a couple crossing routes for big plays. Newton's WRs did him no favors, dropping passes throughout the game. Cotchery had a big non-catch, and the Gano FG miss kind of killed Carolina's momentum. It seemed like kickers were the most important players this postseason, and Denver's kicker was the only guy who didn't screw up.

*With the score 16-7 in the 3rd, I thought the 2nd biggest play occurred. Ginn once again short-armed a pass in traffic, and Ward intercepted. Ward slipped twice, and then fumbled upon being hit. Carolina had a great opportunity to recover inside Denver’s 10, but could not get it done.

*At the start of the 4th quarter, another missed opportunity for Carolina took place when Ealy stripped Manning of the ball. The ball took a weird sideways bounce, and it looked like for a moment that the Panthers could scoop up the ball and go the other way for a TD. Carolina instead fell on the ball.

*Cam Newton’s last fumble with 5 minutes remaining sealed the win for Denver. Kind of a pathetic effort to recover the fumble, but again Newton looked lethargic and beaten by that point. Don’t really have an issue with the defensive holding call…I hate it when DBs grab instead of bump.

*Manning was bad, but he didn’t cost his team with interceptions. Cam Newton was just as bad. I thought more would be made of Manning winning titles with two different teams and we’d at least get a mention of Norm Van Brocklin and possibly Tobin Rote. I did like the inferred Craig Morton reference when Manning failed to pick up a 3rd down in 12 straight attempts.

*Its hard to tell if Carolina just gameplanned terribly, or if certain factors forced their hand. Wade Phillips deserves credit, but its easy for a DC to look good when your front four can get to the QB in 2 seconds. Similar to the Pats game, I was surprised that Carolina didn’t give any TE/FB help to their OTs. The OTs would blatantly take a giant step backwards before the snap, and they would still get beat immediately to the outside.

*I thought Carolina needed to run off-tackle more, just to give Miller and Ware something to think about. Perhaps Stewart was more injured that we thought. Perhaps Cam Newton was exhausted. It seemed like Miller and Ware would be perfect targets for Carolina’s read option plays. Newton’s staple play at Auburn was reading the DE then running to the inside if the DE looped around. I didn’t see this once. On their pass rush, Miller and Ware could spin back to the inside because they didn’t have to worry about outside contain. The one time Newton ran into Ware’s vacated area, he gained 25 yards.

*At some point in the game, they showed some bizarre “miles per hour” stat that compared Cam Newton to Denver’s defense. Denver was probably a bad matchup for Carolina, because Newton could always outrun the DLs and run over the LBs and DBs. Miller and Ware were the first DLs who were just as big AND just as fast as Newton. Perhaps this is why Carolina shied away from their read option plays…they were afraid Miller or Ware would simply make an immediate tackle from behind. My overall feel from the game is that Carolina is regretting what they did (and didn't do) on offense from a strategic standpoint.

[since1981]

My wife will let know when the actual game starts

Lot of orange in the stands. Yell loud, fellow fanatics!

Should listen to Dave Logan on the radio instead of Simms.
Can't stand that guy!

These wings from Wing Stop are pretty good

Love the Broncos in white as they go into half time with the lead. Sweet!

Hate halftime. Start up the bath for the kids.

Game resumes and I am starting to lose my voice
My kids can barely hear my four letter words

These commercials suck and I will never watch any of these crappy CBS shows

The demolition completed, this CO native and DB fan since 1981 cannot keep up with all the texts coming in

Thought I would cry more
Cried like hell after SBXXXII

Post game:

Son of a Bum should have been MVP

Wish their was more of a shout-out for Osweiler

Thanks for a fantastic season guys!
Already looking forward to next season
Will they kick off NFL 2016 w/ Broncos Vs. Pats?
I hope the Panthers (minus Cam) get back
After the Vikings, probably my favorite NFC team

Damn! I should have gone to the parade!

PS Great thoughts, Bryan. Thanks!

[Reaser]

For the 2016 Thursday night season opener I'm thinking Broncos-Colts, especially if Manning retires. They'll make it into a Manning legacy game and have his two teams start the season.

You guys already mentioned most of the 'thoughts' one would have. Two that stand out are Manning being QB of a SB winner for two different franchises, I thought that would be a much bigger post-game story. Also wish Brock would have got more of a mention.

Wade is getting credit but I think he should be getting even more credit than he is getting, really a great achievement for him.

Something else that also stood out, is Wade sending BOTH safeties multiple times. I got all excited when I would see Ward creeping up towards the LOS and then to see them both go ... awesome.

[mwald]

I figured the Panthers would win the game but Denver would keep it closer than most people expected, forecasting a Broncos cover (I had 6 points, it closed at 4.5) in a sludgy, defensive battle.

Carolina was the better team, and in the playoffs, unlike the regular season, it's always best to take the better team because A) 85 percent of the winning teams also cover the spread anyway, and B) in the playoffs both teams typically show up, play to their ability, with the slightly superior team usually able to parlay their small edge into a convincing victory.

I ignored my own advice, however.

Newton was defensive with the press in the week leading up to the Super Bowl; he seemed tight and nervous to be going up against a legend. On the other hand, Manning and the Broncos still had a fresh taste of blowout in their mouths from two years ago. That usually means nothing, as Broncos and Bills teams of the past have shown. But those teams didn't dramatically reinvent themselves like the Broncos did in a transparent resolve to win the Super Bowl. Last time I remember one team going that all-in on the big game was the 1994 49ers.

The Broncos had liabilities on offense, so I saw them playing slow, ball-control football in an attempt to keep the ball away from the Panthers. Carolina I thought would do the same because that's their standard mode of operation. Bottom line, saw a sludgy, clock-draining defensive battle in which Manning had a chance to win it at the end.

All year long I saw the Panthers as a team of destiny, but I also couldn't see the Broncos going through all they did this year just to get blown out in the Super Bowl again. Somehow, I figured, they'd keep this game close. Capping things off, the Panthers hadn't played a tough game in a month. They were used to showing up and coasting.

Turns out they wanted no part of a tough game. I didn't see Newton gassed as much as disinterested. The whole team just got out-hustled. And while I'll give Wade Phillips all the credit in the world, it wasn't his scheme that won, it was the effort that he got out of his players.

Wade Phillips quote: "You show me a good teacher and I'll show you a good coach. Coaching is not how much you know. It's how much you can get players to do."

Rivera didn't get the same effort out of his players.