Super Bowl 50 Recap

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The 2015 NFL season officially concluded with Sunday's bout, but before I go into offseason/draft mode, let me get the obligatory gut reactions out of the way. Before I get into the actual game, holy s*** Thomas Davis is one tough SOB.

Peyton Manning

The Sheriff gets to go out on top, if he so chooses. It's great for the sport to see one of the best and most respected players in the history of the game to ride off into the sunset like Peyton Manning did. With that being said, this game does nothing to influence my opinion on him, and it shouldn't for anybody. Peyton Manning is one of the best players in NFL history regardless of what happened in Super Bowl 50, that's just a fact. Even though he was average at best in the Super Bowl, it is fitting that after so many years of Peyton getting the blame for his team not stepping up with him (not saying he was always perfect, but just as an example the Broncos/Ravens game with the Joe Flacco Hail Mary, if it was batted down then that's a win for Manning and the Broncos), he finally gets carried to a win of massive proportions. Peyton deserves it, and I'm thrilled for him, but once again, this changes absolutely nothing about his legacy.

Cam Newton

Every person tearing into Cam right now needs to really take a look at themselves. If you haven't seen Newton's post-game press conference, it is not close to as bad as everybody is making it out to be. Also when he left, it seemed like it was because he heard a Broncos player talking badly about him, but no matter what the reason was, the real question is who cares? It's a post game presser, after he lost the biggest game of his life, in which he was probably extremely disappointed in himself. He's an emotional person. He plays the game with his heart on his sleeve, and because of that he has extremely high highs, and really low lows. For some reason, that pisses a huge portion of people off. I honestly have no idea why, I guess people just love to hate. It's toxic though, and when you go on Twitter or somewhere on the internet and say unforgivable things about a human being who has fun playing a game, then you should really reexamine your entire life.

I feel like I needed to say all of that. Now onto Cam's actual performance and the fallout from that. Cam was rattled for sure, and it's not a surprise that he had one of his worst games of the year against this Denver defense. Look at what they have done to Brady, Roethlisberger and Rodgers this season. Miller and Ware just kept getting to Cam, and the vertical passing game the Panthers like to run didn't fare well all game. The entire Panthers offense looked off all game, Cam included, and it was just an old school ass kicking. What troubles me is Cam not jumping on Von Miller's second forced fumble. I've watched the play several times and even though it wasn't as bad as most think, he still should have jumped on it. It's the Super Bowl, you can't hold back at any point in the game. Cam has a lot to learn from this game, but I don't think any of it is about his attitude. Football needs somebody like Cam. Somebody who won't give cookie cutter answers to every question, somebody who actually has fun playing a GAME, and somebody who is in love with football so much and plays with such passion that he sometimes can't control his emotions. This isn't a bad thing football world, it's great.

Von Miller

John Elway is just going to end up giving Miller a blank check with his name on it, right? Von has a chance to become the highest paid player in football, and it's well deserved to. No matter what team he goes up against, he wreaks havoc. Remmers had no chance the entire day, and time and time again Miller would be right in the pocket blowing up the play. Between his performance in the AFC Championship Game, and in the Super Bowl, Miller consistently flashes unprecedented talent. The biggest moment of this Super Bowl that will stick with me for a really long time was his first forced fumble. He just ripped it out of Cam Newton's hand. He didn't hit the ball out, he took it away from him. My jaw just dropped. The entire play was such a beautiful display of power, speed, bend and  He's just a stellar all-around player.

Marshawn Lynch

HE RETIRED. ON TWITTER. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUPER BOWL. WITH A PICTURE OF CLEATS HANGING. HE IS AMAZING. I don't care if you hate the Seahawks, you gotta respect Marshawn Lynch. He isn't influenced by anybody else, he plays by his own rules and you have to respect that. Oh, and this isn't at all a hot take, but it's still worth mentioning, he should be in the Hall Of Fame. He has the numbers, he was one of, if not the best running back in the league at a certain point, and he was consistently dominant throughout his career. He also had so many wow moments, it seems like each game I would say at least a handful of times "How is he still up?". If Peyton Manning retires, he'll get all the headlines, but we'll already be without another great for the 2016 season.

Super Bowl 2016 Preview

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I'm seeing a lot of people who are absolutely shocked by the teams playing in the Super Bowl. Don't get me wrong, even though I thought Denver and Caroline would win, I'm still a little surprised too. I don't know why though. These are the top seeds from each conference, Denver's defense is one of the best, most complete defenses I have seen in years (sorry Seattle) full of game changing playmakers at every level of the defense. Carolina is such a complete team across the board. Sure, Cam Newton doesn't have the best weapons, but then again they just put up 49 points against one of the best defenses in the league in Arizona, and their defense is also stacked at every level. I truly believe that this is the best outcome of teams possible for the Super Bowl this year. The storylines to sell to the public are endless. On the field and off the field, media members are licking their chops at the opportunity to talk about "The Sheriff's Last Rodeo" or "Dabbin' to Greatness" whatever the ridiculous headlines will be. All of that will be fun, but I prefer to focus on the field, and damn are their some amazing battles that will happen in Santa Clara less than two weeks from today.

Thomas Davis Vs. A Broken Arm
I'll mostly be looking at specific match-ups, but I need to talk about TD first. Like most of you, I want nothing more than to see #58 play in the Super Bowl just two weeks after breaking his arm. He is one of the best guys in football, and he's also one of the most talented linebackers in the league. A few plays before his injury, he read a toss to David Johnson, shed a block, and tackled him for a huge loss. Look it up if you have time, I'm sure it won't be hard to find because it was spectacular. I don't know any other player in the league that makes that tackle, apart from maybe the guy he plays beside. He's an incredible player, and it would be a treat for any and every fan to see him play in the Super Bowl.

Luke Kuechly Vs. Peyton Manning
This is the match-up I'm most looking forward too. I know, it's not as straight forward as the other ones, Kuechly will have a big impact in the run game and Peyton won't target Luke that often. What I'm looking forward to is the pre snap reads, and the games best middle linebacker leading his defense against probably the smartest player in NFL history. LK is the leader of one of the best defenses in the NFL this season, and he's an incredible smart player too. Even though Peyton doesn't make as many pre-snap adjustments as he would in past years, he is still one of the best at finding the holes in your defense, and for Kuechly, he has to make sure that his defense limits the mistakes they make or Manning even in his current state will make them pay. Sidebar, it would be cool to see Kuechly go three straight games with a pick-6.

Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei Vs. Interior Broncos Offensive Line
Apart from Carolina's linebackers, their defensive tackles are what make this defense go. Short has been nothing short of spectacular this season, and Lotulelei has been great in his own right when healthy. Denver doesn't have the strongest offensive line, and there is a lot of potential here for KS and SL to have a field day. To counteract what I'm expecting to be a lot of interior pressure on Manning, they will have to get the run game going early or Manning will have to rely on a lot of quick throws. I'd expect some screens because avoiding the middle of the field should be a priority in the pass game.

Emmanuel Sanders Vs. Robert McClain
This is a bit of an assumption on my part, but I'm expecting Josh Norman to shadow Demaryius Thomas and McClain to mostly guard Sanders. If so, Sanders has a chance at having a big day. From what I've seen of McClain this year (granted not too much), he's been solid; but I'm of the belief that Emmanuel Sanders is actually the best Broncos receiver. He may not have the size or reputation of Thomas, but his route running and reliability, to go along with athletic ability makes him really stand out. If Peyton is going to try and attack a specific part of this Carolina defense, this is where I expect him to look. Sanders can win this battle and unless you're always double teaming him (which brings up other problems throughout the defense) then he will have his shot at a monster day. It just comes down to can Peyton get him the ball, and I think he can.

Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware Vs. Panthers Offensive Tackles
For whoever witnessed the brutality that Ware and Miller laid down against the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, I don't have to go into detail about how good these two are. The Panthers O-line has been really good as a group this year, and they have studs in the middle (Norwell, Kalil and Turner), but Cam Newton has made up for a lot of insufficiencies at tackle. I was completely wrong about Oher this season, as he has more than held his own at tackle, but in pass protection, he still hasn't been the ideal LT. Miller and Ware punished a QB who is known for getting rid of the ball as quickly as possible (among other things). If Carolina doesn't give their tackles help in pass protection, whether that's with TE's or running back's chip blocking, then Cam could be in real trouble.

Broncos Front 7 Vs. Panthers Run Game
Cam Newton plays a huge role in the success of Carolina's run game. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody. But between Malik Jackson, Sylvester Williams, Derek Wolfe, Von Miller, Brandon Marshall, Danny Trevathan and DeMarcus Ware, the Broncos have the athletic ability to contain Newton and Stewart. I don't have a ton of analysis on this specific battle, because these are just two terrific groups of players that execute extremely well. The fallout of this battle in the trenches will be huge though. If Carolina can get their run game going early, then their entire offense will open up, and it will allow Mike Shula (Panthers offensive coordinator) to open up the playbook and start to get really creative so he can stifle Denver's defense. On the other side of the spectrum, if Denver shuts down their run game, I can easily see Cam and the offense start to pinch and try and force plays, and when you're facing the best defense in the league you can't force anything or they will make you pay. Whoever wins this battle should have a big advantage in the Super Bowl, and it could be the key to winning.

Peyton Manning Vs. Turnovers
All I can think of is the Seattle Super Bowl a couple years ago. Manning was facing off against a young, hungry defense, and he got killed in the turnover battle. Seattle led the league in takeaways that season, and Carolina leads the league in takeaways this season. The Panthers embarrassed the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship game, and it was mostly due to the fact that Arizona couldn't stop themselves from turning the ball over. With that being said, the current Broncos offense has Peyton playing a very safe game. He is making some throws, but they are to the outside in single coverage for the most part, and when he misses he is missing high so the cornerback doesn't have a chance at it. If Peyton is going to miss, that's where you want him to miss. If we get the Peyton Manning of early season, then it's already game over. But if we get the Manning who has played surprisingly well over the past couple weeks, the one who is limiting his mistakes and running a meticulous, take what they give you offense, then this is going to be one hell of a game.

Prediction
I went 2-0 last week, and am now 5-5 in the playoffs. So this is the tie breaker. The spread as of now is CAR -6. This is a really, really tough line. Carolina seems like the easy bet, but Denver has only lost one game by more than 7 points this season, and that was the game against Kansas City where Peyton Manning imploded. As of now, I'm predicting a really close game no matter who ends up on top, so I'll go Denver. If any quarterback can learn from his mistakes, it's Peyton Manning, and I don't see a repeat of Super Bowl 48 happening again. Although if I'm being forced to pick a winner straight up, then I'll go with Carolina.

My Pick: Denver +6

Offseason Outlook 2015: Denver Broncos

Offense

Any offense with Peyton Manning will be a top offense in the NFL. That is just a fact. Manning is one of the best quarterbacks of all time, and even at his age he still plays at an extremely high level. The people that say Manning is done after a rough December are completely crazy, he was playing hurt and throughout the year he still played at a very high level. Critics of Manning consistently talk about his arm strength. Everybody knows that Peyton throws ducks out there, that hasn't prevented him from torching a defense, because he is the smartest QB possibly in NFL history. The Broncos are a curious case at running back. C.J. Anderson was actually incredible in his time as the starter last season. The issue is, his career at RB is such a small sample size, there is no sure fire bet that the Broncos are getting that same player. They also have Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman as depth, but none of these backs have shown me enough that they can be the guy next year. Also, any running back in a Manning offense benefits greatly from having Peyton as the QB too, which can skew the numbers. I'm a little bit hesitant because of this to already anoint this as a great ground game, but the talent is there. At wide receiver, the Broncos offense should feel very confident about the players they have. Demaryius Thomas is a top 5 wideout in the NFL, and Emmanuel Sanders flourished in this passing game last year. I'm also predicting Cody Latimer to have a breakout year this year. He struggled to get on the field last year, but this year there are targets to give after the loss of Julius Thomas and Wes Welker. He's also a talented player and if he can build up Peyton's trust early then he should have no trouble in playing a big role for this offense. At tight end, the talent took a big hit this year. Not only did the Broncos lose Julius Thomas in free agency to the Jaguars, but they also lost the recently drafted Jeff Heuerman for the year. He may not have started immediately for them, but he was definitely the most talented TE on the roster, so it was a big blow. Owen Daniels will be a solid starter though as he consistently excels under Gary Kubiak's offenses. The offensive line struggled last year, and this year doesn't look much better. Ryan Clady was good last year, but he used to be an elite left tackle before he got hurt, so there is a possibility of him regaining that form this year. To go along with him, Louis Vasquez is a great right guard. Apart from those two, there are holes among the O-line. Chris Clark was average last year, but he was very consistent and there were some bad stretches. They lost Orlando Franklin and Manny Ramirez, so there will be position battles over center and left guard, but whoever the starters may be are unreliable at this point. Ty Sambrailo should help with Tackle depth, but he doesn't figure to have a huge immediate impact as both starting tackle positions seem to be locked up. The O-line may struggle, but this offense will keep churning out points like it's nothing. I can't stress this enough, Peyton Manning is one of the smartest players in all of sports, and he knows how to utilize his players strengths, and how to pick apart a defense. He will also help his O-line as he is one of the best at getting the ball out of his hands quickly. A top 5 finish on offense is almost a guarantee at this point, and nothing that happened in the offseason changes that.

Defense

I can't believe that this defense wasn't a top 10 overall defense, let alone top 5. The talent all across the board is crazy! On the defensive line, they are only okay. Derek Wolfe, Sylvester Williams, and Malik Jackson are all young players who struggled at times last season, but they have talent and can be solid starters this year. Their linebacker group is ridiculous. Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall (no not the WR for the Jets now) are two young players that were very good last year and could get even better (although Trevathan was injured last year, he was really good in 2013). On the edge, the Broncos have Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, and Shane Ray. It's almost unfair how good that group of edge rushers is. Von Miller is elite, and DeMarcus Ware is still playing at a very high level even though he's getting older. On top of those two players, the Broncos drafted Shane Ray in the first round this past year who was one of the best pass rushers in the entire draft. He fell due to some injury and character concerns, but he has a lightning quick first step, is an extremely explosive athlete, uses his hands very well when rushing the passer, and is very strong for his size. I understand that this is a pick for the future, but he could contribute right away with his talent. In addition to the linebackers, this is an extremely talented secondary unit as well. Chris Harris is the most underrated cornerback in all of football, and he played at an elite level last year. Aqib Talib is another great CB to pair with Harris, and they also have Bradley Roby who had a solid first year and should take a big jump this coming year. At safety they have the very talented T.J. Ward, and he played a big role for them last year and should continue to be a big presence on their defense. They will most likely pair him with Darian Stewart, who is an average starter at best. If Roby takes the jump that many people expect, including myself, then the Broncos could have three top tier cornerbacks to pair with their elite pass rushers. Just based off of that, this defense has the talent to be the number one defense in the NFL. Those expectations may be a little too high, but the talent is clearly there. Under a new coaching staff, I could see how there would be a transition period for the Broncos D. Yet last year, they seemed to be uninspired by former defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, so I predict a top 10 finish for their defense this year.

This is still a deadly Broncos team. Everybody is going to talk about the Patriots, Seahawks or even the Packers as the best team in the NFL right now. Don't get me wrong, those three teams have a legitimate claim to fame for that title, but the Broncos are not far behind them. The Broncos offense is going to be elite once again as long as Peyton Manning is healthy, and their defense on paper at least, looks extremely threatening. This is a team that has struggled in the playoffs, so I can understand feeling wary to say a Super Bowl berth is on its way, but let's not pretend that it is out of the question either. The Broncos may have gotten even better, and if Manning stays completely healthy and plays like he did at the beginning of last year, then they could be Super Bowl bound.