It's funny because that sort of thing was exactly what the NFL wanted when they moved the extra point back.
Eh, with that patchwork line, it's a miracle they did this well this season. Sometimes you just have to say the other guys were the better team that day. Goes to show you though, your roster has to be 53-deep and the 53rd guy matters, otherwise the wear and tear of the season will do in the best of squads.
Wow what a disaster. Arizona just turned the ball over for the 7th time today. Given the last two haven't mattered, but still.
I stopped watching when Carolina was up 17-0 and Arizona had just turned it over again. Checked back in an hour to confirm the decision and yeah... Anybody else waiting for the obligatory VI post about how punk Manning has lead the Broncos to another super bowl where we will witness the greatest choke since the whale coughed up Jonah?
Have you ever watched Manning in the playoffs? You will get no argument from me that Manning may well be the GOAT in the regular season. The guy's incredible. But the playoffs? He's a different animal. Can you really say the Denver playoff wins this year are due to Manning's stellar play? I can't. The best you can say is that Manning didn't turn the ball over much (just the one fumble). This is the guy's 4th Superbowl. The one he won was really due to the Indy defense playing out of their minds that year (and let's not forget that Rex Grossman was Chicago's starting QB that season). Yes, he got the MVP that year, but his performance was ok. Most seasons, his teams have been one and done. He throws a fair amount of interceptions, usually at critical times. Now, you could say 'the teams are better in the playoffs' and that's a fair point, but more often than not, he's handily beaten those same teams in the regular season and then you get, at best, an ok performance during the playoffs. I'm certainly not the only one to notice this trend. As a Denver fan, I am heartened by the fact that he really isn't trying to carry the game by himself this year, he seems to be making better decisions and doing more 'game managing' which with a Defense like Denver, is a smart play. But throwing for 176, 2TD's and one fumble is hardly a stellar performance. But frankly, that's about what his best (i.e. non losing) performances typically look like. He's 13-13 in the playoffs. It's just quite a differential from all his regular season performances (and I'm excepting this year and last year when it really looked like he was hurt during the regular season as well). Cam Newton had a stellar performance. As of now, Carolina is the favorite by 5.5. I think that's a bit low. In order for Denver to win the game, it has to be a slugfest, which means they have to hold Cam and Co to about 16 points. The Denver D is really awesome, but I think Carolina has way too many weapons and their D is really good as well.
I think that the matchup heavily favors the Panthers. Denver's biggest strengths are their corners and pass rush, and those don't come into play nearly as much against Carolina as they do with most teams. If Denver's safeties are banged up, it could turn into a blowout.