Teams fit, raring to go for Super Bowl 50
Larry Fine, Reuters
The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos gathered at Levi's Stadium for team pictures on Saturday after proclaiming themselves fit and raring to go for Super Bowl 50.
Carolina had a key question mark heading into the final week's preparation for Sunday's National Football League title game in Pro Bowl linebacker Thomas Davis, who broke his right arm in their conference championship two weeks ago against Arizona.
Head coach Ron Rivera said he expected Davis, who had a dozen pins inserted in his forearm after having surgery the day after the NFC clash, to start after practicing fully this week.
Three Panthers players on the injury report - Davis, defensive end Jared Allen (foot) and running back Mike Tolbert (knee) - were all full participants in Friday's practice and all officially listed as probable for the Super Bowl.
Denver had three players limited in practice on Wednesday, but all 53 practiced fully on Friday for the second straight day, including safeties T.J. Ward (ankle) and Darian Stewart (knee), and guard Louis Vasquez (knee). All will start Sunday.
Broncos top-ranked defense set for ultimate test
Jahmal Corner, Reuters
It took a blowout loss in the Super Bowl two years ago for the Denver Broncos to transform from an offense-heavy attack to a defensive juggernaut better suited to winning the championship Vince Lombardi Trophy.
When the Seattle Seahawks routed Denver a 43-8 in that Super Bowl game they also gave the Broncos a reflection of everything they were not and needed to become: young, fast and physical.
Denver's defense has since fully realized that vision, and cemented their status by swarming Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and New England's Tom Brady to set up a clash with the Carolina Panthers in the Feb. 7 NFL championship game.
"They are the No. 1 defense on the planet, and everyone says defense wins championships," Broncos running back C.J. Anderson said of his defensive unit. "They have embraced it all season."
Panthers defense has been a turnover machine
Tim Wharnsby, Reuters
The Carolina Panthers defense may not allow the fewest points or lead the NFL in sacks, but their ability to force turnovers has been a key factor behind their remarkable run to the Super Bowl.
This strength was on full display when the Panthers punched their ticket to Sunday's Super Bowl with a 49-15 rout of the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship Game.
All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly and Co. harassed Arizona for four interceptions and three fumble recoveries, a trend the Panthers defense started in the regular season when they led the NFL with 24 picks and 15 fumble recoveries.
But now the Panthers will be staring down a Denver Broncos offense led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning on the NFL's biggest stage.
The 39-year-old quarterback may not be as capable as he was in his prime, but the Panthers and head coach Ron Rivera will not take Manning lightly.
"I know he is very special," said Rivera, who was defensive coordinator of a Chicago Bears team that lost to Manning's Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl nine years ago.
"He is one of those guys that is going to have a storied career. He's going end up in the Hall of Fame. Everything he does is about winning."
Manning chases crowning glory
Rob Woollard, Agence France-Presse
Whether he wins or loses on Sunday, Peyton Manning has already assured himself a place in American football's pantheon of greats.
But if the veteran Denver Broncos quarterback manages to mastermind an upset over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50 it will be the crowning achievement of a career that once looked to be in terminal decline.
Manning, 39, faced a bleak future in 2011 when neck surgeries left him struggling to throw properly, forcing him to miss the entire season with the Indianapolis Colts, who eventually cut him in March 2012.
Yet Manning went on to relaunch his career successfully with the Broncos, enjoying a vintage season to lead Denver to the Super Bowl in 2014, where they lost heavily to the Seattle Seahawks.
This season Manning has fought through adversity once more to reach his fourth Super Bowl, where he is chasing a second championship ring to book-end the one he collected with the Colts in 2007.
"There is no question it's important to me, it's very personal to me," Manning said this week when asked to reflect on his tumultuous season. "No question this season has had some unique challenges."
Dual threat Newton rewriting records despite critics
Rob Woollard, Agence France-Presse
Cam Newton may divide opinion with his carefully choreographed touchdown routines but a consensus is rapidly building that the Carolina Panthers star may be the greatest dual threat quarterback the sport has ever seen.
The 6ft 5in (1.96m), 250lb (113kg) Panthers signal-caller has electrified the National Football League since his professional debut in 2011 with a potent passing and rushing game that all too often has left opponents -- and records -- in its wake.
When the 26-year-old dived over for the 43rd rushing touchdown of his career against Tampa Bay last month, he equalled his childhood hero Steve Young's long-standing all-time record for a quarterback.
But while legendary San Francisco 49er Young's mark was compiled in 169 games across 15 seasons, Newton equalled the record after only 78 games in his fifth season in the NFL.
Newton has been the driving force behind the Panthers' relentless march to Sunday's Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos, leading his team to a 17-1 record while becoming the first quarterback in history to throw for more than 30 touchdowns and rush for 10 more in a single season.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
