Sorry I been away folks.
Been putting in 12 - 16 hour days on a project that is going to drag on until August 6th.
Long story short: I picked the Broncos before the Season started, and am sticking to my guns.
Yes, Cam is the Man, yes Luke Kuechley is a beast, yes the Panthers have little weaknesses.
BUT...
The other side of the coin:
Broncos QB Manning will be the oldest starting QB ever. Is that a plus or a minus? That is not as important as the HEALTH of the QB in question. Can he move around in the pocket to avoid the Panthers' pass rush?
Manning has had two weeks to get himself ready for what many believe is his final game. Me? Not so sure. Maning came back after that neck surgery he had in 2011, and while he has not looked like the Manning of old, he is still using his EXPERIENCE of reading defenses to his advantage. There is a part of me that screams that if the Panthers trounce the Broncos something like 44-14, Manning WILL NOT RETIRE. But if Manning pulls off the upset, he probably will retire, or at least play with that idea very hard.
Yes, the Panthers could win this game. That would make Peyton Manning losing his last three out of four SuperBowls, something the wanna-be football gurus will shout out to anyone who will take this seriously.
But as an older guy myself, every now and then I find myself in a situation that requires a total "sucking it up" and getting the job done". I think that Peyton manning wants to win this game very badly, for no other reason to silence these human beings who can't play Nerf ball with their own toddlers in the living room but proclaim to know this great game of football.
A BIG part of me wants manning to go out a winner, go out in Glory, hold his head up high after a remarkable career.
A quick "Nuts-n-Bolts" regarding Mannings' plentiful "one-and-done's" in his many Post-Season appearances: Manning was drafted by the Colts I believe it was 1998, just ahead of Ryan Leaf. I have not read any other poster's comments/threads here tonight, I am doing my usual mistake of posting before thinking, not double-checking before spouting off things but I am very tired, ad don't care that much. What i am posting without taking the time to check FACTS of actual records, stats, etc. is that I think the Colts only won 2 games the year before Manning was grabbed by the Colts. I clearly recall the hubbub between old Man Irsay and son, and the Son now runs the Franchise. I can't remember if it was the Son who wanted Leaf or the old man, but Manning was selected. Manning made the Colts better than what they truly were, got them in the playoffs rather quickly, but at that level of Playoff football, Manning was facing greater teams, thus, the only facet the opponents had to contend with was to slow down Manning and it worked most of the time.
One last tidbit before I go:
I posted a few weeks ago about General George S. Pattton, Jr., WWll hero, etc.
I did not realize this until recently that his son, Patton Jr.. passed a few years ago.
The quote was regarding the real Patton's high-pitched but raspy voice. When Patton's son and family was viewing the movie, "Patton", the Son was quoted as saying something like( paraphrasing)" "George C. Scott's Patton's voice was better than the real Patton's". That website is no longer, and I can't even find the broken links to reference it to.
But a far more interesting read is the Article:
"General George S. Patton was assassinated to silence his criticism of allied war leaders claims new book"
taken from an earlier article from December of 2008.
I used this article with permission when I used for a Thesis presentation when I went back to school and I used the casting decision of George C. Scott to portray Gen. Patton as one of the best all-time casting choices ever made by a Film Producer. Scott, ironically, was NOT the first, second, or even third choice. Rod Steiger turned the role down flat when he was offered this Role. But once Scott was brought in to "read" what they call "sides" from a script, the Casting people stopped cold and brought the Director Franklin J. Shaffner in and it took a brief verbal agreement to sign Scott.
But this is a Sports Forum, not Jaxterspix Film School.
I had a great NFL season this year, and killed it two and three weeks ago with my halftimes. Only a small amount will be on the Broncos + 4.5, and hindsight is always great, as I could have gotten more had I waited. But if this is a winning bet, the extra half point or one full point is unlikely to play.
I plan on doing the SuperContest this coming NFL Season. Smaller bankroll for live play.
I had a man on NFL handicrappers Facebook site ask me " how do you continually pick more winners than losers?" And you did NOT study much this year. Hard answer on the face of the good question, but in fact, a simple one: my experience over the years has carried me through. Anyone can look at an injury report, anyone can look at who the Public likes, anyone can see who the Favorites are week after week, read Box Scores, etc. But it takes a thorough knowledge of the game wagered upon to understand how the bets are won and lost. Moxie. Nerve enough to bet that stinker of a dog, hold your nose, prepare yourself to blush before the game starts so you can hide your true blushing if this dog really stinks up the sports book, but the bottom line is that the most experience handicappers will usually beat out the newer ones. That one word: experience.
Sorry I can't post more, but I gotta get up early, do some rendering work on my end, then off to the game.
Best of Luck to all.
jaxterspix