The collective bottom line for the past 49 Super Bowls has been defense. Yes, Denver has the #1 defense in the NFL & is #1 in sacks as well. However, DC Sean McDermott & his Carolina Panthers "D" isn't too far behind. Instead of getting into a page and a half worth of Super Bowl trends & systems that won't carry that much worth here, fundamental handicapping is the true meat and potatoes of being on the right side more often than not. I'm not saying playing a team at ANY line, but playing them after adjustments are made at YOUR line. Clearly, my advice is to play my Super Bowl propositions -where the true money will be won. Now let's talk about DC Wade Phillips & the Denver defense. They have a very dynamic 3-4 scheme that's uniquely blessed with having the talent to play one-gap. While most teams are stuck on playing both the A & B gaps, the Broncos unique front line pressure allows them to do a great amount of the one-player, one-gap responsibility. The problem exists when this "D" gets tired after their offense has too many drives stalled. Orange & Blue QB Peyton Manning knows his chances for the "W" are highly probable IF he can get close to 30 rushes for 105 yards or more from his backfield. I feel McDermott will roll the dice & stack the box forcing his athletic secondary to perform by getting those 3 & out's along with a few TO's. Keep in mind, HC Ron Rivers knows manning well having went up against him as former DC of the San Diego Chargers. Flipping the coin to the Panthers' offensive side of the ball, I feel QB Cam Newton is playing on a another level since he has a very balanced offense that's ran the ball 526 times & passed it 501. It may not seem line black & blue domination from the get-go when the Orange Crush is at peak performance, but in the second half when the adjustments are made, that'll be when I look for Carolina to move the ball more effectively featuring their 3-headed monster of QB Cam Newton, RB Jonathan Stewart & TE Greg Olsen. My bottom line says the Panthers' defensive front four will generate enough pressure on Manning forcing him into some mistakes down the stretch. MLB Luke Kuechley & Co. know all about the hard-snap counts & will be playing him off instinct instead of trying to crack the Manning audible codes at the line of scrimmage. Since Seattle laid pretty nice defensive blueprints 2 years ago, it's really hard for me to see a storybook ending for Peyton -something that John Elway enjoyed. Carolina's offense will get enough points (21 might be enough) by games' end to grab the win -whether by intermediate drive lengths or short ones set up by their defense. Hats off to HC Ted Kubiak (he came a long way since starting his NFL life in the 70's as a Houston Oilers' ball boy) who should be proud of his group, but the road ends here. To be honest, this isn't a strong play since there isn't overwhelming, concrete evidence that there will a Carolina blowout or a Denver outright win. Let's go to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California for the smartest play- a play on the Carolina Panthers -215 as my Super Bowl 8 Star Side Selection!
Seasonal Overall NFL Sides Record: 58-39 60% -- NFL GOY: 1-0 -- NFL Seasonal Overall Record On 10 Stars Or Higher: 9-2 82% 10 Stars + (NFL-CFB Combined) 18-6 75% NET Units On NFL Season: + 1,215
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