ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL


After some thought, I chose to have my passion blog be about sports over food because as a freshman in college I sadly can't afford to eat out every week. Although lucky for me the due date for the first post is the same day as the NFL season opener so it worked out pretty well in the end. So without further a due welcome to ESPN 7

Tonights game could not get more intense as the defending champion Denver Broncos go up against the team they beat in last years Super Bowl (Super Bowl 50), The Carolina Panthers  who are led by reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton.  However this year's game is going to be much different, as the two teams rosters are very different from their previous matchup in the Super Bowl. 

I'll start off by discussing the biggest factor lost between either team, Denver's QB Peyton Manning. Although he looked like an 80 year old man playing quarterback last year, Peyton Manning was still able got the job done. Unfortunately for Denver age caught up to the future Hall of Famer, and he retired following the Super Bowl 50 victory. What's even worse for the Broncos is that his replacement, rookie QB Trevor Siemian, has not taking one NFL regular season snap in his life. I'm not saying he won't win games, but previous quarterbacks drafted in the 7th round like Trevor usually do not pan out to be successful in the big leagues. Because of his lack of experience I would not be surprised if Denver's offense primarily focused on a run game with occasional passing here and there. However, luckily for Trevor and the rest of the Bronco offense, the Denver defense is coming off one of the best season performances as a defense in NFL history. They has 9 returning defensive starters including 2015 defensive MVP Von Miller as they should pick up right where they left off last year. The defense is the backbone of this team and if Trevor Siemian can just play an average game then the Denver Broncos could win this game. 

Now lets discuss the Broncos opponent. The Carolina Panthers were favored to win last year's Super Bowl and are one of the likely candidates to win the upcoming Super Bowl in February 2017. Last year's Carolina Panther team had one of the best regular seasons in NFL history. They started off by winning 14 consecutive games; finishing the season with only 1 loss. The Panthers have both the best offensive player in the NFL in Cam Newton and arguably the best defensive player in Luke Kuechly, as well as many other weapons around them. Sports Analyst are saying this team is even better than last years because they gained weapons and did not lose any key factors. However, In some people's opinion the one major loss the Panthers suffered in the off-season was not re-signing cornerback Josh Norman. However, I think Josh Norman is overrated and a product of the great defensive players the Panthers placed around him. Whoever takes his place could do just as good of a job, and maybe even better. Unlike the Broncos, the Panthers did not lose a key player to their success, and also unlike Denver the Panthers gained a key factor. That factor is wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (Team's best WR). Unfortunately Benjamin missed all last season with a torn ACL, but now he's back and said to be better than ever. This one player can heavily influence the outcome of the game and I think if he played in last year's Super Bowl the Broncos would not be defending champions. Because of the addition of Kelvin Benjamin , and Denver's quarterback dilemma, I expect the Carolina Panthers to get revenge and come out the team on top.