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Myers: Peyton Manning limps into his 'last rodeo'

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If Peyton Manning is to go out on top, he will need to avoid seeing any of his passes go into hands of Panthers star cornerback Josh Norman (below) or other Carolina defenders.Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

If Peyton Manning is to go out on top, he will need to avoid seeing any of his passes go into hands of Panthers star cornerback Josh Norman (below) or other Carolina defenders.

SANTA CLARA — One play and it was all over.

The Panthers are aware of how quickly the Seahawks put away Peyton Manning and Broncos in Super Bowl XVIII at MetLife two years ago — it took all of 12 seconds — and they are built to do the same to Manning and the Broncos on Sunday night in Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium if Denver doesn’t come out fast and pay attention.

This is The Old Mann And The D.

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It’s also the sentimental favorite and one of the great quarterbacks in NFL history likely playing the last game of his 18-year career vs. Cam Newton, the dabbing, over-the-top-celebrating, unstoppable force leading what is not a very likeable team unless you live in the Carolinas.

“We play aggressive-style attack defense and offense. That is our makeup,” Panthers All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman said. “We create turnovers, we make plays, we give the ball to our offense and we try to score as much as possible.”

The Panthers are this year’s Seahawks: lightning quick but even more explosive. They score early and they score in bunches. They were up 31-0 on the Seahawks midway through the second quarter in the divisional round before letting up and then were ahead of the Cardinals 24-7 at the half of the NFC Championship Game.

Flashback to Super Bowl XLVIII:

Manning was lined up in the shotgun. His feet were planted just inside the Broncos 10-yard line for the first play of the game. He had both his hands out to receive the snap from center Manny Ramirez, and then, as he often does, he walked toward the line of scrimmage ,shouting out the signals with the loud pro-Seahawks crowd drowning him out.

He took one step forward with his right foot and before he could even set the left one down, and presumably retreat back into the shotgun, Ramirez prematurely snapped the ball and it sailed over Manning’s right shoulder into the end zone.

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Denver running back Knowshon Moreno recovered it for a safety. It was 2-0 just a dozen seconds into the game and the Broncos never recovered on the way to a 43-8 loss. Manning threw a pick-six late in the first half to make it 22-0, Percy Harvin returned the second-half kickoff 87 yards for a TD and it was 36-0 before the Broncos finally scored on the final play of the third quarter.

Seattle played the game at a different speed. Its defense looked like world class Olympic sprinters in a 4×100 relay. The Broncos looked like they were finishing up the last half-mile of a marathon. The Panthers are just as fast. Manning is even slower.

Josh NormanStreeter Lecka/Getty Images

Josh Norman

The Broncos are 2-5 in the Super Bowl and their history suggests they are quite capable of getting blown out if they don’t match the Panthers’ intensity. In their last four Super Bowl losses, the Broncos have been outscored by the Giants, Washington, 49ers and Seahawks by a combined 179-48 with no game closer than the 19 points they lost to the Giants.

The Broncos defense is much better than it was two years ago. Von Miller, their rush linebacker, and Chris Harris Jr., a top corner, missed the game with injuries. Cornerback Aqib Talib was in New England, linebacker Demarcus Ware was in Dallas and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, the new/old defensive genius, was getting fired by the Texans after going winless as Houston’s interim coach. Denver hit Tom Brady 23 times in the AFC title game and while Cam Newton is not a stationary target like Manning, the Broncos will deliver some big hits when Newton is on the run.

Manning will not be asked to win this game by Gary Kubiak, but he must do more than just avoid throwing interceptions. But here’s the scary part for the Broncos: Against the Seahawks, Manning was coming off a season in which he threw an NFL-record 55 touchdown passes and Denver had set the NFL record for points. And all the Broncos managed off the Seahawks was a touchdown and an extra point.

Two years later, Manning is a diminished QB playing behind an offensive line that is perfectly capable of getting him hit too many times. “Peyton Manning is still Peyton Manning,” defensive tackle Star Lotulelei said. “People say he may not be able to throw as far. Mentally the way he can manage the game and his intelligence, you can never underestimate Peyton Manning. He’s one of the greatest to ever play the game. That’s how we are going to approach it.”

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Manning never had an arm like John Elway’s, but now an hourglass is needed to track his passes.

“My arm has not been the same since I got injured four years ago. It just simply hasn’t been,” he said. “I had a strange injury. I had a neck injury that caused some nerve problems in my right arm. I’ve worked hard to sort of manage with the physical limitations and have gotten to a place where I think I could be effective and that’s where it is.”

The Panthers are loaded front to back on defense with Lotulelei and Kawann Short up front, Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis at linebacker and Norman the star of the secondary. If they jump on Manning early, it could get out of control. He must avoid the Panthers taking one of his ducks back for a touchdown.

“I try to get a pick-six every time I touch the field,” Norman said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Peyton Manning or Blake Bortles. My expectations for myself and how I see myself, I try to be the best player on the field that day. If I can be that, if a quarterback so dare challenges me, I want to make him pay at all costs. That’s just my mentality. Just like he’s trying to make me pay by throwing to one of his best receivers. They are trying to embarrass me, so I’m trying to give it back to them.”

Norman then actually made a rare concession: He’s not unbeatable.

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“It’s a game of give and take,” he said. “I’m not going to make all of them. But you darn better believe I’m going to make most of them.”

The core of the Broncos team that was embarrassed by the Seahawks remains. Norman says the biggest thing, the “one up,” as he called it, that the Broncos have going for them is Super Bowl experience. “But anything else, nah, I wouldn’t say that,” he said. “They’re a formidable team and they will come out there fighting, just like any other team.”

The Broncos were down after one play against the Seahawks. If the Old Mann can figure out the Panthers D, they will do better this time.

Tags:
peyton manning ,
nfl ,
denver broncos ,
nfl playoffs ,
carolina panthers ,
super bowl

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