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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2016)
SPORTS East Oregonian Page 4B AFC CHAMPION Saturday, February 6, 2016 N N FC H H A A M M P I P O I O N N SE F C C C C A A T R T O L L E I N S A E A P H A A N W T H K E S R S DENVER BRONCOS DENVER CAROLINA BRONCOS OFFENSE Total yards (avg.) Regular season: 355.5 248.1 107.4 Passing Rushing Postseason: 284.0 180.0 104.0 First downs Regular season: 314 85 201 Rushing Passing 28 Penalty Postseason: 31 21 2 8 Broncos, Panthers clash on the big stage C an Peyton Manning write a storybook ending to his Hall of Fame-quality career? Manning isn’t saying outright this is the end of his Hall of Fame-caliber career despite all the indications it will soon be over. Manning knows it was the Broncos’ defense that has made the difference to this point and Denver’s All-Pro linebacker, Von Miller, again keys the unit. All season, the best record in the NFL has belonged to the Panthers. And while much of the focus is on Manning, Cam Newton deserves at least equal billing. The NFL’s most dynamic offensive weapon this season, threw for 35 touchdowns and ran for 10, setting an NFL record with that combination. Carolina is in its second Super Bowl, Denver in its record-tying eighth. But the Panthers are the favorites. Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif. Sun. 3: 6:30 EST (CBS) 30 p.m. (CBS) DEFENSE Yards allowed (avg.) Regular season: 283.1 199.6 83.6 Passing Rushing Postseason: 366.0 301.5 64.5 SCORING (PPG) Regular season 22.2 Points for 18.5 Points allowed Sparking the ground game Baby you were born to run A godsend for the Broncos, Anderson came from nowhere to seize the starting job in 2014. Short but stocky and powerful, also has a nice burst. Knows how to find the end zone. Stewart became the true No. 1 runner this season when DeAngelo Williams departed. Rushed for 989 yards and six TDs during season, and had 59-yard sprint on Panthers’ first play of postseason. Strong runner with a burst to break big plays. (RUSHING) Regular season ATT YDS AVG LONG TD 152 720 4.7 48 C.J. Anderson Regular season Jonathan Stewart 5 CAR 144 YDS 242 989 Postseason 31 (RUSHING) AVG LONG TD 4.1 44 6 5.0 59 2 Postseason 4.6 34 1 38 189 PASS RUSH PASS RUSH 59.6 52.3 40.4 148.0 First downs 24 Regular season: 357 136 197 Rushing Passing Penalty Postseason: 40 2 23 15 DEFENSE Yards allowed (avg.) Regular season: 322.9 234.5 88.4 Passing Rushing Postseason: 345.0 276.0 69.0 SCORING (PPG) Regular season Points for 19.2 Points allowed Postseason 40.0 Points for 19.5 Points allowed SPECIAL TEAMS PROJECTED STARTERS Postseason: 385.5 237.5 31.2 Postseason 21.5 Points for 17.0 Points allowed PLAY SELECTION (PCT.) Regular season Postseason PANTHERS OFFENSE Total yards (avg.) Regular season: 366.9 224.3 142.6 Passing Rushing B. Colquitt 4 P 47.7 B. McManus J. Norwood 8 K 11 PR PLAY SELECTION (PCT.) Regular season Postseason A. Caldwell 12 KR PASS RUSH PASS RUSH 51.2 48.8 39.1 60.9 OFFENSE V. Green 85 FB COACHES’ CORNER O. Daniels 81 TE C.J. Anderson P. Manning 22 RB 18 QB COACHES’ CORNER Career record Career record (Reg. season) W L (Reg. season) 73 68 D. Thomas 88 WR Gary Kubiak Spent eight seasons coaching the Texans after being John Elway’s backup for much of his playing career. Elway summoned him to replace John Fox after last January’s postseason debacle against Indianapolis. M. Schofield 79 RT M. Paradis 61 C E. Mathis 69 LG R. Harris 68 LT DEFENSE K. Short 99 RDT S. Lotulelei 98 LDT J. Allen 69 RDE J. Norman 22 RCB R. McClain 27 LCB T. Davis 58 WLB L. Kuechly 59 MLB S. Thompson 54 SLB FIELD GOALS Brandon McManus 1-19 20-29 NFL Coach of the Year in 2013 and is a front-runner for the award this season. A solid defensive assistant and coordinator for years, he finally got his own team in 2011 and has gone 49-34-1, with three straight NFC South crowns. PLAYERS WITH SUPER BOWL EXPERIENCE WHEN BRONCOS HAVE THE BALL 16 K. Coleman 20 FS 47 32 W L T 1 Ron Rivera C. Johnson 95 LDE PLAYERS WITH SUPER BOWL EXPERIENCE YARDS L. Vasquez 65 RG E. Sanders 10 WR The Broncos have not given Manning great protection all season, but it has been good enough in two postseason wins. Carolina will blitz to try to make Manning uncomfortable. One way to defeat that, of course, is getting RBs C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman involved early. When Manning throws, the theory has been he can’t get the ball deep with enough juice on it. Accurate or not, he’s still tough on the shorter passes and play-action. WRs Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas, TEs Owen Daniels, Virgil Green and Vernon Davis, plus Anderson supply plenty of targets. 5 R. Harper 41 SS FIELD GOALS 1-19 20-29 30-39 30-39 40-49 PROJECTED STARTERS 50+ SPECIAL TEAMS Made Missed 40-49 50+ B. Nortman 8 P G. Gano 9 K T. Ginn, Jr. 19 PR F. Whittaker 43 KR Made Missed Regular season Regular season OFFENSE PROJECTED STARTERS M. Tolbert 35 FB Constructing a contender Team makeup C. Newton 1 QB G. Olsen 88 TE J. Stewart 28 RB Blueprint for success Team makeup Current 53-man roster Drafted Free agents 21 28 Current 53-man roster P. Brown 10 WR Waiver 3 Traded 1 RED ZONE M. Remmers 74 RT D. Wolfe 95 DE Field No Touchdowns goals score 21 9 D. Stewart 26 FS Battle tested Passing yds: 2,249 (reg.) 398 (postseason) Touchdowns: 9 (reg.) 2 (postseason) Win WEEK TDS Loss YARDS 175 1 256 2 324 3 213 4 266 5 290 6 7 BYE 340 8 281 9 10 35 11 12 13 14 15 16 69 17 S. Williams 92 NT 222 176 SOURCES: National Football League; STATS LLC M. Jackson 97 DE Free agents 19 29 Trades 5 RED ZONE Production inside the 20-yard line, includes postseason: OFFENSE C. Harris Jr. 25 RCB WHEN PANTHERS HAVE THE BALL Newton has been the NFL’s most dynamic offensive weapon this season, ultra-dangerous when on the run. Denver will try to slow him down with their NFL top-ranked defense. DeMarcus Ware, Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall will try to get in Newton’s face and mind, whether in the pass rush or popping up in unexpected spots. Carolina will counter by getting RB Jonathan Stewart involved early. Touchdown passes by distance REGULAR AND POSTSEASON Peyton Manning Hasn’t played at elite level during this injury- ravaged season. Never should be under- estimated. Cam Newton YARDS 1-19 20-29 30-39 0 40+ 7 1 MANNING 3 26 1-19 20-29 40+ Strong in the pocket, elusive and power- ful outside of it. Near the goal line, he can be unstoppable. 4 4 4 Field No score goals 4 Touchdowns 17 49 D.Trevathan 59 ILB B. Marshall 54 ILB 30-39 WC DIV CONF M. Oher 73 LT Drafted DEFENSE A. Talib 21 LCB 4 DEFENSE 10 A. Norwell 68 LG V. Miller 58 SLB OFFENSE 23 R. Kalil 67 C T. Turner 70 RG T. Ginn, Jr. 19 WR D. Ware 94 WLB Production inside the 20-yard line, includes postseason: 25 Graham Gano YARDS DEFENSE T.J. Ward 43 SS 24 11 10 Offensive weapon Pass yds: 3,837 (reg.) 496 (post.) Touchdowns: 35 (reg.) 3 (post.) Loss Win WEEK TDS YARDS 175 1 195 2 315 3 124 4 5 BYE 269 6 197 7 248 8 297 9 217 10 246 11 183 12 331 13 265 14 340 15 142 16 293 17 NEWTON WC DIV CONF 161 335 AP
