FanPost

FINISHED BUSINESS CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION: "This One's for Pat!!!"

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Hello everyone! Welcome to the SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP edition. It's not "Unfinished Business" anymore thanks to the victory in Super Bowl 50. I will take a look back on the game and offer my thoughts on not just that, but also the complete injustice of no additional Broncos being added to Canton. In the words of Dave Logan "Here We GO!".......

SUPER BOWL 50 - Denver and Carolina arrived to Santa Clara to a gorgeous California welcome. As we all know, Denver was considered the "home" team and decided to wear the white uniforms instead of orange. Joe Montana flipped the coin and Carolina won the toss to defer to the second half. Andre Caldwell returned the kick off at the 20 to open the game. The Broncos offense opened up with Peyton Manning passing to Owen Daniels, Emmanuel Sanders and Bubba Caldwell to get to the Panthers' 34. CJ Anderson then got into the action with two rushes totaling 20 yards. Instead of keeping CJ in, Ronnie Hillman came in to run the ball and the drive stalled out. Denver settled for the 34 yard FG by Brandon McManus to take the lead 3-0. The defense forced a 3 and out thanks to Aqib Talib's tackle of Greg Olsen short of the first down marker. The offense took over at their own 25 only to have their own three and out. Britton Colquitt punted 50 yards and thanks to Kayvon Webster's tackle of Ted Ginn, pinned the Panthers on their own 16. NFL MVP Cam Newton threw the ball on first down to Jericho Cotchery. Cotchery bobbled the ball and stumbled for what looked to be a large gain, but the pass was ruled incomplete. Ron Rivera tossed the challenge flag, but the call was upheld. While most all of America thought it was a catch, the NFL seemed to not think so. Facing a 3rd and 10, Newton took the snap and Von Miller hit/stripped/sacked the "dabber". The ball went backward and Malik Jackson covered the ball in the end zone for the TD. McManus knocked in the XP to put the Broncos up 10-0.

The defense forced another punt, but Denver could again do nothing on offense. Colquitt punted the ball again and thanks to a Carolina penalty, put the Panthers' 27. Carolina drove the ball to the Denver 15 thanks to misdirection and defensive over-pursuit. On the next play, Corey Brown caught a pass with Talib trailing him. Talib was penalized for the face mask and the ball was put on the 1. On the next play, Johnathan Stewart went airborne to score the TD. Graham Gano kicked the XP to make the score 10-7 Denver. Denver's offense again did nothing and was forced to punt again. Fortunately the defense returned the favor forcing another punt. Jordan Norwood took the punt at the Denver 14 with Panther players very close. For some reason, the Panthers did not tackle Norwood. Norwood took off up the sideline for a Super Bowl record 61 yard return to the Carolina 14. Denver's offense got the the Carolina 5, but they stalled out. Anderson was stuffed on 3rd and 1, but Gary Kubiak elected to go for it. On 4th and 1, Anderson barely got the yardage, but there was a flag for holding on Louis Vasquez. Denver was forced to kick and McManus nailed it to make the score 13-7.

Carolina got some momentum thanks to Newton's running and a Malik Jackson's 15 yard flag. Mike Tolbert then took the ball 11 yards to the Denver 40, but he fumbled the ball after a hit from Darian Stewart which was recovered by Danny Trevathan. Denver's offense started their drive with some promise thanks to Anderson's 34 yard run to the Panther 26, but was squandered thanks to Manning throwing a horrible pick to Kony Ealy. Ealy dropped back in coverage and it looked like Peyton wanted to throw to Sanders. Denver's defense forced another 3 and out, but then the offense again did nothing with the ball. Carolina moved the ball to the Broncos' 45, but DeMarcus Ware sacked Newton to end the half.

After a long and crappy halftime show, Carolina took the ball and moved to the Denver 26 thanks to a couple of catches by Ginn (45 and 14 yards). The defense finally clamped down, forcing a 44 yard FG attempt. Gano's kick hit the right upright and Carolina went away empty. Denver's offense finally found a little life with Manning hitting Sanders twice to get to the Panther 17. Carolina then jumped off-sides thanks to an "OMAHA" to put the ball on the 12. Sadly they could not go any further, but McManus was money again to make the score 16-7. The Panthers moved the ball to the Denver 28 thanks to some long receptions by Brown and Ginn, but came away empty thanks to TJ Ward's interception. Ward did attempt to give the ball back by fumbling, but Trevathan recovered the ball at the Denver 7. The teams then exchanged punts again and Denver moved the ball to the Panther 37. Unfortunately, Manning fumbled twice, recovering one and losing the other on the 50. Carolina drove the ball, but settled for a FG to make the score 16-10. The next three possessions between the teams ended in 3 and outs with the Panthers taking the ball on their own 24. After the Panthers gained one yard on two plays, Von Miller struck again. Newton went back to pass with Miller speed rushing on the right. Von hit the ball out of Newton's hand forcing it forward. Instead of diving to recover the ball, Newton stopped and the ball then went backwards. TJ Ward recovered the ball at the 9 and stumbled to the Carolina 4.

The offense then took over. After Anderson ran twice for no net gain, Manning went to the air on third down. His pass was way over the head of Demaryius Thomas, but Josh Norman was flagged for holding. Anderson finally scored from two yards out to make the score 22-10. Manning found Bennie Fowler for the two point conversion to make it 24-10. Carolina couldn't do anything on their last two possessions and Denver secured their third Vince Lombardi Trophy as SUPER BOWL 50 champions!

As for my impressions of this game, this was a defensive domination that rivaled the '85 Bears and the '00 Ravens. Cam Newton was harassed and hit all game and their turnovers were devastating for them. Offensively, the Broncos did only "enough" to win and it was butt ugly. The Panther defense is as good as advertised thanks to CJ having to earn every yard and sacking Manning five times. Thankfully, Denver's defense made more turnovers and sacks than Carolina's. Despite the bad flags on Talib, the damage was minimal and he was lucky he didn't get ejected. Von Miller earned every bit of his SB MVP and Ware was also a killer against the Panthers. What makes this effort even more impressive by these two is the fact that they were blatantly held every snap. It's nuts that Vasquez was the only OL flagged when Remmers and Oher were much worse. Special Teams was very solid with Colquitt punting like he meant it and the coverage keeping Ginn from doing anything. McManus was money on his FGs and kickoffs with Webster covering the kicks well. Norwood's punt return was a huge play to help extend the lead. At the end though, Denver has brought the title back and this season was one of the most memorable for being so gritty. It was so amazing seeing John Elway yell "THIS ONE"S FOR PAT!" and I hope it was at least a small honor to an owner that has done so much for this franchise. Most likely, this was Peyton Manning's final game and he got his storybook ending as a two time champion and holding practically every passing record as well as 200 career wins (regular and postseason). Now he can ride off into the sunset and sing (in the Nationwide jingle).... "I am done, THANK YOU DENVER!"

I am confident when I say and many other Broncos fans would agree. Thank you Sheriff!

Hall of Shame (er um "Fame") - Once again, Canton added no Broncos despite some former players being deserving of the honor. This year there were three (more like 2.5). Terrell Davis, Steve Atwater and John Lynch were finalists for entry into Canton. As per the tradition, the media picked others (many of them deserving, others not so much). Peter King from SI had interesting glimpse into the selection process. From his description, it looks like they are more geared into a selection process like the Pope rather than the merits of the players. His argument against Davis shows that he believes that more weight is used into longevity instead of anything else. How else could Curtis Martin and Jerome Bettis have been selected before TD? There is your answer. It is also shows how much bias there is against our favorite team. Apparently we as fans have to petition these folks and suck up to them in order to get them into Canton. Apparently the merits listed below aren't enough for them:

  • Most sold out games since 1970
  • 8 AFC Championships
  • 3 Super Bowl Championships
  • TD was a SB 32 MVP, NFL MVP, 2000 yard rushing season and the reason that Denver won their first two Lombardis
  • Atwater was on the All-90's team and one of the most feared safeties in the game
  • Lynch was also a feared safety, but most of his credit is linked to the Buccaneers
  • Randy Gradishar should also be in the discussion for the senior vote

All the Broncos can get into Canton is FOUR? That is a travesty in itself. I'm sure that there will need to be a few more campaigns like what MHR did to get Floyd Little in a few years ago. Enough of this rant, we have a championship to bask in.

Final Thoughts and Thanks - When I started doing this in 2013, the intent was to write my thoughts and nothing else. The attention that was garnered from all of you at MHR has been beyond words and very humbling to me. As my posts improved, my skill improved and it was like sitting down to drinks to talk football with friends. While I have never met any of you, it was still fun to connect with many I consider friends and colleagues. RIP Bronco Mike, hope you are smiling from above and enjoying this from where you are.

I can easily say that this was the most fun I ever had writing anything and being able to troll Chiefs and Pats fans made it even better. After three tough years for both the Broncos and myself personally, it is my pleasure and honor to say.... THIS BUSINESS IS FINISHED!

Thank you!

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.