Super Bowl 50

Starts around 11.30pm, with the Carolina Panthers taking on the Denver Broncos. Slight extra interest for me with the Broncos being a big rival of the Oakland Raiders and worth noting that late in the year, the Raiders actually went to Denver and won. The Panthers only lost once in the Regular Season and are justifiable favourites. The Broncos come here off the back of an upset win over the New England Patriots, but I feel they will have to improve greatly on offense. Much of the focus against the Patriots was the performance of the Denver Defense and their constant harassment of Quarterback Tom Brady. Much less focus was on the performance of the Denver offensive line. Their own Quarterback Peyton Manning was under constant pressure in the 2nd half and the offence pretty much stalled. This was very similar to their 2nd half performance against the Raiders,when they allowed 6 sacks, 5 of them to Khalil Mack ( Top defender and hopefully the cornerstone for the Raiders defence in the future )

As mentioned above, the Denver defence did very well against the Patriots, but they are up against a very different QB today. Tom Brady is more of a " pocket Quarterback " and will tend to hang in there till the last second to get his passes off. Cam Newton however is a lot more mobile and is a real athlete, despite being 245lbs. He can escape pressure and turn a potential big loss into a game changing gaIn

Overall I also favour the Panthers as they should be able to get pressure on the QB and should also be able to move the ball effectively. Much of the focus will be on the running game the Panthers, especially with such a mobile QB. I do think however that they will also need a big game from their Tight End Greg Olsen, who is one of the best in his position.

In terms of bets, very little interest in the outright market, but do like a bet in big games and like to take chances of the first Touchdown Scorer along with the Most Valuable Player award. First TD scorer is tricky, especially as Denver's 2 main running backs tend to share the load and so if you go with one of those, you need some luck as to whether he is even on the field. Some fancy prices available for the MVP but as usual the top 2 in the betting are the respective starting QB's.

For the first TD scorer, going with the afore mentioned Greg Olsen, plus adding the panthers short yardage running back, along with one of Denver's Tight ends. Getting creative with the MVP, with plenty of small stakes bets, but 4 of them are available at 100/1 or more. Ted Ginn is a dual threat as he is not only a wide receiver, but is also a dangerous kick returner. Mike Tolbert as the short yardage back could get carries at the goaline and a 2/3 touchdown performance would make him a strong candidate. No good if all Carolinas scores come from long passes, but if put in a position to score, he is tough to stop. May not even see much of the field, but still there are worse 200/1 shots out there. Gone with both place kickers also as if it is a low scoring game and one of the guys hits 4 or 5 field goals ( especially if they are from long range ) then it would be tough to ignore their claims. Finally gone with Denver's back up QB. He has seen plenty of playing time this Year and if he were to step in and lead Denver to victory, then I am sure he would pick up plenty of votes -

First TD Scorer

Greg Olsen ( Carolina ) at 8's
Mike Tolbert ( Carolina ) at 20's
Vernon Davis ( Denver ) at 25's.

MVP Award

Ted Ginn ( Carolina ) at 40's
Brock Osweiler ( Back up QB Denver ) at 125's
Brandon McManus ( Denver Kicker ) at 125's
Graham Gano ( Carolina Kicker ) at 125's
Mike Tolbert ( Carolina ) at 200's

Sad to say, the write up was better than the selections. Am a big fan of the NFL and did post a couple of times this season about my beloved Oakland Raiders. Don't consider myself an expert by any means, but if an NFL fan can't post about the " greatest show on earth " then its a bit of a poor show.

Disappointingly, " obscure " was the way to go with the Most Valuable Player award as it was won by a defender. ( just the 4th time in the last 20 years this has happened ) Von Miller would have been known by most followers of the game, but was still 100's to win the award. Brandon McManus did kick 10 of Denver's 24 points ( 3 field goals and an Extra Point ) but would probably have needed them to be from long distance with the last one being the game winner ( with time expiring ) to be considered for the award