Despite entering Super Bowl 50 as betting underdogs and a schematic disadvantage in rostered Ohio State alumni, the Denver Broncos corralled the Carolina Panthers, 24-10, in Super Bowl 50.
Bronco CB Bradley Roby finished the game with two tackles, including a big third-down pass breakup late in the fourth quarter against Ted Ginn to stall a Carolina drive deep in Denver territory that kept the Panthers to three points and Denver's lead at six.
Other Buckeyes to receive Super Bowl 50 rings include former player and Silver Bullet founder Fred Pagac, who coaches TEs/OLBs for Denver, and Jeff Heuerman, who was with the team despite recovering from a preseason ACL injury.
Corey Brown made the Buckeye play of the game with a sprawling 42-yard catch in the third quarter. Unfortunately, he suffered a concussion on the plan. He finished with four receptions and 80 yards, the best statistical outing by an Ohio State alumnus.
Bronco LB Vonn Miller, who made about three billion dollars in his next NFL contract, was named MVP for a whirling-dervish performance that included 2.5 sacks, 2 QB hits, and a forced fumble.
SuperBuckeyes
via @NFL
Before the final whistle blows on Super Bowl 50, Ohio State will have a significant impact on who is crowned the champions of the top professional football league in the world.
| MATCHUP | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina v. Denver | Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, Calif.) | 6:30 p.m. | CBS |
Former Buckeyes litter the rosters of the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos Sunday. Cornerback Bradley Roby and tight end Jeff Heuerman don the orange and blue of Denver, though the latter won't play as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL. Roby is Denver's nickel corner.
On the opposite side of the field, wide receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Corey "Philly" Brown join safety Kurt Coleman and offensive lineman Andrew Norwell for the Panthers. All are starters.
The five active Buckeyes in the Super Bowl is more than any other school in Sunday's game, though the SEC has more players overall.
One matchup carries a bit more intrigue than the others, however. Roby and Brown lived with each other at Ohio State first when they played for Jim Tressel and then later Urban Meyer. Now, they get to play for football's biggest prize against one another.
Luckily, their former positions coaches at Ohio State took care of the trash talking this week for them ahead of the biggest game of their lives.
Cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs spoke to the media Wednesday about the latest top-5 recruiting class he helped Meyer secure for the Buckeyes, but predicted his former pupil in Roby would shut out Brown Sunday if the two lined up opposite one another in Santa Clara.
"Come on, man that's a shutout," the always colorful Coombs yelped as he walked away from the podium Wednesday. "Are you serious? Philly won't catch a ball.
"I saw that every day for three years."
Wide receivers coach Zach Smith fired back, popping in some old game film of Brown and telling ESPN.com nothing more needs to be brought up.
"The film doesn't lie," Smith told Austin Ward. "Chirping in an interview is one thing. Pushing play is another."
It no doubt will be a special day for not only Roby and Brown, but the rest of the Buckeyes hope to put their own impression on Super Sunday.
Each is making their first Super Bowl appearance, and the Carolina Buckeyes carried the Panthers over Arizona in the NFC Championship Game two weeks ago. Roby intercepted New England quarterback Tom Brady's game-tying two-point conversion attempt hours earlier to seal the AFC Championship for Denver.
In all, it served as a nice recruiting tool right before the 2016 cycle came to a close. Now Roby and Brown will face off against their best friend, with a host of Buckeyes also vying for a ring.
"We always talked about it, man, but we knew it was a long shot," Brown told Around the NFL this week. "We always talked about playing in the NFL, but for it to happen this early in our careers is ridiculous."
Broncos players call out selfish Cam Newton: He plays for himself
With just over four minutes left in the game, Cam Newton dropped back to pass, but before he could get a throw off, Newton's right arm was hit by Broncos linebacker Von Miller, which caused a fumble.
The Broncos ended up with the loose ball, which was almost a miracle because it looked like Newton was in the perfect spot to recover it. Instead of going after the ball though, Newton appeared to avoid DeMarcus Ware.
During the aftermath of the Broncos' 24-10 win, plays like that left at least two Broncos defenders questioning Newton's effort.
Broncos linebacker Danny Trevathan basically called Newton selfish. "That's the way he is. Playing for himself," Trevathan told MMQB.com.
Broncos defensive back Aqib Talib agreed, saying, "He didn't want it."
No one was celebrating Newton's downfall more than Talib after the game.
"There ain't no Easter Bunny, there ain't no Santa Claus, there ain't no Superman," Talib toldthe Broncos' official website.
In a separate interview with a Canadian television station, Talib said Newton was probably tearing up in his press conference.
"Cam's probably crying right now," Talib said, via TSN.com.
Trevathan said his team flustered Newton by keeping pressure on him all game.
"Our defense came out there and got after him," Trevathan said. "We never let him get comfortable back there. He made some passes, but he was never comfortable."
Newton was sacked a total of six times in the game. The Panthers quarterback didn't exactly defend himself in his postgame press conference, either. After several questions, he just got up and walked out.
LeBron James said he didn't see Cam Newton's postgame press conference after Super Bowl 50, but shared what it's been like for him to talk to the media after an NBA Finals loss: "I know it's very difficult to play in one of the biggest games of your life and come out on the wrong side of it and then have to automatically answer questions. And we also know as professionals that's part of the business. We also know that you guys are part of the reason that help (make) the game as great as it is, so you got to, as difficult as it is to answer some of the questions that you know this is the last thing you want to talk about, you have to go up there and take the onus, and take the good with the bad. Like I said I didn't see the Cam interview, but I can only imagine what happened. But I've been in that situation before on both sides, so, it's difficult."
No comments:
Post a Comment