Super Bowl: How can the Denver Broncos stop Cam Newton? Is it really as simple as this…?
How do you stop Superman? Maybe that’s not the question the Denver Broncos have to answer.
Cam Newton is going to win the NFL’s MVP award this year. He’s been absolutely outstanding, and the Panthers have played as well as a team as anyone else in the entire league. One could certainly argue — better.
But there’s no doubt — everything flows through Cam Newton. All year long, Newton has been picking apart defenses to the tune of 45 total touchdowns (35 passing, 10 rushing). The Denver Broncos have made a habit all year long of being a quarterback’s worst nightmare, so how do they stop the league’s most valuable player?
Do exactly what they’ve been doing all year on defense.
The Broncos have incredible team speed. They are phenomenal in man coverage. They have depth at every position. Cam Newton might be ‘Superman’ but the Broncos are more than just his kryptonite — they are built to be the bane of his existence.
This season, Cam Newton has had 2.83 seconds — on average — to get rid of the football. The Denver Broncos allow opposing quarterbacks just 2.51 seconds to get rid of the ball, but the beautiful thing about it is, they mix it up for every opponent. You don’t lead the league in sacks as a team any other way.
But beyond the analytics, beyond the fact that the Broncos play the ideal style of defense to be able to get after Cam Newton, one thing sticks out above the rest in terms of a way of winning this football game.
Don’t let Cam Newton have any fun.
We’ve seen throughout his football career, that when things are going well, Newton is one of the most happy-go-lucky athletes that everyone loves to love. When things aren’t going to well? Newton doesn’t really hide his emotions at that point. When things are going poorly for Cam Newton, everyone around him knows it.
The Broncos need to make sure he’s frustrated early on. They will play tight man-to-man coverage on Carolina receivers and suddenly it won’t be so easy for Newton to find all of these wide open receivers like he’s done all year. The Broncos know how to get a rush with just four guys up front, and no offense to anyone else the Panthers have played this year, but the Broncos’ linebackers can cover better than any other group in the league as far as I’m concerned.
It’s not going to be easy to ‘stop’ Cam Newton, but you can make Superman feel like he’s not a superhero, and that’s exactly what I think the Broncos will do. The media has been hyping this game as a “Cam Newton vs. the world” affair and spinning it as a racial thing. I’m so sick of that.
Cam Newton is a great football player, but he has flaws. The Broncos have exposed those flaws before. The Panthers are wearing black, but Newton’s jersey is going to get a lot dirtier on Sunday than it has all year. Make no mistake about it, the Broncos are the best defense they have faced this season, and yes, that includes you, Seattle. Two years ago, the Seahawks gave the Broncos the blueprint. How do you stop the unstoppable offense? How do you win a Super Bowl but not just win it — dominate it.
It’s so simple, it just might work. Be the tougher team. Be faster. Be more physical, and put the MVP on his back. Prove to the rest of the NFL why Cam Newton is hands down the MVP of the league by putting him on his back and seeing if the Panthers can still beat you.
That’s what the Broncos did to Tom Brady. The game was closer in the end than it felt over the course of 60 minutes. Moving the ball was a luxury for the Patriots in that game, something that has been like breathing for them all year. Next up is the top ranked offense in the NFL and the MVP of the league.
If anyone can stop them, it’s this Denver Broncos team.