Official Panthers at Broncos Predictions Thread!

[Jeremy Igo]

3 hours ago, hepcat said:

The shorter week in not being able to travel to Denver sooner to adjust to the altitude. The Panthers haven't played in Denver since 2004. None of the players are prepared for it. None of the coaches are even talking about it. They're going to get worn out and we're going to be sitting here wondering why they collapsed in the 4th quarter.

IMO, the altitude thing is way overblown. Its more mental than anything. Only takes a real toll over long periods of time. Players will have O2 masks and tanks on the sidelines. 

[hepcat]

4 minutes ago, Jeremy Igo said:

IMO, the altitude thing is way overblown. Its more mental than anything. Only takes a real toll over long periods of time. Players will have O2 masks and tanks on the sidelines. 

I don't know about that...I lived in Colorado for 5 years. I went back for a visit a year after moving to NC. Played a pickup basketball game the morning after I got there and I was puking my guts out. I'm not a highly trained athlete so who knows, I just know there's a reason Olympians train in Colorado

[SurfNTurf]

My brain knows that a season-opening road loss in an AFC vs. NFC matchup against an above-average opponent would have little bearing on our playoff seeding.

As a Denver resident, my heart wants nothing more than an absolute curbstomping of this dirty, arrogant Broncos team. I've read a lot about how Denver Broncos fans are generally friendly and knowledgeable. That has not been my experience for the past six months. Every time I wear Panthers gear around town, fans of other teams call me "brave" and Broncos fans routinely shout obscenities. Whatever, I have a thick skin. That's why I still rock the Panthers gear. But I'd love nothing more than to parade around town this Friday and not hear a peep from a fanbase that has yet to come to terms with their team's upcoming mediocrity.

34-10 Panthers.

P.S. The altitude issue is overblown. I travel to lower elevations a lot, and I never notice the difference returning to 5,000 feet. After graduating from UNCW, I flew out to 5,400 feet for an interview and ran five miles on the hotel treadmill that night just to see if I noticed myself struggling. I didn't. Where you DO run into altitude issues is folks from sea-level coming to the ski resorts at 8-9k. That's no joke. But for Denver at 5,280 feet, professional athletes should not be hugely affected.

[hepcat]

7 minutes ago, SurfNTurf said:

P.S. The altitude issue is overblown. I travel to lower elevations a lot, and I never notice the difference returning to 5,000 feet. After graduating from UNCW, I flew out to 5,400 feet for an interview and ran five miles on the hotel treadmill that night just to see if I noticed myself struggling. I didn't. Where you DO run into altitude issues is folks from sea-level coming to the ski resorts at 8-9k. That's no joke. But for Denver at 5,280 feet, professional athletes should not be hugely affected.

Wonder why this is?

[Norway]

Man I'm stoked right now. Strongly considering staying up for the game. Starts 02.30 AM local time, and I guess it lasts to around 06.00 AM. Don't usually stay up for the prime time games in the middle of the night except playoff games. I watch the prime time games the day after in replay, but it's the opener so I'm a bit torn. Sometimes I almost miss Panthers being irrelevant - it was much easier when the majority of matches were played 1:00 AM EST. That is like prime time for us Europeans..

[SurfNTurf]

6 minutes ago, hepcat said:

Wonder why this is?

They've been a consistently good team since 2000. They've had a losing record only twice (and one of those was 7-9) to pair with eight seasons with double-digit wins. Even in their down years, their home openers have come mostly against poor-to-average teams. 

[electro's horse]

denver 16

Panthers 10

gonna be a brutal poo show

[Nick_81]

2 minutes ago, hepcat said:

Wonder why this is?

Could be any number of things.  Too many to put solely on altitude, IMO.

[Jeremy Igo]

3 hours ago, hepcat said:

Wonder why this is?

Because they always have had really good teams? 

How many of those games was with a QB that has taken 1 nfl snap for a kneel down?

 

[d-dave]

2 hours ago, CRA said:

Miller had the best game of his career in the Super Bowl.  Just playing the odds, he is human again this Thursday. 

I consider this game no tough than your average Seahawks game.  A tough one.  A near coin flip game IMO

I so hope you're right!  Maybe Miller has spent too much of his off season dancing for commercials...

But at the end of the day, the pressure is all on us.  I hope that we can overcome that pressure and just play a good fun game instead of being pressured to be perfect.

[greghardy'sAK-47]

19 minutes ago, Norway said:

Man I'm stoked right now. Strongly considering staying up for the game. Starts 02.30 AM local time, and I guess it lasts to around 06.00 AM. Don't usually stay up for the prime time games in the middle of the night except playoff games. I watch the prime time games the day after in replay, but it's the opener so I'm a bit torn. Sometimes I almost miss Panthers being irrelevant - it was much easier when the majority of matches were played 1:00 AM EST. That is like prime time for us Europeans..

i hear ya!  even watching on DVR w/o knowing the outcome isn't the same.  had to do this a lot a couple seasons ago and you get to skip a bunch of commercials, but this takes away from a lot of the anticipation, etc.  then there is always that asshole that wants to talk about the game, tell the score, whatever.  

[chbright]

10 minutes ago, electro's horse said:

denver 16

Panthers 10

gonna be a brutal poo show

So Carolina replaces Jericho dropsies with KB, and can't improve on 10 pts against the team that lost it's anchor in the middle of the DL. Hmmmmm bit of a homer there?

Denver doesn't face the same Carolina defence either, but without the savy vet cannot capitalize on Panther's youth in the secondary. They can't convert frequently in the red zone and do not get a defensive score Thursday to bolster the offense. Instead the Panthers D gets turnovers from a vets up the middle of the defense that leads to a short field score.

 

Denver's defense still creates turnovers and bends but does not break. Panthers failed to shore up the right side against Von Miller who again reminds teams how to slow the Panthers O: attack Remmers and speed rush in Cams face.

 

In the end, the big difference is not the Qb now in Denver, but the fact Carolina finds a running game Thursday and a component quartet of receivers vs the super bowl squad dropsies.  Final 20 to 16 Panthers. 

[AceMan]

[chknwing]

we may get to see more of the depth receivers as Benji will have limited snaps per Rivera