Top 12 storylines for Super Bowl 50

The stories coming out of Santa Clara in preparation for Super Bowl 50 have been hot and heavy.

From some sort of controversy regarding the Girl Scouts and the host team to Cam Newton’s attire, some of these stories have distracted from the game itself.

In this social media driven world, that has to be considered par for the course.

Looking at the two teams actually preparing to do battle at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, there really are some intriguing stories to check in on.

Has the criticism of one Cam Newton gone too far? Does it represent a divide that’s all but ignored in the sports world?

Will some of the top defensive players in the NFL today step up when their teams need it the most?

These are among the top 12 storylines heading into Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos.

1. The Cam Newton conversation

This isn’t a conversation most Americans are comfortable with. It dates back to our creation as a nation, and long before that. It’s about race in our society.

It’s the uncomfortable reality that suggests recent progress hasn’t equated to an end of race-based issues.

While it might not be on the level of Black Lives Matter and other areas creating a large-scale societal divide, the issue of race in sports should be discussed.

This issue has been brought to the forefront with the archaic ideologies of some within the sports world that have found a way to create a wedge issue surrounding Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

“He shouldn’t celebrate in that manner,” some say. Letters to editors (probably with quill pens) have been sent. The old guard is outraged.

Meanwhile, a former NFL player took to the media to bash the likely league MVP:

“I played defense so I don’t like when guys celebrate with dances and stuff. You know who I like the way he celebrates is Peyton. He kind of gives the guy a handshake and goes back to the sidelines. I think that’s a great celebration right there,” former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said last week, via USA Today Sports. “You don’t see him dancing. You don’t see him doing all of that stuff. Even when he gets a first down he doesn’t do anything.”

Sadly, this is the narrative being thrown Newton’s way as the quarterback prepares for the biggest game of his life. This is a suggestion that we haven’t come as far as some of us might have hoped.

Urlacher’s comments might very well be nothing more than an old school linebacker preferring a different era — an era in which certain celebrations and dances existed on a much smaller scale.

But as we have seen regarding the criticism of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, there is an issue here much larger than simply celebrations.

From critiques of tattoos to questions about a player’s maturity, it surely does seem that African American quarterbacks are placed under the proverbial umbrella of criticism more than their white counterparts.

There isn’t much Newton can do about this. Instead, his focus should be on leading Carolina to a Super Bowl title at Levi’s on Sunday.

If that happens, all potentially racially-based criticism thrown his way can act as white noise for the dynamic quarterback (pun very much intended).

2. Peyton Manning’s last hurrah

Whether we like it or not, Manning’s lasting legacy and the narrative surrounding it will be decided at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Sunday.

Sunday will represent Manning’s fourth Super Bowl appearance. That will tie him with four other quarterbacks for second all-time. He will, however, be the first quarterback to lead two different teams to multiple Super Bowl appearances.

If Manning were to come out on top at Levi’s on Sunday, he would join an elite list of Hall of Famers to win two Super Bowl titles, including Roger Staubach and John Elway. If not, he will simply be another in a laundry list of signal callers to have won one title.

The interesting dynamic here is that Manning would join John Elway and Fran Tarkenton with three Super Bowl losses — the second-most in NFL history behind Jim Kelly.

That’s the legacy Manning himself is fighting for. Will he be mentioned among the greatest of all-time? If not, will history point to Manning in the same vein that it currently points to the likes of Kelly, Dan Marino and many others who have failed to succeed on football’s grandest stage?

In reality, Sunday’s game against Carolina represents a battle for Manning’s legacy in potentially his last game as a professional football player.

3. Injured Carolina Panthers defenders

Both Thomas Davis and Jared Allen should be of utmost concern for a Panthers defense that is capable of shutting down a pedestrian Broncos passing attack.

Davis was a full participant in practice on Wednesday after suffering a broken arm against the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship game.

While this is definitely good news for the Panthers, it remains to be seen just how much of an impact Davis can make on defense. Equally as good against the run as he is dropping back into coverage, the Panthers need their star linebacker to be at 100 percent when kickoff comes calling Sunday afternoon.

The good news here is, barring a setback during the game, Davis’ broken arm won’t have much of an impact in coverage. It could, however, impact his ability to wrap up in the run game.

As it relates to Allen, he suffered a broken foot in the divisional round of the playoffs. After missing the NFC Championship game, he appears ready to go for Super Bowl 50.

To call that absolutely insane would be an understatement. Though, it’s not entirely sure whether Allen will be anywhere near 100 percent when the game comes calling.

4. Demaryius Thomas and mom

This is one of the top stories around the sports world over the past several years. Not only did Thomas’ mom get to see her son play in the NFL for the first time in the divisional playoffs, she has an opportunity to attend the Super Bowl at Levi’s on Sunday.

So why is a mother attending her son’s football game such a big deal?

Katina Smith, the mother of Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, was just recently granted clemency from President Obama after serving 15 years of a 20-year sentence on drug charges.

Those 15 years Katina spent behind bars represented Thomas’ entire high school, college and NFL careers up until her release.

Despite all this, Smith is not yet sure whether she will be attending the Super Bowl. See, the advice she got after spending 4,568 days in prison suggested she take things easy. Maybe a way to acclimate herself to society after 15 years behind bars (via ESPN.com).

Either way, this is one of those good stories. A story that started as a nightmare for a young man that matured through his formative years without the guidance of his mother. A story that comes to a culmination with her having a chance to watch him on the game’s biggest stage.

5. A new era in the NFL?

We have already covered Cam Newton’s “antics” and those who have an issue with them. What we haven’t covered is the fact that he can become the second quarterback born after the release of the Nintento Entertainment System (1985) to win the big game.

It’s a process the NFL goes through every so often. The transition from a stable of veteran champions to the new breed. And while Wilson was the first of this new crop to hoist the Lombardi, Newton will attempt to be the first of the more celebrated college prospects to do so.

In the process, Cam is going to look to set the stage for not just himself but a long line of other young signal callers looking to make their impact on the NFL.

That list includes the likes of Derek Carr, Andrew Luck, Blake Bortles, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota — a darn good young crop of quarterbacks.

More than this, Newton will attempt to make his imprint on one of the four new franchises and become the first quarterback to lead a 1990’s era expansion team to the promised land. That in and of itself would bring in a new era around the NFL.

6. The Denver Broncos’ ridiculous lack of Super Bowl success

Denver has played in a total of seven Super Bowls. In the five that it has lost, the average margin of defeat was nearly 30 points. Just think about that for a second: Denver has lost Super Bowls by 45, 35 and 32 points.

Already boasting the most Super Bowl losses in history, Denver could jump to two ahead of four other teams for that not-so-friendly distinction.

More than this, the Broncos are going to want to get that bad taste from their most recent loss — a 45-8 blowout defeat against Seattle back in February of 2014 — out of their mouths.

That game saw Denver fall down 36-0 before scoring a touchdown in the third quarter. Just to magnify how bad this performance was, Seattle’s first score of the game was a safety.

It goes without saying that Denver will have to get off to a better start if it wants to avoid a major let down on football’s biggest stage.

The key here will be to avoid the early turnover, which would leave Newton and Co. with a short field. This scenario might also force the Broncos into becoming a pass-first offense — something that won’t end too well with Manning lacking any real ability to beat teams through the air on a consistent basis.

The other key here will be for the Broncos to contain Newton’s down-field ability early in the game.

It’s all about controlling the tempo, managing the game and playing elite-level defense. If that happens, the Broncos should be able to avoid that dreaded sixth Super Bowl loss.

7. Two elite defensive backfields

Denver finished the regular season with the NFL’s top-ranked pass defense at under 200 yards per game. It also finished fourth overall in opposing quarterback rating (78.8). That was made possible by the 19 touchdowns compared to 14 interceptions it allowed during the regular season.

While the Panthers’ defensive backfield isn’t anywhere near as heralded as the Broncos, it performed at an elite level as well. Carolina did rank outside of the top 10 in pass defense, but it yielded a NFL low 73.5 quarterback rating (21 touchdowns compared to 24 interceptions).

When looking at two dominant pass defenses, the most important thing to gauge is the opposing team’s quarterbacks.

In three games against top-10 pass defenses during the regular season, Manning put up three touchdowns compared to six interceptions while leading the Broncos to a 2-1 record.

Meanwhile, Newton led the Panthers to a perfect 6-0 record with nine touchdowns compared to four interceptions.

These aren’t necessarily great sample sizes. And in reality, it makes sense that quarterbacks would struggle against better pass defenses.

What we do know here is that Carolina had much more success in games against these types of top-end pass defenses.

The primary reason for this was the Panthers’ success on the ground. They averaged 143.7 rushing yards in these six games. If they are able to repeat that on Sunday, it likely won’t matter how well Denver’s defense plays against the pass.

8. Unsung hero?

We saw it with Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler of the New England Patriots last season. Heck, former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews caught his first ever NFL pass in last year’s Super Bowl, going for four receptions, 109 yards and a touchdown.

It will be interesting to see who the unsung hero might be in this one. Could it be a player in Vernon Davis who has been much maligned in recent seasons? What about a former first-round bust in the form of Panthers wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr?

Those two would make tremendous stories, especially considering they once played for the 49ers — Davis himself at Levi’s Stadium.

More realistically, it’s going to be someone that hasn’t even been on our radar. That’s what makes this game so grand. A player that we didn’t previously give a single thought to will make a huge impact on the game. It just remains to be seen who that might be.

9. The “John Fox” bowl

Just how amazing is it that these two teams, seemingly in good shape under Fox when he was fired, are now on the verge of hoisting the Lombardi just a short while after showing him the door?

The interesting dynamic here is that both the Panthers and Broncos fired Fox after he led them to a Super Bowl appearance. That’s not something you see every day.

Now take into account the fact that they are playing one another mere months after Fox was ousted in Denver, and that takes on even more meaning.

Some may call it a coincidence, but there’s something else potentially at play here. While Fox was good enough to get each team into contention, it took someone else to get them to the promised land. At the very least, that might be the narrative should Denver come out on top in surprising fashion.

10. A new Super Bowl venue

There’s very little doubt that the Bay Area has been one of the top locations NOT to host a Super Bowl over the past quarter century. Unfortunately for the NFL, the issue there was a lack of a state of the art venue to house the big game.

This all changed with the erection of Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in time for the 2014 NFL season. Now with the venue to host the biggest annual sporting event in the world, it’s going to be interesting to see how Levi’s and the broader Bay Area handles it.

After all, it isn’t like Levi’s will be the only option to host a Super Bowl in California moving forward. The new Los Angeles Rams stadium in Inglewood, which is expected to be an amazing venue, will be ready in time for the 2019 season.

Could California potentially have two locations within the NFL’s cycle of Super Bowl venues?

A lot of this will depend on how everything goes in the lead up to the big game as well as what will hopefully be a seamless transition to game day on Sunday.

11. Defensive MVP?

Only seven of the previous 49 Super Bowl MVP’s were on the defensive side of the ball, the latest being then Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith back in February of 2014.

While the odds are on an offensive player taking home the hardware this year, there are at least two elite-level defenders that stand a good chance.

Could Broncos linebacker Von Miller cap off a tremendous postseason run with the MVP award? What about former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly? These are among the best players at their respective positions. They have also shown a tendency to step up big time when it counts the most.

With all that said, it’s more likely than not that a Broncos win would result in a defensive player taking home the MVP award.

Barring some sort of turn back the clock performance from Manning, he’s not going to figure into the equation. On the other end, Newton possesses the ability to take over a game — something that would lead to him hoisting both the Lombardi and the Pete Rozelle trophies.

12. The 2011 NFL draft class

For the first time in league history, the top two picks from a specific draft will be taking on one another in the Super Bowl.

Cam Newton, the first pick of the 2011 NFL draft, will also look to become just the third No. 1 overall pick at his position to start for a Super Bowl-winning team since Troy Aikman led the Dallas Cowboys to victory following the 1995 season.

Meanwhile, Broncos linebacker Von Miller (picked second overall in 2011), will look to cause a ton of issues for Newton in the offensive backfield.

Taking this dynamic a bit further, an argument could be made that Newton and Miller are not the two best players from a draft class that included A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson and J.J. Watt.

They are, however, here in hopes of leading their team to a Super Bowl title — something not a single other player picked in the top half of the first round that year can say.

Check out Vincent’s other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter. His work can also be seen on MSN, Fox Sports and Forbes.