Greg Cosell's SB 50 Preview: Can Carolina slow Denver's pass rush?

In the AFC championship game, the Denver Broncos’ pass rush got to Tom Brady repeatedly and was the biggest key in Denver’s victory.

It’s not like that game was a template for what to expect in Super Bowl 50. This will be a totally different game for the Broncos. Their approach will have to change because the Carolina Panthers will have a much different protection philosophy than Denver saw in its last game.

The Patriots lined up often in shotgun, spread formations and tried to protect with their five offensive linemen. That didn't work. The Panthers are a protection-first offense. They’ll often protect with six and seven players. They won’t have quarterback Cam Newton drop back deep and expect their offensive tackles to go one-on-one against Von Miller or DeMarcus Ware.

Here’s what you can expect to see in the Super Bowl: The Panthers will have a couple players in the backfield with Newton, then they’ll slide the protection one way and the two in the backfield will protect away from the slide. One of those players will always be a tight end. The Panthers have done this all season and surely will again against a Broncos defense that led the NFL in sacks.

Here’s what it looked like on a 39-yard pass to Ted Ginn on the sideline.

And here’s the same protection concept on a 54-yard pass to Greg Olsen. Olsen ran a great route against cornerback Justin Bethel, threatening him to the outside and creating separation inside. Newton did an excellent job manipulating single high safety Rashad Johnson. These big pass plays aren’t possible if the line doesn’t give Newton enough time.

The Panthers can protect with extra players because they see a lot of zone coverage, which is due to Newton’s ability to take off and run (in zone coverage, defenders have their eyes back toward the line of scrimmage). And receivers can find voids in zones if they get enough time. The Panther also slow down pass rushes with the multiple misdirection looks in the backfield in their running game.

In the NFC championship game the Cardinals were not able to generate any consistent pass rush against the Panthers’ offensive line and Newton. They blitzed 10 times on Newton’s 29 drop backs but their blitz was not a factor.

What the Panthers do very well when Newton has time to set up in the pocket is getting their receivers and tight ends on top of safeties. They did a marvelous job of that against the Cardinals. On a 29-yard catch by Olsen, it looked like a three-level stretch play (which is a foundation for the Panthers) but Olsen stayed down the vertical seam. It looked like the Cardinals were in “Cover 3” zone and Olsen got his matchup on the safety.

The Broncos’ defensive success is built around its pass rush and its cornerbacks playing great coverage behind it. The Broncos rarely blitzed Brady, but decided to rush three and four men and had success that way. But they normally blitz regularly, and coordinator Wade Phillips has creative blitz packages.

The Broncos did blitz Brady in the red zone in the AFC championship game and prevented him from throwing a touchdown. An inside blitz stunt got tackle Vance Walker clean to Brady, who didn’t have time to set and throw. James White had run by safety Josh Bush, but the pass rush prevented an easy touchdown.

The Broncos had great success rushing the quarterback in the AFC championship game. The Panthers stress protection in their passing game, and will in Super Bowl 50. How well Carolina protects Newton will be a key element to the Super Bowl.

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NFL analyst and NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell watches as much NFL game film as anyone. Throughout the season, Cosell will join Shutdown Corner to share his observations on the teams, schemes and personnel from around the league.