Have tons of respect for Poolside as a capper but I think the public takes Round 1 here.
In a vacuum this line is off. Giving points to the SB Champion at Mile High sounds insane. Manning's absence shouldn't make much difference to the line considering his condition and form of last season, and the inexperienced QB is compensated by the fact that Manning would be ineffective. Line opened with Denver as the favourite and has steadily moved one way. Anyone on +3 Denver should be pretty comfortable they are on the right side from a Handicapping perspective and I can't see it reaching +3.5. If anything it might come back to 2.5 with juice on the Panthers but it's hard to know.
It'll be interesting to see if Denver's D holds up as well as in the SB and how well Carolina have prepared and adjusted for the rematch. Less pressure on the players in a game that isn't a one-off must-win should have both teams playing closer to their true ability. The Panthers continued to confound the faders last year, getting it done and setting a level of play that sent them to the SB as favourites, and the extra maturity of a team bang in the middle of its window of opportunity gives them an edge here IMO. I think key for the Panthers will be keeping the ball for longish time consuming drives and trying to take advantage of a tiring D in the last Q rather than trying to beat the Defence with fancy plays and risk turnovers. They need >50% possession, probably close to 60%, and if they get that I think they win.
Just my two bits. BOL for the season. I'm fortunate in that my 2 favourite sports run back to back with each other. One finishes just as the other is beginning. I have to have action on the opening game, but small play Carolina -3.
In a vacuum this line is off. Giving points to the SB Champion at Mile High sounds insane. Manning's absence shouldn't make much difference to the line considering his condition and form of last season, and the inexperienced QB is compensated by the fact that Manning would be ineffective. Line opened with Denver as the favourite and has steadily moved one way. Anyone on +3 Denver should be pretty comfortable they are on the right side from a Handicapping perspective and I can't see it reaching +3.5. If anything it might come back to 2.5 with juice on the Panthers but it's hard to know.
It'll be interesting to see if Denver's D holds up as well as in the SB and how well Carolina have prepared and adjusted for the rematch. Less pressure on the players in a game that isn't a one-off must-win should have both teams playing closer to their true ability. The Panthers continued to confound the faders last year, getting it done and setting a level of play that sent them to the SB as favourites, and the extra maturity of a team bang in the middle of its window of opportunity gives them an edge here IMO. I think key for the Panthers will be keeping the ball for longish time consuming drives and trying to take advantage of a tiring D in the last Q rather than trying to beat the Defence with fancy plays and risk turnovers. They need >50% possession, probably close to 60%, and if they get that I think they win.
Just my two bits. BOL for the season. I'm fortunate in that my 2 favourite sports run back to back with each other. One finishes just as the other is beginning. I have to have action on the opening game, but small play Carolina -3.
