Chances seem good that we're going to hear at least one mention that current Bears head coach John Fox was the man who preceded the current head coaches for both of these teams. Fox took both the Panthers and the Broncos to Super Bowls, but still has yet to win one. So there may be some lingering concern during any dropping of his name that Chicago could build a content but will need somebody new to get over the hump.
While I admire the job Ron Rivera has done in turning Carolina into something of a juggernaut this year, it's hard for me to really give too much credit to Gary Kubiak. The man essentially inherited a future Hall of Fame quarterback (admittedly in the twilight of his career) and perhaps the best defense in the league.
Mostly, I just loathe John Elway's dismissal of Fox (as well as his recent justification for doing so). So my rooting interest lies more or less with the team that, of course, is coached by a former Bear and has multiple former Bear players on its roster.
Here's the other picks, which largely appear to be the same as my own:
It's hard to deny the genius of Wade Phillips after the way his defense manhandled Tom Brady. Still, the Panthers are far more formidable on the ground than the Patriots were. And Cam Newton is much more capable as a playmaker this season than the banged up Brady was. Both teams' defenses are fully capable of creating problems, but Manning seems like the QB more likely to commit the costly error. We've all seen the Broncos get pasted in the Super Bowls they didn't win, and it's awfully hard to believe that this Carolina team isn't about to add to that legacy of beatdowns. I've clearly been wrong about a lot of things this season, but I'm fairly confident that the Panthers have been carrying themselves with the swagger of a team destined to become champions. It's going to take multiple breakdowns for them to fail on Sunday.
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