Peyton will stand tall in Super Bowl 50

Just @5280Miles at the @fullerhouse house. #NBD from @Broncos

Despite some in the media doubting that Peyton Manning, 39, has much left in the tank for the upcoming Super Bowl, he still has his wonderful height and continues to boast a neat haircut. Should he walk away from the fiftieth iteration of this grand football occasion with only a stiff-brimmed runners-up hat, rest assured he'll wear it proudly - and highly.

Slow and steady

Let's not count the Sheriff out altogether, okay. He may look more like Doc Holliday than Wyatt Earp at this stage of his career, but there's one last stand in him. I know it. Manning completed 17 of his 32 passes for 176 yards in the AFC Championship Game, in a steady if not impressive performance, and that's all Broncos fans need. Certainly the ball didn't always spin along a tight line, but it reached its intended target when most needed, right? That's really all that counts in games of such magnitude. While, some commentators are hellbent on telling us that wounded duck throws are catastrophic, we now know this isn't always true. We also know that some commentators are hellbent on hyperbole.

Steadiness is all the Broncos require on the offensive side. And Manning can be an oak for just one more game. Let Cam Newton chase the wind. That's his game. In truth, he'll need multiple plays to square the Broncos defence away.

One good throw

One play. Two plays. OMAHA! OMAHA! The talking heads also like to say that a game can be decided by one play, and if this is indeed the case, then Manning is also still capable of making that single pass - maybe even twice. Two good passes are not out of the realm of possibility here, especially when you're lifting less than the guy at the snack bar all afternoon.

2 QBs.
2 very different styles.

1 Super Sunday: https://t.co/cUqX9OILG7 (via @judybattista) #SB50 pic.twitter.com/4NkdElIiZp

— NFL (@NFL) February 3, 2016

Starring role

In the very first Super Bowl, played in California as well, Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr tossed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards, and two touchdowns. He had one interception but the Packers thumped the Chiefs 35-10. Of course, it was a different era, and the Carolina Panthers might be slightly more menacing on defence than the 1967 Chiefs. But I can see Peyton posting similar numbers, and out-thinking the Panthers the way Starr did Kansas City.

Yes, his preference for shorter passes will likely mean fewer yards, first downs, and ultimately a lower scoring output for Denver. However, those numbers might also be just enough to win him the game's MVP prize, and ensure that he leaves just enough in the arm to lift the Lombardi Trophy.

Regardless of the outcome, Peyton Manning is the off-field MVP of #SB50 https://t.co/063PNHMQZF pic.twitter.com/cuwheET2f1

— Forbes (@Forbes) February 3, 2016

Which quarterback would you want if your starter went down?

To play our new game, which should have Hasbro knocking at the door any minute now ... you have to imagine a rather zany world order in which pro football contracts are superfluous and players can come and go as they please. (Didn't Brett Favre set this precedent?)

In this scenario, you’re a cowboy general manager – not specifically of the Dallas variety – and have the ability to cut ties with your signal-caller at the drop of a hat---quite possibly a Tom Landry style hat---which then, sure, would be of the Dallas variety.

The basic premise is that there must be a QB out there you covet more than a Kardashian home movie. So let's tap into your sub-conscious and talk about it. That's why we're here. If you’re a New York Giants fan, for example, and inextricably tied to Eli, you can, for just a moment, imagine having a quarterback that's less opportunistic, and more reliant on Montana-like accuracy and Elway like-arm strength. Or if you’re a Cardinals fan, maybe you envisage a QB with the ability to play all 16 games and reach the playoffs without a hobble. Imagine that!

Meanwhile, Dolphins fans could conjure a situation in which the Marino Era is a simply a sepcial chapter in Miami’s history book and not persistent nostalgia, impossible to supplant until another QB leads the team back to the AFC Championship Game, or dare we say it, the Super Bowl.

To this end, the below is a shortlist of NFL players we think would be the most coveted of all 32 current starters behind center, should your ace, your big cheese, go down. These players haven't been selected because they're necessarily better than Shane Falco, nor do they boast superior stats (no emails FiveThirtyEight), but because they possess the sorts of intangibles that make having a cool and impossibly professional quarterback the envy of every fan outside of New England, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Indy and Baltimore.

Sure, you could make arguments for other QBs and other towns being mentioned in that last sentence, but we don’t have the time nor the inclination to complicate this soon-to-be party favorite, which we call Spin the Pigskin. A good game's a quick game, kids.

So who would you choose?*

Matt Ryan – They call him ‘Ice’, which is catchy and perhaps even more applicable when he freezes mid-play. Calm down Falcon fans, we see Matty’s improved movement. What we like here is his level head and ability to lead.

Johnny Manziel – "Let Johnny loose!" the mob cries, while Brian Hoyer devotees sob into their Blackout Stouts. What’s ailed the Browns is a distinct lack of well, quarterbacking, and while Manziel offers no guarantee of addressing this issue, he has bravado. That's right - bravado. You can’t buy it. Oh sure, you can make misguided money gestures, but you won’t be able to finalize a purchase. Not in this town, bub.

Derek Carr – He’s the young buck, the potential savior of Raider Nation, and yet nobody knows if it's all black smoke and silver mirrors at this point. Listen, he’s got guts and seems to be learning fast, so there’s plenty to like.

Cam Newton – Cool Hand Cam, the man with visor and superhero grin. He’s got a cannon that can be loose at times, and all that means is victory is one Hail Mary away.

Russell Wilson – Straight-laced and straightforward, he minimizes errors and runs away from trouble. He’s Tarkenton in the modern era. Smart, confident and frank.

Jay Cutler – Do customers come much cooler than Cutler? Maybe if they’re in a Sears browsing for a new fridge. Otherwise no. The hair, the despondency, the wife. He should be fronting Grizzly Bear not the Chicago Bears.

Phillip Rivers – He’s mad as hell and that’s why you love him. Come on. It’s sunny outside and he’s tossing a football around the park. And yet, instead of dancing around like the always effervescent Buggs, he's more agitated than Yosemite Sam. IT'S PHILLIP! NOT PHIL DAMMIT!

*If your starting QB is on this list then you obviously have fewer choices. That's the game folks - you already have a cool QB so really shouldn't be afforded any advantage.

Mega Man vs Donkey Kong

Fictional characters from opposing worlds are often pitted against one another. Predator and Alien come immediately to mind, the two creatures mercilessly tossed into a Hollywood studio to duke it out more than once. Batman meets Superman under hostile conditions some time in 2016, and if we're not mistaken, Super Mario has already faced-off with Sonic the Hedgehog to see who has the biggest two-dimensional leap.

This week football fans contemplate the aftershocks of a mighty collision between the Lions' defender Ndamukong Suh and the Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton, after Newton repeatedly called his opponent "Donkey Kong Suh" in a press conference prior to the game. 

Not known for his bashfulness, Mega Cam seemed convinced that was the player's actual name, and given that it was delivered with the deadpan style of a Weekend Update bit on Saturday Night Live, the media took the bait. They oddly wrestled with it in fact, so unsure of its meaning or usage, they quickly determined to use it to incite Suh into some sort of barrel hurling rage. 

But when confronted by a media pack, Detroit's defensive tackle was apparently disinterested, and those appalled weren't afforded the chance to remedy the horrible mockery made of their press room. Will the social outrage ever let up? We think former Steelers QB looks like Mario, but please don't call the D.A.'s Office.

Well, Mega-Cam needed to be quick with his step and accurate with his aim on Sunday, in order to avoid the wrath of Donkey Kong, who, with a heavy thump of the earth, or a thunderous charge, could have evaporated the quarterback just like the original blue Nintendo sprite. 

As it turned out, Newton tapped his initials in for the 'game high' as his squad belted Detroit 24-7. He zinged balls over the middle, zapped them down the sideline, and then, when the throw wasn't there, zoomed past the opposition, seemingly without any power-ups. He threw 22 of 34 passes for 281 yards, but more importantly, his energy was all too much for Detroit to contain. That went for Suh too, who couldn't even stop the Panthers Player 1 by falling on him. 

Game Over.

Cool Hand Cam

When broadcasters say, 'he's a football player', the fan presumes they mean the guy who plays football holistically, not simply to fulfil the specific duties of his position. It's a strange comment to make because certainly most NFL players consider themselves "football players", not merely spare parts of a team.

Having watched Cam Newton slide onto the NFL stage with all the gusto of Snagglepuss, however, the notion of a football player suddenly feels more definitive. The definition is Cam Newton. Newton has had so many detractors since announcing his eligibility for the NFL that you wondered if all the over analysis and tea cup storming would result in yet another JaMarcus Russell. Newton, who is sized similarly to Russell, is not only more athletic, but more confident, debonair and enthralling. This player, to put it mildly, is a football star in the making - if he isn't one already.

What makes Newton so attractive is his presence: he is commanding on the field. In his first two outings - against Arizona and Green Bay - Newton has not only piled up yards (854 in all), but his completion percentage is at 63% (52 completed of 83 attempts). He owns the passing game, not simply by virtue of his accuracy (and he has been mostly accurate despite what the experts have said) but his decision making has been impressive. When the pass hasn't been on, he's recognised running opportunities. When the corners play up and tight, he hasn't hung the ball out, but instead, has delicately lobbed it to the sideline where only the receiver could pluck it from its trajectory. His longer throws, too, have been dazzling to the eye, torpedoing over the wreckage of linemen and defensive backs below, and then finally, softly, descending into the outstretched arms of delighted Panthers, like the all but forgotten Steve Smith. The second quarter lob to Smith versus the Cardinals was particularly elegant, prefaced by a subtle ball fake to the left, then a sailing, spiralling ball arced across the horizon, eventually swooping toward its six-point finale. If it was the Olympics it would have earned a perfect score.

What else does Newton do? Well, he scrambles, he dives fearlessly for first downs, he works the play action with the pizazz of a Spanish bullfighter. He's agile in the pocket, aware and energetic, eyes down field, dodging tacklers and fending of charging bulls. But also keeps a cool head, and hand. It's this poise, to wait, adjust and see the game unfold in front of him that is fuelling his success. Heck, he can even make the lunge over helmets and pads to score goal line touchdowns, which is not easy with his 250-pound frame.

Newton is an enticing prospect. He has size, dexterity, versatility and a decent arm. At day's end though, it's his leadership that will take his career and this Panthers team far. He oozes style and bravado: from the way he lines up behind center, to the way he celebrates a score. The man wants to be out there, and clearly hungers for victory. Sure, a few passes have gone astray. A couple of runs have come up short. Let's keep things in perspective though: Newton hasn't even played a handful of games.The sky is, at least in this case, truly the limit.

And this is not just what Carolina fans need, it's what the NFL needs: a Namath-cool superstar, thrilling the arena like a football player, not simply a signal-caller.