For a team that had a hard time shedding doubters this season, the Carolina Panthers sure seem to be an overwhelming favorite heading into Super Bowl 50. That's the prevailing feeling not only in Vegas, but throughout the media gathered in the Bay Area this week.
From a Denver perspective, the Broncos don't match up well with the Panthers, who tore through their two playoff games with a 41-point margin of victory.
One advantage in Denver's favor is experience. 16 Broncos have played in a Super Bowl while only five Panthers have gotten this far.
Because it's been 12 years since Carolina even appeared in a Super Bowl, there's an interesting dichotomy on the roster. Of the seven players who have been in the NFL for at least 10 seasons, safety Roman Harper is the only one who's appeared in a Super Bowl. On the flip side, five rookies have gone from draft picks to the biggest stage in American sports in just nine months.
Here are some of the first-timers thoughts, from the "old" to the new:
VETERANS
DE Jared Allen, 12th season
"It’s been a great journey. I would have liked to get here a lot sooner, but I’ll take it when it comes. It’s been a true blessing. My whole career has been a blessing. To come back and be able to play at home, where I grew up, it’s awesome."
DT Dwan Edwards, 12th season
"Oh man, this is everything. Everything I've worked for in my entire career. ... Coming here and seeing this thing built from scratch to where it is now has been amazing. Hopefully to finish it up with a ring would put a cap on my career, for sure."
WR Jerricho Cotchery, 12th season
"This is the moment I've prepared for. This is what I've been working for my entire career ... It’s a wonderful experience. I don’t think it necessarily has hit me like I thought it would because of the way that we’ve been focusing week-to-week, it’s been so great."
LB Thomas Davis, 11th season
"I’m pretty sure the emotions are going to be running high. The adrenaline is going to be flowing through everybody that’s on the field because this is why you play the game. You play for an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl, and we have that right now."
QB Derek Anderson, 11th season
"I think it'd be huge for me and for the growth of this team. Obviously, it's what we all play for, but just to be here and see the progression of Cam, our team, our guys. We have such a bunch of good dudes. It'd be very special."
CB Cortland Finnegan, 10th season
"To win a Super Bowl ideally, or be in a Super Bowl is what you dream of as a kid. So to be here right now, from the moment we landed in California, you get teary eyed when you step off that plane and go, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’ You can’t put it into words because it’s been a dream as a kid and now you get to see it. It’s incredible."
DRAFT PICKS
LB Shaq Thompson
"I think it hit me during Media Day. I don’t watch a lot of Super Bowls and just watching the media, man that’s crazy. And just being in it, had a great time. Was able to be myself and had a lot of fun."
WR Devin Funchess
"Everybody told me I was going into a good situation throughout the draft process, and I was like, what do you mean? Because I didn’t know anything about Carolina. I said what do you mean, and they said just watch and see. I came down and now we’re in the Super Bowl."
OT Daryl Williams
"Since I came in here, this was the vision. This was the plan. Starting with coach Rivera, this was the plan — Super Bowl. Get to the Super Bowl and win it. It's happening and we've just got to win it now."
RB Cameron Artis-Payne
"Honestly, it probably still hasn't hit me about what's going on because we're so focused on winning the next game. Maybe when the season's over I'll sit back and realize how special it was."
LB David Mayo
"As you would imagine it feeling, that's how it feels. It's pretty spectacular. ... We're all super excited. You can only imagine, right? A lot of guys have been through a lot more, and me as a rookie, I'm just so blessed to be on this team."