© 2024 90.5 WESA

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

Super Bowl 50's Quarterbacks: So Talented And So Different

NPR

By Frank Deford

Published February 3, 2016 at 5:02 AM EST

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning meets with Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton after an NFL game in Indianapolis in 2011. Manning and Newton will square off in the 50th Super Bowl, in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday. The two quarterbacks were No. 1 overall draft picks 13 years apart.

I firmly believe that football games are best when both the quarterbacks are stars, which is what we've definitely got Sunday.

Yeah, yeah, I know: Defense wins games and a football takes funny bounces, and, as every bad analyst regularly declares, man, those turnovers can kill you, but football absolutely needs quarterbacks. Otherwise, the sport only has all those faceless battalions of fungible gladiators.

But, ah, the quarterback. His position is unique in team sport, all the more so in today's passing game. And this Super Bowl looms as even more of a dandy because the two quarterbacks are so in contrast.

Click the audio to hear Frank Deford's take on quarterbacks, Cam Newton, Peyton Manning and the Super Bowl.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags

NPR Top Stories

Frank Deford

Frank Deford died on Sunday, May 28, at his home in Florida. Remembrances of Frank's life and work can be found in All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and on NPR.org.

See stories by Frank Deford

Orcas are hunting whale sharks, the largest fish species on Earth

Lauren Sommer

A new study reveals how a group of killer whales is able to hunt whale sharks, adding to a growing body of research showing how the whales use intelligence and coordination in impressive ways.
Advocates renew a push for states to enact voting protections

Hansi Lo Wang

With efforts to bolster the federal Voting Rights Act unlikely under Republican control of the new Congress, advocates are refocusing on state protections against racial discrimination in elections.
How crocodiles get their scale patterns (Hint: It's unlike other animals)

Jonathan Lambert

Many animals get their external marking--like, feathers, hair or scales-from genetics. But it turns out, the crocodile gets its head patterns differently.

Load More