You may notice something different about this week’s installment of “Jake’s Take.” That would be because there clearly is something different about this week’s “Jake’s Take.” Of course, I’m writing about the Super Bowl, but I made the decision (last-minute and scrambling, to the disdain of my co-authors) that the Super Bowl is too big an event for just one person to cover. So, I invited my friends and colleagues Josh Cage and Zach Mills to help me out in breaking down this year’s Super Bowl matchup category-by-category. Thankfully, they finally gave into my persistence, and now, here we are. I would like to formally thank Mr. Cage and Mr. Mills before we begin.

And now, here are the categories by which we here at FHNgameday.com judged this year’s two Super Bowl teams:

1. Offense

• Cage– Is this really a thing? The Panthers’ offense top to bottom from starters to backups is reliable. I can’t say the same for the Broncos. There are two Peyton Mannings that could show up- DirecTV Manning or Cable Manning. The only Cam Newton that’s going to show is Super Cam. Get ready for lots of dancing and giving footballs to children.

• The Pick: Carolina Panthers

• Mills– Dynamic is the one word you hear over and over to describe the offense of the Carolina Panthers. First of all, having Cam Newton can’t be stopped. He has the size of a tight end, physicality of a defensive end, speed of a wide out and a canon to top it off. Manning, on the other hand, is a good brain attached to a pair of crutches. Other than the QB’s, the Panthers have an advantage in the run game. The only thing the Broncos have an advantage is their elite receiving corps.

• The Pick: Carolina Panthers

• Lintner– Two words: Cam Newton. In our Darwinistic society, the younger, stronger and faster always win, and that is the role Super Cam plays in this year’s Big Game. The NFL is right in the middle of a major offensive transition with more mobile quarterbacks, with guys like Newton and Russell Wilson leading the charge. The only difference between the two is that Wilson is more reserved, while Cam Newton is going to pipe up the Super Bowl and dab his way right through the Broncos’ soft secondary.

• The Pick: Carolina Panthers

2. Defense

• Cage– I had a dream that Luke Kuechly Dropped a sure-fire pick six backed up on the Panthers’ own goal line. But let’s be real, the Broncos’ defensive line is incredible. Defensive tackle Derek Wolfe is the man to look for to carry the Broncos’ defense to the promised land in this game. He was one of the most underrated players in all of football, finishing the season with 5.5 sacks and 49 tackles. He has 10 total tackles and two sacks this postseason. From the secondary, expect Aqib Talib to have a solid game no matter who he lines up against. During the regular season, Talib had three interceptions, two of them returned for touchdowns.

• The Pick: Denver Broncos

• Mills– I have a different opinion than my colleagues. While I’m aware of the ratings that say the Broncos have the number one rated defense, I don’t think they’ll show up on Sunday. The Panthers defense on the other hand is the most exciting in the NFL. Lead by the two best linebackers in the league, they’ll come out and punch Peyton Manning right in the mouth, like they did to Carson Palmer. Also, it’s getting even better with Jared Allen coming back.

• The Pick: Carolina Panthers

• Lintner– I may have just called out the Broncos’ secondary, but their front seven in unmatched in all of the NFL. 52 sacks. 18.5 points per game. 283.1 yards per game. 27 takeaways. The Broncos have undoubtedly the best defense in the NFL, and their athletic linebacking corps is going to give Newton trouble all game long. It’s going to be very difficult for Cam to be confident with guys like Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware staring him down every time he calls a play.

• The Pick: Denver Broncos

3. Coaching

• Cage– Ron Rivera is a top five coach in the NFL right up there with guys like Sean Payton, Mike McCarthy, Bill Belichick, and Bruce Arians. Carolina also has Mike Shula as offensive coordinator and if history tells it right, we all know Shulas don’t lose. Especially in big games.

• The Pick: Carolina Panthers

• Mills– Honestly I could care less about the coaches. Both offenses are pretty much built around their quarterbacks who dictate what plays get run and what don’t. If I have to give an advantage, I’ll give it to Gary Kubiak of the Denver Broncos. He’s been in the league longer, and he’s the only person to ever play for- and coach the same team in the Super Bowl. That team? The Denver Broncos.

• The Pick: Denver Broncos

• Lintner– In their careers as coaches in the NFL, Gary Kubiak and Ron Rivera have met on opposing sides of the ball five times, and just once as head coaches in 2011 when Rivera’s Panthers defeated Kubiak’s Texans. Overall, Rivera holds a 3-2 advantage, and the home team’s record is the same. Now, neither team is from San Francisco, but Ron Rivera grew up just about 100 miles south of Levi’s Stadium. And if that’s not a home-field advantage, I don’t know what is.

• The Pick: Carolina Panthers

• Readiness

• Cage– Going 15-1 in the regular season says a lot about a team. It’s not easy at all. But losing one game out of 16 brings you back down to earth as a team. Take the 2007 Patriots for example. They had a perfect 16-0 regular season. They got to the Super Bowl and got handed an L. Why? Because they didn’t know what losing felt like that year. And they expected to waltz their way to the second undefeated season in NFL history. That one loss makes the Panthers know that everything will not be handed to them. They are not perfect. But on Sunday they will walk into the stadium as if they are ready to conquer Genghis Khan’s empire.

• The Pick: Carolina Panthers

• Mills– The Super Bowl is definitely a game you get ready for as much as possible, it being the most watched event in history, so neither team should slack in their preparation. Carolina has proved this season that they are nearly immune to pressure hold a perfect record longer than any team, but there is something to be said for experience. Denver, with all their postseason experience, will be looking to avenge the beat down they received last time they made it to the Super Bowl.

• The Pick: Denver Broncos

• Lintner– The last Panthers team to the reach the Super Bowl featured players such as Jake Delhomme, Stephen Davis, Muhsin Muhammad, DeShaun Foster, I can go on. The point is, the only two players from that team still in the NFL are Steve Smith and Julius Peppers, two future Hall of Famers with waning careers. The Broncos last trip to the NFL’s biggest stage was two year’s ago. The Broncos just know how to play in the postseason, and that’s something that will hurt Carolina in this game.

• The Pick: Denver Broncos

5. X-Factor

• Cage– Greg Olsen. Need I say more? So much attention will be given to Cam Newton’s ability that the Broncos’ secondary will forget about the real MVP of the Panthers’ offense. Greg Olsen is a man. There’s no doubt that he will shine in the spotlight. The veteran will play for his life in his first Super Bowl appearance. Look for Greg Olsen to have drive-saving catches on third down, hopefully on the way to a ring being earned by one of the most deserving men in football not named Larry Fitzgerald.

• The Pick: Greg Olsen

• Mills–  My pick for X-Factor is the Denver Broncos offensive line. This is a unit that gave up 39 sacks in the regular season (2.4 per game) and four in the postseason (2 per game). They’re on the right track, but they’ll fact the big, bad Panthers’ defense on Sunday. I think they’ll keep improving, and they’ll block the hobbled Manning just long enough for a couple big-play passes. That’ll be enough.

• The Pick: Denver Broncos’ Offensive Line

• Lintner– You can ask almost anyone from casual fans to pundits, and they’ll tell you that the “untested” Cam Newton is the X-Factor. That is simply not so, Cam has gone through the gauntlet and come out swinging on the other side. The true X-Factor in this matchup is the Panthers’ secondary. This unit has been good, but not great. They’ve allowed 235 passing yards per game, and the Broncos will have a field day attacking Carolina’s safeties if they can’t get any help. I do think that the Panthers’ secondary will do well and get into the receivers’ heads, but this is going to be the matchup to watch to see who comes out with the 50th Lombardi Trophy.

• The Pick: Carolina Panthers’ Secondary

Well, that’s it. We’ve all voiced our opinions, and it seems that, if the fate of the Super Bowl were up to us, it’d be a close battle, but there is one team that just seems to have it this year. The Patriots had it last year- the Seahawks the year before- and this year, the Carolina Panthers are just chock full of it.

FHNgameday Consensus Pick: Carolina Panthers, 2-1 (9-6 in categories)