Skip to content

Panthers' Tolbert on Broncos' pass rush: "Those guys are amazing"

Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports

The Carolina Panthers are reeling from their Super Bowl defeat, and Pro Bowl fullback Mike Tolbert seems to be in awe of the champion Denver Broncos.

Tolbert submitted a dismal performance Sunday, fumbling the ball twice and failing to pick up blocks as the Panthers surrendered seven sacks.

He had an idea of what to expect after watching Denver hit New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady 23 times during the AFC Championship Game. Tolbert believes the Broncos will go down as one of the all-time great defenses.

"I watched that tape on Tuesday after they played, and, I mean, I hadn't seen a more dominant performance by edge rushers this season," he told The MMQB on Tuesday. "Those guys are amazing. (DeMarcus) Ware's a future Hall of Famer. Von Miller is headed that way. They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with for a while."

Miller captured Super Bowl MVP honors, while Ware recorded two sacks. The dynamic linebacker duo is the envy of the NFL at the moment.

Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall submitted his theory that opposing teams thought they could stifle the team's ferocious defense in man-to-man coverage.

"I feel like a lot of teams, even the Patriots, were like, OK, we're going to sit back and dice them up," Marshall said. "And they didn't protect. The running back free-released all the time. There were only a couple of teams that decided, OK, we're really go to protect. In the playoffs nobody did it. I don't know why. They must've thought, OK, we can block these guys. But they couldn’t."

Denver is slated to host Carolina in 2016, and it'll be compelling to see if the Panthers change their blocking schemes in next season's Super Bowl rematch.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox