One of many problems for the Carolina Panthers at the Super Bowl on Sunday? They couldn’t hear very well.
Panthers center Ryan Kalil told the Charlotte Observer that the team was forced to use a silent snap count because their fans were outnumbered by Broncos counterparts.
Panthers offensive linemen said the crowd noise at Levi’s Stadium contributed to the sacks and penalties.
With Broncos fans outnumbering the Panthers’, Kalil and Newton were forced to use a silent snap count. The Broncos’ pass rushers picked up on it and were able to get good jumps off the line of scrimmage.
“The silent count you can only do so long before everybody — you kind of figure it out,” Kalil said. “It’s tough. When the (play) clock’s winding down, you can’t really disguise it because you’ve got to snap the ball and get going.”
According to Google Maps, Charlotte, North Carolina is 2,680 miles from Santa Clara, whereas Denver is “only” 1,278 miles away, a 19-hour drive, so it does make sense that more of their fans would travel to the game or simply live in the area. Still, it’s a little embarrassing for Carolina to have to use a silent snap count in what’s supposed to be a neutral-site game.
Issues with the snap count do help explain why the Panthers’ offensive line was thoroughly unable to halt the Broncos’ pass rush. Silent snap counts make communication more difficult between the quarterback and linemen and give defenders a chance to jump the snap. Denver sacked Cam Newton five times and stripped the ball from him twice, while relentlessly pressuring him into quick throws. Von Miller was named the game’s MVP thanks to 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Kalil had a lot of other good stuff to say in that Observer piece, defending Newton’s hesitance to dive for a fumble in the fourth quarter and saying the offense as a whole was at fault for the 24-10 Super Bowl loss.
