“I’m beginning to question the consistency of how games are being called – and who they would call this particular play against versus this particular player”, Cecil Newton told ESPN on Friday. “I really like this officiating crew, so it wasn’t something I know they did intentionally, but it’s not fun getting hit in the head”. “I’m sure they don’t want to start the season off like that”. “Early in the game, a guy took two, three steps and hit him in the head and they didn’t call a penalty”.
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Denver Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian (13) warms up prior to an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, in Denver.
Newton was later than usual to the podium because he was receiving treatment, according to the Panthers.
In a news conference following the game, Newton said he was asked about his health after the game ended. “I’m proud to say I have not added to that analysis”. I was just so incredibly happy that football was back. Of course he was chucking the ball all over the yard with his unique style, but he also absorbed some big hits that had people wondering if they should have been flagged. Whether it was a sack that caused him to leave the game with a lower leg injury or the unprotected shots to the head he took on a repeated basis, it was nearly sickening to watch just how bad he was getting beat down on the field.
The league said the play was reviewed during a stoppage in the game, and medical officials determined that “there were no indications of a concussion that would require further evaluation and the removal of the player from the game”. “What are we supposed to do?” said Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, who doled out a couple of egregious hits on Newton. “I think the league got it wrong”, Kubiak said.
I still remember the feeling of dread that washed over me when the lights went out.
The outcome of the game, however, was overshadowed by the fact that Panthers quarterback Cam Newton repeatedly took nasty hits to the head, only one of which was called (on an offsetting penalty, no less), and remained in the game.
Anderson helped keep that pressure off Siemian by running for 92 yards on 20 carries and catching four passes for 48 yards.
With all the talk surrounding the starting quarterback, we’ve missed the real transformation that will undergo the defending super bowl champions this season.
We saw what happened with a concussed Case Keenum past year, when protocol was somehow forgotten in the staggering decision the Rams made to keep him under center. Understandably, the Carolina quarterback wasn’t doing much smiling as he watched his team lose and was continually rocked by the hard-hitting Denver defense.
The run threat with Newton is a big part of what makes the Panthers’ offense go, though.
And then the season started on Thursday night, and it was business as usual.
The quarterback remained on the ground for several seconds while tight end Greg Olsen and other teammates attended to him as officials sorted out the flags on the field.
Newton is a tough guy, you know, and, with him a 6-foot-5 245-pounder who runs like a tailback, the refs allow defenders to take liberties against him that they don’t permit against more fragile and less mobile quarterbacks.
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Clearly, the NFL’s epiphany on player health – which the jaded will note only came at the prodding of a massive lawsuit brought by former players whose lives were ruined by repeated hits to the head – still hasn’t gone far enough.
