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.
Advertisement
In their ascent to becoming the NFL’s premier defense, Denver tightropes and often crosses the line between dirty and clean.
ENGLEWOOD-Cam Newton was hit four times in the helmet by Denver Broncos defenders Thursday.
“Absolutely, they’re worth the consequences”, Marshall said.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) – Gary Kubiak didn’t flinch when Trevor Siemian threw two interceptions in his first National Football League start, and neither did the no-longer-unknown quarterback.
“I’m just super confident in the group of guys we have offensively”, he said. “That was a challenge – when you play that guy and he is such a great player. I will not let up on them”.
“You can think about it all you want, but you can’t comprehend that, it’s life changing”, DeCastro said. “You better treat him that way or you’re going to have a long night as a defensive football team”.
According to a league source, of the handful of plays that resulted in hits to Newton’s head, there should have been at least one more flag thrown.
It certainly is for Gano, who may be the luckiest man in Charlotte from the standpoint that his miss became an afterthought in light of the vicious hits on Newton. “I’ve just got to move on”. He lowered his head at the last moment. “I had a lot of confidence when I left the meeting (Wednesday) night”. I’m not going to stop being aggressive. “Yeah, I have Jonathan Stewart on me, but I’m like, ‘Cam’s running the ball'”. Protecting its players always to seems to be among the league’s lowest priorities. The ever pragmatic All-Pro guard even had a phone number handy just in case he needed to take out an insurance policy if he and the team couldn’t agree to a long-term extension.
The NFL insists it has taken measures to prevent concussions, but this led many to question: what exactly are those measures worth if Newton was allowed to stay in the game?
Following the offsetting penalties on Stewart and Newton in the fourth, Carolina faced a third and 10 with 29 seconds left and Denver leading 21-20. “What are we supposed to do?” said Marshall.
The fact remains, however, that the league is still stuck between presenting its game for entertainment value and what happens when its safety rules threaten to compromise the outcome.
“I guess they made a judgment that he was OK, so they chose to let him keep going, ” Jets cornerback Buster Skrine told The Post. “We saw him limping throughout the game, so that running stuff, you can’t do that all game”.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera and several of Newton’s teammates also shared their concern that more of those helmet-to-helmet hits on their star quarterback weren’t flagged.
Before the Broncos could take a well-earned weekend rest, they went through their typical Monday day-after-game meetings and film study at the UCHealth Training Center in the wake of their 21-20 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Advertisement
“We hear (what) everybody says about us being dirty, but we’re not going to stop being aggressive”, Stewart said.
