That may be a sad commentary on how teams place a higher priority on winning than player safety. The QB went to the sideline and put a towel over his head as trainers checked him out.
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Denver topped Carolina, 21-20, on the night when the Broncos unveiled their Super Bowl 50 banner in the same end zone where Gano’s boot waned left.
But it’s not like Newton’s new to the league.
Newton took four helmet-to-helmet hits, with one penalty called. “I try to warn the refs every time I do get hit in the head”.
Cam Newton was determined to have not suffered a concussion Thursday night (AP).
Rivera said Newton’s size may be a factor.
And, to be sure, Newton’s running ability puts him in harm’s way a lot more often than a pure drop-back passer. However, the replay also showed that Miller smashed his face into Newton’s and clearly jarred him with the hit.
That’s no reason for the officials to continually look the other way. They need “clear visual evidence” of “a player who displays obvious signs of disorientation or is clearly unstable”, according to the league’s game operations manual.
Trevor Siemian: For someone who had never thrown a pass in an National Football League regular-season game, Siemian played it cool throughout the game despite mistakes.
The next player might not be so lucky.
Longer term, the league needs to seriously consider following the college game, which has brought down the hammer on targeting.
The hits by Barrett, Miller and Stewart appeared to be speed-of-the-game, unintentional strikes to the helmet. In addition, his team receives a 15-yard penalty.
All targeting calls are automatically subject to a video review, a necessary step in a violent game that’s almost impossible to keep a handle on in real time. They allowed players to push the envelope to the very edge. “For me, really, I look at as I’m excited because of what I think we can be if we correct those things, and we’ll go to work on correcting those right now”. At the end of the day, it’s about player safety. Cam suffered several big hits, and he also took a shot to the head in the 1st quarter.
That could lead to a hefty fine.
In a game that seemed nearly destined to not go the Broncos way, and drawing controversy on the Broncos side before the game even started with Brandon Marshall taking a knee during the national anthem the Broncos pulled off a win.
Newton, despite staying on the field after all four questionable hits, said he was not examined until after the game. Maybe he was still groggy.
Newton is expected to practice when the Panthers return to the field on Wednesday, the coach said. “But if the flag is not thrown, then it’s OK”.
Finding a third party separate from teams and the league is hard because it brings up the same issue that already exists – would a third party who’s generally uninvolved in the game be willing to stop game play and potentially alter the outcome by creating a competitive disadvantage?
On second-and-10 from the Carolina 47, Newton rolled out to his left and released a pass into the flat as he was being tackled and linebacker Shaquil Barrett draped around his ankles. “They judge him different”.
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Week 2 would be a good time to start. Write to him at [email protected] or at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963.
