Denver’s win over Carolina 21-20 with the nail biting field goal at the end that went wide left on Graham Gano, and the 10 point deficit comeback the Broncos over came; as fantastic as the game was as a whole, one aspect which cannot be shaken from social media nor ESPN, were the hits Cam Newton took to the helmet.
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And “i$3 f the officials had penalized the Broncos on their earlier helmet-to-helmet hits, Denver probably would have stopped headhunting”, a Deadspin writer observed.
A Panthers official said Friday that Newton passed four concussion tests: one in the locker room, another on bus to the airport, one during their flight and one at the airport at 6 a.m., according to The Charlotte Observer.
Newton was never taken out of the game, and Coach Ron Rivera says that’s because the doctors said it wasn’t necessary. “What are we supposed to do?” said Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, who doled out a couple of egregious hits on Newton. Why wasn’t he tested during the game?
With under 40 seconds left, Broncos safety Darian Stewart went helmet-to-helmet with Newton.
An undoubtedly sore quarterback after the game, though Newton went out of his way to say repeatedly the officiating was no excuse for the Panthers’ offense going limp as their small bit of revenge slipped away.
If Cam is going to intentionally try and get in defence’s heads by talking trash, running outside the pocket and putting his body on the line to break tackles then he needs to be able to take the hits.
“They determined based on what they saw, when they reviewed the tapes during the game, that he was OK to continue”, Rivera said.
Instead the Panthers complained and laid down during the second half and let the Broncos take a lead, which ultimately lead to a game deciding 50 yard field goal. The Denver defense saw a handful of plays like this all night and majority followed an impressive play which just gave the team minimal momentum all game long. And it works. Newton won’t be the last QB distracted by a desire to survive a game against the Broncos in one piece.
The second – and perhaps worse – issue is that despite these ugly hits, including several on the final drive, Newton stayed in the game.
Of course, officials are not blameless in all of this either - as many players, fans, and journalists pointed out after the game, umpires still haven’t figured out how to properly officiate Newton.
This new system puts independent certified athletic trainers (ATC spotters) in the stands to watch for potential head or neck injuries, and unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants (UNC) on the sidelines.
Rivera added he would, “love to see him start getting some of that veteran favoritism, that’d be cool”. Newton ran for a touchdown and threw for a touchdown in the first half, and the Panthers looked like they’d get the revenge for last year’s Super Bowl they’d clearly desired.
“I was going to drill it, no doubt in my mind”, Gano said. “There’s too much going through my head right now for me to remember what happened”. “There is a set of rules that these doctors, these trained professionals have to follow”, Rivera said.
Stewart and Marshall could face fines for plays during which they left their feet and resulted in helmet-to-helmet hits.
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ESPN reports: “Marshall’s hit was a violation of Rule 12, Section 2, Article 6 (i) of the National Football League rulebook, which prohibits a defender from using his helmet to butt, spear or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily”.
