More than the Broncos coming back from a 10-point deficit to win the game, or Newton having broken two National Football League records Thursday night, people focused on the number of times the 27-year-old quarterback had been hit in the head by Denver’s defense.
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“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”, Newton’s father told ESPN’s Jim Trotter in an interview.
And then the season started on Thursday night, and it was business as usual.
When looking back at the vicious hits Cam took last night, Cecil believes his son wasn’t treated the same as other quarterbacks in the league, specifically Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, among others.
“I wasn’t really paying attention to all that (the hits on Newton)”, Miller said. This time, a flag was thrown for the personal foul, but since Newton’s throw did not clear the line of scrimmage, an intentional grounding call was also made, and the personal foul was offset, and the hit was essentially free.
For his part, Newton said he didn’t think his head was being targeted intentionally, but he certainly felt the sting of the hits.
Newton is as nearly as big and certainly as tough as anyone in the National Football League, and he’ll get a little extra time to mend before the September 18 home opener against San Francisco in Charlotte. Third down was bad, the offense was giving the ball away-we just knew we had to come in and play our game…
While Stewart was penalized for his hit, Deadspin had this collection of more helmet shots that Newton absorbed. Both plays easily could have-and probably should have-been flagged.
Newton took seven quarterback hits and three sacks in the second half after only taking one quarterback hit and no sacks in the first half. He had 11 carries for 54 yards on Thursday night, and all but one of them was a called run. There is an independent neurologist on each sideline, but they work along with the team medical personnel.
Still, Newton refused to blame the referees for the lack of protection he received throughout the game.
In a postgame news conference, Newton downplayed the sparse penalties. Time and again, he was asked about the officiating and the failure of the league to protect him.
Smith emphasized this is still just one game, but the confidence the coaches and players will get from watching the game and seeing the plays left on the field will make them feel good heading into Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts. Thursday’s game was at the very least questionable.
Stewart and Marshall could face fines for plays during which they left their feet and resulted in helmet-to-helmet hits. In this case, an extremely important player. “My understanding is that he had several exams by the doctors, and all them he passed”.
He’d like to see it eventually lead to officials having the power to review such hits via replay to determine if there was a penalty.
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Because, at this rate, he’s not going to be around long.
