I’m not one to call for the wuss-ification of the sport we all love, but enforcing the actual rules of the game equally isn’t asking for too much and Newton, in almost every game he’s in, does not get the calls his QB peers do. They also admitted that a hit by Von Miller later in the game could have been called, but was more of a “judgement” issue.
Advertisement
Perhaps the most jarring of the hits came with seconds left to play in the game, when Denver Broncos safety Darian Stewart delivered a head-to-head blow. “Intentional grounding” as a call was created to keep the QB from escaping a sack by tossing the ball away, giving the defense the sack yardage and loss of down they would have acquired with the sack. Broncos. A penalty was called only on the last hit as the NFL MVP tried to stage a winning drive. He’s that kind of guy.
“During stoppage in play while on-field officials were in the process of administrating penalties, the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant and team physician requested video from the spotters and reviewed the play”.
Team officials said Newton was asked questions four times following the game – locker room, bus ride to the airport, on the plane and back in Charlotte – to make sure there were no side effects from the hits to the head.
This isn’t the first time Rivera has faced questions about the way Newton was handled after taking a hard hit to the head.
“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.
“Man, everybody I’m talking to I’m talking mad noise”, Smith said.
Late Friday, a spokesman for the NFL Players Association told Channel 9 it had not decided if it would call for its own investigation on the decision to leave Newton on the field. “And who they would call this particular play against versus this particular player”.
It is argued that Newton is refereed differently than any other quarterback in the league, this may be true, but Newton plays unlike any other quarterback in the league. In this case, yes he was, clearly.
“I think we have the most fun when we’re just being ourselves and that’s what coach lets us do on game day, and it’s our responsibility to stay within the rules and the boundaries”, safety T.J. Ward said earlier this week.
Newton told reporters staff evaluated him after the game. I’d set a pick and knock guys down all the time, and I’d get the foul.
Which would be a fair argument if Newton hadn’t just run in his 44th career rushing touchdown, the new National Football League record for a quarterback, thrown a touchdown pass and even laid a bone crushing block on defensive lineman Shane Ray.
Advertisement
Rivera said Newton’s size may be a factor. So, it wasn’t something that I know they did intentionally. It’s as simple as that.
