The biggest hit on Newton was delivered by safety Darian Stewart on Carolina’s final possession, leaving the QB motionless on the ground for several seconds.
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I think there’s a little bit of prejudice to [the calls].
Now, there’s a difference being physical and being reckless.
While Newton held his tongue afterward when pressed about officials who only flagged Stewart’s hit, Rivera on Friday safely broached the touchy topic. Coach Ron Rivera said he’d wait to see the replays. “He’s an imposing figure and sometimes those don’t look as bad on a big guy”. Per the NFL’s Head, Neck and Spine Committee, the basic “observable signs of a concussion” are merely common sense: loss of consciousness, slow getting up after a hit to the head, motor coordination or balance problems, a blank or vacant stare, disorientation, clutching of head after contact and visible facial injury.
Last April, following a series of retired player suicides and revelations that the league had for years ignored evidence about the effect of the game on brain health, an appeals court affirmed a settlement granting up to $5 million each to thousands of retired players with neurological diseases linked to repeated hits to the head.
Newton was later than usual to the podium because he was receiving treatment, according to the Panthers.
A postgame examinations determined that Newton, who said he didn’t remember what he was asked, was not diagnosed with a concussion. “I was just trying to get there as fast as possible”.
Multiple hits to Newton’s head didn’t draw flags, but they did draw the attention of personnel charged with looking for concussion-like symptoms on the fly, and it was deemed that Newton could continue playing.
In a post-game news conference Newton said he didn’t feel he was being targeted and dodged a question about whether he received fair and adequate protection from Steratore’s crew.
Now, this is not to say that if these calls were made it would have changed the outcome of the game, what is being said (by me), is that if the National Football League is going to focus on hit the helmets instances and attempt to minimize them, then they MUST be called, regardless of who the player is. It’s a noteworthy, commendable step by the NFL to try to take the issue out of players’, teams’, and the league’s hands and ensure players’ safety. “And I read what one of (Denver’s) players said that it’s so hard to tell whether he is running or going to throw. I just took the shot, man”.
There were offsetting penalties on the play: Newton was charged for intentional grounding and Stewart for roughing the passer. He was also was less effective passing, completing just 7 of 16 passes for 83 yards with an interception after halftime.
Rivera even went as far as to say the league’s reigning MVP should receive some preferential treatment. And then sometimes you’re going to hit him in the head.
“The thing that we didn’t do and needed to do better, we should have shut the run down and forced the guy to win the game”. We may not have to wait that long to see him affect how the position is officiated.
Veteran tight end Greg Olsen called Steratore a great ref, but echoed other Panthers teammates when he said: “We’ve got to treat Cam like a quarterback”. I don’t want it to necessarily be because he’s a black quarterback. He said symptoms may not show up right away, but like anything catching it early on is key.
That formula won the Broncos a Super Bowl in February, and it won them the first game of the 2016 season.
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But twice, Newton was clearly shaken.
