Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin is back after missing 2015, ready to team up with 2015 NFL MVP quarterback Cam Newton. “We saw him limping throughout the game, so that running stuff, you can’t do that all game”. And while Rivera said his opinion was that some of the hits on Newton should have drawn penalties and that it’s time Newton started getting some “veteran favoritism”, he didn’t consider pulling Newton from the game and is confident the concussion protocol was followed. “They concluded there were no indications of a concussion that would require further evaluation and the removal of the player”. “In this case, that happened”, Rivera said. If they didn’t play a game that bad all of last year, well, maybe they just aren’t as good as last year?
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“And remember, there’s people up in the box looking down and there’s the head referee”.
They’re rapidly realizing they can lean on him, too.
The NFL determined Marshall should have been flagged for his hit on Newton, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
“Some of them you would like to see them throw the flags”, Rivera said. “It’s a very hard thing that the referees have to do”.
And whenever you factor in human judgment, sometimes things aren’t always equal.
Rivera said Newton’s size may be a factor.
“There’s a little bit of prejudice to that”. “It’s kind of like Shaquille O’Neal”. “… Because he’s a big guy, they think he can take it”. “Then he goes to shoot a layup and gets hacked and hammered and they don’t call it”. Newton was punished by big hits, including a sack by Demarcus Ware in the third quarter that left Newton hobbling on the sideline.
But it’s not like Newton’s new to the league.
“It’s not my job to question the officials”, he said. But if the league truly wants to move toward a safer game, a more drastic change may have to be considered. “I’m not going to fan the flames of race in this particular category, but I really sit back and ask myself, ‘Would this have happened to some of his other fellow colleagues?’ Let the public answer the question for themselves”.
“It’s not my place to question the officials”, Newton said. “They continue to expose their talk of prioritizing player safety as just that – talk”.
NOTES: The Panthers are now 1-5 all-time against the Broncos, with a 0-3 record in Denver.
The Panthers led the league with 39 takeaways a year ago and they had two on Denver’s first two drives, including an interception by linebacker Thomas Davis. He got involved early with a 14-yard TD catch from Newton.
Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano walks off the field after missing a possible game-winning 50-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016.
“It was just me being aggressive”. “The timeout didn’t affect me, it never does.”.
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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.
