In the 2016 NFL regular season kickoff game, the defending league champion Denver Broncos came out with a clear plan of attack against one of the faces of the league, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton: Beat him into submission.
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The NFL said in a written statement issued Friday morning that medical experts on hand Thursday night evaluated the situation and decided there “were no indications of a concussion” warranting further testing or Newton’s removal from the game.
“I try to warn the refs every time I do get hit in the head, but if the flag is not called, then it’s OK”, Newton said at a news conference after the game.
And, by Newton’s account, he did not undergo tests for a potential concussion until after the game. He couldn’t remember what those questions were, which could just be a matter of not paying attention when they were asked.
The Broncos walloped several of the game’s elite QBs on the way to their title last season, holding Aaron Rodgers to the worst performance of his career and putting the hurt on Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Newton in the playoffs.
We’ve already seen the league go above and beyond to protect other veteran quarterbacks.
There was one play in the fourth quarter when as Newton toward the left sideline, Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby seemed to let up a tad on the quarterback. “I liked the fact that Cam quoted me afterwards and that was, ‘Coach Rivera likes to say if you play good, you better be careful because you’re good enough to get beat”‘.
“I think the National Football League really cares more about its image than it does player safety”, Garcia said.
“Again, if that’s what we’re trying to do, is eliminate that and continue to make the game safer, then that’s to me the only thing you can do, ” Rivera said. That play, a helmet-to-helmet hit by linebacker Brandon Marshall, in which the defender launched himself at Newton, was obviously a missed call, the source said, and should have been a penalty.
Newton stayed in and led the Panthers into field goal range, although Graham Gano missed a 50-yard attempt that would have given Carolina the lead. “Key players in crunch time rarely ever get removed for an evaluation, probably because the ATC spotter doesn’t want to be blamed for creating a competitive disadvantage if, for example, Cam Newton had been unavailable to the Panthers for the final drive if, as it turns out, Newton didn’t have a concussion”. “That’s what I do feel”. I’m not going to stop being aggressive.
“I know he’s the biggest guy on the field, but he’s still the quarterback”, Olsen told reporters.
“I’m going to wait until I see the tape”, Rivera said.
“I’m not going to question the doctors. OK?” “We regathered, regrouped and figured out the mistakes we were making as a team, and we came back out and attacked”.
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The idea behind icing the kicker is that by calling timeout before a potentially game-winning field goal, you can make the other team’s kicker nervous.
